For the second time in three attempts, Honda Performance Development has won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the American-based Starworks Racing claiming the category victory in its first Le Mans start.

Starworks, which earlier this year won LMP2 at the 12 Hours of Sebring, made it’s 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in the most impressive way possible, with drivers Ryan Dalziel, Tom Kimber-Smith and Enzo Potolicchio piloting their HPD ARX-03b to a seventh overall finish, one lap ahead of the next LMP2 entry.

In 2010, HPD’s first attempt at Le Mans, it was British-based Strakka Racing winning LMP2 in its HPD ARX-01c with a commanding margin of seven laps and LMP2 record fifth overall finish.  This year’s race was far more dramatic, but just as rewarding for HPD.

Starting ninth in LMP2 and 22^nd overall after electing to focus on race preparation rather than making an outright qualifying run, the Starworks trio also made a conservative start to the 24-hour endurance racing classic.  But by the six-hour mark, the team had moved into the top-10 overall and third in LMP2.  As night settled over the Circuit de la Sarthe, LMP2 settled into a multi-car battle between the HPD and several Nissan-powered teams

But three hours later, at midnight, the Starworks HPD ARX-03b chassis and HPD HR28TT twin-turbo V6 engine combination was in the LMP2 lead and – although challenged for the remaining 12 hours by several Nissan-powered teams – Starworks was more than capable of defending it’s hard-won advantage, and maintained a steady, if narrow lead for the remaining 12 hours to take the LMP2 victory over TDS Racing.  

For the first time, HPD also fielded a pair of entries in the headline LMP1 class, utilizing the new ARX-03a chassis and normally aspirated HR-LM V8 engine.  Strakka Racing moved up from LMP2 for 2012 and driver Danny Watts qualified the new combination seventh overall on Thursday, fastest of the “privateer” teams doing battle with the full manufacturer-supported teams from Audi and Toyota.  Another British team, JRM Motorsports, started 11^th in their ARX-03a.

JRM had a steady run in their first Le Mans attempt, after winning the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2011.  The driving trio of David Brabham, Karun Chandhok and Peter Dumbreck moved into the top-10 in the opening hours, and seventh overall at the 16-hour mark.  Other than a few minor delays, JRM pressed on for an excellent sixth-place finish, behind only the four “works” entries from the winning Audi effort and the first of two Rebellion entries.

Meanwhile, for Strakka, it was a drama-filled 24 hours.  A transmission oil leak discovered shortly before the race start left drivers Jonny Kane, Nick Leventis and Watts still in their garage area as the green flag waved, with Kane finally starting 22 minutes later, six laps down on the leaders.  The team rapidly went to work making up that deficit, climbing through the GT field, making up 35 positions in the first six hours. 

At the 18-hour mark, Strakka was up to 10^th overall, behind JRM and the Lolas of Rebellion Racing in the battle for independent team honors.  But overheating issues slowed Strakka’s pace in the final hours, and the team settled for an eighth-place finish in LMP1.

HPD’s second LMP2 entry, the Level 5 Motorsports HPD effort of Christophe Bouchut, Luis Diaz and Scott Tucker, suffered early disappointment in its effort to build on a third-place class finish in 2011.  Communication problems during the night led to the car missing its scheduled pit stop, and running out of fuel midway around the eight-mile circuit. Unable to make it back to pit lane, the ARX-03b was retired.

Steve Eriksen (Vice President, Honda Performance Development) on this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans:  “What an incredible day.  I believe Starworks has confirmed their status as a world-class racing team, their effort both here at Le Mans and earlier this year at Sebring is a real testament to [team owner] Peter Baron’s dedication and ability; as well as the skill and hard work from everyone in Starworks organization.  We are proud to have them as a partner.  All four of our teams put in an outstanding effort this year, with Strakka’s exciting early-race charge and the consistent race-long performance from JRM Racing just two of the highlights.  Level 5 also again produced a very competitive effort prior to their unfortunate problem.  Congratulations to all of our teams for their efforts, and to everyone at HPD and our technical partner Wirth Research on our second LMP2 victory in just three starts.  We’re already looking forward to defending our win here next year!”

In 2010, Honda Performance Development took on – and succeeded at – one of the toughest challenges in motorsports: The 24 Hours of Le Mans. Working with three teams in the LMP2 category, HPD-powered entries won the class pole and finished first and third in the company’s first attempt at the endurance racing classic.

HPD is attempting to repeat that first-year triumph in 2011, but, in order to make the attempt, had to develop a new, production-based engine to meet new rules adopted this year for the LMP2 category.

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), rule-making body for sports-prototype competition, now requires production-based engines for LMP2, to be sold or leased under a series-mandated price cap. That led to development of the HR28TT, a 2.8-liter, twin-turbo V-6, based on Honda’s global V-6 production car engine, and utilizing HPD’s exclusive engine-control system.

The HPD engine will power three LMP2 teams at Le Mans: defending class winner Strakka Racing; Le Mans Series class champion RML Motorsport; and American-based Level 5 Motorsports, a team which is taking on Le Mans for the first time.

Last year, Strakka drivers Danny Watts, Jonny Kane and Nick Leventis and their HPD ARX-01c completed 367 laps of the eight-mile Circuit de la Sarthe, establishing a new record for laps completed by an LMP2 competitor at Le Mans. Their fifth-place overall finish also established a new LMP2 record, besting the previous mark set in 2006.

Meanwhile, the HPD-powered RML Lola B08/80 HPD of Thomas Erdos, Mike Newton and Andy Wallace came home third, in a nearly equally trouble-free run. Both Strakka and RML return this year, now equipped with the latest-specification HPD ARX-01d open-cockpit chassis.

They will be joined by Le Mans newcomer Level 5, with the Wisconsin-based team running an ambitious program including both the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the American Le Mans Series championship in a pair of HPD-powered Lola Coupes – one in each series.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is the Honda racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for high-performance Honda racing cars and engines.

HPD is the single engine supplier to the IZOD IndyCar Series and spearheaded championship-winning efforts in the 2009-2010 American Le Mans Series and the 2010 Le Mans Series, in addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. HPD also administers The Honda Racing Line to provide racing enthusiasts and professionals with dependable racing products and support from entry-level to pinnacle forms of motorsports.


2011 HPD LMP2 Engine Specs
• Configuration: Twin-turbocharged V-6, 60-degree cylinder banking
• Displacement: 2.8 liters
• ECU: HPD
• Air Intake: Two, 29.3 mm restrictors
(or two 30.0 mm restrictors for cost capped cars)
• Power: 450 bhp [335 kw]
• Rev Range: 6,200 rpm [over-rev limit 7,600 rpm]
• Service Life: 3,500 miles [30 hours]

HPD’s LMP2 Teams at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
• Level 5 Motorsports, United States
HPD Lola B11/80 coupe Michelin Tires
Drivers: Joao Barbosa, Christophe Bouchut, Scott Tucker

• RML Motorsport, England
HPD ARX-01d spyder Dunlop Tires
Drivers: Ben Collins, Tommy Erdos, Mike Newton

• Strakka Racing, England
HPD ARX-01d spyder Michelin Tires
Drivers: Jonny Kane, Nick Leventis, Danny Watts

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Patrón Highcroft Racing's Simon Pagenaud and David Brabham took their HPD ARX-01c sports prototype to a third straight American Le Mans Series victory at Miller Motorsports Park last weekend; while “across the pond” the Honda Civics of Team Dynamics continued to rack up the wins in the British Touring Car Championship.

Despite the handicaps imposed by Miller’s high elevation – where the turbocharged competition was less affected than the normally-aspirated HPD machine – Patrón Highcroft drivers Brabham and Pagenaud used superior handling and excellent fuel mileage to come through for yet another victory.

After starting on the pole, the HPD machine was shuffled back to sixth at the start as the turbocharged competition, led by the Intersport AER-Lola of Jon Field and the Drayson Judd-Lola of Jonny Cocker, burst ahead on Miller’s long front straightaway. Starting driver David Brabham soon had the Highcroft car up to third behind Cocker and Field.

When the leaders all pitted under caution near the one-hour mark, the Patrón Highcroft crew got Pagenaud out fastest and into the lead. The HPD driver would lose that advantage to the two Lolas during the next stint, but Pagenaud ran eight laps further than his primary rivals before making his final pit stop, half an hour from the checkered flag.

That was enough to vault Pagenaud back into the lead, 15 seconds ahead of Cocker's teammate, Emanuele Pirro, and he inched slightly further away before clinching the win and bolstering his and Brabham's championship points lead.

