The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) returns to racing this weekend after a six-week break in the schedule. Lime Rock Park, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, will host Round Six of competition – the Northeast Grand Prix – on Saturday. The fast 1.54-mile, 8-turn permanent road course located in Lakeville, Conn., an hour’s drive from Hartford, is a new venue for Lowe’s Fernandez Racing, and Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz will both be turning their first laps at the historic circuit this week.
Despite the break in the schedule, June was a busy month for Fernandez who made a successful debut in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driving a Barazi-Epsilon Zytek LMP2 entry sponsored by Lowe’s, Fernandez and co-drivers Haruki Kurosawa and Robbie Kerr claimed pole position in their class and a hard-fought second-place LMP2 finish.
Diaz, alongside Fernandez, dusted off the cobwebs from their last tours aboard the #15 Lowe’s Acura Lola mid-May with a successful two-day test at Mid-Ohio last week. Diaz had his first look at the Lime Rock Park track yesterday, handling driving duties in an ALMS half-day open test session.
Race Notes:
Circuit – 1.54-mile (with chicane), 8-turn permanent road course
Saturday’s ALMS race will be 2 hours 45 minutes (3:05 pm EDT start)
Driver changes: each driver must complete at least 10 laps to be eligible for point awards, and a driver may not drive more than two hours total in the race
Of Note:
Fernandez and Diaz both will be making their career debuts at Lime Rock Park
The pair have claimed three top-five finishes in the five races held to date
Fernandez and Diaz currently sit sixth in the championship standings, only seven points out of third place
Lowe’s Fernandez Racing is currently ranked fifth in the team standings, only eight points out of second place
Fernandez and Diaz captured their best finish to date of second in the Twelve Hours of Sebring
DIAZ ON THE LIME ROCK PARK CIRCUIT FOLLOWING YESTERDAY’S TEST: “It was an interesting day. It is a nice track – very tricky and very technical. There are two very tricky corners and I was not expecting it to be this bumpy. Today was a great opportunity for us to learn this track and it was a more positive day than what we showed on the time charts. The team knows what the car needs. We were working on our setup and we know what we need to be quick and competitive in the race. ”
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