THE LINE - JULY 24, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013 at 03:14PM
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)
Reigning ALMS GT champions Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin (No. 4 Compuware Chevrolet Corvette C6.R) claimed a narrow GT class victory over Dominik Farnbacher and Marc Goossens in the No. 91 SRT Motorsports SRT Viper GTS-R in Sunday’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, a race in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport). Milner had Farnbacher’s Viper on his ass throughout the closing minutes on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn Canadian road circuit but held on to win by just 0.267 seconds. It was the 10th victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Corvette Racing. “I had to do whatever I could do to hold him off without getting a penalty,” said Milner. “Our car wasn’t quite as good as theirs. He could really close the gap in Turn 8. I told myself going into Turn 8 on that last lap that I was either going to spin myself out or it was going to stick and I was going to keep the lead. I threw it in there and I here I am." Check out John Thawley's impeccable photographic work from Mosport here.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)
In P2 Scott Sharp and Guy Cosmo (No. 01 Tequila Patrón HPD ARX-03b) finished second to the No. 551 Siemens/Alpina Watches/Ohiya Casino Resort HPD ARX-03b co-driven by Marino Franchitti and Scott Tucker. Franchitti passed Tucker – who drove Level 5 Motorsports’ No. 552 entry to the checkered flag after starting the race in the No. 551 – with 26 minutes remaining to earn the P2 class victory and second overall.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)
Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf (No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03c) took the easy overall win in P1. It was their fifth consecutive win at the track for Luhr and Graf, who led every lap Sunday en route to their fourth victory of the season.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)
Colin Braun and Jon Bennett (No. 05 CORE autosport Composite Resources ORECA FLM09) combined to win the Prototype Challenge presented by Continental Tire (PC) class. It was the second win this season for the duo. The No. 9 RSR Racing team of Duncan Ende and Bruno Junqueira led much of the early part of the race, but finished fifth after the car would not fire after a mid-race pit stop. In the GT Challenge class, Jeroen Bleekemolen held off a last lap charge from Spencer Pumpelly to earn the victory alongside Cooper MacNeil in the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Alex Job Racing.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)
Next up for the AMLS is the Orion Energy Systems 245 at Road America on August 11. The race is part of a highly anticipated doubleheader weekend alongside the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.
(Global Rally Cross)
Toomas Heikkinen (No. 57 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST) became the first driver to win three consecutive Global Rallycross events when he took the checkered flag in the Sylvania Silverstar zXe Global Rallycross at Bristol Motor Speedway, beating Ken Block (No. 43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST) and Brian Deegan (No. 38 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST).
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Meet Richie Parker. Watch this video and revel in the human spirit. - PMD
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Sports Car Digest offers up a superb selection of 30 of the best of the best from the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed 2013 here. My favorite? Jenson Button driving the McLaren 8D, Denny Hulme's 1970 Can-Am championship-winning car. Enjoy. - PMD