Traffic at Mosport International Raceway did little to faze Audi Sport North America's Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner on Sunday as they drove to their third straight overall American Le Mans Series victory in the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport.
Luhr crossed the finish line 21.392 seconds ahead of team-mate Emanuele Pirro, but there was heartache in the race for the final podium place as Gil de Ferran ran out of fuel on the last lap while leading in LMP2. That sent David Brabham and Scott Sharp to their fourth class victory of the season.
It had looked a tough race to call when Luhr pitted from the overall lead just before the two-hour mark and re-entered the race in eighth place with 45 minutes to go. What ensued was a mad dash to the chequered flag in a frantic finish as Luhr diced his way through the high-speed Mosport traffic.
"My fingernails are a little shorter," said Werner, whose opening stint included a hit on the pit wall when he exited his pit stall. "Every time you sit in the pits, you are closer to a heart attack than when you are in the car.
"In the beginning I didn't know if it would affect the car because we were under yellow. We felt a little understeer and on cold tires I had no grip. It was really a shame. Everything did work out though."
The victory also gave Audi a ninth consecutive P1 manufacturer championship for the German marque.
The early part of the weekend for Audi was as hectic as the traffic. The crew for Luhr and Werner had to replace the Audi tub when a piece of the track surface came loose and made a hole in the chassis in Friday's test session.
The team's work paid off. After Werner qualified second to Pirro's team-mate Dindo Capello, the Luhr/Werner tandem combined to lead 75 of the 127 laps. They have won seven straight LMP1 rounds and lead in the championship by 68 points.
