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American LeMans
ALMS: Road America Saturday Notebook
Challenge Adjustments, Catching up with Johnny Mowlem, Level 5 engine woes and more!
John Dagys  |  Posted August 21, 2010   Elkhart Lake, WI
LMPC and GTC cars have received restrictor changes ahead of Sunday's Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at Road America. (John Dagys)
Challenge Adjustments

IMSA’s ongoing quest to balance the performance amongst the four categories took a step forward in the last round at Mid-Ohio when the LMPC machines received a power boost. This weekend, it’s the GTC cars that have undergone performance changes as well.

PHOTOS: Road America Saturday Gallery

Previously run unrestricted, all three variants of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car have been fitted with a 65.5 mm air restrictor. It’s equivalent to decrease of about 15 horsepower, the same range that LMPC cars picked up with its 10 mm larger air restrictor that started to be enforced two weeks ago.
Road America GTC pole sitter Jeroen Bleekemolen says his 2010-spec Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car still reaches speeds quick enough to pass GT cars by the end of the straight. (John Dagys)

With LMPC, GT and GTC competitors previously having similar top speeds, the series had been evaluating the situation since the season-opener at Sebring in March. But as IMSA’s VP of Operations Scot Elkins points out, the changes couldn’t have happened overnight.

“It’s taken us a while to do the analysis to choose the right thing,” Elkins said. “We had to do development on the LMPC car to make sure we weren’t affecting the reliability with increasing the restrictor. On the GTC cars, it’s a little bit different because we do have three different variants of the Porsche 911.

“It wasn’t just as easy to do a gurney or something like that. We had to work through it and Porsche had to do some testing for us on the dyno make sure we could use the same size restrictor. So it’s just taken us a little bit of time.”

For LMPC competitors like Intersport Racing’s Kyle Marcelli, the power increase comes at a perfect time with Road America being one of the quickest tracks on the 2010 calendar.

“Before, we had more torque on the GT cars through second, third and fourth gears and we were able to pull on them, but fifth and sixth gears was a drag race. Now we have that little bit on them, which is nice,” Marcelli said.

“Before with the old restrictor, we had such a tough time with it. It was just a drag race [between the other classes]. Now, with each gear we can pull a couple of car lengths, which is nice. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s just enough.”

Over on the GTC side, the general consensus is that the power decrease is what was needed in the class, although some believe the GRAND-AM-spec car still has a slight power advantage.

“I think the GT2 guys were complaining that we were too fast on the straights,” said Alex Job Racing’s Romeo Kapudija. “But we were always respectful of them on the straights, feathering the throttle behind them. They just kill us in the corners.

“We’ll see how it works out. The GT2 cars should be able to pass us a lot easier now. It might make for better racing for everybody. But traffic is definitely going to play a factor now.”

Catching up with Johnny Mowlem

2010 has been an up and down year for Johnny Mowlem, but it’s about to get a whole lot busier. After two early season starts in PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ LMPC entry, the British driver makes his series return this weekend at the wheel of AutoCon Motorsports’ Lola B06/10 AER.
Johnny Mowlem and Tony Burgess will team together for three races in three countries and two continents over the next month. (John Dagys)

It’s an odd marriage of sorts for Mowlem and the small San Diego-based team, which is fresh off a LMP podium at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago. While Mike Lewis and company are often some of the hardest working crew in the paddock, they do it for a fraction of the costs of the big-buck teams and thus are rarely able to bring in top-flight drivers such as Mowlem.

So how did this deal come about?

“Tony [Burgess] approached me at Le Mans and asked if I’d be interested in running with him at Mosport,” Mowlem explained. “Basically it went from there. We talked about potentially bringing in some advising in engineering, which we have been doing.

“About three weeks after we agreed on Mosport, he asked if I could drive with him here as well... It’s a good way to feed into next weekend, especially as we have a test at Mosport and with it being back-to-back races, it all made sense.”

While Mowlem and Burgess will share the wheel of the No. 12 Lola-AER in the next two ALMS races, their driving partnership will also extend across the Atlantic for next month’s Silverstone 1000km.

