FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Paul Ryan
PR Director, Patrón Highcroft Racing
203.207.0255 / 678.644.0404
paul@highcroftracing.com
Emily Bergantino
Communications Officer, Malaria No More
646.884.7419 / 646.673.3011
emily.bergantino@malarianomore.org
Patrón Highcroft Take ALMS LMP1 Championship Crown
MONTEREY, CA, Saturday, October 10, 2009: Patrón Highcroft Racing have been crowned as the new kings of the American Le Mans Series after Scott Sharp and David Brabham scored a second place finish today aboard their Acura ARX-02a to claim the driver's, team's and manufacturer's title.
David Brabham started second aboard the Patrón Highcroft Racing machine and despite being passed at one stage by the Lola of John Field, Brabham held second place during the opening stint.
However, shortly after the first pit stop on lap 35, the Australian was tagged by the Corvette of Oliver Gavin who slid down the inside of turn one, clipped the Acura and collected a number of GT cars.
Brabham was forced to make an unscheduled stop to remove a damaged piece of bodywork on lap 43 and had to make another stop on lap 55 to fix an electrical issue.
The two unscheduled stops pushed the Patrón Highcroft squad down two laps but Brabham began a fightback, moving from sixth overall back into podium contention and second place in the LMP1 class by lap 87.
Scott Sharp climbed aboard the car on lap 104 and continued the team's solid run through to the checkered flag - finishing third overall and second in the LMP1 class.
While the race was won by championship rivals de Ferran Motorpsort, the second place today was enough to give Patrón Highcroft Racing the 2009 championship by 17 points.
Despite the fact David Brabham has won and scored pole positions in every class of the American Le Mans Series, today's title win was his first in the ALMS.
Scott Sharp became only the second American driver to score the overall LMP1 driver's championship and the first since the inaugural season of the championship in 1999.
The title win was the first for Patrón Highcroft Racing after the Danbury, CT-based squad scored second in the team's championship in the LMP2 class last season.
The event completed a brilliant season for Acura - the manufacturer scoring a 1-2-3 finish overall and clinching both the LMP1 and LMP2 manufacturer's titles. This is the first time a manufacturer has scored two class championships in the same season.
Sharp, Brabham, team owner Duncan Dayton and entire Patrón Highcroft Racing team will now head to the American Le Mans Series championship banquet tomorrow evening in Monterey to collect the season silverware.
In addition the outstanding championship result, Patrón Highcroft Racing also completed its final mile in the Miles to End Malaria campaign for 2009. With support from Patrón Highcroft Racing, Tequila Patrón, American Le Mans Series founder, Dr Donald Panoz and also race fans from around the world - the fundraising effort to help end malaria deaths in Africa raised $63,133.13 for the cause.
Today's championship winning effort from the Patrón Highcroft Racing team can be seen on tape delay on SPEED TV tomorrow from 2:30pm.
