It was another win for a DP but this time it was #90 with Valiante and Westbrook taking their first TUSCC win for the season from Laguna Seca.

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Prototype

Michael Valiante and Richard Westbrook captured an overall win in the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship.

It marked the first win for the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP since last June’s race at New York’s Watkins Glen International, a span of nine races. The finish was the pair’s fourth consecutive podium result in TUDOR Championship competition.

Valiante started the No. 90 Prototype on the inside of the second row in third place. Not content with the option of a conservative strategy, he dove to the inside of the leaders as the Prototype field entered the first corner of the 11-turn, 2.238-mile long circuit. The move stuck, and Valiante took the lead on the very first lap of the race. Between the first 15 laps of the race led by Valiante and the last 29 laps of the race led by co-driver Richard Westbrook, the No. 90 led 44 out of 112 laps in the two hour, 40 minute race on the way to victory.

– See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/valiante-westbrook-capture-first-win-nine-tudor-championship-races#sthash.C2qQ1xbA.dpuf

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Prototype Challenge

Chris Cumming started the No. 11 RSR Racing ORECA FLM09 from the Prototype Challenge (PC) pole, and along with co-driver Bruno Junqueira, never looked back.

The duo overcame a drive-through penalty for a crew member over the wall too soon to lead 80 of 112 laps in the Prototype Challenge class and claimed its first win of the year. The win was the second in TUDOR Championship competition for Cumming and the first for Junqueira.

Second place went to 2014 PC champions Colin Braun and Jon Bennett. The pair led 13 laps and maintained their championship lead over the second place PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. Drivers Tom Kimber-Smith and Mike Guasch, who won both of the first two PC races this season at Daytona and Sebring, suffered a mechanical issue in today’s race which forced them to limp their car to finish 16 laps down.

– See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/cumming-and-junqueira-team-win-prototype-challenge#sthash.iOpLCG5d.dpuf

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GTLM

Victory is becoming habit forming for BMW. One event after scoring its first TUDOR United SportsCar Championship triumph in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class at Long Beach, BMW Team RLL was back at it Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

This time, Lucas Luhr and John Edwards teamed to give the No. 24 IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4 GTLM its first TUDOR Championship victory. Long Beach winners Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen placed second in the No. 25 IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4, with Edwards leading Auberlen to the checkered by 22.572 seconds.

It was Luhr’s ninth class victory at the circuit – including three overall triumphs in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón – and 52nd in all-time North American endurance racing, two behind Auberlen and seven behind leader Scott Pruett.

Michael Christensen finished third in the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR started by Patrick Pilet. Pierre Kaffer and Giancarlo Fisichella took fourth in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia, followed by Christensen and Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR.

– See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/luhr-edwards-combine-win-mazda-raceway-laguna-seca#sthash.5CznAiBm.dpuf

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GTD

One year ago, Spencer Pumpelly took the white flag at Mazda Raceway in the lead, only to have his Audi run out of fuel on the final lap. Sunday, Pumpelly had more than enough VP Racing Fuel in the tank to go the distance, winning the GT Daytona (GTD) class in the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America.

It was the first victory for the team and starting driver Patrick Lindsey, who captured his first career TOTAL Pole Award on Saturday. Pumpelly took the checkered flag 3.677 seconds ahead of Christopher Haase, driving the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Castrol Edge Audi R8 LMS started by Dion von Moltke. Haase’s chances of victory went away in the closing laps after contact with the overall race-winning Prototype of Richard Westbrook.

– See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/pumpelly-lindsey-drive-porsche-triumph-monterey#sthash.WmTwxor1.dpuf

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Photos by Jim Fonseca

Words by TUSCC PR

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