Dyson Racing will start from the pole for the inaugural American Le Mans Series Baltimore Grand Prix Saturday, with sister car Oryx Racing sharing the front row.
Guy Smith lapped the brand new Baltimore circuit in 1:27.750 in the #16 G-Oil Dyson Lola Mazda, 0.146 seconds faster than Steven Kane in the #20 Oryx Racing Lola Mazda (rented from Dyson Racing.)
Despite it being a family fight, Smith and Kane went all-out for the pole. Smith took the pole first, while Kane braked too late and had to take the runoff, threading his way through the maze of tire barriers. Once he got back on track, Kane seized the pole by a hundredth of a second. Smith refused to settle for second; he went out on one more flyer and bested Kane, crossing the line seconds after the session ended.
“We were P1 in the session as I went over the finish line with one lap to go; I sort of cruised through Turn One up to the hairpin,” Smith told ESPN3. “I said, ‘How long to go? What do you want me to do?’ They said, ‘P2,’ so then I got on it. I was lucky to sort of pull it back for the rest of the lap.
Guy Smith lapped the brand new Baltimore circuit in 1:27.750 in the #16 G-Oil Dyson Lola Mazda, 0.146 seconds faster than Steven Kane in the #20 Oryx Racing Lola Mazda (rented from Dyson Racing.)
Despite it being a family fight, Smith and Kane went all-out for the pole. Smith took the pole first, while Kane braked too late and had to take the runoff, threading his way through the maze of tire barriers. Once he got back on track, Kane seized the pole by a hundredth of a second. Smith refused to settle for second; he went out on one more flyer and bested Kane, crossing the line seconds after the session ended.
“We were P1 in the session as I went over the finish line with one lap to go; I sort of cruised through Turn One up to the hairpin,” Smith told ESPN3. “I said, ‘How long to go? What do you want me to do?’ They said, ‘P2,’ so then I got on it. I was lucky to sort of pull it back for the rest of the lap.
Gesturing to Steven Kane, who was exiting his car in the adjacent pit, Smith continued, “This guy is a great driver and a great teammate.
“It’s a shame that the Muscle Milk guys weren’t here—we really miss them we embrace their competition; but the little Mazda loves these streets. We are looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Kane told ESPN3, “Guy, you can’t get much better than him—he’s won Le Mans, and he’s been here for a number of years now. It’s a great competition within the team. It’s great for Dyson/Oryx Racing, Mazda and Dunlop to be on the front row. It’s great to be up in front and being so close to Guy.”
“I haven’t done a street circuit in six years and especially in this type of car with a roof over your head it s all new you can’t see any of the apexes so I m sort of learning. We haven’t finished the last couple of races so we really want to get to the end of this one.”
The Muscle Milk AMR Lola Aston Martin suffered a major electrical failure during practice and didn’t make qualifying. The crew will need to replace the entire wiring loom before the race, and will start from the back of the field. This means Muscle Milk drivers Klaus Graf and Romain Dumas will have to learn the course during the 20-minute morning warm-up. Dumas will face an even bigger hurdle as he has yet to turn a lap in the AMR Lola Aston; he was called in to replace Luca Luhr for the event, and had planned to learn the car and track during practice Friday.
“It’s a big task for the drivers and a big task for the team but we’re going to need all of our experience to get up to speed as quickly as possible. We hope to get some laps in a street car prior to it and then we'll just have to be careful and be smart and just go step by step,” Graf said in a press statement.
“The number one priority right now is to make the race; then it will be about finishing the race and everything after that it’s a bonus. At that point you forget about the championship situation and you make the best of it.”
“It’s a shame that the Muscle Milk guys weren’t here—we really miss them we embrace their competition; but the little Mazda loves these streets. We are looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Kane told ESPN3, “Guy, you can’t get much better than him—he’s won Le Mans, and he’s been here for a number of years now. It’s a great competition within the team. It’s great for Dyson/Oryx Racing, Mazda and Dunlop to be on the front row. It’s great to be up in front and being so close to Guy.”
“I haven’t done a street circuit in six years and especially in this type of car with a roof over your head it s all new you can’t see any of the apexes so I m sort of learning. We haven’t finished the last couple of races so we really want to get to the end of this one.”
The Muscle Milk AMR Lola Aston Martin suffered a major electrical failure during practice and didn’t make qualifying. The crew will need to replace the entire wiring loom before the race, and will start from the back of the field. This means Muscle Milk drivers Klaus Graf and Romain Dumas will have to learn the course during the 20-minute morning warm-up. Dumas will face an even bigger hurdle as he has yet to turn a lap in the AMR Lola Aston; he was called in to replace Luca Luhr for the event, and had planned to learn the car and track during practice Friday.
“It’s a big task for the drivers and a big task for the team but we’re going to need all of our experience to get up to speed as quickly as possible. We hope to get some laps in a street car prior to it and then we'll just have to be careful and be smart and just go step by step,” Graf said in a press statement.
“The number one priority right now is to make the race; then it will be about finishing the race and everything after that it’s a bonus. At that point you forget about the championship situation and you make the best of it.”
LMPC: Back-and-Forth Battle
The battle for the LMPC pole was equally intense. After a few slow laps to warm up the tires, Kyle Marcelli in the #37 Intersport Oreca set a fast lap.
