As the saying goes, “the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” Dyson Racing met the challenge of the combined prototype classes at seven of the nine 2010 American Le Mans Series races with an overall pole by Guy Smith at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca in May and a win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August by Chris Dyson and Smith. In addition, Dyson set the fastest race lap at Mid-Ohio and Smith finished the year with an LMP2 pole at the Petit Le Mans.
Rob Dyson: “I am pleased with our results this year. We have been competitive at every race. We are making good developmental progress on the car. We are actually the only car that is doing all its own development from top to bottom. That has made it more interesting but gives us more control over our destiny. Everybody on the crew has done a terrific job and the drivers have done a superb job every lap this year. It all came together at Mid-Ohio where we broke the barriers for everybody: Mazda, Castrol, Dunlop, Guy Smith and BP Biofuel. It was a gift and a wonderful thing to experience.”
Chris Dyson: “Mid-Ohio came at a point in the season where we had experienced a couple of tough finishes and the result really turned the corner for the team. It moved momentum back in our favor and we have confidently been in the mix everywhere.
“Our team put in a great effort this year. The pit stops were excellent and Mike White’s leadership was superb. The engineering staff, Peter Weston and Vince Wood, did a phenomenal job all year with the race strategy and set-ups. I am actually kind of sad the season is over. It has been such a strong second half, it is tough to now wait a couple months before we can go back and do it again.”
Guy Smith: “For me personally, it has been a good year. I scored my first ALMS pole position and my first ALMS win, so it is nice to achieve that from a personal point of view. The team only gets better. I don’t look back at any races and say we should have done this or we should have done that. I look back at every race and say that we did the best job that we could. The work ethic of the team has been exceptional this year.
“Dunlop has produced a very consistent tire that has done well everywhere. We have been able to fine-tune the Lola to work even better this year. And the final piece in the jigsaw has been the engine. The AER guys have worked tirelessly to improve the engine and it is very good. It has been a good year for all concerned.”
Andy Meyrick: The year has been very positive. Sebring was my first race outside of Europe and my first in America. I loved it. It was my first race with Dyson and it blew me away how positive the team was and how professionally they worked together.
“I followed the American Le Mans series when I was in Europe, and now that I have seen it from the inside, I see why they are such a good team. It comes from the top – Rob and Chris really like to have a family atmosphere and everybody enjoys working here. That family atmosphere is one thing you can’t necessarily see from the outside and the passion for racing that everybody on the team has is why they are so successful.”
Mike White, Team Manager: “Last year, we analyzed expertise and experience and moved some team members around and this year it really gelled into a cohesive team. They are good people in addition to being very good at what they do. We have a group of people that enjoy being around each other and enjoy working together. They are all self-starters. They look at something and see what needs to be done and they start running with it. I could not be prouder of them and their hard work this year and they should all be proud of each other and themselves.”
