Alex Job Racing’s (AJR) Cooper MacNeil and Anthony Lazzaro finished fourth in their No. 22 WeatherTech AJR Porsche in GTC in today’s American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Monterey presented by Patron at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Lazzaro (Atlanta, Ga.) had the wheel of the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche for the start of the six-hour event. Coming to the green from the third row in GTC, he steadily made his way to the front, with help from the team. Pitting on lap 30 for fuel only the AJR crew was able to get him out in the lead where he stayed for 37 laps before the tires went away. On lap 91 he handed over to MacNeil (Hinsdale, ILL) who exited the pits in second place and then drove his way into first by lap 107. On lap 141 the young driver had a coming together in the Cork Screw with an over anxious LMPC car when he was hit on the driver’s side door. Then 20 laps later he reported the first of three incidents of the throttle sticking. He was forced to pit out of sequence for repairs.
“I led most of my stint until the throttle stuck on me three times,” MacNeil said. “It was a little scary it happened at the top of the Cork Screw, going into Turn Five and then exiting four. It would rev up the engine in gear, but I was able to keep it on the track and keep going. I also had an incident with an LMPC car. I saw him coming when I was approaching the Cork Screw. He made a late pass and hit me in the door. That’s racing, stuff happens. Anthony did a great job today, and we had a good points run.”
Lazzaro was able to lead a lot of laps and was overall satisfied with the day.
“I had a good first stint,” Lazzaro said. “I was able to move up through the field. The guys helped me in the pits and our first stop we came out P1. When I pitted we only put fuel in and didn’t take tires, so we ran a lot of laps on the first set of tires, but we held the lead. After chasing the set-up of the car all weekend, it was really pretty good in the race. Cooper did a great job and was able to also lead a lot of laps. Unfortunately, we had that throttle issue, but he handled it well and the team was able to fix it and get us back out. It cost us a podium, but fourth is pretty good today.”
Alex Job, team owner, is happy with the performance of the WeatherTech Porsche today.
“Cooper and Anthony had a good race,” Job said. “I was happy with the way they worked with the team all weekend to get the car handling around this tough track. Both of them led a lot of laps in the race. We had the unfortunate incident with the throttle hanging-up that really cost us. We had to pit under green to fix it and that cost us a run at the podium. The guys made the repair and Anthony did a good job to bring it home.”
The American Le Mans Series will take its yearly break for teams to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The next event will be the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, July 6-7 at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.
Source : Alex Job Racing