Backstretch Motorsports

Fernandez Wins 2nd LMP2 Pole, Completing Acura 1-2-3 Overall Sweep

LONG BEACH, Calif. — David Brabham recorded his 11th career American Le Mans Series pole position Friday in a spectacular duel with fellow Acura racer Gil de Ferran during Tequila Patrón Grand Prix qualifying on the streets of Long Beach.

Brabham, winner at St. Petersburg two weeks ago with co-driver Scott Sharp, posted a sensational one minute, 11.627 second lap time for an average speed of 98.912 miles per hour in the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a prototype early in the 25-minute qualifying round on the 1.96-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit near the Long Beach harbor. Then, de Ferran, driving the two-time 2009 pole-winning No. 66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a, closed Brabham’s margin with a sensational last-lap charge. [read more...]

David Brabham and Scott Sharp scored an overall victory for Acura at the aptly named Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg on Saturday as the auto manufacturer swept both prototype classes in the second round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

Brabham and his Acura ARX-02a finished 32.150 seconds ahead of Adrian Fernandez as Acura took the top two overall positions. Fernandez was the LMP2 winner for the second straight race with Luis Diaz in Lowe’s Fernandez Racing’s Acura ARX-01b. [read more...]

Acura Seeks Class Wins in LMP1 and LMP2 in Tough 12-hour Classic

SEBRING, Fla. — The initial outing of a new season comes with excitement and nervousness for any team. Whether it’s football, basketball, baseball, soccer or even auto racing, the debut of a new product in a new year brings a variety of anxious moments before the opening event.

It will not be any different for the new Acura Motorsports teams coming to this weekend’s 57th annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, one of the world’s most prestigious racing contests and American Le Mans Series opener.

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The entry list for the American Le Mans Series’ annual Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway is out and features several of the most anticipated new entries to the world’s premier sports car championship.

The three-day test is set for January 26-28 at Sebring, site of the season-opening 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. A near-record number of entries will test on the same circuit that will play host to the Series’ 100th all-time event.

Perhaps the car most Series fans have been waiting to see is the Acura ARX-02a. The manufacturer announced its move to LMP1 in September with de Ferran Motorsports and Patrón Highcroft Racing set to campaign one car each for the full 2009 season. David Brabham and Scott Sharp will drive the Patrón Highcroft Acura at the test, with Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud in the de Ferran entry.

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Friday has turned out to be quite a day for Patrón Highcroft Racing. David Brabham captured the overall pole position for the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch, only hours after Acura announced that Patrón Highcroft would be one of its two LMP1 entries for the 2009 American Le Mans Series season.

Brabham put in a quick lap of 1:13.483 in the Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-01b. He and Scott Sharp will start first overall for the first time since Lime Rock Park, where the duo captured the first overall victory for Acura. The pairing have won three of the last four rounds in LMP2 including the last two races at Road America and a week ago at Mosport.

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Fulfilling plans set two years ago when it entered the American Le Mans Series, Acura Motorsports announced that it will move to LMP1 in the 2009 American Le Mans Series. De Ferran Motorsports and Patrón Highcroft Racing each will field prototypes in the Series’ highest classification starting with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.

The two teams will each field an Acura ARX-02a prototype sports cars, developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD), in the most advanced and technically challenging class of the American Le Mans Series.

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Audi scored its second straight 1-2 finish in the American Le Mans Series with Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr scoring a 2.463-second victory in their diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI over the sister car of Marcel Fässler and Emanuele Pirro. Werner passed race leader David Brabham on Road America’s long frontstretch for the lead with 20 minutes left to win the Generac 500 presented by Time Warner Cable at Road America.

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Although most of Scott Sharp’s big news in the past 10 years has been centered on his great results in open-wheel racing, his professional career began in sports cars in the 1980s. He achieved great success in his first SCCA season in 1986, bringing home the GT2 Championship and Rookie of the Year honors. Proving that was no fluke, he went on to claim back-to back SCCA GT1 championships in 1987 and 1988.

Moving to the Trans-Am Series in 1989, Sharp quickly proved he also had what it took to excel when he became the youngest champion in an SCCA professional series in 1991. He secured his place in the pantheon of sports-car racing champions when he brought home another Trans-Am Championship in 1993.

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In the landscape of American motorsports, it doesn’t get much more glamorous than the Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend. After a sensational debut in 2007, the American Le Mans Series returns again this weekend for the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, Round 3 of the 2008 season. In addition to title sponsorship of Saturday’s race, Patrón also is the primary sponsor of the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b, which David Brabham and Scott Sharp will pilot in search of the team’s first LMP2 victory. In preparation for the race, they discussed the challenges of the weekend.

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