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2013 Sebring 12: ALMS Race Recap - Dyson Racing 12 Hours Of Sebring Race Report
Dyson Racing was not able to duplicate their ALMSP1 points victory here from last year, retiring five hours into the 61st Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. A drivetrain component failure sidel ined the #16 Thetford/RACER Lola Mazda in the season-opening race for the ten-race American Le Mans Series.
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“Approaching Cunningham Corner, there was a slight vibration,” recounted Guy Smith. “It did not get any better by the time I got onto the back straight, so I came into the pits and we took the car back to the garage to identify the problem. It is frustrating as the car felt the best it has all week. I took over from Chris and joined right behind the #13 Rebellion car and was able to catch him and was all over him for all of the stint. It does give us the confidence that the changes we made to the car this week were positive. A result like this makes us more determined to knuckle down and come back stronger.”
Guy’s co-driver Chris Dyson commented , “We had gone back and forth on our set up this weekend and the final spec we picked was pretty competitive. During the race, in the heat of the day, we were just trying to match up the tire pressures for the conditions. The team had done a great job to give us a good car. On my second stint, we were able to match the Rebellion cars and then we made a couple more adjustments when Guy got in, and we were even quicker. So a frustrating start to the season, no question about it. We will be doing some testing before Long Beach and we will regroup for our west coast swing.”
Joining Chris and Guy this weekend was long-term Dyson veteran, Butch Leitzinger. “It was good to be back. It was like old times. This is such a good cohesive group where everyone pitches in. A true racing family. There really is no better group than Dyson Racing. It is just like I remember it.”
2013 marks Dyson Racing’s thirtieth year in professional racing. Rob Dyson started racing in the SCCA in 1974 and moved up to the professional ranks in 1983 in IMSA’s GTO class. He started racing a Porsche 962 in IMSA’s GTP class in 1985 and has been a main stay of top-line prototype racing ever since.
The American Le Mans Series goes from the longest race of the year to the shortest in five weeks’ time when it races on the streets of Long Beach on April 20th. Last year, Guy Smith started from pole and Guy and Chris Dyson finished second. The race will be broadcast on ABC on April 21st at 1:00 PM ET.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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