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| September 04, 2011 News |
| LMPC: Intersport Racing Victorious at Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix |
 | Intersport Racing exited the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix with a second victory of 2011
(Photo: American Le Mans Series) |
In front of a massive crowd for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, Intersport Racing emerged from an entertaining Round Seven on Saturday (September 3) with the first Le Mans Prototype Challenge victory on the streets of Baltimore.
The LMPC race started with a shock for point leaders CORE autosport and Ricardo Gonzalez, as their No. 06 ORECA FLM09 slowed to a crawl just 15 laps into the race. The team brought the car in for a lengthy pit stop to fix electronic gremlins, dropping Gonzalez and co-driver Gunnar Jeannette well down the order. The duo eventually recovered for a fourth-place finish.
CORE`s misfortune was Intersport Racing`s gain, as Kyle Marcelli and Tomy Drissi navigated the streets of Baltimore with ease. The pair, who were winners in Round Five at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, ran unchallenged for their second win of the season.
"The track was really, really difficult. With the risk you take for a second here, tenth there, another tenth there, you have to keep your ego in check," Drissi said of the 2.1-mile street circuit along Baltimore`s Inner Harbor. "I got it down to race pace during my stint after settling in. So then it was about delivering a good car to Kyle to let him drive it in."
"I think going into a temporary circuit on a weekend like this, you have to come in with a well-prepared car," Marcelli said. "We unloaded off the trailer with a baseline. We sat in the board room and picked what we wanted to do. I knew my job was to bring the car home and maintain the lead that I knew Tommy would bring me…. I kept my nose clean and did what I could to get by trying to be as clean and lean as possible. Our pace was really close for overall finish, but we had our own issues getting out of the pits, it took me three times to get the starter working, otherwise we might have been able to get out in front of the Dysons."
Crossing the line in second was Genoa Racing with drivers Eric Lux and Elton Julian, while CORE autosport`s sister car of Jon Bennett and Frankie Montecalvo finished third.
The Le Mans Prototype Challenge drivers will make a cross country trip to California for Round Eight of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on September 16.
The top-three will be posted following every session on the ESR Facebook page and ESR Twitter page.
Le Mans Prototype Challenge
Round 7 – Race Results
September 2, 2011
Streets of Baltimore - Baltimore, Maryland
| Pos. | Drivers | Team | Diff. | Fast Time | | 1. | Kyle Marcelli/Tomy Drissi | Intersport Racing | - | 1:30.585 | | 2. | Elton Julian/Eric Lux | Genoa Racing | 32.702 | 1:31.892 | | 3. | Frankie Montecalvo/Jon Bennett | CORE autosport | 35.101 | 1:32.012 | | 4. | Gunnar Jeannette/Ricardo Gonzalez | CORE autosport | 54.161 | 1:31.755 | | 5. | Jarrett Boon/Anthony Nicolisi | Performance Tech Motorsports | 1 L | 1:33.677 | | 6. | David Ducote/Chapman Ducote | Intersport Racing | 19 Laps | 1:34.212 | | 7. | Ken Dobson/Ryan Lewis | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 57 Laps | 1:35.698 | |
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