In the always exciting BTCC, Gordon Shedden posted another pair of victories in his Team Dynamics Honda Civic Si at the Croft circuit in northeastern England, while teammate and former series champion Matt Neal recorded a pair of top-four finishes to continue leading the drivers’ championship after five of 10 race weekends.

The unique BTCC format includes three races per round, with race winners “rewarded” with success ballast and grids inverted for the second and third races each weekend.

Former series champion Neal finished fourth and second in the first two races at Croft, but dropped out of the third with a punctured tire. He now holds an eight-point lead over Chevrolet racer Jason Plato.

“Flash” Gordon Shedden – yes, he even has the name sewn on his fire suit – won the first race by just 0.035 seconds over the BMW of Rob Collard; then led a Dynamics/Honda 1-2 result in Race Two. Contact at the start of the third race left Shedden with damaged steering and a ninth-place finish, but he remains third in the championship, just one point behind Plato.

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HPD's championship winning LM-V8 engine and the ARX-LMP2 chassis continue to have a presence in the American Le Mans Series during the 2010 season with the Patrón Highcroft Racing entry in the prototype category.

Patrón Highcroft Racing is fielding an updated ARX-01c prototype, co-driven by David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud and Mario Franchitti for 2010. During the 2010 season, the team achieved outright victories at Long Beach and Laguna Seca and placed second in class at the Sebring 12 Hour race.

For each of the past three American Le Mans Series seasons, Duncan Dayton's Patrón Highcroft Racing and Honda Performance Development fielded the highest-scoring Acura team - and won last year's LMP1 championship. In 2010, the Patrón Highcroft team is racing an iteration of its original HPD LMP2 ALMS entry. The team has scored key milestones for HPD - recording the first overall American Le Mans Series win, as well as the first LMP1 victory.

Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), the Honda racing company within North America, is the technical operations center for Honda high-performance racing programs, specializing in the design and development of race engines, chassis and performance parts, and providing technical/race support. HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar® Series and leases engines for prototype sportscar racing in the American Le Mans® Series (ALMS) and European Le Mans Series (LMS).

Any way you look at it, the 2010 HPD LMP2 sports-car program is off to a fantastic start, opening the season with two class victories in the first three races. In both the North American-based American Le Mans Series and the Le Mans Series in Europe, HPD-powered teams are racking up victories and leading their respective championships.

In the ALMS, Patrón Highcroft Racing posted a thrilling overall victory at the recent Grand Prix of Long Beach, with Simon Pagenaud’s incredible last-lap pass for the win in his HPD-powered ARX-01c over the Lola-Aston Martin of Adrian Fernandez.

And “across the pond”, it was the HPD-powered Strakka Racing ARX taking the LMP2 class win in equally dramatic fashion with drivers Danny Watts, Jonny Kane and Nick Leventis in the season-opening 8 Hours of Le Castellet, at Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France.

The ALMS season got underway last month at the historic 12 Hours of Sebring in central Florida, There, Marino Franchitti put the Patrón Highcroft ARX-01c on the class pole and, along with co-drivers Pagenaud and David Brabham, dominated the first nine hours of the event, building up a four-lap lead in the process.

But a short circuit in the electrical system sent the Patrón Highcroft car behind the pit wall for nearly 30 minutes while the fault was traced and repaired, leading to a disappointing second-place finish behind the Porsche Spyder of CytoSport Racing.

On April 11, the European Le Mans Series also started 2010 with an endurance contest featuring two HPD-powered entries: Strakka and the HPD-Lola coupe of RML Motorsports.

After starting from the LMP2 class pole, Strakka battled the Team Ginetta Zytek in the opening hours, until damaged rear bodywork sent the ARX to the pits for five laps in the third hour. Once back underway, the Strakka car was the quickest LMP2 car on the track, making up ground on the field when the leading Ginetta ran into its own problems in the form of a broken steering rack.

Once in front, Watts, Kane and Leventis saved fuel over the final hour to bring the ARX home for HPD’s first class win in the Le Mans Series. The RML HPD-Lola of Tommy Erdos, Mike Newton and Andy Wallace finished third to give HPD a pair of podium finishes in its European racing debut.

“The car was THAT good. It made my job a lot easier, really,” Watts said after taking the class victory. “I could just pound out the laps with ease. It was fantastic in every department: high-speed … low-speed … you name it. All credit to HPD, Wirth Research and Strakka. It’s been a great weekend for us.”

Just one week later, it was time for Round 2 of the ALMS and from the wide-open runways of Sebring, the challenge now shifted to the tight Long Beach street circuit. Patrón Highcroft Racing won the LMP2 class here in 2008, but this year would be battling larger-engined machines in a combined LMP category that will be a feature of all ALMS “sprint” races this season.

Normally an LMP1 machine, the works-supported Lola Aston Martin piloted by Fernandez and co-driver Harold Primat features a V-12 powerplant, and plenty of power for the long, Shoreline Drive front straight at Long Beach. Against it, the Highcroft machine is lighter and more maneuverable with its HPD V-8 engine, quicker through the tight and twisting portions of the Long Beach street circuit.

At the end of nearly two hours of racing, the back-and-forth contest came down to a duel between Fernandez in the Aston and Pagenaud in the ARX. The winning pass came in Turn 4 on the final lap.

“That pass was quite hairy. I could see Adrian was having some issues,” Pagenaud recounted. “I’m a racer and thought if I pushed him, maybe I could get him to make a mistake.”

That’s exactly what happened. Pagenaud feinted left, watched as Fernandez moved off-line to block, then quickly darted to the right and into the lead as the Aston Martin spun its rear tires in the “marbles” that gather just outside the normal racing line. The thrilling finish had the large Long Beach crowd on its feet as HPD celebrated a “home town” victory.

So, who needs an Aston Martin – when you can drive one of our cars?

###

RML and AD Group are pleased to announce the signing of a new partnership with Honda Performance Development, Inc (HPD), for the supply of engines for the team's LMP sports prototype programme in 2010. The agreement will see the team's Lola B08/80 powered by the HPD LM-V8 engine, making this the first Lola coupé to benefit from the proven normally-aspirated 3.4 litre unit.

Following the company's founding in 1993, HPD was responsible for the development of Honda's Champ Car and IRL racecars in the United States, as well as the more recent championship-winning Acura ARX sports prototypes competing in the American Le Mans Series. Since its introduction the HPD LM-V8 has recorded 15 wins, 13 pole positions, and 12 track records in the American Le Mans Series. The HPD LM-V8 engine’s exceptional record for reliability began with a class win at its inaugural race at Sebring 2007, and continued through to 2009, when Fernandez Racing used it to equal the ALMS series record for wins in a season and took the 2009 ALMS LMP2 manufacturer title as a result.

“HPD are pleased to have been selected as RML’s engine supplier for 2010,” said Stephen Eriksen, Technical Director of Honda Performance Development. “RML is a veteran team with a proven track record of success and we look forward to our LM-V8 engine continuing to set records for performance and reliability. We have many hours of durability testing already under our belts and still more to go before the season starts, however all indications point to us being in a very good position to succeed in the European arena.”

"We are delighted to be working with a new engine manufacturer in Honda Performance Development," said Ray Mallock, Founder and Chief Executive of Ray Mallock Limited (RML). "RML's greatest achievements have come as the result of working closely with some of the world's leading engine manufacturers. This is our first opportunity to develop a relationship with HPD; a company with a tremendous track record for designing superbly engineered, powerful and reliable race engines. Even in the very short period that we've been working together it has already become obvious that HPD understands exactly what it takes to win at the highest level, and that gives us cause to look towards the coming season with considerable optimism and confidence."

Mike Newton, CEO of AD Group, the team's major sponsor, and also co-driver of the Lola HPD, shares that belief. "We are anticipating what should be a very competitive engine programme," he said. "All the signs suggest that the HPD LM-V8 will be a highly reliable unit, and should allow us to move forward from the difficult times we've experienced during the last two seasons. The team has always been capable of running near the front of the LMP2 class, and given a reliable package we know we can deliver regular podium finishes as well as championship results. The importance of reliability cannot be over-emphasised."

