American Le Mans Series – Green Oil?
We absolutely made the correct decision by joining the American Le Mans Series. When the Series announced the LMPC category, I/we recognized it as great value for money. From the beginning we knew that we had found a category that we loved. We intend on being here for the next two seasons. … This is a fantastic cost-effective and competitive championship that everyone should be looking at.
Did the competition in LMPC meet your expectations?
With the assistance of Genoa’s Event Team Manager Mark Scott and Crew Chief Steve Reagan, we always knew that the LMPC class was going to be aggressive.
The ALMS began the year with a conservative car count. We were told at the beginning of the year to expect at least four cars in the LMPC class, but the Series ran as many as eight at some races.
From the start, the competitiveness was evident with the first three cars only tenths of a second apart from one another.
What were your preferred moments in 2010?
1. Laguna Seca. We finished in 2nd place with Tom Sutherland behind the wheel.
2. Mosport. Frankie Montecalvo finished third behind Luis Diaz, who was 2009’s P2 victor. This was Frankie’s first time at this track and had only two short days to get ready. To be only a half-second behind Diaz was quite an achievement.
How did teamwork play a role in your team’s success?
It was enoromous. We had only one pit lane penalty – a minor infraction at Sebring – otherwise we had no penalties for the season. Those type of things contribute to good racing results.
Give your opinion about the ORECA-FLM09 during the entire nine-race schedule?
We had – other than an engine related issue at Elkhart – no mechanical problems with the ORECA-FLM09, and all of our drivers went the full-distance.
We battled in eight of the nine races. While we did not partake in the Salt Lake City race, we used that time to our benefit because we were able to talk about sharing driving duties with Christian Zugel.
What are your plans for 2011?
We look forward to run two cars next season. That was our plan when we began the 2010 season – to be able to expand to a two-car team in Year Two.