This week’s American Le Mans Series event took the racers to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, where the #66 of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud came up first overall for the second consecutive race. In fact, the top three finishers earlier today were a direct repeat from the last event in Long Beach (1. #66 P1 Acura – Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud, 2. #9 P1 Acura – Scott Sharp and David Brabham, 3. #15 P2 Acura – Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez), giving Acura another podium sweep as manufacturer.

Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez once again won class honors in the P2 division. This marks their fourth class win of the season, in just as many races. Coming up short to the line was Marino Franchitti and Butch Leitzinger in their #20 Mazda Lola B08 machine.

GT1 was again missing in action with the Compuware Corvettes sitting out another race, but to fill the void, the new Challenge class was added to the mix, bringing in another five entries – all Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. Of the five, two teams suffered mechanical issues (#02 Carl Skerlong and Nick Parker / #36 Bob Faieta and Wesley Hoaglund), two teams were disqualified due to ride height (#47 John Baker and Guy Cosmo / #08 Ed Brown and Bill Sweedler), and one team managed to complete the race – the #57 entry of Melanie Snow and Martin Snow who took the class victory.

As for the GT2 class, the #45 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long took the checkered flag for a third consecutive class win. Close behind were fellow Porsche drivers, Marc Lieb and Wolf Henzler in their #87 entry.

The top finishers included:

Pos   No  Class  Car                  Drivers
  1  #66     P1  Acura ARX-02a        Simon Pagenaud
                                      Gil de Ferran

  2   #9     P1  Acura ARX-02a        Scott Sharp
                                      David Brabham

  3  #15     P2  Acura ARX-01B        Luis Diaz
                                      Adrian Fernandez

  4  #20     P2  Mazda / Lola B08     Marino Franchitti
                                      Butch Leitzinger

  5  #37     P1  Lola B06             Jon Field
                                      Clint Field
                                      Chapman Ducote

  6  #16     P2  Mazda / Lola B09     Chris Dyson
                                      Guy Smith

  7  #45    GT2  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR  Jörg Bergmeister
                                      Patrick Long

  8  #87    GT2  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR  Marc Lieb
                                      Wolf Henzler

  9  #62    GT2  Ferrari 430 GT       Pierre Kaffer
                                      Jaime Melo

 10  #21    GT2  Panoz Esperante      Ian James
                                      Dominik Farnbacher

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Today’s Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series race at Long Beach was won by Simon Pagenaud and Gil de Ferran – the drivers of the No. 66 XM Radio/Panasonic Acura ARX-02a. Though the pair had lead for a good portion of the race, the margin of victory remained only 1.016 seconds ahead of fellow Acura drivers, Scott Sharp and David Brabham in the No. 9 Patrón Spirits Company machine.

P2 honors went to the third Acura entry – the No. 15 Lowe’s sponsored car piloted by Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez. This strong finish secured all three steps of the overall winner’s podium for Acura.

In GT1, the Compuware Corvettes returned for mixed results. The No. 4 of Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin took the class victory and finished 6th overall. The No. 3 sister entry driven by Johnny O’Connell faced mechanical issues and was forced to drop out of the race after only 42 of the total 76 laps.

A wide range of manufacturers made the podium in GT2, with Porsche taking over the top step with the No. 45 entry of Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister. Second in class went to the No. 62 Ferrari’s Pierre Kaffer and Jaime Melo, with the No. 92 BMW’s Tommy Milner and Dirk Müller gracing the third step.

The top finishers included:

Pos   No  Class  Car                  Drivers
  1  #66     P1  Acura ARX-02a        Simon Pagenaud
                                      Gil de Ferran

  2   #9     P1  Acura ARX-02a        Scott Sharp
                                      David Brabham

  3  #15     P2  Acura ARX-01B        Luis Diaz
                                      Adrian Fernandez

  4  #16     P2  Mazda / Lola B09     Guy Smith
                                      Chris Dyson

  5  #20     P2  Mazda / Lola B09     Butch Leitzinger
                                      Marino Franchitti

  6   #4    GT1  Chev Corvette C6-R   Olivier Beretta
                                      Oliver Gavin

  7  #37     P1  Lola B06             Jon Field
                                      Chapman Ducote
                                      Clint Field

  8  #45    GT2  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR  Patrick Long
                                      Jörg Bergmeister

  9  #62    GT2  Ferrari 430 GT       Pierre Kaffer
                                      Jaime Melo

 10  #92    GT2  BMW E92 M3           Tommy Milner
                                      Dirk Müller

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The appropriately named Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg provided an excellent showcase for two of the Acura teams in the American Le Mans Series this weekend. The The Patrón Spirits Acura of Scott Sharp and David Brabham took the overall win, with the Lowe’s Acura of Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez coming in a close second, only 32 seconds behind and still on the lead lap. The strong finish also allowed Diaz and Fernandez to snag the top honors in the P2 class.