Thomas Erdos has been co-driving with Mike since 2003 and has been involved in all the team's major successes, including successive class wins at Le Mans and the Le Mans Series LMP2 team and drivers titles in 2007. "It's great to be working with a major manufacturer again, and I just can't wait to get started!" was his first reaction. "There are still unknowns with the HPD engine, of course - how it will perform in Europe, on European circuits, over the longer distances, and with European fuel - but it's a proven, reliable and powerful unit, and it has tremendous potential for further development. It has a very impressive record in the American Le Mans Series, and I just hope we can extend that record over here."

The team retains the same Lola B08/80 chassis that secured second in LMP2 at Silverstone in the final Le Mans Series race of 2009. The swift installation of the LM-V8 has been made possible with the support and co-operation of Lola Cars of Huntingdon and HPD Inc, and will result in a shakedown test within the next fortnight.

LE MANS, FRANCE, Thursday,4 February, 2010: Reigning American Le Mans Series LMP1 champions Highcroft Racing will race in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans after being announced this morning as one of the 55 teams selected to contest the French endurance classic.

Highcroft Racing's David Brabham - the winner of last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot - was in attendance at the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) press conference this morning in France.

The Danbury, CT-based team will take its 2010 American Le Mans Series entry, the Honda Performance Development factory-backed ARX-01c chassis to contest the LMP2 class at Le Mans on June 12-13.

"Getting an entry for Le Mans is extremely satisfying," Dayton said.

"It has been a goal of ours since the creation of Highcroft Racing - preceding our relationships with both HPD and Patrón, winning our first race or even the championship.

"This is something we have wanted to do for a long time and we are delighted and thankful for the opportunity and very proud of the fact we are invited to France.

"Our goal has always been to establish Highcroft as a leading international motorsports organization - to do that, being at Le Mans is essential.

"Brabham has played an integral role in the development of the Highcroft squad since his debut as part of the Acura factory program in 2007.

He will defend his ALMS crown in 2010 teamed with Frenchman, Simon Pagenaud who last season took three poles, five race victories and six fastest laps while fighting against Highcroft. Marino Franchitti fills the third driver role for the team in long-distance races after scoring three pole positions, three fastest race laps and 10 podiums from 10 LMP2 class races last season.

"For the reigning American Le Mans Series champions to go to Le Mans with the reigning winner of the 24 Hours is a remarkable opportunity," Dayton said.

"We have long-standing and highly successful relationship with David and frankly, I can't imagine going to Le Mans without him.

"He has been an integral part of our program since the beginning of Highcroft Racing and his breadth and depth of knowledge at Le Mans will be so important for us.

"He has experience and a winning pedigree both in prototypes and GT cars at Le Mans - you couldn't pick a better man to lead your team at the 24 Hours for the first time.

"Highcroft Racing is one of nine cars selected to contest the LMP2 class at Le Mans. The team will do battle against another HPD ARX-01c of Engalnd's Strakka Racing as well as two Pescarolo Judds, two Ginetta Zyteks, a WR Zytek, a Lola Judd and a HPD-powered Lola.

"Even though we earned an LMP1 entry after winning in the ALMS last year, given the fact that a petrol-powered car really can't compete against the diesels at Le Mans, it really made sense for us take our current chassis and contest LMP2," Dayton said.

"This will be our first flyaway race, our first time in Europe and our first time at Le Mans so we do have a lot to learn.

"We're not under any false pretences regarding the size of the challenge ahead. Tackling an LMP1 victory at Le Mans was really not realistic for us this year, but we're very keen to challenge for the LMP2 win.

"We are going to have to earn it, work very hard and be a quick study because most of the competitors we will be fighting with have been there before.

"While our drivers have been to Le Mans and I've raced there four times, only a handful of our crew guys have done the race so we will be on a steep learning curve.

"While the team competes in the American Le Mans Series as Patrón Highcroft Racing, advertising laws in France will not permit the team to display its regular colors.

"We're going to be headed to France with new colors in June," Dayton said.

"We would have loved to fly the Patrón flag in the biggest endurance race in the world, but we now have a great opportunity to introduce new marketing partners to a massive international audience."

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (October 26, 2009) – On Saturday, October 24, customers visiting the Best Buy in Santa Clarita were greeted with something out of the ordinary. There on the sidewalk was the deFerran Motorsports Acura American Le Mans Series P2 sports car. Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD) arranged the event to correspond with the launch of the XBOX 360 Forza Motorsport 3 game, in which the Acura ALMS cars are featured.

Those who purchase the game from Best Buy through November 10 will be invited to attend HPD’s Open House on Saturday, November 14, from 1 to 4 pm. Potential attendees may bring a guest and are required to bring the Open House invitation available at the Best Buy in Santa Clarita, with their receipt for the game, to HPD in order to attend the event. HPD’s Open House will include a tour of the facility with catered lunch, and IndyCar drivers will be on hand for autographs. The Forza Motorsport 3 game will also be on display and available to play. This marks only the fourth time in the history of HPD that such an event will be held.

Joining the Acura ALMS car on display at Best Buy was a 2010 Acura TL provided by Valencia Acura. HPD partnered with Valencia Acura in making the event possible and, following Saturday’s event at Best Buy, the Acura ALMS car was moved to the Valencia Acura showroom, where it will be displayed for approximately two weeks leading up to HPD’s Open House. Several Valencia Acura customers have also been invited to take part in Open House activities.

HPD hopes that this is the first of many community activities that it can be part of – in conjunction with other local businesses – to provide the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley with a unique and interesting perspective on HPD’s racing operations.

If you are interested in learning more about Honda Performance Development and some of its new racing activities, please log onto to http://racing.honda.com/hpd or contact 661-294-7300.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing cars and engines. HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and spearheaded Acura’s championship-winning efforts in the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

The stage was set for many Acura celebrations during the final round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca Raceway. And the exciting weekend didn’t disappoint.

For the third year in a row, the Petit Le Mans had proven to be very frustrating for the Acura contingent, as another rash of misfortunes started with the brutal Scott Sharp crash and complete car construction by the Patrón Highcroft team, followed by tough breaks for the de Ferran Motorsports and Lowe’s Fernandez teams in the race.

But the page had turned as the three Acura racing operations headed to the picturesque Monterey Peninsula in preparation of the ALMS season finale. Somehow, traveling to the coastal California area south of San Francisco seemed to revitalize the teams, the drivers and everyone surrounding the ALMS tour. Maybe it’s the fact that the final race was imminent, or just the great atmosphere. Whatever it was, the scene brightened considerably for the Acura bunch.

The event would be Gil de Ferran’s final drive in a race car. After two years of sports-car racing, Gil felt it was time to concentrate on his management of de Ferran Motorsports. So, at Mid-Ohio, he announced that Laguna Seca would be his final race. And his team put together a great finale, with Gil’s former IndyCar team owner, the legendary Jim Hall, coming to the Monterey and bringing three famous cars from his stable; the 1995 Pennzoil Reynard Gil drove to his first IndyCar win at Laguna Seca in 1995; the famed Chaparral 2 sports car that won at Laguna Seca in 1964; and the legendary Chaparral 2F with the very first high rear wing that had raced in the Can-Am in the mid-1960s.

In addition, as a tribute to Hall, de Ferran ran new white livery on his Acura ARX-02a prototype with the ‘Circle 66’ car number. Sponsors such as XM Satellite Radio and Panasonic were portrayed in silver livery on the car. It made for a great look.

On Thursday, a test day at the track, the de Ferran team unveiled its new paint scheme, as well as the Jim Hall-inspired car display in the paddock area. It was neat to see the current sports car alongside the cars of some 45 years ago. Hall was pleased to be at the track with Gil and his family. Plus, the crowd of onlookers was impressive, as crew members from the entire paddock stopped by to get a “close-up” view of the old cars and visit with Hall and de Ferran.

Later that day, Acura hosted a photo shoot involving Acura’s three cars, six drivers, and all team members, as well as the HPD engineering staff. In addition, the 13 trophies that were won by Acura cars, drivers and teams in 2009 were displayed as part of the photo op. The photos made a great commemoration for the record 2009 season, which included the carmaker becoming the first auto manufacturer to win LMP1 and LMP2 classes in the same American Le Mans Series campaign.

Patrón Highcroft Racing, coming back from the incredible car rebuilding job at Petit Le Mans, came to the Laguna Seca race with a 21-point lead over the de Ferran squad. But the team had a new problem, as many of its members were suffering from the flu. Perhaps that 20-hour construction of the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a at Petit Le Mans – along with weather conditions changing from hot and humid to cold and rainy – may have attributed to the illness on the team. In fact, Team Manager Rob Hill wasn’t able to appear at the track until Friday.

