Team Oryx Racing racing for podium place at Laguna Seca, sporting new Yas Marina Circuit livery
Sat 17th Sept – Oryx Racing continued its impressive debut season in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) with a third place finish at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track in California this weekend. But the result only tells half the story, as Humaid Al Masaood’s team sacrificed second place to help sister team Dyson Racing clinch the Driver’s Championship.
Starting the grueling Modspace ALMS Monterey Grand Prix presented by Patron in second place on the grid, the Abu Dhabi-based team proceeded to continue a superb run of form that had seen it record three podium finishes in five races, including victory at the Baltimore Grand Prix two weeks ago.
Experienced American driver Butch Leitzinger joined Emirati, Al Masaood, and teammate Steven Kane for the six hour race, and helped Oryx Racing to second place, behind eventual winners, and Works team, Aston Martin Racing. With less than an hour to run Oryx Racing pitted from second position to allow Dyson Racing to overtake them, and consequently secure the overall Team, Manufacturer and Driver’s Championships.
Speaking after the race, Al Masaood congratulated his Dyson Racing teammates: “I am delighted for Chris Dyson and Guy Smith, who have been such an inspiration for us this season and thoroughly deserve the title. We drove a great race, but this is a team sport and in our debut season nothing can take away from our achievements. We are already looking forward to the Petit Le Mans season finale in two weeks, where we aim to finish on a high.”
Oryx Racing’s latest success came in the Series’ biggest race of the season, featuring a starting grid of 36 cars on the infamous Lagua Seca circuit.
“This circuit is very different from any other we have raced at in the ALMS, it was daunting at first, especially the ‘Corkscrew’ section but a few laps into practice I felt comfortable. You really need to find a rhythm here and be very smooth with the car” said Al Masaood. In the race the tyres came in well, I set a good pace and felt very good about my time in the car. For me, personally, it was a good benchmark to be mixing it up with top flight drivers in factory-backed cars.”
The result at the 3.6 km long California track, which features 11 turns and includes the world-famous ‘Corkscrew’, also meant that the team has moved closer to securing third place overall in the LMP1 championship.
The ALMS season concludes on Oct 1st at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Georgia. The Series will crown its champions at the 14th annual 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic, which again serves as a round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
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