Doncaster Racing went from strength to frustration during the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series GT race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Dave Lacey and Greg Wilkins, both of Toronto, finished 10th in the No. 17 MineStar / Tim Hortons Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, a disappointment following their early top-five run.
Lacey started the 2.5-hour race from seventh on the grid – an improvement of three positions after qualifying 10th – when a competitor’s qualifying time was disallowed and two cars crashed during the morning warmup. He moved to fourth, then was one of four drivers to pit early with a suspected tire puncture.
The crew found a lot of rubber collected on the tires, rather than a puncture, had caused the handling problem. Wilkins took over in 19th place and moved up to eighth. Lacey drove the final stint, returning to the track 11th. He regained two positions, but lost one when the team drew a 20-second penalty for too many crew working on the car during the final pitstop. The team finished 10th.
race report
car time driver action
17 start Lacey
2m Lacey pit – fuel
44m change pit – Wilkins in, four tires, fuel
1h58 change pit – Lacey in, four tires, fuel; 20-second penalty for too many crew working on the car
Dave Lacey “It was a good start and we were running well, up to fourth. We had some pickup on the tires and it felt unusual. I tried to scrub it off but it remained, so I thought I had a tire going down in the rear. I had to come in to have the guys take a look. Of course, it turns out it was just pickup, there was no flat tire, so I felt awful. The car was great, but I felt like I let the team down a little bit today. “
Greg Wilkins “The weekend was plagued with a couple of mistakes that cost us big. In the [AIM Autosport] prototype yesterday, we had a pitstop that was a bit slower and this race we ended up with a green stop and we just couldn’t fight back from that. There were four or five cars that had more pace than we did, but beyond that, we were right in the hunt. We probably had a fifth- or sixth-place car today. “
AIM honours
AIM Autosport and Doncaster Racing hosted two guests at Mid-Ohio on Saturday. Michigan resident Laura Tuomi won an honourary crew membership after buying advance race tickets. She and her husband Leonard donned AIM uniforms for their team day, which included a driver meeting, technical briefings and a pitlane view of the DP race action.
“I had an exquisite, exciting day, ” Laura Tuomi said. “It’s given me a new outlook on racing. I appreciate what everybody does more, and how it all comes together at the end. ”
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