Still, the Patrón Highcroft team was prepared for the championship fight in the concluding round of the 10-race series. Drivers David Brabham and Scott Sharp were ready to go when testing began on Thursday afternoon. The Patrón Highcroft group knew its goal of completing 70 per cent of the race was well within reach, but the team wanted to race for the win against the de Ferran and Fernandez efforts.

The Lowe’s operation, meanwhile, had clinched the team, driver and manufacturer titles in LMP2, so they weren’t required to hold back in hopes of simply finishing. This time, the team was set to compete for the overall win. A tight circuit like Laguna Seca could be well-suited to another possible LMP2 overall win. An LMP2 car had not won an ALMS race overall since 2008 at Detroit, when Franck Montagny and James Rossiter captured the crown for Andretti Green Racing.

The teams were watching the weather closely again this week, noting that fog and low clouds from the Monterey Bay can roll into the racing facility and pose a major change from sunny afternoon conditions. The track surface can also cool quite quickly, while the dense air frequently necessitates engine adjustments.

In Thursday’s late afternoon testing runs, there was no doubt that de Ferran wanted to establish his love for the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course. Immediately, Gil was quick with a one-minute, 12.557-second lap, followed by Diaz at 1:12.983. The three Acura cars had more than a one-second advantage over the rest of the field. Last year, in qualifying, the four Acura LMP2 entries were in the top five positions at Laguna Seca, so, the Acuras were expected to be at the top of the speed chart.

Brabham was able to notch second in the test session with a 1:12.873 reading before Sharp jumped in for the final segment of testing. Both Simon Pagenaud and Adrian Fernandez also got laps in their respective cars as the sun set over the bay.

On Thursday night, the Patrón Highcroft team had decided not to run the Friday morning practice, since the team was pleased with the car in Thursday’s testing. Perhaps a bigger reason was the flu factor within the squad, and the thought that giving the team some added rest would be beneficial throughout the weekend.

Pagenaud was quickest early in the Friday morning practice, but the de Ferran team had to send its car to the garage area with a suspension problem. A left-front bearing had failed, and the team needed time to make the necessary repairs That left the Lowe’s Acura as the only Acura on track for the remainder of the morning session. Fernandez put the car P1 at a 1:13.311 before parking in the pit area.

Guy Smith later bettered Adrian’s clocking with a 1:13.096 in the No. 16 Dyson Racing Mazda.

With numerous support series competing during the weekend, the different types of tire rubber caused some slippery track conditions. It figured to be difficult to see any track records established during qualifications later in the day. But the Acuras showed some great, competitive action between the three teams.

Pagenaud and Fernandez battled for the top spot during the Friday afternoon practice. Brabham led off in the Patrón Highcroft Acura after sitting out the opening runs in the morning. At the 30-minute mark of the afternoon session, it was Pagenaud at a 1:13.491, with Fernandez at 1:13.606 and Brabs at 1:14.355.

Then, de Ferran, Diaz and Sharp made the switch to their respective machines. Diaz, who had qualified on the front row a year earlier at Laguna, quickly showed his prowess and held the overall top spot at 1:12.355. In the last minute of practice, de Ferran moved to the top of the charts with a 1:11.943.

Brabham wasn’t as happy with his mount, but the personable Aussie knew there were a few tricks to try on the No. 9 car that might assist him as he looked to repeat his 2008 pole at Laguna.

The LMP1 track record of 1:11.175 was up for grabs in Friday’s late-afternoon qualifying session, but the lap times established in practice never got close enough to place the record in jeopardy. The track conditions were cool, which could help the teams in the quest for the pole position and a potential track record. But, once again, the fog rolled into the track and hindered traction.

Diaz was quick right out of the pit lane, as he took the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura LMP2 car to a 1:13.928 only four minutes into the 20-minute qualifying run. By his fifth lap, Diaz was P1 with a 1:11.310. De Ferran figured to be the favorite for the pole in the No. 66 machine, and Brabham could again be the sleeper for the top spot.

On his seventh qualifying lap, de Ferran clicked off a 1:11.206 for the fastest time of the day. Diaz made another attempt at de Ferran’s time with several 1:13s, but he couldn’t dip into the 1:12 bracket.
Meanwhile, Brabham was getting quicker with each lap. David recorded a 1:11.462 for third on the grid. Then he ripped off a 1:11.298 with four minutes remaining in qualifying. Could David upset Gil in his final race? De Ferran was on a flyer when the left front tire cut and deflated. So, it was up to Brabham to take a run at the pole on his final lap. A bit too much sliding for Brabs in the end, though, and he settled for second.

It was an exciting dash for the pole, with the three Acura cars a mere tenth of a second apart. The pole was Gil’s third this year, as many as his teammate Pagenaud, and the seventh for the de Ferran team in 10 races. Now, de Ferran was setting his sights on victory in the race, his finale as a driver.

“I was sliding the car like a go-kart out there,” said de Ferran following his pole run. “It was my last qualifying session, but I didn’t think about it at the time. The session was tough and very close. I couldn’t lose focus at the end. Now, it’s kind of emotional. But we still have four hours of racing ahead of us. And we want to win this race very badly.”

The Saturday morning warm-up brought trouble for the Patrón Highcroft team. Brabs went out for just a lap, and an oil leak was discovered. The crew wheeled the car back to the garage and went through it completely. Meanwhile, De Ferran was quickest in the warm-up with a 1:14.111. So, the stars were pretty much in line for Gil to conclude his driving career with a pole and win. It would be just like he did back in 2003, in the IndyCar Series season finale at Texas.

The Laguna Seca staff had named de Ferran as Grand Marshal for the weekend, so Gil had some pre-race responsibilities, in addition to prepping for the four-hour race.

“Simon will start the race this time,” de Ferran explained. “I want to see the checkered flag for the last time from the cockpit. Win or lose, I think it will good for me to be in the car at the finish.”

The Patrón Highcroft team, still battling the flu bug, finally received some time to rest after finding the oil leak in the morning. Brabham would start and drive for the first two-thirds of the four-hour event. Diaz, after his brilliant qualifying run, was the starter in the No. 15 car, and hoped for a solid stint before handing the car to Fernandez.

At the drop of the green flag, Pagenaud was fast and pulled out an advantage. Brabham paced himself, but, as usual, the powerful Lola of Jon Field applied pressure. A full-course caution period came early when Paul Drayson and Klaus Graf came together in Turn Nine. On the restart, Field drove around Brabs on the front straight for second.

Pagenaud was on a mission in the white No. 66 Acura, as the popular Frenchman drove away from the field. By Lap 20, Simon enjoyed a 22-second lead and he diced his way through traffic well. By Lap 27, the advantage was up to 50 seconds, as Field had held up Brabs tremendously in the corners. Finally, David was able to scoot into second, but Pagenaud was long gone at that point.

On Lap 34, the yellow came out again, and Pagenaud pitted. A lap earlier, Simon had held a 69-second margin on Brabham. Brabs pitted on Lap 35 for fuel and tires. But David’s day almost ended in disaster three laps later. On the restart, Brabs’ mount was stuck in heavy traffic as he headed into Turn Two.

As David maneuvered his car down the hill, a very aggressive Oliver Gavin, in one of the GT2 Corvettes, clipped Brabham’s left rear and slid by into four other machines. Playing it cool as he entered Turn Two, Brabs hit his brakes early in the No. 9 Acura and avoided the big crash. A few inches further and Brabham’s title hopes might have been buried in a ton of crash damage.

Luckily for the Patrón Highcroft crew, the crash kept the yellow flag out for several laps, and David was able to return to the pits for new rear bodywork, tires and fuel. However, when the green flag flew on Lap 44, Brabs re-entered in sixth position.

Pagenaud and Diaz put on a good dice for the lead for several laps before Simon was able to open up a three-second lead by Lap 51. Trouble struck Brabham again on Lap 54, when the shifter indicator on the steering wheel went out. The team decided to bring Brabs into the pits again.

Would this small electrical problem cost the Patrón Highcroft team the LMP1 championship?

The Patrón Highcroft crew made the call to assist David with the shifting calls as he left the pits. Brabs would have to remember his gear shifting as he drove the track, and hope that nothing else would go wrong with the electrical parts of the car. Brabham remained in sixth by Lap 60, as Pagenaud held an 18-second lead.

Pagenaud extended his margin to 35 seconds by Lap 70, and Gil was getting prepared in the pit area for his final drive. The next lap brought a caution period, and Simon pitted the No. 66. Gil jumped in as the crew made a fast fuel and tire stop. Diaz also pitted and was replaced by Fernandez.

