ALMS »

D-Brief: Down to the wire.


Well, once again, I have more good news to report through this column, with the last two American Le Mans Series races producing a win at Mosport and second place at Detroit.

The great news, however, is that, before I left this rainy shore of England, we were 24 points behind the #7 Penske Porsche and, when I came back to these rainy shores, we had closed the gap to just four points.

Mosport was one of those races that, if you had pitted at the right time for fuel to get to the end of the race, and you drove to save fuel but not too slow, you had a shot at winning. For the Patron Highcroft Racing team, we got it spot on.

I qualified second in the P2 class, and fourth overall, but it was very close. The Mosport track is the fastest place we go to, with insane speeds in the fast turns one, two and eight. Turns one and two are flat-out in fifth and sixth and only a few were able to do it. My car was well balanced in the fast corners and I can tell you it is one hell of a ride. The Penske Porsche was just a bit quicker on a qualifying lap and had a good two tenths on us, but we managed to get a good lap to line up right next to our championship rival.

Scott got a solid start, but we knew that the racing was going to be pretty intense, as the very nature of the track was going to make traffic a big issue. Scott lost a few places due to slower cars but, when I got in under a yellow, I knew we were still in good shape as the car had a good race set-up.

From the moment the green flag dropped, we were all involved in some amazing racing as we were passing each other on the inside and the outside of these daunting corners. Another yellow came out and I followed the #7 Penske of Dumas into the pits, and was really surprised to see how quickly he refuelled. I also though that, now, he may have had more fuel than me, as the Porsches are better on fuel than us.

When the racing resumed, we had some of the best racing I think I have ever had. Dumas and I had a fantastic battle and I think we passed each other four times in ten laps. However, when I got past for the last time, I dropped him pretty quickly and was soon after Fernandez up the road. I caught him fairly quickly, but the team was telling me to save fuel as well encouraging me to get past Adrian as he was trying to do the same. No-one who pitted on the last yellow was looking great on fuel.

However, I was having a great battle with Adrian and finally got past and into what I thought was the lead of the P2 battle. What I didn't know at the time though was that Gil was up the road in first place, also trying to save fuel. It came to the last lap and, when I saw Gil on the side of the road, I had no idea that I had just passed him for the lead as I thought I was already up front! Still, we will take it as we closed the gap even more to the #7 Porsche.

Between Mosport and Detroit, I thought I would go to Niagara Falls to have a look at one of the wonders of the world. A two-hour drive from Detroit made it a day trip and one I will remember for the rest of my life. The beauty and power of the falls is captivating, but I was shocked to see, on the Canadian side, a Las Vegas-style city - what an eye-sore. I was glad I was on the Canadian side as, when you look over to the US, at least they had kept a more natural look. I find it hard to believe that the Canadians allowed this to happen but I guess that's what they decided - to make as much money as they can.

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American Lemans Series  29-30 August 2008.  Detroit Grand Prix. Belle Isle. Detroit, Michigan. David Brabham.
David Brabham and Scott Sharp celebrate winning the 2009 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) crown for Patrón Highcroft at Laguna Seca [pic credit: Hazel PR]
David Brabham and Scott Sharp celebrate winning the 2009 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) crown for Patrón Highcroft at Laguna Seca [pic credit: Hazel PR]
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