Lime Rock Park Dodge Dealers 28/05/2001   SRP Sprint Race Reports   © Andrew S. Hartwell Sprint #1 Rain? What rain? It’s Memorial Day in America and small towns everywhere are having parades. Lime Rock Park isn’t really a small town, but, since the town of Lime Rock wasn’t planning on a parade down Main Street, it was probably fitting that Rob Dyson arranged for one on the circuit. James Weaver showed his taillights to every other driver looking forward. And soon, everyone looking in their mirrors got a close up view of his Riley & Scott’s nose - followed quickly by that taillight exhibition as he motored past them. At the end of the first lap the many hardy souls sitting on the hills inside and outside the track saw the following numbers displayed on the leader board: 16, 20, 27,37,28. If they had put their heads down to snooze for the 40 minutes the sprint was run, they would have thought they were only asleep for a second as an awakening glance at the board showed the same numbers in the same order at the end. Mauro Baldi was chasing Elliott Forbes-Robinson throughout the sprint, often trailing on the main straight by a considerable distance only to pull up close under braking at the first turn. Baldi: “The car was very good on braking but our big problem was that we started with too soft tires. I had no traction out of the corner so every 2nd and 3rd gear corner I was very slow going out. Elliott was pulling me by 10 –20 meters every time so, even if I was quicker under braking there was no way to catch him. I tried once when he was disturbed by a slow car but I went too wide and on that part of the track there was no grip at all.” The Intersport duo ran like two cars in a train with Joel Field bringing the Lola home ahead of Clint Field in the R&S MKIII. Joel Field: “We were just trying to keep the car on the track, that was the main thing because John has a shot at winning the race. We tried to be as conservative as we could. The goal was to lock up fourth place so, once we had that we kind of backed off a bit.” Clint Field: “It was good. We just sort of guessed at the set up. We put some different sway bars on and made some other changes.” John Mirro is here so he will run the second sprint. That will allow Clint Field to earn points. George Robinson spun out early and had to bring the car into the pits. Jack Baldwin: “George had a little problem at the chicane. We had a harder tire on the left front and it didn’t have enough heat in it. He couldn’t turn it and he hit the curb and spun it around. He cracked the aluminum piece on the top of the upright.” The repairs were completed and Robinson went back out to finish last overall. The #78 BMW-Norma started the race with Patrice Rousset, who came in to hand over the car to Edouard Sezionale. Sezionale: “It was a little bit difficult. We replaced the clutch this morning but we had no time to practice. We had a set up for the rain but not for the dry. I think the car will be better in the second race because we changed the springs and we put more downforce in the front. The BMW is lower on torque and that is why the second Norma will be fitted with a FORD engine. We will have a 5.8 liter block.” In SRPII, the finishing order was Howard Katz in the #22 Archangel Motorsports Nissan-Lola, followed by Robert Julien in the #89 Porschaus Lola and then Paul Macey in the #21 Archangel car. Ten cars started the race. The #88 Porschaus Nissan-Lola did not start because driver Peter Overing was tied up with business and was unable to come to the track. The #89 Porschaus Nissan-Lola piloted by Robert Julien was on the move after a spin at the chicane in the fourth lap. He got the car back on track and immediately began an effective chase and pass of the #21 Paul Macey Archangel Motorsports Nissan-Lola. Julien: “We were having a lot of fun out there. We did all our testing in the rain so the car was pushing out there. I spun out on my first lap which was not the best thing to do. I was chasing Paul Macey and finally got past him. Howard Katz was driving a good race and I didn’t see him again once I spun. Macey: “This morning was the first laps I was able to put in in the dry. We made some guesswork changes this morning but we just didn’t have the grip out there. I had a couple of minor offs there but I was able to save it. We made some changes for the second race and the car is in good shape now.” Katz: “The car was working great. It is a real testament to Archangel Motorsports because they put this car together in just three days. The car ran great. Julien spun on the first lap and I never saw him again. Weaver: “The car was handling very well. We ended with about 7 gallons left in the car. We could have short filled it slightly. At Lime Rock you can probably go about 68 laps on a tank of gas. We ran under 50 laps today.” LRP Sprint Race #2 The finishing order in the second 40 minute sprint: #16, #20, #27, #21, #89, #22, #74, #78, #28, #37 Dominant Dyson Does The Double Weaver got out, Leitzinger got in and the race got won. Again. Not to be outdone by his English teammate, Butch Leitzinger took off from the field and led from start to finish in the second sprint. Andy Wallace said in the post race conference that Butch was supposed to wait for him. Apparently no one told Butch. Once again the 74 Ranch Robinson Racing entry had to stop in the pits, losing positions. This time the malady was a needed seat belt adjustment for Jack Baldwin who came in, got tightened up, and then went back out. Soon thereafter he was back in again because, well, he just wasn’t tight enough. Once he got that all sorted out he managed to run to a 4th in class, 7th overall finish. Didier Theys benefited from the change of tires and brought the Doran-Lista Ferrari Judd home third behind the #20 