The No. 48 Corsa Hybrid LMP1 prototype, with Stefan Johansson in the cockpit, was putting on a sensational drive, running second overall when it encountered a steering problem. On the restart, de Ferran got stuck in traffic and Fernandez closed the gap. Meanwhile, Brabham was two laps behind the lead pack, but the Aussie was running a consistent pace in fifth. By Lap 90, Fernandez was pressuring de Ferran with the Lowe’s machine. The nimble LMP2 Acura was very competitive in traffic and staying right with Gil.

On Lap 100, de Ferran’s car came alive as the Michelins heated up. He was able to open the lead to 12 seconds. Four laps later, Brabs pitted at the two-hour, 35-minute mark and Sharp took the wheel. The Patrón Highcroft team needed about 10 laps to secure the title. Running third overall, Sharp was nursing the Acura through busy traffic.

On Lap 121, both de Ferran and Fernandez pitted for the final time. Under the green flag, the de Ferran team felt it only needed to fuel the car. This would give Gil a good advantage over Fernandez, who took on tires and fuel during his stop.

De Ferran hold a 20-second lead at Lap 126, but the question was, “Would he be able to hold off Fernandez?” Adrian’s fresh set of Michelins was going to be an advantage, especially as the track surface cooled in the darkness. Traffic was another problem for Gil. The heavier LMP1 Acura couldn’t get through the GT cars as easily as Adrian’s car could. Lastly, Fernandez’ smaller Acura would get better fuel mileage than the larger engine in de Ferran’s LMP1 Acura.

By Lap 135, Fernandez had cut de Ferran’s lead to eight seconds. And just 10 laps later, Fernandez was a half second from Gil’s white No. 66. The race was on.
It was a tremendous nose-to-tail battle, with Fernandez able to run right with de Ferran as the Acura-powered pair diced its way through lapped cars. On Lap 149, Fernandez dove under de Ferran in Turn 11 for the lead. But Gil’s LMP1 power was put to use on the long front straightaway and de Ferran soon went back to the front.

“Gil, Fernandez is right up your ***,” radioed Will Phillips, de Ferran’s chief engineer. “We need you to save as much fuel as possible. We’ll be able to use that fuel later in the race.”

“I know, I know,” said de Ferran. “I’m trying the best I can.”

Fernandez was in a strong position with better fuel mileage and fresher tires. But de Ferran’s power on the long straightaway always opened up a gap. Still, it was never more than a second. The racing was sensational, with two guys in their 40s putting on a great show.

You would have thought it was 10 years earlier in the CART days. Lap after lap, Fernandez applied pressure, and de Ferran held him off each time. With two laps remaining, Adrian was only .471 seconds behind Gil at the start/finish line, and he was much closer on other parts of the circuit.

On the final lap, de Ferran’s crew told him to use his fuel to hold off Fernandez. Adrian was pressing as hard as he possibly could. At the checkers, de Ferran completed a storybook ending by capturing his final race by .662 seconds. Adrian finished second, and drew some consolation from his eighth race win of the 2009 season, tying the LMP2 mark set by Penske Racing in 2007.

And Sharp, some three laps down due to the Patrón Highcroft team’s assorted problems, came home third overall, securing the coveted LMP1 team and driver championships.

There were smiles all around the Acura camp. The 1-2-3 overall finish was Acura’s fifth podium sweep of the year, and no car maker in ALMS history had ever taken both prototype championships in the same season.

“I never thought about those laps being my last during the race,” said de Ferran afterward. “I was totally focused on racing flat-out against Adrian. Our race was great, and it is memorable to have a final race be so competitive. It wasn’t until I shut off the motor that it finally hit me that this is it. That was my final race. It’s been a great career. Now, I move on to another portion of my life.”

-- Tom Blattler

Brabham, Sharp Leads Patrón Highcroft Racing Past de Ferran Motorsports in LMP1; Lowe’s Fernandez Team Dominates LPM2 Division With Record 8 Class Wins

TORRANCE, Calif. — Acura Motorsports teams and drivers dominated the 2009 American Le Mans Series with record runs in both the LMP1 and LMP2 prototype classes.
The 2009 10-race ALMS campaign concluded last weekend with another Acura 1-2-3 overall finish at Laguna Seca Raceway. It marked the fifth time in 2009 that Acura placed in the top three positions overall. Acura became the first carmaker in ALMS history to win both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes in the same season.
With eight overall victories and nine pole positions, the new, technically- advanced Acura ARX-02a sports car was impressive in its debut this year with Patrón Highcroft Racing and de Ferran Motorsports leading the way.
After a hard-fought LMP1 points battle, David Brabham and Scott Sharp took the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a to the prestigious driver and team championships with a consistent performance through the North American tour. Led by three wins [St. Petersburg, Road America and Mosport], the Connecticut-based squad notched podium finishes eight times and came back from a devastating crash at Petit Le Mans to finish sixth for valuable points. It was Patrón Highcroft Racing’s first LMP1 crown.
The de Ferran team’s driving duo of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud paced many of the races with an LMP1-leading five wins and seven poles in the No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a, but the pair was just short in the final LMP1 point tally. Veteran de Ferran won at Laguna Seca in his final race as a driver. He will continue as a team owner. Pagenaud clocked three poles and five fast laps in 2009.
It was a record-setting year for the LMP2 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura team with Mexican driving stars Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz scoring eight LMP2 class wins. That mark tied the 2007 LMP2 win record of Penske Racing with drivers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. In addition to the eight wins, Fernandez and Diaz posted seven poles and five fast race laps. The Lowe’s team also won the Michelin Green X Challenge title for the best fuel economy.






ACURA QUOTES: JOHN MENDEL, Executive Vice President, Auto Operations, American Honda Motor Co.: “Acura recorded ALMS history this year by becoming the first manufacturer to win the LMP1 and LMP2 manufacturers’ championships as well as the team and driver titles in the same season. We want to congratulate Patron Highcroft Racing, de Ferran Motorsports and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing for their tremendous 2009 season. It was a sensational year for Acura, Honda Performance Development [HPD] and the teams. A special thanks to everyone.”
ERIK BERKMAN, President, Honda Performance Development: “This year has been a fantastic season for Acura Motorsports. Acura and HPD introduced a unique vehicle in LMP1 category that opened many eyes with some of the most advanced, technological designs in sports car racing history with the new Acura ARX-02a prototype. We were like to thank and salute Patron Highcroft Racing, de Ferran Motorsports and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing. Having such professional organizations behind the Acura brand has given us world-class racing credentials and established Acura Motorsports as a racing leader.”
DUNCAN DAYTON (team owner, #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): “For my team to win the LMP1 championship in ALMS would have to rank as the ultimate achievement of my sporting career. Everybody who wears the Patrón Highcroft uniform has an incredible passion for this sport. To see the sheer joy and delight on my guys’ faces, it really means a lot to all of us.”
GIL de FERRAN (driver/team owner, #66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): ”I have loved every minute of driving this sports car and I am now committing myself to the business of running the team. I have a fantastic group of guys at de Ferran Motorsports. We have all been on an incredible journey over the past 18 months. This [Laguna Seca] victory and all the successes this year are a tribute to them.”
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (driver/team owner, #15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): ”I have to thank Luis for being a great teammate, and this team. They are just tremendous. I am very proud of them. They gave me the nine best years of my career. We won in every single series we competed. We had a fantastic sponsor in Lowe’s and the support of Acura and Michelin. It has just been a great ride. I also have to thank my family for supporting me and giving me their support to come here every weekend.”

Patrón Highcroft Clinches LMP1 Title, Lowe’s Fernandez Team Ties LMP2 Win Mark

MONTEREY, Calif. — Gil de Ferran’s storybook retirement win, Patrón Highcroft Racing’s LMP1 championship and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing’s record-tying eighth 2009 win were just some of the stories Saturday at Laguna Seca Raceway in the wild American Le Mans Series finale.

De Ferran, co-driving with young star Simon Pagenaud, hung up his racing helmet in dramatic fashion with a sensational overall win in the four-hour Monterey Sports Car Championships on the famed 2.238-mile road circuit. But it wasn’t easy for de Ferran.

The driver of the No. 66 XM Radio Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car was pressured by the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b LMP2 machine of Adrian Fernandez for the last hour in wheel-to-wheel action. De Ferran and Fernandez swapped the lead several times before the Brazilian star held off the Mexican racer by just .662 seconds at the finish.

