This final round of the 2009 American Le Mans season was special in a number of ways and yet somehow it all revolved around Gil de Ferran. The Brazilian says this is his last race as a driver. Apparently he wanted to go out on top, as he not only captured the pole but also the race win. The de Ferran Racing Acura wore a special livery to mimic Jim Hall’s legendary Chaparral racers of the Can Am days. As part of the pre race festivities, de Ferran took 3 laps in the Chaparral 2. Picking up 2nd & 3rd places in the LMP1 class were the Fernandez/Diaz & Brabham/Sharp Acuras. The 3rd place finish was enough to hand David Brabham & Scott Sharp the driver’s championship while Patron Highcroft sealed the team title.
The Garage had Jon Emerson on hand at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to capture the excitement and capture he did. We’ve got a huge gallery of unedited shots after the break and there are tons more to come. Regular readers will recognize Jon from his shots at last year’s ALMS race at Laguna and as Gary Faules’ Co-Piloto at La Carrera Panamerica in 2007. Jon is also a regular competitor in NASA’s popular Spec E30 class.
Our first gallery and complete results from the weekend after the break.
Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif.
Saturday’s race results
1. (1) Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-02a (1, P1), 168.
2. (3) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01b (1, P2), 168.
3. (2) David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Acura ARX-02a (2, P1), 164.
4. (9) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Canada; Lola B06/10 AER (3, P1), 159.
5. (6) Johnny Mowlem, England; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Ginetta-Zytek 09HS (4, P1), 158.
6. (14) Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (1, GT2), 155.
7. (10) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (2, GT2), 155.
8. (13) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (3, GT2), 154.
9. (16) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Ian James, England; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (4, GT2), 154.
10. (22) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5, GT2), 153.
11. (17) Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; Dirk Mueller, Germany; BMW E92 M3 (6, GT2), 153.
12. (20) Richard Westbrook, England; Johannes Stuck, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT2), 153.
13. (21) Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Dominic Cicero, Portland, OR; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8, GT2), 150.
14. (31) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Ben Devlin, England; Lola B09 86 Mazda (9, P2x), 150.
15. (18) Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (10, GT2), 150.
16. (23) John Baker, New York, NY; Guy Cosmo, Long Island, NY; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, C), 144.
17 (12) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (11, GT2), 143.
18. (30) Donald Pickering, Reno, NV; Nick Parker, Seattle, WA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, C), 140.
19. (25) Galen Bieker, Burbank, CA; Robert Rodriquez, Zephyr Cove, NV; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (5, C), 140.
20. (19) David Murry, Cumming, GA; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT MK 7 (12, GT2), 139.
21. (29) Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (6, C), 138.
22. (8) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (5, P1), 125, Mechanical.
23. (7) Klaus Graf, Germany; Greg Pickett, Alamo, CA; Porsche RS Spyder (2, P2), 124, Suspension.
24. (32) James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Brett Curtis, Valencia, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (7, C), 89.
25. (28) Melanie Snow, Pleasant Grove, UT; Martin Snow, Pleasant Grove, UT; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (8, C), 52, Engine.
26. (11) Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Ferrari F430 GT (13, GT2), 49, Radiator.
27. (32) Marc Goosens, Belgium; Paul Gentilozzi, Lansing, MI; Jaguar XKR (14, GT2), 46, Drive line.
28. (4) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Lola B09 86 Mazda (3, P2), 31, Mechanical.
29. (15) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E92 M3 (15, GT2), 3, Mechanical.
30. (5) Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Lola B09 60 Judd (6, P1), 2, Accident.
31. (27) Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL; Mitch Pagerey, Deerfield Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, C), 144, Excluded
32. (26) Wesley Hoagland, Tustin, CA; Bob Faieta, Tujunga, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, C), 144, Excluded.
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