Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Jay Cochran brought home second-place American Le Mans Series points at the season-opening 59th annual 12 Hours of Sebring. The race was a combined ALMS and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race, and the G-OIL/ModSpace Mazda Lola ran fourth for an extended period and finished sixth overall in the 1,238-mile race that featured some of the best European teams.

The #16 Mazda-powered entry ran without any problems in the central Florida endurance classic.

. “I am thrilled for Mazda and AER about the engine,” recounted Smith. “It ran flawlessly all race long. Today was a testament to all their hard work over the winter. We measured up well against the European teams. The Rebellion team, who I know very well – is a great team, and they were a couple laps behind us. We used our ALMS knowledge on how the pace car works to our advantage.”

In a race that had more than two and a half hours of yellows, the Dyson drivers were able to work traffic without the results that befell many of their other competitors. Noted Cochran after his first stint, “it was a comfortable car for traffic: well engineered and well mannered. I was impressed with the team’s preparation and professionalism throughout the week.”

“Our objective here this weekend was to score the maximum amount of points, and start the season off on the right foot,” said Chris Dyson. “We knew we were not going to be the fastest, but we knew we had to execute and run a smart pace. Everyone did a fabulous job. The strategy was terrific and we picked up some positions just though guile on the pit stand. Jay did a great job – the traffic was wild out there. Guy drove well, turning some of his best times at the end in the dark. The performance of the Dunlop tires was uniformly competitive over the race.”

Or as Rob Dyson summed up at race-end, “We punched above our weight all day.”

Source : Dyson Racing