The win was the fifth of the year for de Ferran Motorsports and gave Gil a spectacular sendoff of a stellar racing career. The de Ferran team also had a season-high seven pole positions.

The Acura 1-2-3 overall sweep was the fifth of the season for the auto manufacturer in the ten-race ALMS campaign that saw Acura become the first car marque to win LMP1 and LMP2 driver, team and manufacturer championships in the same year.

The Lowe’s Fernandez team, with drivers Fernandez and Luis Diaz, finished second overall but took its eighth LMP2 class victory in 2009, tying the ALMS LMP2 win record set by Penske Racing in 2007 with Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas.

Third overall at Laguna Seca was the Patrón Highcroft Racing pair of David Brabham and Scott Sharp in the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a. The finish gave Brabham and Sharp the LMP1 driver crown and Patrón Highcroft Racing the LMP1 team title. Brabham and Scott recorded three overall wins this year in team owner Duncan Dayton’s first ALMS point championship year.

The Patrón Highcroft team suffered through a tough two-week span by building a new Acura from scratch at Petit Le Mans after a horrific crash involving Sharp. Then a flu bug hit the team’s crew that saw several of the team members on the sidelines entering the Laguna Seca race.

The Lowe’s Fernandez team also collected the Michelin Green X Challenge prototype win as well as the Green X series championship.

ACURA QUOTES:
GIL de FERRAN (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "It certainly wasn’t an easy win today. I was driving hard to hold off Adrian [Fernandez] and trying to save fuel. Coming into the weekend, there were several thoughts going through my head. But once I was in the car, I thought only about winning the race. I had a job to do here. I didn’t really think about my last race until I shut off the engine. Then I had a lot of thoughts about my career. Simon drove fantastic today and gave us a big lead. But Adrian wasn’t about to give us an easy win. He was tough. I am just glad it is over now. It was a dream weekend for me."

SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "The XM Acura felt so good today. I could drive it fast. I was able to open up a good margin, about a minute. I was nervous at the end, because I knew Gil would be tight on fuel to finish. But the crew did a great job of controlling the fuel management and we won our fifth race this year."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): "What a great way to finish a super season. I knew our car would be fast in the race, and we might have a chance for the overall win. I could see Gil was saving fuel, and I was pressuring him. I just came up a bit short. But overall, it feels great to tie the LMP2 win record and score the driver and team championships. It was super."

LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): "We have had one of the best seasons in ALMS history with eight wins and two championships. It has been a thrill to drive with my racing hero, Adrian. He gave me an opportunity to race with a great team and a super manufacturer in Acura. I couldn’t ask for a better situation. Today was a spectacular way to finish our season."

DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "We had a few problems today. But our team’s plan was to get to the finish line. If we could do that, we would win the championship. The past two weeks have been very hard on our team with the crash and flu. But they are professional and put together a super effort to bring Patrón, Acura, Michelin and the entire operation a championship season."

SCOTT SHARP (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "I can’t believe it is over. It was tough season racing in the LMP1 class. The de Ferran team is one of the best and, to beat them, really feels good. This team put in long hours and never made a mistake to get us back in action each week. The effort at Petit to built a new car was phenomenal. Then, here at Laguna Seca, the flu bug hit everyone hard. But the team worked together and gave us a title tonight."

Diaz Tops LMP2 Class Qualifying With Sensational Run In Lowe’s Acura

MONTEREY, Calif. — Gil de Ferran made his last qualifying run in style Friday at the famed Laguna Seca Raceway by capturing the overall pole position in his No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car for Saturday’s Monterey Sports Car Championships.

De Ferran, who’ll retire from active driving following Saturday’s four-hour feature, started his special retirement weekend with an impressive pole run with a time of one minute, 11.206 seconds and a speed of 113.148 miles per hour to edge fellow Acura drivers David Brabham and Luis Diaz. This was de Ferran’s third 2009 pole run.

The Acura 1-2-3 sweep marked the fifth time the automaker has taken the top three qualifying positions in the ten-race 2009 American Le Mans Series.

The de Ferran celebration began on Thursday with the unveiling of the special white livery of the No. 66 Acura in honor Gil’s former CART team owner Jim Hall, who brought two historic Chaparral sports car to Laguna Seca this weekend. De Ferran won his first CART race for Hall in 1995 at Laguna Seca in the No. 8 Pennzoil car which also was on display this weekend. In addition, de Ferran is the Grand Marshall for the Monterey event.

De Ferran, who’ll co-drive with Simon Pagenaud Saturday, had to fight off the challenges of Brabham and Diaz late in the 20-minute qualifying session. The pole was the seventh for de Ferran Motorsports in 2009.

Brabham, the current LMP1 point leader with Scott Sharp, was less than a tenth of a second off de Ferran’s pole time with 1:11.298 and 113.002 m.p.h. in the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a. Brabham and Sharp can clinch the LMP1 team and driver titles Saturday by completing 70 per cent of the four-hour contest.

Diaz, who teamed with Adrian Fernandez this year to sweep the LMP2 class driver and team championships, was attempting to pull off a huge upset Friday by driving his No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b LMP2 car to the overall pole. The personable Mexican driver set the pace throughout the qualifying session before de Ferran and Brabham nipped his clocking of 1.11.310 and 112.983 m.p.h.

The four-hour 2009 ALMS finale is set for 2:45 p.m. [PDT] Saturday on the 2.238-mile, 1-turn circuit.

ACURA QUOTES:

GIL DE FERRAN (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "This was my last qualifying session, and it is emotional to win the pole today. Laguna Seca is a special place for me. I won my first U.S. race here. But when you strap yourself into the car, you do not think about anything but going fast for the pole. I was really driving hard and sliding the car like a go-kart today. This is exciting. But we have to remember we have a four-race on Saturday. Winning that race is our main goal."

LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): "This is a special weekend for the Lowe’s Fernandez team. It is an end of an era for us. And what a way to go out with class championships. We have a chance to tie the Penske team with the most LMP2 class wins at eight. That is our desire on Saturday. We went much faster today than I thought we could. It feels great to qualify close to Gil and David with our LMP2 Acura. The Acura car has been tremendous all season and we want to finish with a win."

DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "This has been a tough weekend so far for our team, as we have several crew members with the flu. But that will not hinder our goal to win this championship. We’ll be ready for the race."

The 2009 Petit Le Mans can be wrapped up in three words, WHAT A MESS!

And that isn’t just the Acura Motorsports viewpoint on the scheduled 1,000-mile sports-car endurance classic at the high-speed Road Atlanta circuit. It pretty much covers the entire week surrounding the Petit event.

I actually felt sorry for the management of Road Atlanta coming into the week leading up to the 10-hour contest. Heavy rains had turned greater Atlanta into a disaster area, and the west side of the Atlanta region was completely under water. Several highways were closed, many communities were devastated and the media was making hourly reports to warn the residents of incoming rain.

In these conditions, a racing event some 50 miles northeast of Atlanta was of little importance to the locals. That made it tough on ticket sales for Petit Le Mans. The addition of drivers like Indy 500 winners Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti to the Acura lineup definitely helped the track’s sales, as did the return of the factory Audi and Peugeot teams. But the weather was a hard obstacle for the crowd to leap.

Action would begin with a testing session the week prior to the race. At least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, some of the hardest rain in years hit the northern portion of Georgia, turning the red clay into a river of red mud. The track became a quagmire, and the Road Atlanta maintenance crew had its hands full. Some minimal testing took place on Sunday – six days before the event – but it was clear that the clean-up surrounding the 2.458-mile track was going to be a chore.

Monday and Tuesday of race week launched a reclamation project for track officials. The task of cleaning the paddock, the spectator hillsides and the dirt roads throughout the grounds was immense. Luckily, the weather cleared, and the paddock area came to life; with crews, officials and sponsors constructing tents, trailers and work areas in anticipation of the weekend.

There was plenty of buzz in advance of this year’s Petit Le Mans with the new LMP1 Acura ARX-02a cars from Patrón Highcroft Racing and de Ferran Motorsports competing against the new Audi prototypes, winners at the 12 Hours of Sebring; and the lightning-fast Peugeot, winner of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Some of the world’s greatest drivers were set to do battle in a fierce fight for the coveted Petit Le Mans title. Audi and Peugeot were not able to get the testing laps they would have liked due to the early rain, and the same was true of the Acura-powered de Ferran team.