St. Petersburg also marked the departure of the series’ current GT1 class, with the two remaining Corvette C6Rs pulling out in favor of future GT2 action instead. The Compuware Corvettes are expected to return to the track for the next event in Long Beach on April 18th, 2009.

In GT2, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister grabbed a class victory, finishing in the 5th position overall. By the checkered flag, the team had gained a two lap lead over their nearest GT2 competitors, Tommy Milner and Dirk Müller in their BMW E92 M3 entry.

The top finishers included:

Pos   No  Class  Car                  Drivers
  1   #9     P1  Acura ARX-02a        Scott Sharp
                                      David Brabham

  2  #15     P2  Acura ARX-01B        Luis Diaz
                                      Adrian Fernandez

  3  #16     P2  Mazda / Lola B09     Chris Dyson
                                      Guy Smith

  4  #20     P2  Mazda / Lola B09     Marino Franchitti
                                      Butch Leitzinger

  5  #45    GT2  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR  Patrick Long
                                      Jörg Bergmeister

  6  #37     P1  Lola B06             Chapman Ducote
                                      Jon Field
                                      Clint Field

  7  #92    GT2  BMW E92 M3           Tommy Milner
                                      Dirk Müller

  8  #21    GT2  Panoz Esperante      Ian James
                                      Dominik Farnbacher

  9  #28    GT2  Chev. Corvette C6    Lou Gigliotti
                                      Eric Curran

 10  #44    GT2  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR  Seth Neiman
                                      Darren Law

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Allan McNish, Dindo Capello, and Tom Kristensen snagged the overall honors at the MOBIL 1 12 Hours of Sebring in their No. 2 Audi R15 TDI earlier today. The team lead the field eight times throughout the event, registering in the first position for 155 of the total 383 laps. The fastest qualifying P1 entry – the No. 66 Acura of Gil de Ferran, Simon Pagenaud, and Scott Dixon, suffered from mechanical problems, forcing them to complete only 246 laps.

Only one P2 class entry remained on the track as the checkered flag waved, bringing the No. 15 Lowe’s Acura of Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez to their first class win of the year. Despite being the only P2 left in the race, the team continued their hard charge right up until the final moments of the race, turning their fastest lap of the event with just one to go.

With only one team entered in GT1, the two sister Corvette C6Rs were racing for little more than team bragging rights. In the end, the No. 3 machine driven by Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell, and Antonio Garcia, edged out the No. 4 entry piloted by Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Marcel Fässler. Both teams finished in an impressive 6th and 7th overall.

GT2 saw 13 cars start the race, allowing for some serious competition throughout the day. In the end, the No. 62 Ferrari 430 GT of Mika Salo, Pierre Kaffer, and Jaime Melo, celebrated their victory coming to the line two laps ahead of their closest competitors – the No. 95 Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni, Mathias Russo, and Luis Companc.

The top finishers included:

Pos   No  Class  Car                  Drivers
  1   #2     P1  Audi R15 TDI         Allan McNish
                                      Dindo Capello
                                      Tom Kristensen

  2  #08     P1  Peugeot 908 HDI FAP  Franck Montagny
                                      Stephane Sarrazin
                                      Sebastien Bourdais

  3   #1     P1  Audi R15 TDI         Mike Rockenfeller
                                      Marco Werner
                                      Lucas Luhr

  4  #15     P2  Acura ARX-01B        Luis Diaz
                                      Adrian Fernandez

  5  #07     P1  Peugeot 908 HDI FAP  Pedro Lamy
                                      Nicolas Minassian
                                      Christian Klein

  6   #3    GT1  Corvette C6R         Jan Magnussen
                                      Johnny O'Connell
                                      Antonio Garcia

  7   #4    GT1  Corvette C6R         Oliver Gavin
                                      Olivier Beretta
                                      Marcel Fassler

  8  #62    GT2  Ferrari 430 GT       Mika Salo
                                      Pierre Kaffer
                                      Jaime Melo

  9  #95    GT2  Ferrari 430 GT       Gianmaria Bruni
                                      Mathias Russo
                                      Luis Companc

 10  #21    GT2  Panoz Esperante      Dominik Farnbacher
                                      Ian James

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