Where “Love lies Bleeding” certainly pertained to
All of the Accidents and full course Cautions…
Being a huge supporter of David Land, naturally
I tuned-in for his daily Petit Le Mans coverage from Road Atlanta this October.
And was amused by his saying that Petit’s always a Funeral, being the end of
the IMSA SportsCar championship season. With Factory programmes, teams and
drivers leaving the series.
This sent my mental Jukebox down that Yellow
Brick Road to Sir Elton John’s epic Funeral for A Friend/Love lies Bleeding
classic 11-minutes-plus melody…
VIDEO: Funeral for A Friend/Love lies Bleeding
Interestingly, I wasn’t aware that the three
longest tenured drivers competing in Petit Le Mans were Jon Field, Scott Dixon
and Spencer Pumpelly. With field being the only remaining driver from the
inaugural 1998 Petit Le Mans. While Dixon and Pumpelly both contested the
second race in 1999.
Nor did I know that Scotty thee Iceman 2.0’
Dixon drove an iconic Ferrari 333 SP at Road Atlanta Wayback in 1999. With co-drivers
‘lil Stevie Johnson’, aka Stefan Johansson and Jim Matthews behind the keyboard
of the No. 36 LMP entry.
The iconic Ferrari Sports Car prototype is
listed as being entered by Doran Lista Racing/Jim Matthews Racing and finished 34th
overall; retiring on lap-225 of 394, and listed simply as DNF. (Did Not Finish)
Johansson would eventually become Dixon’s
longtime manager. And its interesting that the Kiwi’ raced Sports Cars before
embarking on his Mega’ Open Wheel Racing career. Winning the 2000 Indy Lights
title and then graduating to IndyCar the following year…
Doran Lista Racing was a partnership between
Swiss racing driver Fredy Lienhard, proprietor of Lista AG. A Switzerland
manufacturer of Workshop furniture and storage systems and the legendous’ Kevin
Doran. Noted mechanic, crew chief and team boss for Holbert Racing.
Interestingly, Doran Lista Racing had two
Ferrari 333 SP’s entered at Road Atlanta. (Sept 18, 1999) With Lienhard, Didier
Theys and Stanley dickens, who? Aboard the No. 27 entry, which finished eighth
overall.
Whilst Lienhard owned three Ferrari 333 SP’s, and
the Doran Lista Racing entries faired better than the other brace of Ferrari
333 SP’s entered by Doyle-Risi Racing; classified 40-41 overall, both DNF.
I also spotted Lyn St James name, finishing 48th
overall; aboard the TRV Motorsport Riley & Scot Mk III Chevrolet LMP entry,
retiring after only 66-laps.
Also was unaware that Femme fatale Lilou Wadoux,
a Ferrari factory driver won Her class at Road Atlanta last year. With Land
speaking to both Dixon and Wadoux during this year’s festivities.
VIDEO: Scott
Dixon’s McLaren Future
Wadoux’s class win comes 20 years after Liz Halliday
did so aboard a Lola B05/40 AER 2.0-litre turbocharged LMP2 prototype.
Ironically entered by Intersport Racing, with Jon and Clint Field as co-drivers
finishing fifth overall.
I also stumbled into the news that longtime
Porsche factory driver Matt Campbell was contesting his final race for Porsche,
bringing his 13-year tenure to a fairytale ending, before departing to Ford next
year. Being part of the winning Porsche No. 6 entry.
Campbell
seeking extra special victory in final race for Porsche
The biggest loss to IMSA is the decision of
Honda to pull-the-plug upon its Acura GTP effort. Seeing Meyer Shank Racing
transitioning to purely an IndyCar team. With Mike Shank saying the 60-70-odd Sports
Car personnel will become the basis of their third IndyCar charter. Being the
Honda Charter for 2028 and will spend next year as its test team.
Arse-sumedly the two Acura ARX-06 Hybrid
prototypes will land in the hands of privateers for the forthcoming 2026-27
Asian Le Mans series. (ASLMS) Which sees the debut of a Hypercar class, Righto?
As its rumoured that the Acura IMSA GTP
programme cost Honda $25 million per entry, Youza!
Whilst subsequently learning that inquiries to
contest the upcoming ASLMS Championship were unfruitful, and hence, the Acura ARX-06’s
will become museum pieces instead…
Along with those flannel loving Kanucks’ from
Up North Eh! Ergo Pfaff Motorsports departure from IMSA competizone with its
Lamborghini Temerario.
Sadly, Road Atlanta was the final race for the
Lamborghini Huracan, with its potent V-10 lump’.
Thus, the only racecar left on the grid with
more than eight cylinders next year will be that glorious sounding Aston Martin
Valkyrie with its naturally aspirated V-12 lump…
And that’s just the majority of what I’ve gleaned at season’s end. Not to mention that the GTD Pro champions Paul Miller Racing are TBD regarding their return next season.