So, this stellar lineup of drivers was anxious for a day of testing on Wednesday when Road Atlanta re-opened for action.

There were questions about the Acura and its competition level against the Peugeot and diesel-fueled Audis entering the Petit weekend. In the inaugural ARX-02a run at Sebring, the new Acura was quick enough for the pole thanks to Dixon’s impressive lap. But the gas-powered, four-liter Acura V-8 just didn’t have the “ponies” to match up with the diesels in the race. Now, six months later, would the Acura have the power to race consistently with both Audi and Peugeot?

On the LMP2 side, the Lowe’s Fernandez team had been a dominant force throughout the season, with seven wins and six poles. But the Dyson Racing Mazda Lolas were showing great straightaway speed with their turbocharged engines. The Lowe’s team, with drivers Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, had to resort to some clever race strategy to take wins at Mid-Ohio, Road America and Mosport. The John Ward-engineered Acura was handling well, but the Lowe’s machine seemed to be down on horsepower versus the turbo Mazdas.

The Lowe’s team had clinched the drivers’ championship for Fernandez and Diaz at Mosport. But the team title and the manufacturers’ crown were still on the line at Road Atlanta.

The 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans would be a survival test rather than a speed run. So, the Lowe’s squad was set to be consistent to get to the finish and secure the coveted championships.
In Wednesday’s testing, Simon Pagenaud was quickly out front in the No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura, with a lap of one minute, 9.137 seconds. Dixon, coming from his win in the IndyCar Series race at Motegi, Japan, was able to jump in the de Ferran Acura to get his first laps in the car since the 12 Hours of Sebring in March.

Franchitti was also able to jump into the Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a on Wednesday. At last year’s Petit Le Mans, Franchitti never got the chance to race. He was planning to compete against his younger brother and Mazda driver, Marino, for the first time in their careers. However, an early-race crash by Scott Sharp eliminated the Patrón Highcroft team from Petit competition that day. So, Dario was anxious to get back in the new Acura. He, too, flew straight from Japan to Atlanta after placing second to Dixon at Twin Ring Motegi.

At the end of testing on Wednesday, it was Allan McNish, in one of the Audis, quickest at 1:08.308; followed by Stephane Sarrasin in a Peugeot at 1:08.477, Pagenaud in the No. 66 Acura at 1:09.137, Pedro Lamy in the other Peugeot at 1:09.234, Lucas Luhr in an Audi at 1:09.821 and Brabham at 1:10.127.

Official practice opened Thursday morning and things were shortly tipped upside-down for the Patrón Highcroft team.

In the practice session, Scott Sharp was driving the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a prototype through Turn One in fifth gear when he made contact with a GT2 Porsche coming out of the pit lane. The collision was massive when the Acura’s right rear clipped the front of the Porsche. Sharp’s car vaulted into the Turn Two catch fence and flipped several times. The crash had a similar look to Kenny Brack’s in the 2003 IndyCar Series race at Texas. Almost unbelievably, Sharp was able to jump out and walk away from the incident. The car, however, was a different story. Parts and pieces were strewn hundreds of feet around the track and some 500 feet of catch fence needed to be replaced.

It’s a tribute to the incredible design of the new Acura ARX-02a by Wirth Research in England and the HPD engineers that Sharp was uninjured in the spectacular wreck. The integrity of the driver’s cockpit remained intact when safety workers reached Sharp at the accident scene.

Needless to say, the Acura was a complete mess. In fact, the car’s tub section was destroyed so badly that it would not be reparable for the Petit weekend. The Patrón Highcroft team’s LMP1 points lead looked to be jeopardy, with the 10-hour event just 48 hours away.

So, Duncan Dayton, Patrón Highcroft Racing owner, and HPD officials determined that a spare tub sitting at HPD headquarters in Santa Clarita, Calif., could be shipped overnight by private air carrier for Friday-morning delivery at the race track. The Patrón Highcroft crew then developed a game plan to build the car from the ground up. The team, with HPD engineers assisting, assembled spare parts on Thursday in preparation for the tub’s arrival on Friday morning.

The tub arrived at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport at 7 a.m. and was on-site at Road Atlanta by 9:30. With a game plan in order, the 20-plus person Patrón Highcroft crew went to work building a million-dollar racing machine from scratch. Hundreds of parts needed to be added to the car’s frame and suspension, and the man-hours required were extensive. By 1 a.m. Saturday, the engine had been started and, by 5:30 a.m., the car was ready to take to the track for the race warm-up at 8:15 a.m. It was, truly, an amazing job.

While the Patrón Highcroft team was building a race car, action continued on the racing surface with three practice sessions. The de Ferran squad missed the second practice round on Thursday to change an engine, while the Lowe’s Fernandez team worked on race setups in response to changing conditions. Heat and humidity became a problem for the teams. ‘Sticky’ and ‘miserable’ were the appropriate words to describe the weather conditions.

Due to Sharp’s incident, most of the day’s track activities were delayed, but the night-practice runs proved fast and competitive.

The two Peugeots led the nighttime session, with the Audis third and fourth. Pagenaud was the quickest of the Acura drivers, fifth overall in the session. Diaz was ninth overall and second-quickest in the LMP2 class in the dark.

The steamy weather seemed to get worse on Friday. It was tough just to stand in the pit lane. I couldn’t imagine driving the race car, encumbered by all of the safety equipment. But, we also knew that the weather was going to change again on Saturday. More rain was predicted.

In qualifying, Nic Minassian [you may remember him as a Ganassi CART driver in 2001 before being let go in mid-season] won the pole with a remarkable 1:06.937 lap for an average speed of 136.606 miles per hour in the No. 07 Peugeot. That is blistering fast at Road Atlanta. Franck Montagny, a two-time Acura winner last year for Andretti Green Racing, was second-fastest in the other Peugeot, followed by McNish, Luhr and Pagenaud. Fernandez took the No. 15 Acura to 11th overall and third on the LMP2 grid.

On Friday morning, the American Le Mans Series held its annual ‘State of the Series’ program at which the 2010 schedule was announced, as well as some competition changes. The LMP1 and LMP2 classes will compete as one next year, with a new LMP Challenge class added. The Challenge car will be constructed by Panoz Motorsports at its Road Atlanta facility. In addition, the GT divisions will be consolidated into one category, and the GT Challenge class will also return in 2010. ALMS President Scott Atherton also talked about a continued emphasis on ‘green’ racing, and expanding the series’ role as a global leader in the use of alternative fuels. The 2010 schedule will not include the St. Petersburg race, and the Series will contest a total of nine events, with Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta being the finale.

It was amazing to see the tired-but-proud Patrón Highcroft team wheel the No. 9 Acura, completely built in some 20 hours, to the pit lane for the Saturday morning warm-up. However, the skies weren’t as bright as the Patrón Highcroft team’s spirits, as rain fell at a steady pace.

Weather forecasts called for some hard rains to hit Road Atlanta throughout the day. That was a far cry from the hot and humid conditions of a day earlier.

In the race, the de Ferran team had hopes of closing in on the Patrón Highcroft contingent in the LMP1 point chase with the driver lineup of Pagenaud, de Ferran and Dixon. Trailing the Patrón Highcroft bunch by 17 points and expecting the Connecticut-based team to experience some difficultly throughout the day with the new car, the de Ferran team was anxious for the race to begin. The Lowe’s squad was set for a long day of consistent runs to collect enough points to clinch the LMP2 team and manufacturers’ championships.

Brabham had to start the race from the pit lane, since the team had posted no qualifying or night-practice times. But the Patrón Highcroft team did not seem to mind. Heck, they’d just spent 24 hours constructing an entire new Acura. Half of their race was actually done. The team had recorded the entire construction in time-lapse photography, which can be seen on its website and many others. It was just a remarkable feat, to say the least. Now, could the team race to the end of 1,000 miles, against the fast Peugeots and Audis, the Oreca and the de Ferran Acura?

In the rain, Allan McNish, the defending Petit Le Mans champion, took the lead from the Peugeots. His mastery in wet conditions has always been impressive. De Ferran started for the No. 66 team and looked strong early in the rain. Gil locked into fifth position, and his machine seemed to handle in the wet.

On Lap 17, de Ferran moved to fourth past one of the Peugeots. By Lap 28, he was third, some 50 seconds behind leader McNish. Brabham drove his way through the GT ranks and was eighth by Lap 28. The track was now drying, and teams were calling their drivers to pit for slick Michelins.

