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The Fernandez Racing driving duo of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz finished
third in class and fourth overall today aboard their Acura Lola at the Mid-Ohio
Sports Car circuit on Saturday.
This is the second podium for the team in its first season of American Le Mans Series competition and fourth top-five result to date.
Diaz started the race in third but was unlucky with traffic during his one-hour stint on the 2.258-mile road course. He handed the car over to Fernandez in fourth position on Lap 48.
Fernandez was able to pass the #6 Penske Porsche of Ryan Briscoe on Lap 63 [1-hour 20-minute mark] to move into the top three behind the #2 Audi and #7 Porsche.
Fernandez took over the lead on Lap 89 as the front-runners pitted. He made his final pit stop of the day on Lap 92 with 50 minutes remaining, taking fuel only as the team gambled on tyres in an attempt to keep Fernandez in the lead.
Unfortunately, the #7 Porsche with Romain Dumas behind the wheel was able to assume the top position on Lap 93. Fernandez lost second place with 30 minutes remaining as he was unable to fend off the efforts of the #6 Porsche.
The BK Motorsport Lola-Mazda of Jamie Bach and Ben Devlin was forced to retire after 18 laps with a turbo problem.
The Cytosport LMP1 car of Klaus Graff and Gregg Pickett took an encouraging 9th overall in only their second event in the Lola B06/10-AER.
Race Results (Overall)
Pos Drivers Make Cl. Laps
1. Bernhard/Dumas Porsche RS Spyder P2 134
2. Maassen/Briscoe Porsche RS Spyder P2 134
3. Pirro/Werner Audi AG/R10/TDI P1 134
4. Diaz/Fernandez Lola/B06-43/Acura P2 134
5. Capello/McNish Audi AG/R10/TDI P1 134
6. Leitzinger/Wallace Porsche RS Spyder P2 133
7. Dyson/Smith Porsche RS Spyder P2 133
8. Johansson/Brabham Acura/ARX-01a P2 132
9. Pickett/Graf Lola B06/10 AER P1 128
10. Franchitti/Herta Acura/ARX-01a P2 126
11. Gavin/Beretta Corvette C6.R GT1 125
12. O'Connell/Magnussen Corvette C6.R GT1 125
13. Pecorari/Van der Steur Radical / SR9/AER P2 119
14. Bergmeister/Van Overbeek Porsche 911 GT3 RSR GT2 118
15. Salo/Melo Ferrari 430GT Berlin GT2 116
16. Helary/Bruni Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta GT2 116
17. Neiman/Pechnik Porsche 911 GT3 RSR GT2 114
18. Pappas/Borcheller Porsche 911 GT3 RSR GT2 114
19. Enge/Mueller Ferrari 430GT GT2 113
20. McMurry/Willman Creation CA06H-Judd P1 97
21. Field/Berry Creation/CA06H/Judd P1 96
22. Lux/Wilson Dodge Viper GT2 95
23. Kelleners/Milner Porsche 911 GT3 RSR GT2 92
24. Henzler/Liddell Porsche 911 GT3 RSR GT2 83
25. Tafel/Farnbacher Porsche 911 GT3 RSR GT2 80
26. Auberlen/Hand Panoz Esperante GTLM GT2 49
27. Devlin/Bach Lola/B07-40/Mazda P2 18
Quotes
Adrian Fernandez, Acura Lola:
“We were strong all weekend and gave our all to get the Porsches but in the end we didn’t make it. Luis had a good first stint. I jumped in and had a great battle with [Ryan] Briscoe. I passed him then he passed me. Traffic really was a factor in this race. We decided to not take tyres on our last pit stop to try and win the race and it just didn’t play out in our favor. We bounced back well from the last race [Lime Rock where the team retired with its first mechanical problem of the season] and I am very proud of the guys. We just have to keep working hard to try to get to the front.”
Luis Diaz, Acura Lola:
“I had some bad luck with traffic in the race but I am very happy with this weekend. We were at the front from the very first practice and we have to keep up this pace for the rest of the season. The team is getting better and better every race and I am really looking forward to Elkhart Lake [August 11]. I know that we will be very strong there as well.” |
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A good race for the Fernandez Racing Team at Mid-Ohio.
(Picture americanlemans.com) |
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