American Le Mans Series

Dyson Racing to Field One Car at ALMS Season Finale

© Planetlemans

Chris Dyson and James Weaver will drive together in the #16 Thetford/ Norcold AER-powered Lola for the final race of the 2006 American Le Mans Series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on October 21st. Dyson Racing will field only one car following the crash of the #20 car at the last race, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

“The crash has created difficulties in fielding two cars for the Laguna race,” said Chris Dyson. “When we analyzed the time frame to get parts from England, repair the car and travel from one coast to another, we realized that the logistics were working against us. This is the last race of the season and with championship points at stake, the team decided it was better to focus our resources on the one car.”
Dyson last paired with Weaver in the 2002 Rolex Series’ Daytona Finale, where they scored their fourth overall win of that season together. “I look forward to getting back in a car with James,” stated Dyson. “We’ve had some fantastic races together as teammates in the past, and the car should be mega around Laguna.”

Dyson Racing has been building on the momentum of speed and reliability since mid-season at Salt Lake City with four podiums in the last five races. At Mosport, Dyson and Guy Smith finished second with Smith closing to within 2.7 seconds of the wining Audi and setting the fastest race lap. At the preceding race at Road America, Butch Leitzinger and Weaver finished third with Leitzinger bringing the car home just .713 seconds behind the two Audis. That was the closest finish for an ALMS race at Road America.

“Last weekend, James set the fastest lap at the Petit Le Mans,” noted Dyson. “The team has put their all into getting the cars to this point. They had done an incredible job this season. We’re going to end things on a high note.”

Last year at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Dyson finished third, securing second place in the American Le Mans Series championship. This year’s four-hour race into the dusk will conclude the year-long celebration of 50 years of racing at thefamed Monterey, CA track.