Although Montagny was leading the fray five and a half seconds up the track, Brabham was in hot pursuit and reduced the fellow Acura's advantage to just one second within eight laps. Just as a third consecutive win didn't look out of the question for Brabham a fourth full course caution was called on lap 92 as the race approached the final 15 minutes.
Racing resumed with nine minutes remaining on lap 96 but with a comfortable 15 seconds over the Audi, a solid second place and another podium finish in the bag, Brabham brought the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura home with valuable championship points. With Bernhard finishing fourth overall and in class, following the later exclusion of the Audi under weight and technical restrictions, the Penske Racing pair lead the LMP2 battle by four points on 159 with Brabham and Sharp on 155.
“Belle Isle is such a tricky circuit we knew this race would be about getting to the end in good shape,” Brabham said. “We've certainly achieved that here today thanks to a fantastic effort from the Patrón Highcroft Racing team. Scott did a fantastic first stint and although the team called a great pit stop other teams were on different strategies and we got a bit behind, but it all worked out as some cars had to pit again later. The car was going really well and I had such good grip that I was able to hustle up until the final yellows.
“Although the safety car helped us a bit I lost grip and didn't quite have enough to try and pass Franck. I had to keep the championship in mind, with second place comes solid points so we've done what we needed to do. The Patrón Highcroft team are doing a fabulous job race after race and we're looking really strong as we head for Petit Le Mans.”
