Road America

ELKHART LAKE, WI August 11, 2007 – After four hours of racing on Road America’s four mile, fourteen turn course, Dyson Racing’s Chris Dyson and Guy Smith just missed finishing on the LMP2 class podium with their Porsche RS Spyder. They finished fourth in class followed by Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace in fifth, just thirteen seconds behind. Today’s race continued Road America’s tradition of close finishes with less than three seconds separating the first three cars at the finish after four hours of racing.

Guy Smith started the #20 car and moved up four positions and was third an hour into the race. “At the start, I wanted to get past the Acuras,” said Smith. “I managed to get by Marino Franchitti in the # 26 Acura. I went by David Braham in the # 9 Acura on the inside at turn eight, and Andy (Wallace) was having handling issues and we were able to get past the sixteen.” “The rear tires overpressured and we had to run a more conservative pace in the beginning,” noted Wallace. “We put on new tires at our first stop and they were fine for the rest of the race.”

An hour and a half into the race, the yellow flag was thrown for hard rain and for the next hour the race was run under yellow. The weather cooperated for the race’s last hour and half and it became a sprint to the finish. The team’s strategy of having Leitzinger stretch his fuel mileage at the end came very close to paying off, but five minutes from the end, the team had to bring Leitzinger in for a three second splash of fuel.

“We finished ahead of all but one of the Acuras,” said Chris Dyson. “It was a good race and the cars ran well. It started out as an endurance run and ended up a sprint race after the track started drying out, with our cars moving up the field right to the end. The car’s speed in the dry was quite strong and we were matching the leaders’ times, so I’m pretty confident for Mosport. This was our eighth race with the Porsches and our comfort level and competitiveness increases with each race.”

The American Le Mans series travels across the border for the ninth race of the season in Mosport Ontario, Canada on August 26.