Dyson car. He was able to stay closer to Andy Wallace then Mauro Baldi was to EFR. But close only counts in horseshoes so, third would have to do. Jon Field managed to spin in the esses (no dolphins were seen at the time of the incident) and that dropped him to fourth. John Mirro, running the second sprint in the #28 Intersport Riley & Scott, went off the track and came slowly back to the pits. The crew reported a break in the throttle linkage. SRPII The win went to Andy Lally in the #21 Archangel Motorsports Nissan-Lola. The #89 Bruno St. Jacques Porschehaus Nissan-Lola had been leading but halfway through Lally managed to get by and take the lead. For the early part of the race the SRP II cars were just seconds apart. The final order was #21, #89, and #22. Overall the weather stayed pleasant, despite repeated warnings from the Weather Channel that the area was in for another downpour. No official attendance figures were made available but, as is often the case at beautiful Lime Rock Park, the fans were sitting on the hills enjoying the day. I think I’ll sell my umbrella. What’s that? It rains in Mid-Ohio too? Sheesh! Post Race Press Conference Quotes: Leitzinger: “We were able to fall back on our years of information collected for this track and our cars. We had only one dry session so we had to rely on our past experience here. For example, James called for a different tire pressure and the car worked great.” Wallace: “Butch said he was going to wait for me but he didn’t!” Wallace: “I was having a brake problem with the pedal going to the floor. I was pumping the brake with my left foot to get braking. It was quite busy in the car.” End of Andrew Hartwell's contribution. He's too sweet a guy to add much more than a hint of frustration to his look at the day's SRP racing. Janos Wimpffen? More likely to call a spade a spade.... For the first time during the weekend, clear skies greeted the SRP racers and the smattering of fans. The unusual Twin Sprint format presented the teams with separate points for each segment. Indeed the lap counter would be set to zero after the first "heat" with the starting order for the second based on the first segment's finish. Although driver chages were not mandatory, not doing so would negate any points. This completely removed any semblance of strategy. The governing factors would be engine types and driver matchups. The two V-8 Ford powered cars of the Dyson squad have a distinct advantage on this high-torque circuit over the high-revving V-10 Judds of Field, Doran, and Robinson. Added to this is the fact over the years the no. 16 Riley & Scott has been steadily developed further than either no. 20 or any other R & S in the field. It carries more downforce, thanks largely to the advice of lead driver James Weaver. If you have already guessed the outcome, you've taken an easy guess. A mere 10 cars were on hand. The decidedly back marking Norma was in early for some adjustments and a hand over to Edouard Sezionale--the only car to swap drivers other than at intermission. James Weaver was already a good part of the course in front of teammate EFR, with Joel Field fading in the Intersport Lola. George Robinson had an early off at the chicane while still in contact with the leaders. The steering was damaged and the car spent the better part of the race segment in the pits. By lap 12 only four cars were on the lead lap, with Baldi doing a good job of keeping on EFR's tail. He was in the best of the rest class--a little like being the best non-Audi in ALMS. At one stage Baldi was able to use an SRPII car as a pick and pass the no. 20 car, but the Ford's torque was too much and the positions held for the remainder of the short stretch. Young Clint Field was able to drive after all, but both he and eventual co-driver, John Mirro, mostly just stayed out of harm's way in both heats. Robert Julien had a bit of poor start in SRPII, while Paul Macey in the no. 21 Archangel car was a combination of slow and off-course. This handed the class win in the first segment to the very experienced Howard Katz in the other Archangel car that had just been purchased from Kevin Jeannette. These were the only cars in the smaller class. Sprint 2 featured ostensible faster drivers in several cars, especially Andy Wallace in no. 20 and Jon Field in his Lola-Judd. Field indeed did make a very aggressive start and was able to regularly hound Wallace for second place, with Theys seldom more than a few car lengths back. Leitzinger was well into the lead, although never quite as huge as was Weaver's during the first segment. This was also predicatable since now the Dyson driving strength shifted ever so slightly to no. 20. Field was able to just nudge past Wallace, but on the following turn the V-8's grunt did the trick once again. Field was unnerved enough to suffer a lurid spin and briefly stall the engine. Internal damage had been done and the Lola was brought back to the pits and parked. Jack Baldwin also made a brief stop to re-secure his belts, canceling a fine drive up to fifth overall. John Mirro also halted, having to clean out debris after an excursion into the still damp ground. Down in SRPII, Durand had a slight bobble and St. Jacques squeezed by for second in class. He took up the chase after Andy Lally in the class leading car. These two then spent the remainder of the segment a few inches apart. Although the Canadian driver made a lunge at the end, the no. 21 Archangel Lola held on for the win. I'm not quite sure what this race accomplished. Certainly, it was a good bit of fun for the few drivers who were dicing about. Definitely far from classic sports car racing. Back to doing exciting things, like watching leaves blow about in the back yard. Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport