American Le Mans Series

ALMS Road America – Race Report – First Hour

© American Le Mans Series

The 2008 Generac 500 at Road America got underway about fifteen minutes later than planned at 4:15 pm local time. Right at the start the two Audi R10s took a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. Thirty-one cars are competing here this weekend and all got through the first couple of laps without any major problems.

Almost fifteen minutes into the race the De Ferran Motorsports Acura went into the tire wall after clearing the Black Swan Ford GT. The first full course yellow period of the race. There was damage to the car, but Gil de Ferran brought the car back to pit lane with some serious damage. Shortly after De Ferran was in the pit the green flag was shown again, ending a thirteen-minute long caution.

At the restart it was Franck Montagny in the Andretti Green Racing Acura who overtook the other LMP2 cars and took third place, behind the two Audi R10s. Lucas Luhr was still leading Pirro.

The De Ferran Motorsports Acura rejoined the race just about half an hour into the race after having the rear bodywork replaced. One lap later it was back for a stop-and-go penalty for having too many people working on the damaged car. The #008 Aston Martin was also given a penalty.

Unfortunately the safety car returned only a few minutes later. The De Ferran Motorsports Acura was involved again as it hit the Robertson Racing Ford GT. The Ford GT ended up in the gravel trap, while the Acura rejoined the race with more bodywork damage and more work for the pit crew.

The moment the pit was open lots of cars came in for fuel and tires. Lucas Luhr was the first of the Audi drivers to come in and he beat his team mate Pirro when he got out. But the lead of the race went to the LMP2 cars as Penske Porsche of Romain Dumas stayed out. Flying Lizard Motorsports #45 made two pit stops, the second one for a quick fix on the right front suspension.

At 5:07pm the green flag came out again. The 008 Aston Martin and 87 Porsche 997 GT3 RSR came in just as the race was restarted. Dumas and Franchitti in the two Porsches were unable to keep the lead as Jon Field took the inside line and passed both for the lead.

Not even two minutes after the green flag was shown to the drivers the safety car was back out again as the Autocon Creation stalled on track and the third full course caution of the day was a fact.

With the one hour mark coming up the lights on the safety car went out again and racing was about to get back underway. Intersport Racing #37 is leading LMP1 and overall. Penske Racing #7 is second and first in LMP2. Dyson Racing #20 is third overall. The number 4 Corvette Racing entry is leading GT1, while the #21 Panoz Esperante was leading GT2 as it had not made a pit stop yet.