ALMS @ ROAD AMERICA // CAMDEN THRASHER'S RACE REPORT

The day started early with a photographers meeting in the morning to discuss the rules of the game. After this I went out to photograph some of the support races. The first race of the day was the second race of the weekend for the Formula BMW Americas championship.  

The race didn’t go very well for #14, a collision with his teammate in the early part of the race put them both in the gravel trap and out of the race. After this race it started to sprinkle rain a bit. Anticipating a big downpour, I headed back to the media room to stay dry and get some snacks to eat. The video feed was playing on the T.V. monitors so I decided to stay a while.  In the Patron GT3 Challenge race there was a massive rollover in the turn 12 sand trap and in the third Formula BMW race there was a 4 car incident coming out of the kink, which included one car on fire. This was in addition to a rollover in the Jetta TDI Cup race the previous day. All of this action early in the day made me and everyone else in the media room wonder what would happen when the big boys came out to play later in the day... [read more]

Qualifying the previous day saw the Mazda powered Lola of Franchitti and Leitzinger take the first pole position for Dyson racing in the P2 class.

The GT2 class also saw first time polesitters in the form of the Rahal Letterman sweeping the front row with their BMW M3s.

As the GT1 class has faded into non-existence, Corvette has moved into the GT2 class. These cars have a huge American following, as well as a strong international fanbase. There was always a huge cluster of fans crowded around the Corvette pits all weekend long.

Although the Ferrari numbers are a bit down this year with only one car being run by Risi Comptetizione, there was no doubt who this couple would be rooting for.

Being a Porsche nut myself, there was also no doubt who I would be rooting for. The Flying Lizard team has had a brilliant season so far with five straight wins which puts them solidly in the championship lead.

The Ferrari leads a Porsche and the Lola of John and Clint Field. During this morning warm-up, it became apparent that the rain would most likely never come and would just stay slightly overcast. In my opinion this was a very good thing having not really packed my rain gear.  

After the warm-up session, the cars were gridded on the front straight which is then opened up to the fans.

The P2 Acura boys had to deal with some last minute engine issues on the grid. This gave a unique look inside the engine compartment of the Acura machine.

While the track was still swamped with fans, I headed down to turn one to take up a position to photograph the start of the race. There was even enough time for everyone to give me the “finger” with big smiles on their faces. After all, as one of them said, “Were all just one big happy family.”

As the green flag fell, The de Ferran Acura held its lead over the Patron Acura. Surprisingly there was no incidents coming into and through turn 1.

In GT2, each car held its starting position with BMW leading BMW, Porsche, Corvette, Corvette...

The two Dyson cars also followed each other in the in the lead of the P2 class. The overcast weather put a damper on the bright colors of the cars but I gladly would take this weather over a rain storm, which are common in this area.

The GT2 battle stayed tightly packed throughout much of the race with the BMWs remaining in the lead. The two BMWs did get a lucky break during one of the safety car periods in which the essentially gained a lap over the other cars in class, putting them well into the lead.

Meanwhile in the prototype class, the #9 Patron Acura had taken over the lead from the #66 car. The #37 Intersport Lola of John and Clint Field also was putting in a solid performance until a brief off track excursion, which damaged part of the rear aerodynamic package. This car was easily the fastest in a straight line thanks to its twin turbocharged 8 cylinder AER powerplant. On long, fast circuits, this car is a force to be reckoned with and the team does a fantastic job given their limited budget and resources compared to the factory Acura teams.

The GT2 battle raged on. With the BMWs way out in front, the real battle was for third place with the Flying Lizard Porsche #45, Corvette #3, and Ferrari #62.

As seen in this picture, the second in line Corvette is missing its wing mirror; this would later become an issue as the car would have to be called to the pits in order to replace it. The rules state that a car must finish in the condition that it started the race in. The Corvette team ended up replacing the entire door piece with attached mirror. 

New for this year is the Challenge class, which takes the place of the now defunct GT1 class. This category features identical Porsche GT3 Cup cars. Here the Patron car of Brown and Sweedler lead the four car train through turn 13.

The lead shuffled a few times between the #66 and #9 Acuras. The two cars stayed right on each other’s tails throughout the duration of the race.

The Porsche RS Spyder was gladly welcomed back into the series after the factory Penske Porsches pulled out before the season started. This car  is operated by Team Cytosport and driven by Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf. The car is one of the two campaigned by Dyson Racing last year.

Another interesting addition to the series this year is the Ginetta-Zytek 09HS of Corsa Motorsports. This car is unique in that it features a hybrid electric drive system. This is similar to the KERS system currently employed in Formula One in that it converts mechanical energy from braking into electrical energy stored in batteries. The batteries power electric motors in the drivetrain which gives a boost of power under acceleration.  The team had problems during practice and qualifying which meant they had to start dead last in the field.

A mechanic for the Panoz team in GT2 takes a break. Their car had an incident before the start on one of the pace laps and had enough damage that they were forced to make a pit stop even before the green flag.

The #11 Viper of Primetime Racing spun off into the gravel trap in turn 12 on lap 64 of 71. This brought out a full course yellow.

Here a pack of cars heads into turn 1 after the restart. From left to right: #48 Ginetta-Zytek, #4 Corvette C6R,  #87 Porsche RSR, #36 Porsche GT3 Cup.

On the last lap Patrick Long gets a little sideways under braking into turn 5 and Johnny O’Connel in the #3 Corvette is able to slide underneath and take the final podium position in GT2.

David Brabham takes the checkered flag 0.461 seconds ahead of Gil de Ferran, taking the win for Patron Highcroft Racing in the Acura ARX-02a.

The winners in each class form left to right:

GT2: Joey Hand/Bill Auberlen – BMW M3 – Rahal Letterman Racing
P2: Adrian Fernandez/Luis Diaz – Acura ARX01b – Lowes Fernandez Racing
P1: David Brabham/Scott Sharp – Acura ARX02a – Patron Highcroft Racing
Challenge: Marin Snow/Melanie Snow – Porsche GT3 Cup – Team Snow Racing 

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ALMS @ Road America Photo Gallery

Photo/Editorial: Camden Thrasher