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American LeMans
ALMS: Mosport Preview
American Le Mans Series heads North of the Border for penultimate round of 2010.
John Dagys  |  Posted August 26, 2010   Bowmanville, ON
With four winners in the last four races, the fight for LMP honors could be up for grabs again. (John Dagys)
With only two races remaining, the 2010 American Le Mans Series season is quickly coming to a close. And by the end of the day Sunday at Mosport International Raceway, champions in three of the four classes could be crowned.

While the battles will likely go down to the season-ending Petit Le Mans in October, a DNF from any of the title contenders could put a major dent in their championship hopes.
Drayson Racing scored a thrilling win last time out at Road America. (John Dagys)

The trip North of the Border to the picturesque 10-turn, 2.4-mile circuit in Bowmanville, Ontario will be pivotal for Patron Highcroft Racing. David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud hold a 20-point lead over Muscle Milk Team CytoSport’s Klaus Graf in the LMP drivers’ championship.

Despite a heart-breaking second place finish for Graf last weekend at Road America, losing the race in the final two corners to Drayson Racing’s Jonny Cocker, it still produced a slight three-point gain on the Highcroft duo, who wound up third.

But with a maximum of 50 points still up for grabs in the final two races, 20 for winning Sunday’s Grand Prix of Mosport, the small California-based team still has a shot, especially with Porsche factory driver Romain Dumas sharing the wheel of the Muscle Milk RS Spyder with Graf this weekend.

Dumas, who steps in for the injured Greg Pickett, makes his first start in the LMP2-spec machine since he and Timo Bernhard’s championship run with Penske in 2008. A win, or finish ahead of Brabham and Pagenaud, will be crucial for the Geoff Carter-led team to stay within a realistic gap to Highcroft.

While they’re out of the championship fight, don’t count out the Lolas from Drayson and Dyson Racing from being in the thick of the battle for top honors in the race. Both teams are fresh off their first wins of the season, Guy Smith and Chris Dyson scoring top honors at Mid-Ohio, with Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker taking a thrilling victory last weekend at Road America.
Flying Lizard Motorsports' Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister continue to pace the way in the GT championship standings. (John Dagys)

Momentum is certainly on both of their sides, and with a brace of European factory prototypes expected for the finale at Road Atlanta, Mosport could be Drayson or Dyson’s best shot to make a repeat visit to victory lane this season.

Road America was a bitter-sweet race for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team. While Joey Hand and Dirk Muller scored the team’s first win of the season and climbed to within 18 points of the GT championship lead, the team’s sister BMW of Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner suffered a major early race crash.

It was enough to send the RLR crew in a race back to their Hillard, Ohio shop to build up a new M3 GT in time for this weekend’s penultimate round. With a spare chassis, last year’s No. 92 car, luckily on hand, Auberlen and Milner are back on track in the midst of the close title race.

With their win, BMW moved into a five-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship over Porsche, which currently leads the drivers’ championship with Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long.

Risi Competizione’s Jamie Melo and Gimmi Bruni sit third, tied with Muller and Hand, making it a likely three-horse race that will more than likely go down to the wire at Road Atlanta.

Factor in Corvette Racing, which has yet to visit victory lane this season, and the ever-improving Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferraris, and the GT race will likely be another nail-biter of a finish.
Five GTC cars are entered for this weekend's race. (John Dagys)

The same could be said for LMPC honors. With his win last time out, Gunnar Jeannette has closed to within four points of class leader Scott Tucker. The Green Earth Team Gunnar driver, who will again team with Elton Julian this weekend.

While Tucker managed a third-place finish in the No. 95 Level 5 Motorsports machine, he suffered an early race-ending crash in the No. 55 car, which Tucker was to share with Christophe Bouchut. Coupled with three engine failures, Road America was a weekend to forget for the David Stone-led organization.

It was the complete opposite for Black Swan Racing, which again put in another perfect run to take its fourth GTC victory of the season and a comfortable lead in the title race. With Jeroen Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas holding a 21-point advantage over TRG’s Andy Lally and Velox Motorsport’s Shane Lewis, GTC is the likeliest of the four categories to crown its champion one race early.

A two-hour promoter test session kicks off activities on Friday, with practice and qualifying, live on SPEED.com starting at 4:15 p.m. ET, on tap for Saturday. The Grand Prix of Mosport gets the green flag Sunday at 3:05 p.m. ET (4 p.m. ET SPEED).


Watch the Porsche ALMS On Board Pass from Road America
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