In a race that featured some of the closest finishes ever seen in three of the four American Le Mans Series classes, Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro completed a notable hat-trick of race wins that helped to extend their still slim championship lead a little further.
Victory for the European pair's #2 Champion Racing Audi was the third in as many races, and the 3.239secs margin of victory in Sunday's Generac 500 was made all the more important as it came over the #20 Dyson Racing Lola of Andy Wallace and Chris Dyson, with main title rivals - and Champion team-mates - JJ Lehto and Marco Werner a further 3.7secs back in third. As a result, Biela and Pirro extended their lead in the LMP1 category to 15 points, with three rounds left.
"We came in with the lead in the championship, and our strategy was to do our best," Pirro said, "But we knew we didn't have to win races to win the championship. What really made me very happy is that, coming here, we were kind of conservative, but we were able to come in and win more points. That's why you could see some tears in my eyes when Frankie crossed the finish line. Just kidding!"
All joking aside, it was a toss-up for most of the day between the two Audis and the two Lolas. The pole-sitting #16 Dyson car of James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger ruined its chances when Weaver went into a gravel trap about an hour into the race, allowing the event to boil down to pit-strategy. However, the #2 team only won in the waning moments, after the #1 car was assessed a penalty.
Pirro and Biela excelled on the high-speed track, and said they expect to do the same thing two weeks from now at Mosport. Another victory would give them an even stronger hold on the championship crown.
