Oryx Racing forced to retire 55 minutes into race after the car snapped sideways underbraking for the final turn and hit the wall.

Oryx Racing suffered a setback in the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) this weekend, with the team’s Mazda Lola Coupé forced to retire 55 minutes into race after the car snapped sideways underbraking for the final turn and hit the wall. Humaid Al Masaood and team-mate Steven Kane looked on course for a third successive top three finish, in difficult conditions at the Lexington circuit, until Kane’s accident on his first lap after the driver change pitstop.

Having finished third in qualifying, Emirati Al Masaood was targeting a third consecutive podium triumph, before a combination of ruthless weather and bad luck intervened. However, with impressive finishes at the Lime Rock and Mosport circuits in their first two races, Oryx Racing remain in positive mood. There was better news for the team’s sister car, run by the Dyson Racing, which Chris Dyson and Guy Smith guided home in second place, maintaining their overall lead in the ALMS Championship.

“After such a positive start to our ALMS career, today was disappointing,” said Al Masaood. “It was a big picture weekend. We continue to learn about the car and the circuits we are competing on, we qualified well and the car was set up well for the race. We want to do this properly and we go to our next challenge a stronger team.”

Oryx Racing co-driver Steven Kane commented. “We qualified well and Humaid ran a strong first stint in the race. When I got in the car it felt great and I am not sure what happened. We will have to look at the data. I feel we can take many positives out of the weekend and if we had been able to finish we would have been looking at a good result.”

The focus now switches to the legendary Road America circuit at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for round seven of the ALMS from 18th August. The Oryx Racing team will be looking to continue its positive debut and will strive to be in contention for a podium place again.

Al Masaood and Kane are contesting seven rounds of this year’s ALMS in their Mazda Lola Coupé. This LMP1 category car is fitted with a turbocharged Mazda MZR-R engine, which delivers over 500 bhp and over 400 lb-ft of torque, powering it from 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 320 km/h.

Motorsport fans can find all the latest news on the Oryx Racing team’s participation in the 2011 ALMS by visiting www.oryxracing.com or www.americanlemans.com.

ENDS