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American Le Mans Series at Mid-Ohio
May 22, 2005
By Peter Pleitner
All photos by Peter Pleitner
On Sunday, May 22, three of us left Ann Arbor at 7:30 a.m. in a new blue Blazer for the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with corporate passes, fresh scones, and coffee. We headed down US-23 to I-75 to Finley, Ohio, then east at the big white Pioneer Sugar silos on SR15, around Upper Sandusky, through Bucyrus and Galion and then to the track. As you’d expect, if you’re from Michigan that is, the roads got better, then great, then terrific. In the vicinity of the Mid-Ohio race track you’ll wish your SUV were a true sports car. Funny how that is ― same for Elkhart Lake and Watkins Glen. Close to 10:00 a.m. we picked up our credentials at the gate, parked and hoisted our essentials for the day on our backs and headed for the pits.
Our first impression was that one of those “big rigs” sure would make a nice addition to the yard! Normally I’d say sure that’s every Redneck’s dream, but this is different I assure you. Complete with designer workshop, a hoist and ramp, food, refreshments, HDTV and satellite dish, what more could a gear head want?
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The “hostesses” of the opposite sex variety, were mostly of the airline cabin attendant vintage, as distinct from the Hooters variety prevalent at more main stream racing venues. The term vintage popped into my mind while recalling the image of a scantily dressed model posing over a Panoz Esperante for a camera. We thought out loud that this is different from vintage race events, but after a closer look decided that it better remain missing. Her vintage body could have benefited from a few large graphics from sponsors. Then we noticed the raison d’etre ― race cars. Wow, real three-dimensional objects of engineering, the business of sponsorships, competitive obsessions, and testosterone. When they are turned on the ladies become wall paper. Mid-Ohio is unique in that some of the garages can be viewed from above, from a balcony which also overlooks the pits. Imagine a generous one-car garage two-cars long ― furnished with designer shipping containers, crates, a long work bench, tool boxes, racks of two-way radios, computers/monitors, tires, wheels ― some temporarily tiled with rubber, and most teams dressed in colorful uniforms peppered with sponsor patches. Then add high performance golf carts, little trailers and small motor bikes, trays of food, buckets of beverages, oil and parts, and more staff standing around than your typical road construction site and you’ll have part of the picture, but not the smell, sound, and emotion. A circus really, that stopped and unloaded for one performance. One team looked particularly theatrical, straight from central casting at Teatro alla Scala but definitely summer stock and with a petrochemical flavor. Their dark blue steed, sporting the famous Trident was stunning, and made a sound not unlike a Wookie when the throttle was opened up. In contrast the C6-R Corvettes next door emit a sound similar to a small heard of Harleys. The former participated purely for “show” not points, and the latter simply got the job done then gathered all the points they could in GT-1, almost like Alfred Neubauer was running their show. |
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Left, Maserati team with their out-of-spec (too wide) MC12. Above, mostly a Ferrari Enzo, but equipped with hyperdrive, only their drivers today were hyper in the wrong places on the track. |
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Below left, Corvettes in anticipation; they later controlled first and second in GT-1. Below right, third in GT-1, Saleen S-7.
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The show, interrupted at least five times by the
Honda S2000 pace car, lasted 2.75 hours, for about 110 laps. Each car gets
at least one driver change. There are four classes of sports and
prototype cars, GT1&2 and LMP1&2. All are
equipped with three small lights in front of the left rear
wheel ― each class with its own color. The leader has one of them lit
and the third place car has all three lit. We chose to pay $15 each to
sit in grand stand #2, directly across from the “esses” which is one of the
best places to spectate, accessible through a tunnel under the track.
Mid-Ohio lap times are in the neighborhood of one minute and twenty seconds
with an average speed of just over a hundred miles per hour on this two and
a quarter mile, thirteen-turn track. By mid-afternoon the televised
ALMS was almost over, it had begun to rain, and the 45-minute IMSA GT3 Cup
Challenge Race was about to start. This made for a very exciting finish
as the track cooled off and there was no time left to bother with rain
tires. The astounding result was that Dyson Racing's Lolas finished
one and two in P-1, their first Audi-like finish ever. That warmed my heart because their
sponsor Thetford/Nocold of Ann Arbor, maker of toilets on the move and other
such necessities, is an old and close acquaintance of mine. A bathroom
joke here is very tempting, but I will resist.
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Tired Audi R8 and Porsche RSR. |
C6-R at tech inspection after race. |
We loitered in a pits awhile, found a brat stand with some shelter, then headed for home. At 7:00 p.m. we were back in Ann Arbor. Special thanks to Ken Enborg for the inspiration, passes, and the transportation. I’m sure Tom Wernholm and I would gladly do it again. Thanks for the memories.
Didn't see any cops in Ohio (maybe there was a Homeland Security conference somewhere)! Then on return home, from what suddenly felt like vintage races, we spotted this unmanned patrol car in "Mayberry." Here I am looking for Barney Fife.
For the ALMS schedule visit www.americanlemans.com
And for Vintage racing fans, the really big races in our region are:
Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio
Elkhart Lake with the SVRA Spring Vintage Weekend and the VSCDA Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival
Mosport Historic Can-Am
Interested in this type of event?
This trip was planned only a couple of weeks in advance. If you are interested in this type of trip, send me an e-mail at pleitner@enjoyclassiccars.com and we will notify you of other ad hoc events where you may want to join us. We are always looking for enthusiasts to share these adventures and propose new ideas! Yes our summers are toooo short and busy.