THE LINE

October 6, 2010

(Image © 2010 - John Thawley)
Peugeot won the Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA 2 at Road Atlanta last Saturday with the trio of Franck Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy (No. 8 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP) delivering a 61-second victory and helping Peugeot to a second straight 1-2 finish in the cornerstone event for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The Peugeot team car of Anthony Davidson, Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz finished second. The two Peugeots combined to lead 299 of the 394 laps. Audi Sport Team Joest’s Audi R15 TDI driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello finished third, two laps down, after suffering a late-race puncture that negated any chance for victory. There were nine caution periods but none over the last 106 laps. Peugeot also finished 1-2 for the second consecutive race in the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the global championship from the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. With one race remaining in China, Peugeot leads Audi by 14 points.

(Image © 2010 - John Thawley) 

Patrón Highcroft Racing delivered a second-straight championship season with a class victory in LMP2 for David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud and Marino Franchitti. Brabham and Pagenaud won the LMP championship. Honda Performance Development won the class manufacturer championship. The ultra-consistent Duncan Dayton-owned team never finished off the class podium. “It’s fantastic to be up here, and thanks to Duncan for this opportunity to drive with this team this year,” Franchitti said. “And thanks to David and Simon, they`ve been great partners this year. I’m beside myself. It’s been a great day. I feel great helping these guys and I feel like part of the championship today.”

(Image © 2010 - John Thawley) 

Drayson Racing’s cellulosic E85-powered Lola-Judd was the winner In the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge competition for LMP cars with drivers Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker. The award goes to the car that best demonstrates overall performance and energy efficiency.

(Image © 2010 - John Thawley)

The intense GT2 battle went to Corvette Racing, which won for the first time this season (see more in this week's "Fumes"). With its fourth place finish with one of its BMW M3 GTs, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team won the GT manufacturer championship for BMW and team title for RLR. The RLR team’s No. 92 BMW M3 GT of Dirk Werner, Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand won the GT portion of the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge. Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister placed fifth in their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and won their second straight class driving title. They won four times this season, the most in class. Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid, running in the event unclassified, finished 18th overall. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller drove the car in its North American debut.

(Image © 2010 - John Thawley)

In LMP Challenge, Level 5 Motorsports won in class and claimed the first season championship. Scott Tucker, Marco Werner and Burt Frisselle took the LMPC race victory in their ORECA FLM09 with Tucker winning the driving title.

(Image © 2010 - John Thawley) 

And finally, Andy Lally, Henri Richard and Duncan Ende (TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) won by 5.283 seconds over the Black Swan Porsche for the team’s second win of the year, but Black Swan Racing won the team championship as did BSR’s Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen in the driver standings.

Check out another fantastic series of images by John Thawley here, as he covered all of the action at Road Atlanta. And read A. J. Morning's report from Road Atlanta below.

A Thousand Miles in A Thousand Words.

By A. J. Morning

“Strange how the night moves,
with Autumn closing in…”  -- Bob Seger

Braselton. With a return to its rightful place as the season-ending Last Big Bash for the American Le Mans Series, this year’s Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA 2 was a fantastic end to the 2010 sports car racing series.

One year ago, Petit Le Mans was a wash-out, quite literally. The anticipation of Audi vs. Peugeot taking on the hills, valleys, and twists of Road Atlanta had all of the excitement of Ali vs. Frazier on wheels. Of course, epic floods turned parts of the track into swimming holes and fishing camps, cutting short the action and delivering to Peugeot what could best be described as a split decision.

The sports car world didn’t get to see a proper rematch until the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in June, in which the Audi teams fielded a somewhat slower but much more reliable R15+ against the quicker and quirkier Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. For a couple of years now, it’s been no secret that Peugeot has the speed, but Audi has the experience and reliability down to basic math.

Still, with this year’s Le Mans 24 decided more by mechanical failure than by 86,400 seconds of racing, and with last year’s Petit cut short by floods, the stage was set for Ali vs. Frazier II. Peugeot was back. Audi was back. The fight of the year was expected.

This year’s Petit Le Mans lived up to all of the billing.

By now all of the results have been posted, the fan videos are all over YouTube, and it’s history in the books that Peugeot took a 1-2 finish while Audi scored a 3^rd place podium finish. The results, however, skip several crucial points that a 15-second analysis on the Speed Report might have missed:

If anyone had any doubts before, Peugeot is for real. The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans was won arguably by as much luck as played into their loss at the same race this year, but last weekend’s Petit Le Mans showed that in heads-up competition with Audi, Peugeot has gotten the car sorted-out and dialed-in, and the entire team is focused.

Audi, for all of the rumors and hand-wringing over the future of their program in North America, still have the game to beat. Had Dindo Capello not been forced to slow for a lap and pit due to a wardrobe malfunction (the cushion in his helmet worked loose, nudging the fireproof balaclava over his eyes and obscuring his sight), it’s a safe bet that the race would have come down to a last-lap duel, and the win would’ve been anybody’s guess.

