And in all of the hubbub over the Bahrain GP, I managed to miss the Saturday American Le Mans race that was part of the double billing for the Long Beach weekend.
This race featured a little of everything, with the Cration-Judd LMP1 entry garnering the “Un-Smooth Move” of the week on The Speed Report. The driver managed to crash on the parade lap… Which was apparently the second time that this car has made an error prior to the green flag being dropped. OOPS!
And the tight and twisty confines of the Long Beach circuit apparently suited the lighter and more nimble LMP2 prototypes, with the Andretti Green Racing Acura driven by Dario “REO Speedwagon” Franchitti taking pole.
The Audi R10 turbo diesel’s unbeaten streak of 9 races came to an end, with the Porsche RS Spyders taking the first three places overall. Roger Penske’s team captured its second 1-2 finish with Rob Dyson taking third.
Yet apparently there was some sort of controversy as a protest was filed against the winning Penske. The dispute centered over whether or not the Penske drivers had exceeded the 70 minute maximum time allotment. (Per driver) Ultimately the protest was denied and the results stood.
There’s still absolutely nothing to write about in the GT1 category as its merely an intra-squad “scrumb” between the two factory backed Corvettes.
Meanwhile in the GT2 category the Risi Competezione Ferrari F430GT with Mika Salo behind the wheel won its third consecutive race of the season, which must have the Porsche teams scratching their heads a little…
This weekend the ALMS will once again be part of the Houston Lone Star GP weekend, racing on Saturday with the Champ Cars racing on Sunday. Yet the ALMS race won’t be available on TV until April 29th on CBS
