The start of the Larry H Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix will be remembered not only for the traditional rush of prototypes to turn one at Miller Motorsport Park, but also for Jon Field's storming getaway in Intersport Racing's Lola B06-AER.
The green flag saw Field charge from his seventh-place starting position to be second at the end of the circuit's long front straight - and then pass Marco Werner's Audi R10 TDI for the overall race lead at turn eleven.
Werner got back around the American before the start-finish line, but Field showed unexpected impudence by retaking the lead on the second lap. It marked the first time that the American Le Mans Series veteran had led a race since Mid-Ohio in 2005, and the first time that the cellulosic E85 fuel had led a lap in the ALMS. Field held the advantage until a slip on lap seven dropped him to third behind the two Audis.
"That was great for our little team," said Field, who won the 2002 LMP675 championship and has eleven class wins to his credit, "The P1s have an advantage at the start anyway, but we're here to race and that's what we do. It's a lot of fun for sure - and good for the team."
Intersport's fortunes took a turn for the worse, however, as the Lola spun on track five minutes after dropping behind the two Audis, and was later involved in a minor incident with Luis Diaz's Lowe's Fernandez Acura and the Panoz Esperante GTLM of Tommy Milner. The power steering also briefly went out on the car before the team ordered Field to go to the reserve starter. At the end of the day, Intersport finished twelfth overall but, in a race dominated by the lighter LMP2 cars, still managed to salvage a season-best second in LMP1.
"Everything really worked well today," said Clint Field, who teamed with his father and Richard Berry, "The Lola, Dunlop tyres and the AER engine were just unbelievable. It was good all around.
