AUGUST 12, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015 at 08:34AM
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
The racing was spectacular, the large crowds were appreciative and Road America was the star of the show as road racing enthusiasts soaked in the High-Octane experience at America's greatest natural-terrain road racing circuit. Porsche North America had it goin' on at Road America last weekend (they also had a favorable BOP if you really want to know) with a 1-2 finish in the GTLM class in the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase on Sunday. Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet (No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR/Hertz/Michelin) rallied from the back of the field to win their second consecutive TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race of the season. Pilet – who started last following a post-qualifying engine change – finished 5.241 seconds ahead of teammate Joerg Bergmeister (No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR/Hertz/Michelin, co-driven by Earl Bamber, who put it on the pole), who came in contact with Pierre Kaffer (No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia/Michelin) in Turn 13 on the very last lap, with Kaffer ending up sliding through the grass. It was just "one of them racin' deals" as Kaffer rebounded to finish third alongside co-driver Giancarlo Fisichella. The points-leading No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R/Michelin of Jan Magnussen and Antonia Garcia finished fourth, extending its points lead to four, 217-213, over the No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE of Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner. Auberlen and Werner finished fifth. Check out John Thawley's brilliant work from "America's National Park of Speed" here.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Dane Cameron (No. 31 Action Express Racing Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP, started by Eric Curran) took the lead near the halfway point and never looked back at Road America on Sunday, winning the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase overall. It was the second TUDOR United SportsCar Championship victory of the season for the duo. Joao Barbosa (No. 5 Action Express Racing Mustang Sampling Corvette DP, co-driven by Christian Fittipald) finished 14.359 seconds behind, giving Action Express Racing a 1-2 sweep. The pole-winning No. 01 Ford EcoBoost/Riley DP of Joey Hand/Scott Pruett lost more than a minute during its first pit stop under the lone full-course caution period of the two-hour, 40-minute race, after a clamp came loose on the car's turbocharger. Pruett, who set the fastest lap of the race, finished third, 25.140 seconds behind at the checkered flag. The finish dramatically tightened the Prototype championship race with only two races remaining. Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante (No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP), who took fifth overall, saw their class championship lead cut to one point over Barbosa and Fittipaldi, 248-247, with Curran and Cameron another point behind.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Bruno Junqueira (No. 11 RSR Racing AutoMaxUSA ORECA FLM09 started by Chris Cumming) passed a spinning Connor Daly (No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ric-Man Construction/GO-PUCK/Braille Batteries ORECA FLM09, co-driven by James French) in Turn 5 on the final lap, giving the RSR Racing team its second Prototype Challenge (PC) victory of the season. Daly recovered to finish second, giving the team its best finish of the season. James French – a native of nearby Sheboygan, Wis. – won his third TOTAL Pole Award and led twice for 14 laps. Daly took the lead on Junqueira’s final pit stop and led 18 laps through the final circuit. Colin Braun and Jon Bennett (No. 54 CORE autosport Flex Box/Composite Resources) finished third, one position ahead of championship rivals Mike Guasch and Tom Kimber-Smith in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Cuttwood car. That added two points to their class lead, with Bennett and Braun now ahead by five points, 253-248, with two races remaining.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Jeroen Bleekemolen (No. 33 ViperExchange.com Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R, co-driven by Ben Keating) inherited the GT Daytona (GTD) lead when Kuno Wittmer (No. 007 TRG Royal Purple/Orion Energy/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin Vantage V12) had to pit for fuel with 20 minutes remaining and never looked back, giving the team its first win of the season. Wittmer held on to finish second, propelling co-driver Christina Nielsen to the class points lead by two points (199-197) with three races remaining. Nielsen took the top spot from No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS co-drivers Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke, who finished sixth. Polesitter Patrick Lindsey led the first 24 laps and finished third in the No. 73 Park Place Porsche 911 GT America co-driven by Spencer Pumpelly. It was the duo’s first podium finish since winning earlier this season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. 
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
A familiar sight for spectators at Road America's Turn 5.
(Photo by Lesley Ann Miller/NKP ©2015, courtesy of Ford Racing)
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion) drives into Victory Lane after winning the Cheez-It 355 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. He passed Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS), who ran out of fuel while leading, going into the last two corners on the last lap. Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Crispy Toyota Camry) finished second, putting him in The Chase for the Sprint Cup, while Harvick coasted across the line in third. Get more NASCAR info here.
Joey Logano (No. 12 Team Penske Snap-On Ford Mustang) drives under the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity race on Saturday at The Glen, making it a weekend sweep for Team Penske.
(IMSA)
Matt Plumb (No. 13 Billfish Foundation/Rum Bum Studio Porsche 911, co-driven and started by brother Hugh) became the leading winner in Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge history on Saturday at Road America. It was the 21st career triumph for Matt Plumb, breaking a tie with Sylvain Tremblay on the all-time victory list, and the first for Rum Bum Racing since winning the 2015 season opener at Daytona. Plumb held off a late-race charge by BJ Zacharias (No. 14 Doran Racing Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z, started by Brad Jaeger), winning by 0.314 seconds. “Being the all-time leading winner is a great accomplishment and I’m proud of it, but in reality it’s only because I’ve been part of Rum Bum Racing for the last five years, and the whole crew deserves this recognition,” Matt Plumb said. “It was a great finish. The Nissan team has been doing its homework, and we knew they were going to have the pace. I knew it was only a matter of time before BJ was on my bumper, but luckily I still had a few tricks to hold him off.” Trent Hindman and Ashley Freiberg (No. 46 IHG Rewards Club/Trim-Tex BMW M3) scored their second podium finish of the season, taking third.
(IMSA)
Kenton Koch (No. 60 JDC Motorsports Élan DP02-Mazda) may be a rookie in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series, but he has been exceedingly impressive. Koch picked up his eighth win of the season, a .964-second victory over Robert Alon, from Encino, California (No. 00 Performance Tech Motorsports Élan DP02-Mazda), in Round 10 of the championship at Road America to continue to stretch his points lead. Koch, from Glendora, California, led from flag-to-flag, giving him a weekend sweep of the two Cooper Tires Prototype Lites races. Alon’s teammate, Austin Versteeg, from Sandy, Utah, rounded out the overall podium with a third place finish in the No. 16 Élan DP02-Mazda.
(IMSA)
Jesse Lazare (No. 21 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche), from Montreal, Canada, led from flag to flag to win Round 10 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama on Sunday, sweeping both weekend races at Road America and reclaiming the championship points lead. Lazare won both races from the pole.
(Global RallyCross Championship)
The second annual Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC presented by Volkswagen will feature a brand new, nine-turn layout in RFK Stadium Lot 8. At .980 miles, the new course is one of the longest of the 2015 Red Bull GRC season (GRC needs longer tracks and longer feature races, in our estimation -PMD), while the return of the dirt jump and multiple fast straightaways ensure some of the best racing of the season. Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC tickets are still available for both Friday and Saturday’s competition. Friday will feature practice and qualifying rounds, while Saturday is comprised of semifinals, last chance qualifiers, and finals for both Supercar and GRC Lites. Click here for more information.