The series regulars in LMP2 and GT2 classes had fantastic battles. Faced with a competitive disadvantage for most of the 2010 season to tighten up the class, the Patron Highcroft Racing team scored its second straight series title. While last year was a true head to head fight against fellow Acura team of de Ferran Racing for the crown, this year saw intense competition from both the CytoSport Porsche RS as well as the Dyson Racing Mazda Lolas.

As is often the case in GT (or GT2 for Petit), the season-ending race provided fantastic action and an exciting finish worthy of a Jerry Bruckheimer flick – if Bruckheimer were to ever do a movie about real race cars. An endurance race decided by fuel mileage on the very last lap? Outstanding. While Risi Competizione’s Toni Vilander saw his great run turn into vapor on the last lap in the team’s last race with the Ferrari F430, Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin won by the racer’s classic definition of luck: Preparation at the point of opportunity. A thin margin of racer’s luck, too, as Gavin’s C6.R ran dry of E85 as he pulled into the pits after the race.

I haven’t seen the TV numbers, but attendance this year seemed stronger than ever. Entire families, and more young children running around in the infield and posing for pictures next to million-dollar race cars, were everywhere to be seen. Is it possible that while most other racing series in the US have been struggling in bad economic times with declining ticket sales, and TV ratings on a roller coaster, that the ALMS is still broadening its appeal and gathering more fans month by month and year by year?

This seems to be the case.

Spec racer series, where cars are differentiated more by decals than by bodywork, just don’t seem to pack ‘em in like they used to. Fans love variety and when racing fans in the stands, on the paddock, or watching TV can see a curvaceous GT car that they might actually afford some day, the appeal is undeniable. And while Prototypes certainly aren’t street-going vehicles (outside of Long Beach, anyway), it’s still hard to confuse a R15+ with a 908 HDi, or the curves of a Lola, or a Porsche RS Spyder with a HPD ARX-01c. If variety is the spice of life, the American Le Mans Series brings everything from sage to saffron to habaneros, while some other series keep repackaging salt and pepper.

The American Le Mans Series has continued in 2010 to use the moniker “Global Leader in Green Racing,” and Petit Le Mans provided further validation for the series’ claim. The podium was all-diesel, the GT2 winners won with the last gasp of E85 petrol in the tank, Dyson Racing’s Mazda was highly competitive on Bio-Butanol, and we also saw the debut of Porsche’s much-anticipated 911 GT3 Hybrid. How’s that fuel injection research working out over in NASCAR?

Speaking with many of the fans in attendance, there was widespread agreement that new automotive technologies need to be proven on the race track – specifically in endurance racing – before being considered worthy of customers’ confidence (and money) on the street. While the 911 GT3 Hybrid was not scored by IMSA for the race, it ran great and finished well ahead of quite a few petrol-only entries.

Lastly, a tip of the hat to the American Le Mans Series for returning the season-ender to Road Atlanta, and to Road Atlanta’s staff for making racing’s Fall Classic such a must-be-there. Petit Le Mans has grown over the years into such a great race, it just seems a perfect book-end to match the season’s kick-off at Sebring. Make no mistake: Only Sebring will ever be Sebring, but as of 2010, only Petit Le Mans is Petit Le Mans.

That’s it for now, I’ll see you at the next pit stop.

(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Dario Franchitti - flanked by wife Ashley Judd and team owner Chip Ganassi - after winning the 2010 IndyCar Series Championship. Dario finished eighth overall in the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300 last Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway to take the championship over Team Penske's Will Power, who suffered his first DNF of the season. Franchitti, who entered the race 11 points behind Power, earned the title by five points with his eighth-place finish.

(Dana Garrett/IndyCar)
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda-Powered Dallara), who started on the front row, held off Andretti Autosport teammates Danica Patrick (No. 7 Team GoDaddy.com D/H/F) and Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven D/H/F) to win his third race of the season last Saturday night. Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske D/H/F) finished fourth, and teammate Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske D/H/F) was fifth. "Yeah, it's a great day," said Dixon afterward. "Obviously, you could see what was happening with Will. It's a big deal trying to get to third (in the championship). I'm happy for Chip, happy for Dario, happy for everybody who did a good job. I think both cars were great. I was a little bit loose in traffic. We definitely had the speed all night. A huge night for Team Target."

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Though it was a disappointing 2010 IndyCar campaign for Danica Patrick, her second-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Saturday night tied her season-high finish.

(Dana Garrett/IndyCar)
The bitter disappointment is etched on Will Power's face as his DNF at Homestead-Miami Speedway cost him the IndyCar Championship. Power's No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car brushed the Turn 4 wall on Lap 135 while running fourth, which bent the right-rear wishbone. The crew wheeled the car behind the wall and made the parts change in 5 minutes, 6 seconds. After testing the patch for a few laps under caution, he brought the car into the pit stall and climbed out of the cockpit. Power won five times in his first full season with Team Penske.

