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American LeMans
ALMS: Two AJR Porsches Pull Out
GTC championship leaders withdraw from series
John Dagys  |  Posted July 17, 2010   Chicago, IL
Alex Job Racing will be without its pair of blue and white Porsches for the remainder of the season. (John Dagys)
There will only be one Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car when the American Le Mans Series heads to Lime Rock Park for next weekend’s Northeast Grand Prix. The Taveres, Fla.-based team has withdrawn the Gonzalez family’s Nos. 80 and 81 entries for the remainder of the season, despite Butch Leitzinger and Juan Gonzalez currently leading the GTC point standings.

While it’s an unprecedented move for the championship leaders to pull out of the series, no official reason on the cars’ withdrawal have been given as of yet.

“Alex Job Racing will not continue to field the No. 80 and 81 cars for the remainder of the 2010 American Le Mans Series in the GTC category,” said team owner Alex Job in a statement. “Regrettably, several factors have conspired to the withdrawal of those entries.  Our team is dedicated to continuing our high-level of performance with the No. 23 Tequila Patron/Battery Tender Porsche 997 GT3 Cup team and our ongoing quest for the GTC championship.”
Juan Gonzalez (L) and Butch Leitzinger (R) held an 18-point lead in the GTC standings. (John Dagys)

The three-car team started the season strong with an impressive 1-2-3 finish at the Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, backed up with another victory for Leitzinger and Gonzalez at Long Beach. The duo recorded a third place finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca but were excluded from last weekend’s Utah Grand Prix due to a ride height infringement after crossing the line in second.

AJR’s sister No. 80 entry of Luis Diaz and Ricardo Gonzalez didn’t fare quite as well in the early season races, despite recording a runner-up result at Sebring. An early race clash with AJR’s No. 23 car knocked them out of the running early in the last round at Miller Motorsports Park.

Juan Gonzalez, president and CEO of Gruma Corporation, a division of Mission Foods, made the leap into the ALMS this year after a career mainly in Historics. Gonzalez put together the deal for he and his nephew Ricardo to pilot a pair of Porsches, paired with two of the most successful drivers in the business.

Now, Leitzinger and Diaz are again in the unemployment line only four races into the season. Veteran prototype pilot Leitzinger secured the AJR ride after his departure from Dyson Racing, while Diaz, the defending LMP2 co-champion, lost his drive following the closing of Fernandez Racing.

For Job, all focus turns to the team’s No. 23 entry of Bill Sweedler and Romeo Kapudija, who currently sit third in the title race. The duo are four points behind the second-placed TRG duo of Henri Richard and Andy Lally, who effectively inherit the championship lead.

The face of the GTC championship has certainly changed in the matter of a week.

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