The Dyson Racing team scored its first-ever win in the American Le Mans Series - and the first for an LMP675 prototype - with an exciting, come-from-behind victory in the Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sears Point.
James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger not only gave team owner Rob Dyson his first ALMS win, but made history as the first drivers to score an overall win with an LMP 675 car, as they took their blue-and-white Lola EX257-MG from pole to victory lane.
Frank Biela and Marco Werner finished second overall and first in the LMP 900 class in the Infineon Team Joest Audi R8, while round two winner Johnny Herbert made an exciting last-lap pass to take third place for himself and Champion Racing team-mate JJ Lehto, beating the Doran Lista Dallara-MG of Bill Auberlen and Didier Theys. Olivier Beretta and Gunnar Jeannette finished fifth in the JML Team Panoz.
Though the Dyson team has been one of North America's most successful sports car racing teams of the past 15 years, the team had not won a race in the ALMS since the series was formed in 1999. Team owner Rob Dyson invested in the new Lola-MG machine last year with the goal of scoring overall wins, as well as class wins.
''I'm sure it was exciting,'' said Leitzinger, ''and I think this win is a very good thing for sportscar racing. This class was formed to give the privateer teams like Dyson a way to take on the big factory teams - and we've just proven the vision for the sport. For a team like Dyson to be able to put up a fight is good for the sport overall.''
Scott Atherton, president and CEO of the American Le Mans series, agreed.
''This is a very significant and historical occasion for the American Le Mans Series,'' he said, ''Our most sincere congratulations go out to Rob Dyson and all of the members of his team for what they have accomplished. They worked very hard with testing and development of the car and this is their reward.
![James Weaver leads Marco Werner en route to Dyson Racing's historic overall win at Sears Point [pic credit: ALMS/Rick Dole]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/61971.jpg )
