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Patrón Highcroft Racing continued its run
of podium finishes to secure second overall and in the LMP2 class at round
nine, the Detroit Sportscar Challenge presented by Bosch at Belle Isle, on
Saturday, August 30. The latest stellar performance from the Patrón Highcroft
crew helped drivers Scott Sharp and David Brabham to slash the LMP2
championship gap from 10 points to four heading in to the last two rounds of
the season.
The team’s relentless efforts, in
conjunction with the development programs of Honda Performance Development
and Wirth Engineering, ensured that the Patrón Highcroft Acura was quick
virtually out of the box. The team’s immaculate preparation
undoubtedly played a major part in delivering the second overall pole position
of the season, from which followed a second place finish in the race.
Patrón Highcroft’s high point-scoring finish follows Acura’s
announcement on Friday that they will move to LMP1 with the team for 2009.
Duncan Dayton, Patrón Highcroft's team
principal, said, “We just keep closing in on that LMP2 championship
lead and it’s very cool. The Patrón Highcroft crew did a fantastic
job. We didn’t quite have the car at the end but we got solid
points here today. We were quick all weekend and now the championship gap is
down to just four points. It’s great for Acura to get a one, two, three,
and leave Detroit
leading the Manufacturer’s championship on such a significant
weekend. My congratulations go to Andretti Green Racing on taking their
first victory of the season.
“Scott drove an unbelievable first
stint, he literally drove the wheels off the car and was setting fastest lap
after fastest lap. He got blocked by traffic and Simon [Pagenaud] got by, but
it was an impressive drive. We have the best driver pairing in the series and
I’m thrilled with Scott and David. Now it’s on to Petit Le Mans and
with a lot of points still in play, we’re taking the
championship race down to the wire.”
A blistering start from Sharp ensured that
the Patrón Highcroft Acura led the field around the twisty 2.07-mile street
circuit unchallenged through two yellow flag periods within the first hour.
Sharp delivered an impressive stint, only relinquishing the lead after he was
blocked in heavy traffic.
“Today’s result finishes off
an unbelievable weekend,” said Sharp. “The team did a great job and
the car performed brilliantly. We made some changes just before the race that
proved worthwhile. The car felt strong and I had a really good race. I was
conserving fuel and careful through the traffic. I was picking up a lot
of rubber on my tires, due to the nature of the track, and the car began
sliding around a bit. I got blocked on the back straight and Simon got by, but
we’ve scored great points here today. We've been chipping away at the
championship gap especially over the last few rounds and now everyone knows we
are here and ready for the fight.”
Joining the field fifth overall and fourth
in class, Brabham passed Gil de Ferran following the restart from the
third full course yellow. With just 45 minutes of the race remaining, Brabham
passed the LMP1 Audi of Marcel Fässler to bring the Patrón Highcroft Acura home
in second.
Brabham commented, “I’m really
pleased with this result. We’ve scored two wins and a second place in the
last three races, so nearly maximum points. It all comes down
to fantastic work from the Patrón Highcroft team. The car was flying and I
was really hustling before we hit the last yellows. I had great grip on the
Michelin tires but that naturally went away during the yellow.
So, I didn’t quite have enough to tackle Franck [Montagny] at the
end. We needed to score as many points as possible and we did that today. Scott
drove beautifully to set us up for a great result and overall we are feeling
and looking really strong.”
American Le Mans Series, Detroit Sportscar Challenge presented by
Bosch
Round 9 - Provisional Race Results
1 – LMP2 – James
Rossiter/Franck Montagny – Andretti Green Racing; Acura ARX-01B - 104
laps
2 – LMP2 – Scott Sharp/David Brabham – Patrón Highcroft Racing; Acura ARX-01B - +3.985
3 – LMP2 – Simon Pagenaud/Gil de Ferran – de Ferran
Motorsport; Acura ARX-01B - +28.836
4 – LMP2 – Romain Dumas/Timo Bernhard – Penske Racing;
Porsche RS Spyder - +59.266
5 – LMP2 – Patrick Long/Ryan Briscoe – Penske Racing; Porsche
RS Spyder - +59.792
6 – LMP2 – Guy Smith/Chris Dyson – Dyson Racing; Porsche RS
Spyder - +1 lap
7 – LMP2 – Ben Devlin/Gerardo Bonilla – B-K Motorsports; Lola
B07 46 Mazda - +1 lap
8 – LMP2 – Marino Franchitti/Butch Leitzinger – Dyson Racing;
Porsche RS Spyder - +2 laps
9 – GT1 – Oliver Gavin/Olivier Beretta – Corvette Racing;
Corvette C6.R - +4 laps
10 – GT1 – Jan
Magnussen/Johnny O'Connell – Corvette Racing; Corvette C6.R - +4 laps
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