Johnny Mowlem and the Corsa Motorsports team were able to celebrate a successful start to the 2008 American Le Mans Series with a solid run to fourth in the GT2 class in the Grand Prix of St Petersburg.
The
Ferrari squad withdrew its entry into the Sebring Twelve Hours due to concerns over the Hankook tyres that it will use for its first full season of ALMS competition but secured a one-off deal with Dunlop for the second round of the year.
The team improved the car throughout each session with Mowlem qualifying on the fourth row of the GT2 grid, little more than 1.5 seconds away from class pole. He soon moved up to fifth place when the race got underway, but he lost a lap during a caution period before handing the car over to team-mate Gunnar Jeanette.
Despite that, Jeanette climbed back up the order from seventh place to take the flag in fourth for an encouraging result for the team.
“Fantastic,” Mowlem said. “It was an excellent result, given that we had only Friday's practice session to test the car on the tyre that Dunlop provided. The car performed well and I couldn't be happier for Steve Pruitt and all of Corsa Motorsports that we were able to come to St. Petersburg and come so close to the podium. It's really pleasing and simply fantastic.”
The team now heads to Long Beach to take part in the event celebrating the Champ Car World Series and Mowlem admitted it was a circuit he couldn't wait to compete on.
“I've raced on many street circuits, but Long Beach is one you hear about, especially here in the States,” he said. “I know the organisers put on a great event and I am really pleased to finally be part of it.”
