ALMS ROUNDS 7,8,9,10   Mazda & B-K Motorsport take huge step forward.

Round 7, saw the team able to run on a circuit that earlier in the week they where able to test at. They had high hopes that the extra circuit time,which was something that had been missing so far this season, would help close the gap on the rest of the LMP2 field. Unfortunately the times achieved in the testing at Mid-Ohio did not carry through to race weekend, and with a combination of technical problems it ended up being one of the most dissapointing races. After only 19 laps Ben was forced to retire with what turned out to be a broken oil feed pipe to the turbo.

Round 8, a home venue for the B-K Motorsport team promised to raise the spirits after the dissapointment of Mid-Ohio.  The Road America circuit is not only the team's home track but one that Ben is familiar with and also the venue for his first sportscar race and first victory in the USA back in 2001.

The first test session saw a huge improvement in top speed and encouraging signs for the weekend. However the hopes turned out to be short lived as engine management gremlins forced an engine change prior to qualifying. Jamie had the job of qualifying and with the engine running conservatively managed to put the car 10th overall and just over a second behind the Dyson Porsche. At the start of the race, the car would'nt start up, so Ben was immediately forced to stay at the rear of the pack on the rolling lap. However, once he got going he made great progress through the GT field and by the end of lap one was up amongst the LMP runners. He continued to reel in the rest of the field and together with David Brabham, with whom he battled for almost an hour, they worked their way up to 4th and 5th. The race was then interupted with a torrential storm which saw the pace car out for nearly an hour as the track became almost impossible to drive on, never mind race. Eventually the green flag was waved and the racing resumed although conditions remained tricky for sometime. Unfortunately Ben ran wide as he turned on to the long start/finish straight and as the wheels caught the kerbing he lost grip and left the track. He did manage to get the car re-started and back to the pits where Jamie then took over and ran to the finish. They ended up 11th overall and 8th in class, but they had showed during the race that the car was now capable of running a competitive race pace. They may still be struggling in qualifying but have proved on several occasions that the difference in their qualifying and race pace is smaller than a lot of other teams.

Round 9, meant a trip across the border into Canada and a visit to Mosport just outside Toronto. This circuit is one of the most challenging and probably one of the quickest with an average lap of around 130 mph.

The fact it is made up of very fast turns and long straights actually turned into an advantage for the Mazdaspeed B-K LOLA, as the lack of slow speed bends meant they were'nt as vunerable to attack from the Michelin shod Porsche and Accuras.

Jamie started this race and with several yellow flag periods and some clever pit strategy from chief engineer Mike, he handed over to Ben who was immediately able to attack the rest of the field.  On a circuit he found both challenging and enjoyable, where they pull up to 3g on some bends he was able to compete with the rest of the LMP2 cars and held the attention of the tv coverage with his race long battle with the Dyson Porsche and the Fernandez Accura. At one point he was leading the LMP2 field and second overall.

Despite having to take on fuel in a late pitstop he was still able to hang on to 4th place in LMP2 and 6th overall. This gave the team the best result of the season so far and showed the true potential of the complete package. It was a stunning performance and one that gave everyone involved a timely lift and renewed belief.

ROUND 10, saw a return to the streets on a specially constructed circuit at Belle Isle in Detroit. It was Ben's first trip to Detroit and the team were looking for a follow on from the success of Mosport the week before. However the track was very green and everyone was struggling to find the optimum line through the concrete lined temporary layout pushing themselves and the cars to the very edge of adhesion. Most sessions were interupted or curtailed due to someone spinning off the track or into the concrete barriers. B-K had their moment also but nothing to major or terminal. Ben started this race and was able to stay clear of the carnage that seemed to behappening on every corner. Again with the timing of the yellow flag periods and the pitstop strategy employed by the engineer ,Ben was able to run strongly at the front of the field. In the tight confines of the street circuit he was able to hold off any attempts to overtake him and through the traffic he showed resilience and maturity and was often able to pull away from the chasing pack. He handed the car over to Jamie with the team in 3rd place in LMP2 and Jamie did a good job through to the end. Unfortunately the team had a small hick-up in the pitstop resulting in a one minute penalty, this dropped them back down to 6th but non the less showed again the true potential of the team. They no look forward to the next race which is the Petite Le Mans at Atlanta.

This is a race that Ben has finished 2nd in class on 2 previous occasions, so it would be nice to go one better. However just to finish this race is an achievement and a podium finish would be fantastic.The whole race is live on Motors TV  on Saturday the 6th October.