ALMS Round 3 - Long Beach Grand Prix.

Following the good showing at St. Petersberg and Ben now back to full health he was hopeful of a further improvement on the fabulous street circuit at Long Beach, California. With limited track time given to the ALMS cars, 45 mins was all the team had to work with. That time was split between Ben and Jamie, both not only trying to learn the circuit but hoping to establish a good set-up for the race. Improving his times with each lap Ben managed 7th quickest overall and 5th quickest in LMP2, a further indication of the steady improvement being made and an insight into the full potential of the car. Qualifying duties were handed to Jamie for this race and once again their achilies heel, an electrical gremlin, slowed the car on the opening lap and he was then hit by one of the Accura cars, this ending the qualifying session for the team.

Starting from the back of the grid having failed to qualify, Ben was relishing the challenge of a charge through the GT field and the problems that,that presents especially on a tight street circuit. With the car running well and the Kumho tyres doing their job he soon worked his way up the field and before long was up amongst the LMP1 and LMP2 runners. The first full course yellow on about the half hour mark meant the field was mixed up as some cars took advantage of the pits being open and made their one and only pitstop. The team took the decision to leave Ben out and he quickly took advantage of the situation and was soon running 2nd in class and 4th overall. His lap times got quicker as the race went on and were comparible with the Penske cars who where either side of him. Ben was actually driving with the traction control turned off throughout the race which made his charge from the back of the grid and his lapping whilst near the front even more impressive. Just after the hour mark and in the absence of a further full course yellow he was called in for their pitstop and driver change. Unfortunately as he entered pitlane the car died with an instant loss of power, the crew had the unenviable job of running the length of the pitlane in full fireproof suits to retrieve the car. They got it back to their pit to sort out the problem, only to find eventually that the timing transponder supplied by IMSA had come loose and knocked out the emergency cut off! Jamie took to the track (albeit 10 laps down) and raced the car to the finish.

So again a minor dissappointment with an electrical issue, but a huge leap forward in terms of performance relative to the rest of the field. Ben feels it is only a matter of time before the car achieves success and with the next race only a week away on yet another street circuit, who knows!! The next race is Houston, Texas, and can be seen live on Motors TV , and heard on www.radiolemans.com

More pictures in the Gallery