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Grand Am
LAMB: That ‘I’ve Arrived’ Moment
SPEEDtv.com's Todd Lamb shares what it's like to land on the Rolex GT podium in just his third race, and to receive praise from one of the sport's masters.
Todd Lamb  | http://www.toddlamb.com  |  Posted April 13, 2010  
Pole position turned into a second-place finish for Lamb and co-driver Jordan Taylor, but it signaled what the two Rolex GT rookies can do when they have a trouble-free run to the checkered flag. (Marshall Pruett)
By now teams are just finishing the return home from Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, AL, after a long weekend of racing. It’s a short ten day turnaround time to Round 4 of both the Rolex and Continental Tire series at VIR near Danville, VA. Transporters will be unloaded and the unlucky cars with damage will simply be repaired, while the lucky ones who made it through the carnage will get prepped and upgraded for the next race.

My experience at Barber this year was unlike any I’ve experienced in the past. The first time you experience Barber is a magical one – if you’ve been there you know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t….well you owe it to yourself to see a race there. I’ve had great results the past two years in MX-5 Cup and Koni Challenge GS, but nothing compared to this year from many perspectives.

Because the GRAND-AM event was held in conjunction with the IndyCar race, everything seemed just a bit more groomed (if that’s possible) around Barber’s park-like setting. And because we were sharing the track with IndyCar, GRAND-AM had a lot of time between sessions. I used that time to visit the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, and take a more detailed look around the grounds. First off, I’d been told by everyone that the museum was amazing, and as a magazine publisher I’d even proofed pictures of the museum for a feature article on the museum. But none of that did the place justice – it is truly amazing to experience this time capsule in person.

The Rolex race was, simply put, a fantastic result for our Racers Edge Motorsports/Idemistu RX-8. It is a great feeling of accomplishment to be on an all-Mazda podium in just my third Rolex event, and it was the first Rolex podium for my co-driver Jordan Taylor as well. We had a rough start to the season with two mechanical issues, but we knew we were fast and the potential was there. It is a great testament to the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder Program to have a handful of Mazda supported drivers running up front in one of the most competitive series in the country. The ladder program starts in karting, so you aspiring racers need to get out there and get started!
Lamb, right, is alone on his step of the podium as Jordan Taylor buckles into his Mazdaspeed3 for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race, held just minutes after the conclusion of the Rolex Series race. (Lamb)

Barber was also my first opportunity to be out in the scrum during the middle of the race. The two class race format of GT cars and Daytona Prototypes makes for some exciting moments. At one point I was holding off another GT car on fresher tires (an impossible task at Barber) while a DP tried an outbraking move on both of us into the hairpin. The DP overshot the corner and would have put us both in the gravel if my Spidey-sense hadn’t kicked in and made me hesitate before turning in. At another point I was being passed by a pack of about 8 DP cars all fighting for position – I hit the “invisible mode” button on the steering wheel to try and disappear, but all I got was a shot of cold water in my face from the drink tube. Fortunately, the drama was short lived; I left them as much room as possible to get by while still racing three-wide.

The all RX-8 podium celebration was fantastic - it was a shame that Jordan had to leave early to jump in a GS car for the start of the Conti race. There was a lot of camaraderie amidst the spray of champagne, and I had to remind myself not to take a sip due to my own upcoming stint in the Conti race. It’s amazing how we fight for every inch on the racetrack, but yet afterwards everyone is part of the same Mazda family, sharing in each other’s success. Having an accomplished DP driver like Scott Pruett say congratulations to me after the media interviews was one of those “I’ve arrived” moments.

I also ran the i-MOTO/Cobalt Friction MAZDASPEED3 in the Conti ST race with my co-driver Glenn Bocchino. Considering the car was only a week old we were pretty happy to finish 9th, but we have a laundry list of things we will do to improve the car for VIR. Development will continue throughout the season, with help from SpeedSource and Mazda.

I already mentioned the IndyCar event – the combined weekend meant that there were many crossover fans. While we had to deal with a little extra race day traffic and crowd control, it was well worth it to be on track and see the grandstands and the hillsides packed with fans. And not to sound too much like a giddy schoolgirl, but seeing one of my racing heroes, Rick Mears, at the track was a thrill. Probably more so than an actual giddy schoolgirl seeing Patrick Dempsey. Speaking of which, Patrick’s autograph line was so long Jordan and I were able to steal some of his fans while they were waiting for him.

We’ll be at VIR before you know it. For all you Mazda owners, there’s a Mazda car corral and special ticket offer so c’mon out to the track – check out http://community.grand-am.com/forums/thread/b9190e04-3493-4053-8fcb-348e28e96add

Todd Lamb has been involved with racing since the age of 10. Growing up in Michigan, he got his start racing karts on dirt, asphalt, and street racing circuits throughout the Midwest. Lamb took some time away from karting to get a Mechanical Engineering degree, but his passion for racing brought him back to the sport soon afterward. He took a Skip Barber Racing School at Road America and entered his first Professional SportsCar race in 1998.

In 2002, Todd left his automotive engineering job in Detroit and took a break from racing to start a magazine publishing company. Producing both car and motorcycle magazines, he wasn’t too far removed from the racing world and kept his driving skills sharp with track days, tire tests, and vehicle evaluations on track.

Recently, Lamb returned to sports car racing, winning 3 straight championships with Mazda – two in Spec Miata and one in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series. In addition, Todd ran in the Grand Am Continental Tire Challenge in both the Street Touring (ST) and Grand Sport (GS) classes the past few seasons, with an eye towards stepping up to the Rolex GT series.

This year follow along as Lamb achieves his dream, competing in his rookie season as a driver for Mazda in the Racer’s Edge Motorsports RX-8 in the Grand Am Rolex series. Keep track of Todd at toddlamb.com, twitter.com/toddspeed, facebook.com/toddspeed, and mazdausa.com

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Todd Lamb

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