Mowlem helped strike a deal with Team LNT to campaign its Ginetta-Zytek 09S in the season-ending Le Mans Series round for he, Burgess and veteran AutoCon driver Chris McMurry.

“That was all a bit of a no-brainer,” Mowlem said. “With my experience and knowing the right people at Zytek, we’ve been able to get Ginetta-Zytek on board to support it. They see it as a really good opportunity to sell a car in America.

“[Team Principal] Lawrence Tomlinson has been absolutely brilliant. He’s bent over backwards to try and make it happen and make it good for Tony, myself and Chris McMurry.”
Mowlem qualified the bright orange prototype fourth overall, ahead of the LMP point-leading Patron Highcroft Racing HPD ARX-01c. It's not every day you can say AutoCon out-qualified Highcroft! (John Dagys)

In addition to the recent flurry of prototype drives, Mowlem has been racking up miles as the official test driver for the Lotus Evora Cup GT4, which was officially unveiled to the U.S. media last week at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Currently in FIA GT4 trim, the Evora Cup is slated to make its competition debut next weekend at the Nurburgring. But Mowlem believes it could transition into GT3-spec or a U.S. equivalent, in the not-to-distant future. Could that mean a possible GTC entry on the horizon?

“I think it all depends on what IMSA wants to do,” Mowlem said. “I think IMSA is very keen on a number of manufacturers like Audi and Ferrari, and I think Porsche is very keen on it not being a mini Porsche Cup going on in the back of an ALMS race. For IMSA and the American Le Mans Series, they would like nothing better than the GTC to become a multi-manufacturer class like the way GT2 is.

“We can all agree that GT2 is the class, and quite frankly, always was. It’s always been the hardest fought... On any weekend, you have four or five cars that can win. I think GTC could go the same way. There’s a lot of GT3 cars out there right now that could come and race in [GTC]. But it’s all down to the rules and down to the series side.”

Level 5 Engine Woes

LMPC championship leaders Level 5 Motorsports has battled engine problems since unloading on Friday. In fact, the team from nearby Madison, Wis. lost three power plants in less than 24 hours, with both of its Oreca FLM09s expiring just minutes into Friday’s promoter test session and a second engine letting go in the No. 55 machine on Saturday morning.

“Anytime you have something out of the ordinary happen like that, you look for what’s different,” explained team manager David Stone. “The only thing that was different was that we tried a different oil... The other issue was that when we got here to Road America, the ALMS switched ECUs around on teams.”

With the approval of LMPC teams, IMSA rounded up and handed out the Magnelli Marelli ECUs randomly for the first time this weekend. While each unit is technically supposed to be identical, Stone says he can’t completely rule it out of a possible cause for the engine failures.
With a stock Chevy crate engine now in the back of the No. 95 Level 5 Motorsports LMPC machine, the team has its fingers crossed for Sunday. (John Dagys)

“We don’t have a problem with that, except for the fact that they don’t have any way to police or know if the ECUs that people have been using are tampered with,” Stone said. “We’re not saying that the ECU is the problem; we’re saying that it’s something different than what we’ve been running. When you have an unusual deal like this happening, you have to consider everything.”

With no additional spare engines on-site, the team purchased two new Chevrolet LS3 crate motors from a dealership in Chicago. The first unit, which has been fitted in the No. 95 car of Andy Wallace and Scott Tucker, was completed last night under the supervision of Elan Technologies, which rubber stamps each 6.2-liter LMPC-spec power plant for competition.

The second engine is now being prepped for the No. 55 car of Tucker and Christophe Bouchut, with it expected to be ready in time for tomorrow’s warm up. But with two engine failures already on the No. 55 car, Stone isn’t too optimistic of the team's chances in tomorrow's two-hour and 45-minute contest.

“I’m really concerned that’s still an existing variable,” Stone said. “We’re leading a championship. Right now, I have very little confidence that we’re going to put another motor in the car and not risk the same problem in a few laps. A DNF could be catastrophic in all the work that we’ve done this season.”

The strange thing is that it appears Level 5 is the only team affected with engine or engine-related issues this weekend. Whether it could be the case of running on the limit, or being in the heat of the championship battle, remains to be seen.

