“After the 12 Hours of Sebring, we returned to Florida for the second round of the American Le Mans Series on the streets of St Petersburg. The weekend has started under favorable auspices; my teammate Gil de Ferran posted the fastest lap in the first practice session. Acura ARX-02a has been mainly developed on Sebring’s bumpy track, so we had to smooth the set-up to fit the streets of St Petersburg. The car has been competitive in qualifying and I could get the most from the car and take the second pole in a row for the team. Team de Ferran has been working in the right direction and we could expect a good final result from the pole.

“Gil de Ferran took the opening stint and did an excellent job. Everything was going as expected, but an electrical issue put an end to our chances of victory shortly after I got into the car. We fortunately could cover the required minimum laps to score a few points for the championship.

“Despite having issues, Acura recorded good results with Team Highcroft Patron David Brabham and Scott Sharp winning the LMP1 class, the first victory of the Acura ARX-02a. In LMP2, Team Lowe’s Fernandez Racing took the win.

“Personally, I admit that I have a taste of unfinished because we have been doing a good job with a second consecutive pole position and the race’s fastest lap. Next week, I fly to Long Beach, California on a street circuit that I like very much. I entered there my first race in USA in 2006 and took the pole position in Formula Atlantic and finished 3rd for my second start in Champ Car. I hope that I will be as successful this year and I think that our car should fit the track as it is mainly a mix of hard braking and long straights. Hopefully our big front tires will reduce braking distance.

“You are already aware, thanks to endurance-info, that I am putting on my Peugeot fire-suit early May to enter the 1000Km of Spa in a Peugeot 908 HDi FAP with Nicolas Minassian and Christian Klien.”

Simon

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