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Highcroft Hat trick in Utah.
Patrón Highcroft Racing scored its third consecutive victory in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón on Sunday with a hard-fought victory in the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix. Simon Pagenaud drove the final 1:45 in the team’s HPD ARX-01c, and the Patrón Highcroft crew took advantage of a quick final pit stop to beat Drayson Racing’s Emanuele Pirro to the line by 19.116 seconds at Miller Motorsports Park. “Coming in to this weekend we knew it would be the toughest race, so that’s what makes it so satisfying - having a package that is not as appealing as others on paper,” said David Brabham, Pagenaud’s teammate who drove the opening stint. “So to come here a bit against the odds shows what’s so special with this great team. We were trying to decide what to do (for the last stop). We could watch what the others were going to do. We asked Simon if they (the Michelin tires) could go another 20 minutes and he said they'd do just fine and they did.” Pagenaud, who qualified on pole position, and Brabham haven’t lost since the Long Beach round in April. Sunday’s victory was a hard-fought one considering a couple of disadvantages for the Patrón Highcroft car. The high altitude and long front-straight favored the bigger cars like the Drayson Lola-Judd and the turbocharged prototypes in the field. No problem for PHR’s dynamic duo, especially with quick pit work. The team’s final stop was 18 seconds quicker than the final stop for Drayson. Pagenaud pitted 19 minutes later, and the Patrón Highcroft crew short-filled the fuel tank. As a result, the team gained 18 seconds worth of advantage. “Thanks to the PHR team for what they did in the pits,” Pagenaud said. “We were a bit loose from the lack of rear wing but we got it back toward the end. I kept pushing and kept pushing to make good lap times and I could then take the lead again during pit stops. Being able to take the win is just amazing.” Brabham started in the car from the point but got shuffled back to fifth place by the first turn due to the massive frontstretch that allowed the bigger engines to outpace the ARX-01c. But the pit work and the HPD’s advantage in the corners helped erase what had been a nearly 15-second lead for Pirro in the closed-top coupe. He and Jonny Cocker led twice for 32 laps. Brabham and Pagenaud combined to lead three times for 36 laps. “The pit stop again was amazing, it rocketed us into the lead,” Brabham said. “If we were a bit more back it would have made it extra difficult for Simon. Hats of to the Patrón Highcroft team for coming back after the start and winning this race.” The pairing also increased their championship lead in LMP to 11 points over Muscle Milk Team CytoSport’s Klaus Graf. He and Greg Pickett placed third, 90 seconds behind the winning car. Round 5 of the American Le Mans Series takes place on 24 July in Lime Rock, Connecticut. Race result 1. Brabham/Pagenaud (AUS/ F/), Honda ARX-01c (LMP), 91 laps 2. Pirro/Cocker (I/GB), Lola B09 60-Judd (LMP), 91 3. Graf/Pickett (D/USA), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP), 91 Result GT class 1. Melo/Bruni (BRA/I), Ferrari 430 GT, 85 laps 2. Auberlen/Milner (USA/USA), BMW E92 M3, 85 3. Magnussen/O’Connell (DK/USA), Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, 84 4. Müller/Hand (D/USA), BMW E92 M3, 84 5. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 84 6. Fisichella/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari 430 GT, 84 Points’ standings GT class Drivers 1. Jaime Melo, Gianmaria Bruni, Ferrari, 75 points 2. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Porsche, 73 3. Tommy Millner, Bill Auberlen, BMW, 63 4. Dirk Müller, Joey Hand, BMW, 62 5. Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell, Chevrolet, 53 6. Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin, Chevrolet, 33 Manufacturers 1. BMW, 76 points 2. Ferrari, 75 3. Porsche, 73 Teams 1. Rahal Letterman Racing, BMW, 76 points 2. Risi Competizione, Ferrari, 75 3. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 73 Points’ standings LMP class Drivers 1. David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 91 points 2. Klaus Graf, Porsche, 80 3. Greg Pickett, Porsche, 59 4. Chris Dyson, Guy Smith, Lola, 54 Manufacturers 1. Honda, 91 points 2. Porsche, 80 3. Lola, 77 Teams 1. Highcroft Racing, Honda, 91 2. Muscle Milk Team Cytosport, Porsche, 80 3. Dyson Racing Team, Lola, 54 Drayson Racing, Lola, 54
