GRAND-AM: Gurney, Fogarty Shine in the Rain at Mid-Ohio

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AUTO-RACING - GRAND-AM: Gurney, Fogarty Shine in the Rain at Mid-Ohio - SPEEDtv.com

Written by: Grand-Am Communications
Grand-Am - Rolex Home
06/22/2008 - 01:13 AM
Lexington, Ohio

While it rained – and sometimes poured – during Saturday’s EMCO Gears Classic for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, defending series champions and race winners Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty found a ray of sunshine at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in their first victory of the 2008 season.

Gurney passed Matt Plumb with nine laps remaining of the 76-lap, two-hour and 45-minute race and went on to win his and Fogarty’s first race of the season. Gurney, in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley, crossed the finish line 1.347 seconds ahead of Plumb. The defending Daytona Prototype champions had not visited the podium since finishing second in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

It was a fitting end to the pair’s day, as Fogarty led the opening nine laps before spinning and falling to the rear during the first round of pit stops. Last year, the pair led all but six of the 111 laps.

Rain started shortly after the green flag flew and let up midway through the race, but the track stayed wet and spins into the gravel traps were frequent. Overall, eight cautions for 37 laps – including several for many of the top competitors in the standings – slowed the race’s average speed to 62.317 mph.

A sudden cloud burst early in the race resulted in a multi-car spin involving several contenders in both classes. The incident began when Tom Kimber-Smith spun the No. 16 Cheever Racing Crown Royal Pontiac Coyote after contact. John Pew spun the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley to avoid Kimber-Smith, but Brad Jaeger slid the No. 77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara into Pew. Meanwhile, several other Daytona Prototypes slid off course and needed tows, including Jim Matthews in the No. 91 Riley Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley and JC France in the No. 59 Brumos Porsche Riley.

Series point leaders Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas struggled throughout the day and were among the spin victims. Though Rojas led 22 laps, he spun while leading under the third caution period. Pruett made his way back to third before pitting for the final time, and dropped out of the top 10. He moved back to eighth – the team’s first finish off the podium this season – although the pair still hold a 37-point advantage in the standings ahead of Gurney and Fogarty. The pair jumped ahead by two points over Marc Goossens and Jim Matthews in the No. 91 Bob Stallings/Riley-MatthewsMotorsports Pontiac Riley.

Plumb led a race-high 31 laps before Gurney’s winning pass, and Darren Law made a pass for second-place with just under two laps remaining. Though one of the fastest cars on the track, he couldn’t make up enough ground on Gurney before the final caution – which came when Jeff Segal, Bryan Sellers and Steve Johnson hit the wall on the main straightaway. The caution came with less than five minutes remaining, and workers could not clear the track in time for a restart.

Law and polesitter David Donohue finished second in the No. 58 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley, while Plumb and Sigal advanced 15 positions to third in the No. 7 Rum Bum Racing BMW Riley. Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins were fourth in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Exchange Traded Gold Ford Riley, while Joao Barbosa moved to fifth on a late-race run in the No. 59 he shared with JC France.

Keen Holds Off Liddell in Porsche’s First GT Victory of 2008

Leh Keen took the lead from Robin Liddell in the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R – also nine laps from the checkered flag – to give him, co-driver Eric Lux and the No. 86 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3 their first victory of the season.

In a back-and-forth battle between Lux and Robin Liddell, Keen won by more than 20 seconds after three lead changes between the two in the final 13 laps. Liddell and co-driver Andrew Davis – in the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Stevenson Automotive Porsche GXP.R – finished second, their fifth podium finish in their last six races.

Ryan Phinny led a race-high 30 laps in the GT class before pitting for the final time, and he and Diego Alessi finished third No. 21 Matt Connolly Motorsports Pontiac GTO.R. Andy Lally’s TRG team put on slicks late in the race, and he gave himself, co-driver Ted Ballou and the No. 66 TRG Mitchell Rubber Porsche GT3 a fourth-place finish. Craig Stanton and Josemanuel Gutierrez finished fifth in the No. 65 TRG/Riegel Autosport Mike Wiegel/Helicopter Skiing Porsche GT3.

Series point leaders Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards finished 11th in the GT class, co-driving in the No. 07 Banner Racing Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R.

The next Grand-Am Rolex Series race will be the July 3 Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Final Results