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15th
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Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf bested everyone at the Long Beach Grand Prix, shuffled by Friday's rain-cancelled qualifying session. The Muscle Milk Pickett Racing team maximized a pit-stop mistake of their own to take the win.
As the HPD ARX-03a came in for its first pitstop, the same fuel rig that costed the team victory at Sebring started acting out again. Unsure whether it had filled the car up, they later came back in for a splash - which ultimately allowed them to race to finish without pitting.
"It was not the plan for the extra fuel," Graf said. "We did a good driver change and usually by that time we are ready to go, but I'm not sure why it took so long. We weren't sure if we got a full fill, and with one yellow we knew it would be very tight. We just had to be sure we were safe on fuel until the end."
In the GT class, Corvette's Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin fought with BMW Team RLL's Joey Hand and Dirk Müller for the victory - and won. Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker overcame a spin to win in the P2 class.
"I learned a lot from Tommy [Milner]," Oliver Gavin admitted. "He was a bit of a Guinea pig for me today. Seeing the tires lasted, seeing it through the longer run. It was harder to get ahead of (Müller); I finally managed to squeeze through."
CORE Autosport took a second consecutive LMPC win in the streets of Long Beach, thanks to Ryan Dalziel and Memo Gidley, while Damien Faulkner and Peter LeSaffre (Green Hornet Racing) edged out Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil (Alex Job Racing) in GTC.
Canadians Michael Valiante and Chris Cumming (JDX Racing) took a remarkable third in the same class.
Source: ALMS.com
Race results - ALMS Long Beach Grand Prix (Cal.)
1 - Luhr/Graf (HPD ARX-03a) - Pickett - 86 laps
2 - Dyson/Smith (Lola B12/60-Mazda) - Dyson - 86
3 - Popow/Dalziel (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 85
4 - Guasch/Gidley (Oreca FLM09) - Pickett - 84
5 - Bennett/Braun (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 84
6 - Gavin/Milner (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 84
7 - Hand/Mueller (BMW M3) - Rahal - 84
8 - Sharp/Van Overbeek (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 84
9 - Magnussen/Garcia (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 84
10 - Tucker/Bouchut (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 83
11 - Fernandez/Turner (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 83
12 - Henzler/Sellers (Porsche 997) - Falken - 83
13 - Bergmeister/Long (Porsche 997) - Flying Lizard - 83
14 - Miller/Maassen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Miller - 83
15 - Marsal/Lux (Lola B11/66-Mazda) - Dyson - 83
16 - Marcelli/Downs (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 83
17 - Plowman/Hansson (Morgan-Judd) - Conquest - 83
18 - Richard/Ende (Oreca FLM09) - Dempsey - 82
19 - Tucker/Diaz (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 81
20 - Neiman/Holzer (Porsche 997) - Flying Lizard - 81
21 - Brown/Cosmo (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 80
22 - Leitzinger/Junco (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 80
23 - LeSaffre/Faulkner (Porsche 997 Cup) - Green Hornet - 79
24 - MacNeil/Keen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Alex Job - 79
25 - Cumming/Valiante (Porsche 997 Cup) - JDX - 79
26 - Sofronas/Welch (Porsche 997 Cup) - GMG - 79
27 - Pumpelly/DiGuida (Porsche 997 Cup) - TRG - 77
28 - Faieta/Avenatti (Porsche 997 Cup) - Competition - 74
29 - Mueller/Auberlen (BMW M3) - Rahal - 71
30 - Junqueira/Drissi (Oreca FLM09) - RSR - 69
31 - Sweedler/Bell (Lotus Evora) - Alex Job - 57
32 - Kovacic/Burgess (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 51
33 - Pappas/Bleekemolen (Lola B11/80-Honda) - Black Swan - 45
 |
| Photo: ALMS.com |
As the HPD ARX-03a came in for its first pitstop, the same fuel rig that costed the team victory at Sebring started acting out again. Unsure whether it had filled the car up, they later came back in for a splash - which ultimately allowed them to race to finish without pitting.
 |
| Photo: ALMS.com |
"It was not the plan for the extra fuel," Graf said. "We did a good driver change and usually by that time we are ready to go, but I'm not sure why it took so long. We weren't sure if we got a full fill, and with one yellow we knew it would be very tight. We just had to be sure we were safe on fuel until the end."
In the GT class, Corvette's Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin fought with BMW Team RLL's Joey Hand and Dirk Müller for the victory - and won. Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker overcame a spin to win in the P2 class.
 |
| Photo: ALMS.com |
"I learned a lot from Tommy [Milner]," Oliver Gavin admitted. "He was a bit of a Guinea pig for me today. Seeing the tires lasted, seeing it through the longer run. It was harder to get ahead of (Müller); I finally managed to squeeze through."
 |
| Photo: ALMS.com |
CORE Autosport took a second consecutive LMPC win in the streets of Long Beach, thanks to Ryan Dalziel and Memo Gidley, while Damien Faulkner and Peter LeSaffre (Green Hornet Racing) edged out Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil (Alex Job Racing) in GTC.
 |
| Photo: ALMS.com |
Canadians Michael Valiante and Chris Cumming (JDX Racing) took a remarkable third in the same class.
Source: ALMS.com
Race results - ALMS Long Beach Grand Prix (Cal.)
1 - Luhr/Graf (HPD ARX-03a) - Pickett - 86 laps
2 - Dyson/Smith (Lola B12/60-Mazda) - Dyson - 86
3 - Popow/Dalziel (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 85
4 - Guasch/Gidley (Oreca FLM09) - Pickett - 84
5 - Bennett/Braun (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 84
6 - Gavin/Milner (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 84
7 - Hand/Mueller (BMW M3) - Rahal - 84
8 - Sharp/Van Overbeek (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 84
9 - Magnussen/Garcia (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 84
10 - Tucker/Bouchut (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 83
11 - Fernandez/Turner (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 83
12 - Henzler/Sellers (Porsche 997) - Falken - 83
13 - Bergmeister/Long (Porsche 997) - Flying Lizard - 83
14 - Miller/Maassen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Miller - 83
15 - Marsal/Lux (Lola B11/66-Mazda) - Dyson - 83
16 - Marcelli/Downs (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 83
17 - Plowman/Hansson (Morgan-Judd) - Conquest - 83
18 - Richard/Ende (Oreca FLM09) - Dempsey - 82
19 - Tucker/Diaz (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 81
20 - Neiman/Holzer (Porsche 997) - Flying Lizard - 81
21 - Brown/Cosmo (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 80
22 - Leitzinger/Junco (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 80
23 - LeSaffre/Faulkner (Porsche 997 Cup) - Green Hornet - 79
24 - MacNeil/Keen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Alex Job - 79
25 - Cumming/Valiante (Porsche 997 Cup) - JDX - 79
26 - Sofronas/Welch (Porsche 997 Cup) - GMG - 79
27 - Pumpelly/DiGuida (Porsche 997 Cup) - TRG - 77
28 - Faieta/Avenatti (Porsche 997 Cup) - Competition - 74
29 - Mueller/Auberlen (BMW M3) - Rahal - 71
30 - Junqueira/Drissi (Oreca FLM09) - RSR - 69
31 - Sweedler/Bell (Lotus Evora) - Alex Job - 57
32 - Kovacic/Burgess (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 51
33 - Pappas/Bleekemolen (Lola B11/80-Honda) - Black Swan - 45