Seconds later, three PC cars—Chapman Ducote, Ryan Lewis and Jarret Boon—came together entering the front-straight chicane. Boon, in the lead, slowed abruptly, forcing Ducote to slam on the brakes. Lewis, third in line, tried to go around the slow cars, but clipped Ducote. Lewis’s car suffered the most damage.
Simultaneously, Elton Julian in the #63 Genoa Racing car went off on his own in Turn Four and slammed the tire barriers, scattering carbon fiber across the track. All the carnage caused a red flag.
The track crew took only three minutes to clear the debris, and the track went green. After another couple warmup laps, Marcelli set an even faster time.
At this point the order was Marcelli, Julian, and Gunnar Jeannette who had yet to set a fast lap; he had been stifled by the red flag. Jeannette, in the #06 Core Autosport Oreca, was determined to make up for lost time. He trailed Marcelli around the course a few hundred yards back.
Jeannette closed the gap just enough to take fastest lap; then, with the session almost over, Marcelli opened the gap a bit and retook the pole—but only for a fraction of a second. Jeannette was right on his tail and flying. The Core driver grabbed the class lead just as the session ended
Jeannette’s lap of 1:29.407 was best by 0.06 seconds; more amazing, it was only 1.5 seconds off the P1 pole.
Seconds later, three PC cars—Chapman Ducote, Ryan Lewis and Jarret Boon—came together entering the front-straight chicane. Boon, in the lead, slowed abruptly, forcing Ducote to slam on the brakes. Lewis, third in line, tried to go around the slow cars, but clipped Ducote. Lewis’s car suffered the most damage.
Simultaneously, Elton Julian in the #63 Genoa Racing car went off on his own in Turn Four and slammed the tire barriers, scattering carbon fiber across the track. All the carnage caused a red flag.
The track crew took only three minutes to clear the debris, and the track went green. After another couple warmup laps, Marcelli set an even faster time.
At this point the order was Marcelli, Julian, and Gunnar Jeannette who had yet to set a fast lap; he had been stifled by the red flag. Jeannette, in the #06 Core Autosport Oreca, was determined to make up for lost time. He trailed Marcelli around the course a few hundred yards back.
Jeannette closed the gap just enough to take fastest lap; then, with the session almost over, Marcelli opened the gap a bit and retook the pole—but only for a fraction of a second. Jeannette was right on his tail and flying. The Core driver grabbed the class lead just as the session ended
Jeannette’s lap of 1:29.407 was best by 0.06 seconds; more amazing, it was only 1.5 seconds off the P1 pole.
Baltimore: Overcoming Difficulties to Make the Races Work
The city of Baltimore has been working on this race weekend for almost three years from the time the idea was first introduced. Despite the difficulty of putting on street races in urban centers, the organizers believed a combined American Le Mans Series/IndyCar weekend would bring enough people to town to make the venture worthwhile.
The 2.1-mile, 12-turn circuit along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is lined with more than 2,200 12‐foot long cement wall sections, each weighing more than 9300 lbs—a total of 20 million pounds of cement safety barrier, all topped with catch fencing. The cement is padded with more than 16,000 tires.
The city of Baltimore has worked non-stop to prepare the track, despite losing a lot of time when Hurricane Irene blew through. Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions had to be delayed or canceled while track workers paved over train tracks, installed chicanes, and replaced catch fencing.
The 2.1-mile, 12-turn circuit along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is lined with more than 2,200 12‐foot long cement wall sections, each weighing more than 9300 lbs—a total of 20 million pounds of cement safety barrier, all topped with catch fencing. The cement is padded with more than 16,000 tires.
The city of Baltimore has worked non-stop to prepare the track, despite losing a lot of time when Hurricane Irene blew through. Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions had to be delayed or canceled while track workers paved over train tracks, installed chicanes, and replaced catch fencing.
Guy Smith told Americanlemans.com, “Despite the time crunch, the city managed to get the track in shape. It is bumpy, and as with every street course, very unforgiving, but the layout includes fast sweepers, tight corners, and several possible passing zones.
“I think the people of Baltimore have done a great job with the circuit to give us as much track time as they did. With a new circuit, there are always teething problems. But they gave us a great track. It’s bumpy and it’s demanding, but that’s what street courses are all about.”
“I think the people of Baltimore have done a great job with the circuit to give us as much track time as they did. With a new circuit, there are always teething problems. But they gave us a great track. It’s bumpy and it’s demanding, but that’s what street courses are all about.”
Steven Kane agreed. “This is a fantastic facility, the city itself. I’ve raced Monaco and others before, but being here for the first time, it’s fantastic. The bumps are always parts of street circuits, but that’s the challenge, the engineers get to work that out, we get to work out the drive.”
The American Le Mans Series Baltimore Grand Prix starts at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 3. Tickets can be purchased through the Baltimore Grand Prix website.
The race will air live on ESPN3.com, and will rebroadcast Sunday September 4 at 4 p.m. on ABC (with a special 2 p.m. PDT for West Coast viewers.)
The IndyCar Baltimore Grand Prix starts at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, September 4.
The American Le Mans Series Baltimore Grand Prix starts at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 3. Tickets can be purchased through the Baltimore Grand Prix website.
The race will air live on ESPN3.com, and will rebroadcast Sunday September 4 at 4 p.m. on ABC (with a special 2 p.m. PDT for West Coast viewers.)
The IndyCar Baltimore Grand Prix starts at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, September 4.
