gaijin
05-24-2005, 12:59 PM
In Their Own Words: Dyson Racing ALMS
American Le Mans Series Story 5-24-2005
Lexington, Ohio - It was quite a day Sunday for Dyson Racing at the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio. The two-car team not only won its first American Le Mans Series race of 2005, courtesy of the No. 16 Lola EX257 AER of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger, but also posted its first 1-2 overall finish in any ALMS race as the No. 20 Lola of Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson finished second.
Needless to say, the entire team was elated with how the day went. Here's a sampling of what they had to say:
Chris Dyson:
"It was a fantastic result for the team. The race came our way. It's a sign of things to come for the rest of the year. James and Butch did a terrific job, and I'm happy for the team. It's a pleasure to be with these guys. We've put a lot of testing into this car and into winning races. Finally things went our way. We can just keep improving the car. I am happy Andy (Wallace) got a lot of points so we can get right back into the driver's championship."
Butch Leitzinger:
"Lets go back one year, James put the car on the pole and I almost got the green flag before I blew the car up. I can't tell you how nervous I was for today's start. I kept saying, ‘Please don't blow, please don't blow up.' At the start it was a really tough battle with (Hayanari) Shimoda. We battled for a long time, and it was really difficult on me. He drove really aggressive, but he always gave me that inch and kept it clean. As far as pit strategy went, we saw the rain was threatening so I decided to come in and switch. I hadn't crashed yet so it was a good time for me to get out.
About the Zytek: It's great to have them in the mix. We've been battling (the Audis) for some time now, and we know each other's weaknesses. But the Zytek was a wild-card; they came in and threw everyone off. We had to play our best and bring our ‘A' game not knowing what they could do. From where I was, it was a very intense race. I hope it came across that way for everyone."
James Weaver:
"It was quite difficult watching Butch on the TV. The racing was absolutely stunning. The passing and moves he was making have to be some of the all-time greatest. As I was going into the backstretch it was great to see Andy coming around and that we were running 1-2."
Andy Wallace:
"I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Dyson Racing team. They work so hard. When you have two cars in the field and you finish one-two, that's fantastic! Personally I had a fantastic weekend, here and at Mont-Tremblant. I'm blessed to have a chance to drive with such great race teams."
Rob Dyson, team owner:
"The competition is so tough in the American Le Mans Series and the cars are so competitive. I think it came down to Butch and Chris doing so well at the start of the race. Chris did a great job… surprisingly… (laughter). The team works so routinely hard and now we have the stamp that says we can beat the best."
About pit strategy: "There are always five calls you wish you could change in any sport, in any match that you don't succeed in. In Atlanta we had a great strategy going, but the other teams fell into the good luck under the yellows. We caught it wrong a couple times and got snubbed. Here I don't think the yellows helped anybody. We just did things right."
American Le Mans Series Story 5-24-2005
Lexington, Ohio - It was quite a day Sunday for Dyson Racing at the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio. The two-car team not only won its first American Le Mans Series race of 2005, courtesy of the No. 16 Lola EX257 AER of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger, but also posted its first 1-2 overall finish in any ALMS race as the No. 20 Lola of Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson finished second.
Needless to say, the entire team was elated with how the day went. Here's a sampling of what they had to say:
Chris Dyson:
"It was a fantastic result for the team. The race came our way. It's a sign of things to come for the rest of the year. James and Butch did a terrific job, and I'm happy for the team. It's a pleasure to be with these guys. We've put a lot of testing into this car and into winning races. Finally things went our way. We can just keep improving the car. I am happy Andy (Wallace) got a lot of points so we can get right back into the driver's championship."
Butch Leitzinger:
"Lets go back one year, James put the car on the pole and I almost got the green flag before I blew the car up. I can't tell you how nervous I was for today's start. I kept saying, ‘Please don't blow, please don't blow up.' At the start it was a really tough battle with (Hayanari) Shimoda. We battled for a long time, and it was really difficult on me. He drove really aggressive, but he always gave me that inch and kept it clean. As far as pit strategy went, we saw the rain was threatening so I decided to come in and switch. I hadn't crashed yet so it was a good time for me to get out.
About the Zytek: It's great to have them in the mix. We've been battling (the Audis) for some time now, and we know each other's weaknesses. But the Zytek was a wild-card; they came in and threw everyone off. We had to play our best and bring our ‘A' game not knowing what they could do. From where I was, it was a very intense race. I hope it came across that way for everyone."
James Weaver:
"It was quite difficult watching Butch on the TV. The racing was absolutely stunning. The passing and moves he was making have to be some of the all-time greatest. As I was going into the backstretch it was great to see Andy coming around and that we were running 1-2."
Andy Wallace:
"I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Dyson Racing team. They work so hard. When you have two cars in the field and you finish one-two, that's fantastic! Personally I had a fantastic weekend, here and at Mont-Tremblant. I'm blessed to have a chance to drive with such great race teams."
Rob Dyson, team owner:
"The competition is so tough in the American Le Mans Series and the cars are so competitive. I think it came down to Butch and Chris doing so well at the start of the race. Chris did a great job… surprisingly… (laughter). The team works so routinely hard and now we have the stamp that says we can beat the best."
About pit strategy: "There are always five calls you wish you could change in any sport, in any match that you don't succeed in. In Atlanta we had a great strategy going, but the other teams fell into the good luck under the yellows. We caught it wrong a couple times and got snubbed. Here I don't think the yellows helped anybody. We just did things right."