CARENDURANCEALMS

The Team CytoSport Porsche RS Spyder of Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf claimed a maiden American Le Mans Series victory in a dramatic finale at Lime Rock Park.

Graf was being hounded by David Brabham in the championship-leading Highcroft Racing HPD ARC in the closing stages and the two made contact while lapping the GTC-class Porsche of Luke Hines with just minutes remaining.

Graf was immediately issued with a stop/go penalty for his part in the incident, but Brabham suffered a rear puncture and had to limp back to the pits for repairs.

As a result, Graf was able to take his penalty and still emerge in front - taking the car he shared with Greg Pickett to a 27.810-second victory ahead of the Brabham / Simon Pagenaud HPD.

The rest of the field was more than nine laps down on the front two, a result of both the Dyson and Drayson Racing Lolas hitting trouble early on having shown front-running pace.

Their absence meant that the Le Mans Challenge-class car of Gunnar Jeannette and Elton Julian (Green Earth Team Gunnar) completed the overall podium and also claimed the LMPC class honours ahead of the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports entry of Alex Figge and Tom Papdopoulos, which finished fourth.

Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister took over at the top of the GT class standings after winning the category in their Flying Lizards Motorsport Porsche ahead of both Rahal Letterman BMWs.

The lead car of erstwhile leaders Risi Competizione failed to finish when Jaime Melo’s Ferrari was punted into the tyre barrier by Johnny O’Connell’s Corvette early in the race, although the team’s second F430 was fourth in the hands of Mika Salo and Pierre Kaffer.

GTC-class honours went to Andy Lally and Henri Richard (TRG) who edged their battle with the Black Swan Racing Porsche of Jeroen Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas.

American Le Mans Series results – Round 5, Lime Rock Park

1 Muscle Milk Team CytoSport, Greg Pickett / Klaus Graf, Porsche RS Spyder, 171 laps 2:45:04.386 (LMP)
2 David Brabham / Simon Pagenaud, Patron Highcroft Racing, HPD ARC-01c, +27.810
3 Green Earth Team Gunnar, Gunnar Jeannette / Elton Julian, Oreca FLM09, +9 laps (LMPC)
4 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, Alex Figge / Tom Papadopoulos, Oreca FLM09, +9 laps (LMPC)
5 Flying Lizard Motorsports, Joerg Bergmeister / Patrick Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, +10 laps (GT)
6 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, Bill Auberlen / Tommy Milner, BMW E92 M3, +10 laps (GT)
7 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, Dirk Muller / Joey Hand, BMW E92 M3, +10 laps (GT)
8 Risi Competizione, Mika Salo / Pierre Kaffer, Ferrari 430 GT, +11 laps (GT)
9 Corvette Racing, Olivier Beretta / Oliver Gavin, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, +12 laps (GT)
10 Level 5 Motorsports, Scott Tucker / Andy Wallace, Oreca FLM09, +13 laps (LMPC)
11 Extreme Speed Motorsports, Scott Sharp / Johannes van Overbeek, Ferrari 430 GT, +14 laps (GT)
12 Flying Lizard Motorsports, Darren Law / Seth Neiman, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, +14 laps (GT)
13 Team Falken Tire, Bryan Sellers / Wolf Henzler, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, +15 laps (GT)
14 The Racers Group, Henri Richard / Andy Lally, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, +19 laps (GTC)
15 Jaguar RSR, Marc Goossens / Ryan Dalziel, Jaguar XKRS, +19 laps (GT)
16 Black Swan Racing, Tim Pappas / Jeroen Bleekemolen, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, +20 laps (GTC)
17 Extreme Speed Motorsports, Ed Brown / Guy Cosmo, Ferrari 430 GT, +21 laps (GT)
18 Velox Motorsports, Shane Lewis / Jerry Vento, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, +22 laps (GTC)
19 Genoa Racing, Christian Zugel / Tom Sedivy, Oreca FLM09, +25 laps (LMPC)
20 GMG Racing, Bret Curtis / James Sofronas, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, +25 laps (GTC)
21 Orbit Racing, Bryce Miller / Luke Hines Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, +31 laps (GTC)
22 Intersport Racing, Jon Field / Clint Field, Lola B06/10-AER, +31 laps (LMP)
23 Alex Job Racing, Bill Sweedler / Romeo Kapudija, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, +48 laps (GTC)
24 Drayson Racing, Paul Drayson / Jonny Cocker, Lola B09/60-Judd, +58 laps (LMP)
25 Robertson Racing, Andrea Robertson / David Murry, Doran Ford, +61 laps (GT)

Not classified
Intersport Racing, Kyle Marcelli / Brian Wong, Oreca FLM09, 108 laps (LMPC)
Corvette Racing, Jan Magnussen / Johnny O’Connell, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, 35 laps (GT)
Risi Competizione, Jaime Melo / Gianmaria Bruni, Ferrari 430 GT, 22 laps (GT)
Dyson Racing Team, Chris Dyson / Guy Smith, Lola B09/86-Mazda, 7 laps (LMP)
Level 5 Motorsports, Scott Tucker / Christophe Bouchut, Oreca FLM09, 0 laps (LMPC)

Championship Standings (after 5 rounds)

LMP

1 David Brabham, 107pts
= Simon Pagenaud, 107
2 Klaus Graf, 100
3 Greg Pickett, 79
4 Chris Dyson, 60
5 Guy Smith, 54
= Jonny Cocker, 54

LMPC

1 Scott Tucker, 104
2 Gunnar Jeannette, 100
3 Christophe Bouchut, 91
4 Elton Julian, 84
5 Christian Zugel, 70

GT

1 Jorg Bergmeister, 93
= Patrick Long, 93
2 Bill Auberlen, 79
= Tommy Milner, 79
3 Jaime Melo, 75
= Gianmaria Bruni, 75
= Dirk Muller, 75
= Joey Hand, 75
4 Jan Magnussen, 53
= Johnny O’Connell, 53
5 Olivier Beretta, 41
= Oliver Gavin, 41

GTC

1 Henri Richard, 75
= Andy Lally, 75
2 Juan Gonzalez, 68
= Butch Leitzinger, 68
3 Tim Pappas, 64
= Jeroen Bleekemolen, 64
4 Shane Lewis, 62
5 Bill Sweedler, 57
= Romeo Kapudija, 57

Next round: 5-7 August, Mid-Ohio, Lexington

Watch highlights from the Utah Grand Prix on Sunday 18 July at 5pm (BST) on Motors TV.


Andy Wilkinson

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