Bump ‘n’ Grind……..Bill Oursler reflects on the ALMS Portland race. The Forest for the Trees – The ALMS heats up the Northwest The American Le Mans Series came to Portland the other day and put on one hell of a race – in spite of the officials. Leaving hype and agendas aside, 2004 has not been the best season the ALMS has ever enjoyed, Nor would one expect things to be much different given the circumstances surrounding its leading prototype category, now effectively reduced to just three true contenders. Hi, do you know us ? The fact of the matter is that we’ve seen the Champion Racing Audi R8 before, as we have Rob Dyson’s two MG Lolas, cars that are now assigned to the championship’s LMP 1 division, but are allowed to run to their older LMP 675 regulations (as is the Audi, by the way). Last year the lightweight MG Lolas proved the equal in performance to the Audi camp, a fact that has carried over to this season also. Unfortunately, also carried over is the unreliability of the Dyson cars. It is this fact, which has largely been responsible for the domination shown by the South Florida-based Champion squad and its drivers. Marc Werner and J.J. Lehto in the Audi R8 versus the Dyson line up that includes James Weaver, Butch Leitzinger, Andy Wallace and an increasingly competitive Chris Dyson in the quick MG Lola. Lola vs. Powerman and the money-go-round Even though the two Dyson cars occupied the front row at Portland, Lehto and the Champion R8 disposed of them quickly at the start in Portland, seemingly on the way to yet another boring Audi triumph. That, however, was before he met an errant Porsche 911 GT3RSR which, apparently unconcerned about keeping watch for faster traffic, spun the Audi off the track. In the chaos that followed, Lehto made up more than a 20-second deficit to put himself in a position to shadow the back of Chris Dyson’s leading Lola. No matter how hard he tried, Lehto couldn’t find a way by as his fury rose. Then came a breather, as Gunnar Jeannette’s Panoz GT engine fire brought out the affair’s only full course yellow. This allowed all the contestants, including Lehto, Dyson and Leitzinger to pit for fuel and tires. You in a heap o’ trouble boy… It is here that IMSA, the sanctioning body began to get things wrong. On the restart, Lehto found himself behind not only Dyson, but also Leitzinger. Not wanting to waste time, Lehto ran side by side with his Lola rival through the curves at the end of pit straight, a place where even one car has a hard time getting through. The result was predictable. Leitzinger taking an off course excursion, as Lehto again began his chase of Dyson, who was showing extreme coolness under great pressure. Quite what the IMSA authorities were thinking of, may or may not have been known. In any case they decided to hand Lehto a stop and go penalty, a penalty which Leitzinger later made clear he thought was totally uncalled for. After that, when Lehto had his Audi within hailing distance of Dyson for a second time, he was in yet another incident, this time in the same curves where he had met up with Leitzinger earlier. But this time by Oliver Gavin’s Corvette. IMSA not wanting to appear one sided, handed Gavin a stop and go for what was obviously a pure racing incident. Lehto, whose mood had soured considerably, again brought himself to the back of Dyson’s car, where he struggled for a third time to take over the lead. Then, as he, Dyson, Leitzinger and Gavin were passing a bunch of slower GT Porsches at the head of the pit straight, everyone – except Dyson – got tangled up with everyone else. The end result was that the already battered Audi sustained new damage while Gavin and Leitzinger visited the local scenery after the Corvette tangled with the Lola, spinning both off course. The result ? You guessed it – IMSA penalized Leitizinger, who was definitely a man with no place to go at the time. Eventually Lehto did pass Dyson, and predictably, after the latter handed over to Wallace, the Lola spent considerable time in the pits getting its engine healthy again. As for Letizinger and Weaver, they finished second, just a hair less than a full lap behind. Where are we or you can’t get there from here… It was, perhaps, the best race of the year. Yet, for some reason, IMSA’s officials thought they were at an SCCA National where gentlemen race without beating on their neighbors. The truth is the ALMS are in the business of entertainment, not sport. And, as the movie says, “racing is rubbing, or in many cases, banging and barging. People don’t want to see nose-to-tail processions, not matter how close the freight train.” They want action, a fact that the rival Grand American tour seems to understand well. No one wants to see injury and destruction. But, when two cars challenge for the same corner, or accidentally get into each other’s bodywork, nature should be allowed to do its work without interference. The ALMS has enough problems that it doesn’t need its officials deciding the outcome of races. Come on boys, this is not a cricket match. If you want to stay in business, then you’re going to need those Hollywood type car chases and special effects. Stay cool and worry about the big things, let the little one’s work themselves out. It will be better that way. |
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Bill Oursler |
