The Patrón Highcroft racing team, leading in the American Le Mans Series LMP class, hopes to win At Road America for the third year running, at Sunday’s Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the next round in the ALMS 2010 series.
Patrón Highcroft has a winning history on the Road America track: the team won the LMP2 class in 2008, and won overall in 2009.
“We’ve had two consecutive wins here—in LMP2 in 2008 and overall last year,” Highcroft drivers David Brabham said in a Patrón Highcroft press release. “We'd love to come and make it a third at Elkhart Lake.
David Brabham and co-driver Simon Pagenaud have both notched wins at this track. Besides the two wins with Patrón Highcroft, Brabham has a win here in GT1 Ferrari.
Pagenaud won the 2006 Formula Atlantic series with a win at Road America. “This is where I clinched my Formula Atlantic championship win in 2006 and went on to become a professional driver.” Pagenaud said. ”Road America is a great place with a lot of brilliant memories for me,’
2010 might be the greatest challenge so far. Road America is a high-speed track, and Highcroft’s HPD ARX-01c, while the most nimble of the LMP class, is also the slowest.
Team Cytosport’s Porsche RS Spyder, Drayson Racing’s Lola with its huge 5.5-liter Judd V10, and the turbo-powered cars of Intersport, Dyson, and Autocon will all have a top-speed advantage. Brabham and Pagenaud will have to use every bit of grip to carry speed through the corners to keep position on the straights.
“It is such a long track that corner entry and exit are so vital because you normally have such a long straight following every turn,” Pagenaud explained.
“I really love the track because it is one of the most challenging circuits in the world. It is very fast and you have to be extremely precise. It is all about putting a complete lap together here.”
Besides testing drivers, Road America also puts a lot of stress on engines and brakes. 75% of each lap is run at full throttle, and the braking G-forces are the highest of any circuit on the schedule, reaching 3.3 G at Canada Corner.
Hanging On for the Championship
Patrón Highcroft has a winning history on the Road America track: the team won the LMP2 class in 2008, and won overall in 2009.
“We’ve had two consecutive wins here—in LMP2 in 2008 and overall last year,” Highcroft drivers David Brabham said in a Patrón Highcroft press release. “We'd love to come and make it a third at Elkhart Lake.
David Brabham and co-driver Simon Pagenaud have both notched wins at this track. Besides the two wins with Patrón Highcroft, Brabham has a win here in GT1 Ferrari.
Pagenaud won the 2006 Formula Atlantic series with a win at Road America. “This is where I clinched my Formula Atlantic championship win in 2006 and went on to become a professional driver.” Pagenaud said. ”Road America is a great place with a lot of brilliant memories for me,’
Precision Is Key
2010 might be the greatest challenge so far. Road America is a high-speed track, and Highcroft’s HPD ARX-01c, while the most nimble of the LMP class, is also the slowest.
Team Cytosport’s Porsche RS Spyder, Drayson Racing’s Lola with its huge 5.5-liter Judd V10, and the turbo-powered cars of Intersport, Dyson, and Autocon will all have a top-speed advantage. Brabham and Pagenaud will have to use every bit of grip to carry speed through the corners to keep position on the straights.
“It is such a long track that corner entry and exit are so vital because you normally have such a long straight following every turn,” Pagenaud explained.
“I really love the track because it is one of the most challenging circuits in the world. It is very fast and you have to be extremely precise. It is all about putting a complete lap together here.”
Besides testing drivers, Road America also puts a lot of stress on engines and brakes. 75% of each lap is run at full throttle, and the braking G-forces are the highest of any circuit on the schedule, reaching 3.3 G at Canada Corner.
