Highcroft Racing took back the initiative in their quest to remain at the top of the championship by winning the Road America round of the American Le Mans Series at Elkhart Lake.
Having won the pole, both Gil de Ferran and team-mate Simon Pagenaud had looked set to further erode Highcroft duo David Brabham and Scott Sharp's championship lead but in the race the Highcroft’s Acura got ahead when de Ferran opted to make an early pitstop under the first yellow.
Later cautions brought both back onto the same strategy, and they were nose to tail again with Brabham just ahead of de Ferran when the green flag waved for the final time with six minutes to go.
Despite many attempts by De Ferran to pass, Brabham was able to absorb the pressure and win by half a second, stretching his and Sharp's points lead again.
It was another Acura 1-2-3, with the Fernandez entry winning LMP2 in third overall.
Meanwhile, Rahal Letterman's Joey Hand and Bill Auberlen gave BMW its first GT2 victory since the German marque returned to the ALMS this year.
ALMS Road America - Results
Pos Cl Drivers Car Time/Gap
1. P1 Brabham/Sharp Acura ARX-02a 2h45m49.618s
2. P1 De Ferran/Pagenaud Acura ARX-02a + 0.461s
3. P2 Fernandez/Diaz Acura ARX-01b + 15.809s
4. P2 Leitzinger/Franchitti Mazda Lola B09 86 + 22.551s
5. P2 Pickett/Graf Porsche RS Spyder + 23.914s
6. P1 Field/Field Lola B06/10 AER + 48.510s
7. P1 Mowlem/Johansson Ginetta-Zytek 09SH + 1 laps
8. P1 Willman/McMurry Lola B06/10 AER + 1 laps
9. GT2 Auberlen/Hand BMW M3 E92 + 2 laps
10. GT2 Mueller/Milner BMW M3 E92 + 3 laps
11. GT2 O'Connell/Magnussen Corvette C6.R + 3 laps
12. GT2 Bergmeister/Long Porsche 911 GT3 RSR + 3 laps
13. GT2 Melo/Kaffer Ferrari 430 GT + 3 laps
14. GT2 Gavin/Beretta Corvette C6.R + 4 laps
15. GT2 Robertson/Murry/Robertson Doran Ford GT Mk 7 + 5 laps
16. GT2 Neiman/Law Porsche 911 GT3 RSR + 6 laps
17. Ch Snow/Snow Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 8 laps
18. GT2 Feingerg/Hall Dodge Viper + 8 laps
19. Ch Parker/Pickering Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 9 laps
20. Ch Hoaglund/Faieta Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 9 laps
21. Ch Baker/Cosmo Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 10 laps
22. Ch Brown/Sweedler Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 10 laps
23. GT2 Henzler/Miller Porsche 911 GT3 RSR + 15 laps
24. GT2 Farnbacher/James Panoz Esperante + 17 laps
25. P2 Dyson/Smith Mazda Lola B09 86 + 21 laps
photo:ALMS
Having won the pole, both Gil de Ferran and team-mate Simon Pagenaud had looked set to further erode Highcroft duo David Brabham and Scott Sharp's championship lead but in the race the Highcroft’s Acura got ahead when de Ferran opted to make an early pitstop under the first yellow.
Later cautions brought both back onto the same strategy, and they were nose to tail again with Brabham just ahead of de Ferran when the green flag waved for the final time with six minutes to go.
Despite many attempts by De Ferran to pass, Brabham was able to absorb the pressure and win by half a second, stretching his and Sharp's points lead again.
It was another Acura 1-2-3, with the Fernandez entry winning LMP2 in third overall.
Meanwhile, Rahal Letterman's Joey Hand and Bill Auberlen gave BMW its first GT2 victory since the German marque returned to the ALMS this year.
ALMS Road America - Results
Pos Cl Drivers Car Time/Gap
1. P1 Brabham/Sharp Acura ARX-02a 2h45m49.618s
2. P1 De Ferran/Pagenaud Acura ARX-02a + 0.461s
3. P2 Fernandez/Diaz Acura ARX-01b + 15.809s
4. P2 Leitzinger/Franchitti Mazda Lola B09 86 + 22.551s
5. P2 Pickett/Graf Porsche RS Spyder + 23.914s
6. P1 Field/Field Lola B06/10 AER + 48.510s
7. P1 Mowlem/Johansson Ginetta-Zytek 09SH + 1 laps
8. P1 Willman/McMurry Lola B06/10 AER + 1 laps
9. GT2 Auberlen/Hand BMW M3 E92 + 2 laps
10. GT2 Mueller/Milner BMW M3 E92 + 3 laps
11. GT2 O'Connell/Magnussen Corvette C6.R + 3 laps
12. GT2 Bergmeister/Long Porsche 911 GT3 RSR + 3 laps
13. GT2 Melo/Kaffer Ferrari 430 GT + 3 laps
14. GT2 Gavin/Beretta Corvette C6.R + 4 laps
15. GT2 Robertson/Murry/Robertson Doran Ford GT Mk 7 + 5 laps
16. GT2 Neiman/Law Porsche 911 GT3 RSR + 6 laps
17. Ch Snow/Snow Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 8 laps
18. GT2 Feingerg/Hall Dodge Viper + 8 laps
19. Ch Parker/Pickering Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 9 laps
20. Ch Hoaglund/Faieta Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 9 laps
21. Ch Baker/Cosmo Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 10 laps
22. Ch Brown/Sweedler Porsche 911 GT3 Cup + 10 laps
23. GT2 Henzler/Miller Porsche 911 GT3 RSR + 15 laps
24. GT2 Farnbacher/James Panoz Esperante + 17 laps
25. P2 Dyson/Smith Mazda Lola B09 86 + 21 laps
photo:ALMS