POUGHKEEPSIE, NY, MAR. 25 — With an aim toward achieving success in the American Le Mans Series and further developing its MG-Lola machines, the Dyson Racing team has decided to withdraw its entry for this year`s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The team, which recently won the LMP675 division at the 12 Hours of Sebring, had submitted an entry for one of its lightweight MG-Lola EX257s for the French enduro.
Following the Sebring round, where the team suffered from a series of reliability issues, team principal Rob Dyson made the choice to forego a run at La Sarthe in favor of a comprehensive test and development program in the three month gap before the next ALMS race.
“It was a very difficult decision for us,” Dyson remarked. “I had really been hoping we could do the race this year. It is the greatest endurance race in the world. That said, we recognize that the cars are fast enough but we need some more development and reliability testing. If we went to Le Mans, we would essentially sacrifice two months of valuable test time which we can not really afford. We have made some huge strides in just seven months, but at the moment the cars just are not right yet. We are working out a test schedule now so we can make some valuable improvements in time for the rest of the championship.”
Rob Dyson was quick to add that he fully intends to participate in next year`s Le Mans event. “We have informed the A.C.O. that we are withdrawing our entry for this year, but we told them we are planning on being there in 2004.”
The Dyson team remains committed to the American Le Mans Series championship and to its plans of running two MG-Lolas at each series round this year. The series resumes at Road Atlanta on June 29.
