USRRC: Dyson Team Looks to Redeem Lime Rock Miss at Mid-Ohio
4 June 1999
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —One week after finishing on the short end of one of the most thrilling sports car races in several years, Dyson looks to regain its winning form in the two-hour, 15-minute U.S. Road Racing Classic at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in Lexington, Ohio. For the second-straight year, the USRRC Can-Am and GT Championships conclude Mid-Ohio’s sports car extravaganza. Set to take the green flag Sunday, June 6, at 2:30 p.m. (EDT), the race can be caught on a same-day-delay basis on the Speedvision Network beginning at 4:00 p.m. (EDT). Last week’s Memorial Day contest at Lime Rock Park saw the No. 20 Goodyear/Bosch/Hella Riley & Scott Ford of team owner Rob Dyson, Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Butch Leitzinger lead much of the two-hour, 15-minute contest, but succumb to Didier Theys’ fierce attack in the No. 27 Lista/Michelin/MOMO Ferrari 333 SP in the last two minutes to finish second, 0.968-second behind—the second closest finish in modern Can-Am history. This weekend, Ferrari will be absent due to early-season scheduling difficulties, but Forbes-Robinson will look to lead a repeat Dyson Racing one-two finish at Mid-Ohio, as he did last year. Forbes-Robinson and Leitzinger’s main competition will come from the No. 16 team car of England’s Andy Wallace and James Weaver. Wallace was leading Lime Rock with 15 minutes to go, but a mechanical problem forced him to the pits for a lengthy stop, resulting in a fourth place finish. Coming off its strongest Can-Am showing is the No. 8 Support Net Riley & Scott Ford of Scott Schubot and Henry Camferdam. The duo equaled their best Can-Am finish of third (set at Mid-Ohio last year) at Lime Rock, and led 21 laps early in the event with Schubot at the helm. The Palm Beach, Fla. driver hounded Wallace for the first 27 laps last week before the two made contact, putting Wallace off track and Schubot in the lead, albeit with major body damage. The No. 8 car lost its lead in the pits, but will no doubt be in the hunt at Mid-Ohio. Another car with a strong showing at Lime Rock was Jon Field’s No. 28 Banana Joe’s Lola Ford. The Dublin, Ohio driver was part of a four-car battle for the lead early in the event, but a mechanical problem cost the team 10 laps in the pits, leading to an eventual fifth-place finish. The local driver teams with young hotshoe Ryan Jones, who fared well in last year’s Mid-Ohio F2000 race in 1998. Two teams with Riley & Scott Chevrolets will make a return to Can-Am competition after taking last week off—the No. 74 Hunting Ranch Resort car of Jack Baldwin and George Robinson and the No. 95 Supreme Exhaust/Purity Farms entry of Toledo’s Tom Volk and Jeret Schroeder, who competed in the Indy 500 last week. Despite only four cars entered in GT2, expect a fierce battle between last week’s winning and extremely fast No. 30 Mosler Automotive Mosler Intruder of Joao Barbosa, Loic Depailler and Stephane Roy and 1998 Mid-Ohio winner and perennial class front-runner Larry Schumacher, of Cincinnati, Ohio, driving with John O’Steen in the No. 99 Schumacher Racing Porsche 911 GT2. In GT3, the Prototype Technology Group, which was victorious last week at Lime Rock, will not defend its 1998 Mid-Ohio win, but the No. 02 and 03 Metamor Software Solutions Porsche 911 RSR entries with drivers Johnny Mowlem, David Murry, Grady Willingham and Joel Reiser will battle the No. 51 Aspen Knolls BMW M3 of Shane Lewis, who led Lime Rock Park for 30 laps, for the top spot. Look for the No. 08 Jennifer Fund Porsche RSR of brothers Danny and Steve Marshall to join the fray with their recently-rebuilt primary car. The team contested Lime Rock in a much older chassis which proved uncompetitive. Results for the U.S. Road Racing Classic will be available immediately following each qualifying session and race on the AP SportsWire, on the Internet at http://www.usrrc-series.com, on CompuServe's racing forum (GO RACEB) and via fax — contact Eric Prill for details. -30-
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