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
This was Dario Franchitti's third IZOD IndyCar Series championship (he also won in 2007 and 2009), and he became just the second driver to win three IZOD IndyCar Series championships, joining Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, 2002, 2006). This was also the fourth IZOD IndyCar Series championship for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, a series record. Dario won in 2009 and 2010, Scott Dixon in 2003 and 2008. TCGR and Andretti Green Racing were tied with three titles entering this event. This is also the third consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series championship for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, as Dario won in 2009 and 2010 and Scott Dixon in 2008. It's the first time a team has won three straight titles in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Dario Franchitti now has to be considered to be one of the all-time greats by any measure. “Good haul, isn’t it?” Franchitti said. “Look back to the start of 2007, I hadn't won a championship. Won a lot of races, but not a championship or Indy 500. Now we find ourselves with two 500s and three championships. “I’m just going to enjoy it. I think I’m just going to let it sink in, enjoy it. But I’m very proud of the achievement.”

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Dario and Ashley celebrate his third IndyCar title.

(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Brandon Wagner (No. 32 Davey Hamilton Racing) outdueled James Hinchcliffe (No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling) to win the Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka 100 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The USAC Midget Series veteran beat Hinchcliffe of Team Moore Racing by 0.7006 of a second for his first victory and first for Davey Hamilton Racing. Wade Cunningham, who won the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May in his only other start this season, finished third in the No. 77 IZOD Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. J.K. Vernay (No.7 Lucas/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports) finished 15th to clinch the Firestone Indy Lights championship. The Frenchman wrapped up the title when he took the green flag for the 67-lap race. It was Wagner's first career Firestone Indy Lights victory. His previous best finish was eighth this season at Indianapolis and Kentucky.

(Image©2010, Nigel Kinrade, USA Autostock)
Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing 3M Sherwin-Williams Ford) won the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway last Sunday. Biffle, who had been fast but unable to deliver victories this season, won his second race of the season, which moved him up just one spot in the Chase standings to eighth. It also trimmed his 140-point deficit on the leader to 85 points and it came with an additional $100,000 bonus from Ford for Biffle and his Roush Fenway Racing crew. But the ominous news? Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) finished second and moved into the Chase lead, eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin.

  Michelin. When the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP turbo-diesel coupe of Pedro Lamy, Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin crossed the finish line at Road Atlanta in the Petit Le Mans it led a Michelin sweep of the top four positions overall, as Michelin technical partner teams scored wins in all three ALMS open classes and captured 15 of the top 18 spots in the 1,000 mile event on the hilly and challenging 2.54 mile permanent road circuit. “Road Atlanta is one of the most difficult and demanding tracks in North America and the elevation changes, high speed corners, and endless traffic place tremendous loads on tires,” said Silvia Mammone, motorsports manager, Michelin North America. “It is very satisfying to our engineers, tire developers, chemists and support staff to see all of our technical partners able to perform at a very high level over the entire 1,000 mile race,” said Mammone. 

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Montreal’s Kuno Wittmer ( No. 13 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Viper) captured the season-ending World Challenge GT victory in the 22-lap, 67.056-mile Toyo Tires Utah Grand Prix Presented by Bondurant at Miller Motorsports Park last Sunday. Andy Pigrim (No. 8 K-Pax Racing/Safe + Secure Volvo S60), of Boca Raton, Fla., finished second just 0.346-seconds behind. Randy Pobst (No. 6 K-Pax Racing/Safe + Secure Volvo S60), of Gainesville, Ga., finished third to end a season that included his fourth World Challenge GT Championship and along with Pilgrim, Volvo’s first Manufacturers’ Championship.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Peter Cunningham (No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX), of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ended his record-setting season with eight wins after his 3.810-second victory in the GTS class at Miller Motorsports Park. 17-year-old Ben Crosland (No. 25 RPMotorsports Ford Mustang FR500S) of Salt lake City, Utah, finished second, and George Winkler (No. 27 Winkler Automotive Service Ford Mustang FR500S), from Frederick, Maryland, finished third.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Robert Stout's (No. 18 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC), of Brownsburg, Ind., win in the World Challenge Touring Car Series finale was the icing on the cake to the rookie’s first season of professional racing. The 18-year-old Stout completed a storybook year, becoming the youngest World Challenge Drivers’ Champion, the GameStreamer Touring Car Rookie of the Year, clinched a Team Championship for DG-Spec and a Manufacturers’ Championship for Scion. “This has been such a fantastic season,” Stout said. “Lucas Oil and Rockstar Energy have been so supportive of us and helped us win the Championship, Rookie of the Year, the Team and Manufacturers’ Championships. Almost everything you can get, I was able to claim this year and I couldn’t do that without so many people helping me out." Pierre Kleinubing (No. 1 Mazda/Cybernation MAZDASPEED3), of Coconut Beach, Fla., finished second, 6.909-seconds behind, and Eric Meyer, of Indianapolis, Ind., finished third in his No. 32 XOWii/Samaritan’s Feet/Delvira Mazda RX-8, leaving him second in the Drivers’ Championship.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: If you really must keep up on all of the latest F1 developments and the potential U.S. GP in Austin, Texas, go here. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD

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