By Lap 42, de Ferran moved to second overall, and he was putting in a fine effort in his opening stint on slick tires. But the race would turn sour for the de Ferran team on Lap 50. In Turn 10, de Ferran’s Acura was struck from behind by the lapped prototype of Clint Field. De Ferran spun and his car suffered left-rear damage. A quick repair job (13 minutes for a toe-link change) in the garage area got Gil back into the race. But the team’s chances to gain points on the Patrón Highcroft team were dashed.

In fact, there was more damage to the No. 66 than was initially thought. The team had to replace more parts later, after Dixon slid off the track in Turn Five in wet conditions.

The Lowe’s team looked to be in good shape with a three-lap lead over the Dyson Mazdas, as a result of early trouble for the No. 20 Dyson entry. A yellow flag came out on Lap 67 and Brabham pitted to turn over driving chores to Sharp. At the green flag, McNish took the lead again, with Sharp in fifth and Diaz in ninth.

There was another visit to the garage to repair the right-front side of the No. 66 after Dixon’s off-course excursion at Turn Five. Dixon re-entered the race some 25 laps down to the leaders. But there was a long way to go, or so we thought. Meanwhile, on Lap 98, the Lowe’s Acura hit the pits with a steering problem. Diaz was complaining of the steering pulling to one side. The team worked to resolve the problem.

At Lap 100 (2 hours, 23 minutes), the Audis and Peugeots held the top four places with the Oreca car fifth and the Patrón Highcroft machine running sixth with Sharp.

On Lap 117, the No. 88 Lola caused another full-course yellow, and all three Acuras pitted.

Fernandez jumped in the No. 15, while Pagenaud replaced de Ferran in the No. 66. But, during the caution laps, Adrian decided to pit again, as the steering was too bad for him to continue. The Lowe’s crew took the car to the garage, where a complete replacement of the steering rack was required.

Surprisingly, the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura was the only competitive Acura by Lap 140, with Sharp running sixth overall. The team’s strategy to run consistent laps and get to the end of the race was right on pace. On Lap 149, Fernandez returned to the race, third in LMP2. Sharp pitted two laps later for Dario to take over. At long last, the popular Scotsman got his chance to race at Petit Le Mans. Two years ago, he was scheduled to drive the Andretti Green Acura. But after announcing a jump to the Ganassi stock-car team, Dario was absolved of any driving responsibilities for AGR.

Last year, he never got his chance after Sharp’s crash parked the Patrón Highcroft Acura early in the race.

Pagenaud had a problem with a broken exhaust in the No. 66 and the car returned to the garage. Shortly afterward, a wiring harness needed to be replaced on the No. 15 Acura, as a myriad of problems continued to plague the de Ferran and Fernandez teams.

By Lap 176, all three Acuras were back on track. At that point, the predicted heavy rains finally arrived. Several cars began sliding off track, including the leader, McNish in the No. 2 Audi.

On Lap 184, ALMS officials decided to wave the red flag to halt the race due to the incredible downpour. In fact, “mini-streams” were forming on three separate sections of the circuit. The Peugeots, due to McNish’s spin, were listed 1-2 overall, followed by the two Audis, the Oreca car and the Patrón Highcroft Acura, which had run 180 laps. The Lowe’s Acura was 15th overall and second in LMP2. The No. 66 de Ferran mount was 24th overall and ninth in LMP1.

An outstanding crowd actually showed for the Petit Le Mans event and waited out the rain, as track officials attempted to diffuse the rivers of water running throughout the facility. Ultimately, however, a five-hour delay in hopes of a restart finally ended with a checkered flag.

The long, hard effort to build a car paid off for the Patrón Highcroft team with a sixth-place finish and added to the team’s point lead over the de Ferran team. Going into the series finale at Laguna Seca, the Patrón Highcroft operation held a 21-point lead.

The second-place finish for Fernandez and Diaz in LMP2 gave the Lowe’s Fernandez organization the LMP2 team championship and Acura the LMP2 manufacturers’ title, representing the first time in ALMS history that a car maker has captured both prototype titles in the same season.

-- Tom Blattler

Fernandez, Diaz Score Team and Manufacturers’ Titles For Lowe’s And Acura

CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — On Friday morning, hundreds of parts were strewn around the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura garage area. A new Acura ARX-02a prototype tub had just arrived at Road Atlanta by special charter from Southern California.

By Saturday evening, drivers David Brabham, Scott Sharp and Dario Franchitti had driven the newly-built No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a sports car to sixth overall in the rain-shortened Petit Le Mans classic, the ninth stop in the 10-race American Le Mans Series.

A brutal practice crash involving Sharp left the primary Acura completely destroyed and the team’s LMP1 class title hopes in jeopardy. But a monumental effort by the 20-person Patrón Highcroft crew built a new Acura in roughly 20 hours in the Road Atlanta paddock area.

The sixth-place finish extended to Patrón Highcroft team’s point lead to 21 over the de Ferran Motorsports team entering the season finale set for October 10 at Laguna Seca Raceway.

The Patrón Highcroft contingent, with Brabham starting from the pit lane after missing qualifications, might have had trouble maintaining the LMP1 point lead with a lightning-fast Gil de Ferran battling the factory cars of Audi and Peugeot. De Ferran drove his No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a to the second overall position by Lap 42. But, seven laps later, de Ferran Motorsports hopes went sliding into the mud, as Gil was hit from behind by Clint Field and his Lola. The de Ferran squad repaired the Acura in only 13 minutes, but the delay hurt the team’s chances to gain points on the Patrón team.

The Lowe’s Fernandez pair of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, seven-time LMP2 class winners this year, did not enjoy another winning effort this time, finishing second to the Mazda of Marino Franchitti, Butch Leitzinger and Ben Devlin. But the podium finish gave the Lowe’s Fernandez operation the LMP2 team championship and Acura the LMP2 manufacturers’ crown.
Fernandez and Diaz had clinched the LMP2 drivers’ title at the Mosport event last month. The Mexican stars will attempt to tie the LMP2 season win record at Laguna Seca. Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas captured eight LMP2 races in 2007 for Penske Racing.













ACURA QUOTES: DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "We obviously didn't get the chance to try many changes in the warm-up, so it took awhile to get comfortable in the car. Once I played with the traction control, I was able to get the car a lot better during the stint. I was able to move through the field and once I was on slicks, the car felt really good.”
SCOTT SHARP (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "I had a good double stint but I was certainly super conservative. We didn't want to take any risks at all. It was great to get back in the car, and I am so grateful to the guys for all their hard work. To build up a new car so quickly is just amazing, and the car has been perfect all day. It is a real credit to the guys.”
DARIO FRANCHITTI (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "The conditions out there were just terrible, probably as bad as I have ever seen. I nearly crashed while following the safety car. You get these rivers running across the track down to the esses. It is unfortunate for the fans. The Patron Highcroft crew is beat up after working all day and night to get the Acura ready. They did a great job."
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “You never want to finish a race like this for the fans’ sake. Nevertheless, we are happy about clinching the team and manufacturers’. Unfortunately, we didn’t show what we could do today due to the problem with the steering. When I jumped in the car, there was something really wrong. So we needed to stop and change the steering unit.”
LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “We had been facing some type of electrical problem since Thursday. The team did a good job setting up the car, but we didn’t discover the exact problem until the race. We would have loved to have won Petit, but it is great to come away with the team and manufacturers’ championships.”
GIL de FERRAN (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "This event was very disappointing for our XM Radio Acura de Ferran team. We ran as high as second today and the car felt very good in the early portion of the race. But to get taken out by a car [Clint Field] that was a lap down was ridiculous. That move took us of contention for a podium here, as well as our championship hopes. ALMS gave him a penalty, but it took us completely out of the race. The first incident caused other problems for the car, too. It was very frustrating to have the race play out that way.”
SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): “This was a tough race for us today. I really thought the car was going to be able to run with the Audis and Peugeots, especially in the rain. And Gil got the car moving up well. It’s a shame that the Field car drove into Gil in the early stages of the race. It basically took us right out of contention. I feel sorry for the fans, too. The rain was really tough on the teams and the fans. They would have seen a tremendous race. Now, we have go to Laguna Seca and win the race.”
SCOTT DIXON (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "I feel badly for the team. I made a rookie mistake in the rain. I wasn’t able to test with the Acura in the rain. I was just pushing too hard and got the car into the curbing. We had a fast car today but it wasn’t in the cards for the de Ferran team today. I really enjoy working with Gil’s team and driving the Acura.”