Elkhart Lake, WI – Brendon Hartley and Scott Mayer won the VisitFlorida.com Sports Car 250 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race at Road America on Saturday. Taking the lead on the final restart of the race Hartley pulled away to a 4.290 second victory in the Starworks Motorsport BMW over Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi in the Action Express Racing Corvette DP.
Dane Cameron and co-driver Will Nonnamaker looked to have a winning day after qualifying with the pole position yesterday. Cameron took the Team Sahlen’s Daytona Prototype back to the front past Max Angelelli with fifty minutes to go in the two hour and fourty-five minute race. But after leading a race high forty-one laps, Cameron brought the BMW Riley to the pits with mechanical issues and Angelelli was back in the lead.
At about the same time, the Team Sahlen’s other team car driven by Nonnamaker found fluid on the track and crashed hard into the wall bringing out a full course caution.
Restarting the race with twenty-four minutes to go, the BMW Riley driven by Hartley took over the lead with the team Action Express racecars driven by Barbosa and Brian Frisselle in second and third.
From there on it was clear sailing for Harley as he pulled away from the field and cruised to the victory.
The win was the first career victory for the vastly improving drivers and team who scored a third place finish at Watkin’s Glen and a fourth place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the last two races leading to today’s event.
Bill Auberlin took the GT class lead away from Patrick Long with just under seventeen minutes to go in the race and held off Long for the victory. Auberlin and co-drivers Paul Dalla Lana and Billy Johnson scored the third victory of the season for the BMW M3 Turner Motorsport team.
Three races remain in the 2013 Rolex Grand-Am Series season and the series heads to Kansas Speedway next weekend, August 16-17.
ALMS Qualifying
Lucas Luhr took only three laps to set quick time at Road America for Sunday’s ORION Energy Systems 245 American Le Mans Series race. Averaging 130.745mph, Luhr outpaced the field in the Muscle Milk Honda. Marino Franchitti posted the third fastest lap of the session and the fastest for the P2 class. Colin Braun continued to set the pace in the PC class and Jonathan Bornarito was quickest in the GT division driving the Dodge SRT Viper GTS-R. The DeltaWing LM12 driven by Katherin Legge was fourth quickest overall.
Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
The Rum Bum Racing Porsche 997 driven by Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi stretched their fuel mileage to the brink on their way to winning the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Road America. When race leader Spencer Pumpelly brought the Calcium Pro Porsche Carrera into the pits with a few minutes left in the event to re-fuel, Plumb took over the lead and cruised to the victory. Just after the checkers flew, Plumb’s Porsche ran out of fuel. The Rum Bum Racing team added to their point lead with the victory. Gregory Liefooghe and Tyler Cooke raced their BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i to the ST class victory.
IMSA GT3 CUP Challenge by Yokohama
Madison Snow started on the pole and ended up in victory lane at Road America winning Round 9 of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series. Followed closely over the final circuits of the forty-five minute race by Sloen Urry in the Effort Racing Porsche 997/2011, Snow took the checkers first in the Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports Porsche 997/2012 by .395 seconds. The race, which was slowed by a first lap incident involving multiple cars, completed fourteen laps on the course.
Cooper Tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda
Winning his third race of the year, Ryan Booth captured Round 9 of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship at Road America. Performance Tech’s Booth led every lap from the drop of the green flag to the checkers in the thirty minute event.. Two caution periods slowed the race and Booth held off pole sitter Sean Rayhall at the checkers by .536 seconds.
John Wiedemann is the owner, editor and developer of the RacingNation.com website.
A motorsports fan from his earliest memories, John started going to local short tracks and the Milwaukee Mile with his parents, brother and sister. John enjoys drivers racing side by side and battling for the same piece of real estate on the racetrack as much as he appreciates the technical aspects of the sport.
John WiedemannUnited SportsCar Championship