But one LMPC engine lasts an entire season?

While Level 5 has been through three engines in the matter of two days, Green Earth Team Gunnar’s power plant has lasted them the entire season thus far.

The Florida-based squad’s No. 99 G-Oil Oreca FLM09 has racked up 64 hours of running time this year with only a single oil change. In fact, the power plant hasn’t even been pulled out of the car all season.

“We are the benchmark for running time on a motor,” said team principal Kevin Jeannette. “It’s easy for me to say, ‘We have to take the motor out and rebuild it.’ But there’s no time for that. So we’ll see how we do here at Mosport and then decide if we keep it in for Petit Le Mans.

“Could you imagine if we did a whole season and never had the engine out of the car and won the LMPC championship? That would be unheard of. It’s almost worth the gamble to say we did that. Kudos to the G-Oil and the series.”

Road America Spotter’s Guide

Download Andy Blackmore's Spotters Guide today!

Andy Blackmore’s Spotter’s Guide is fresh off the press for this weekend’s Time Warner Road Race Showcase at Road America. Featuring slight changes since the last round at Mid-Ohio, including the addition of Johnny Mowlem to the No. 12 AutoCon Motorsports Lola B06/10 AER, Andy’s guide is a must-have, whether you’re headed to the track tomorrow or will be watching it live on SPEED.

Download Andy's Spotter's Guide Here.

Corvette Video Series

In Episode 9 of Corvette Racing’s Track to Street, Oliver Gavin, driver of the No. 4 Corvette, and Ken Flory, chief engineer of the No. 3 Corvette, show what it takes to compete in long distance races. Both are accomplished marathon runners and successful Corvette Racing competitors. Gavin speaks about his experiences both on and off the track, as he compares the mindset and environments for both sports. He also talks about the focus and determination that drive him to compete at a high level. 

 

News & Notes

• For the first time in over a year, both the American Le Mans Series and European-based Le Mans Series are in action on the same weekend. With the LMS on the opposite side of the globe in Budapest, Hungary, and its six-hour race on Sunday overlapping with the first hour of racing at Road America, it’s caused some challenges for those trying to follow both events.

In fact, Radio Le Mans, which is broadcasting from both venues, has opened up its second online channel, RLM Extra, to cover all of the action. With the 2011 schedules forthcoming for both series, let’s hope the organizers have been able to work out a calendar without any conflicting events.
From one small team to another, AutoCon Motorsports will give a helping hand to Intersport to help get the Dublin, Ohio-based team back on track tomorrow. (John Dagys)

• Libra Racing’s Radical SR9 NIssan lasted only two laps in testing on Friday before its 4.0-liter V8 power plant expired. With the Ian Dawson-led team already on its spare motor after issues at Mid-Ohio, it’s sent the British squad packing up early. The team will be out in action next at the Silverstone 1000km before returning Stateside for the Petit Le Mans.

• Speaking of the Petit Le Mans, upwards of 50 cars are expected for the 1,000-mile/10-hour Georgian classic. While it appears European GT specialists Team Felbermayr-Proton or BMS Scuderia Italia have elected not to make the trip, a Saleen S7R from Atlas Team eFX is expected with Hungarian open-wheel ace Zsolt Baumgartner potentially piloting the GT1 beast. With the ALMS shifting back to full ACO rules for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup round, GT1 cars are again eligible. The deadline for entry submissions closed last night.

• The No. 37 Intersport Racing Lola B06/10 AER failed to set a time at all today after suffering an engine failure on Friday. The car which was touted as a possible race winner will start dead last tomorrow after striking a deal with AutoCon to borrow its spare V10 twin-turbo power plant. AutoCon's Lola-AER, meanwhile, will start an impressive fourth overall thanks to Johnny Mowlem's 1:51.711 lap time set in qualifying.

• With no fewer than five engine failures this weekend, most occurring during the opening laps in testing on Friday, it makes you wonder what's exactly going on. Is everyone pushing their power plants to the limit for the ultimate edge, or is it a sheer coincidence?

• The ALMS has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.


Watch the Porsche ALMS On Board Pass from Road America
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