Oct
22
Evander Klum asked:
Acura ended the first season of the American Le Mans Series with a riveting fight between Fernandez Racing and AGR teams. Tony Kanaan and Adrian Fernandez resumed their fight during the final round at Laguna Seca, finishing fifth and sixth overall respectively.
The racing machines are made bigger hence a bit slower but the fight between Kanaan, Fernandez, and the rest of the drivers was no less extreme, with the Acura pair exchanging positions in the latter stages of the ALMS event before the Mexican driver got the better of the Brazilian at the chequered flag.
Scoring third and fourth in the LMP2 class at the same time, fifth overall signals the end of a strong season for the Lowe’s Fernandez Racing team, who have persevered with the Lola chassis this year while their Acura counterparts have had in-house chassis’ at their disposal, reported Crash.
Kanaan, who was fighting back in the AGR Acura when co-driver Bryan Herta spun on the first lap, was also happy with the result, revealing that the cars are plenty of fun to drive.
“That was a tough battle for our team today. We had to fight back from two laps down. But the AGR XM team never panicked and they helped me get back on the lead lap. I was driving very hard with the Audi, Penske Porsche and Adrian [Fernandez] at the end,” said Kanaan.
“That was exciting. It is so much fun driving this Acura car. Plus, racing at one of my favorite tracks is always great for me. I think the Acura program will continue to get stronger and get ready for the 2008 season. I believe the AGR Acura will be in contention to win Sebring again when the ALMS season begins,” Kanaan noted.
“It was a fantastic race for the Lowe’s Acura team. It felt great to have a great performance in front of our Lowe’s executives and also the [Acura] NSX Car Club who were cheering for us. I had a very good car today but it was a bit frustrating with the GT cars. I just didn’t get much luck with them today,” said Fernandez. “Every time I moved to pass, they went the same way. I made a move on [Ryan] Briscoe to get in [LMP2] second place but a GT car slid right in front of me. Overall, it was a great way to finish the season and go into 2008.”
Kanaan believes that the maker of the Acura brake caliper is capable to taking the fight to the prevailing Porsche RS Spyders next year. Looking to next season, he has now called upon Acura to go into 2008 with the intention of beating the Penske cars, which have claimed all but one LMP2 victories this season.
“It was a good day for the XM Satellite Acura team today. I can see that we are improving with the setup of the car. Of course, we also are getting ready for the 2008 season because we need to work on getting closer to those Penske Porsches. I know that the Acura and HPD folks are working very hard to get this program up with the Penskes. They set a very high bar to reach,” Kanaan concluded.
Gregory
Acura ended the first season of the American Le Mans Series with a riveting fight between Fernandez Racing and AGR teams. Tony Kanaan and Adrian Fernandez resumed their fight during the final round at Laguna Seca, finishing fifth and sixth overall respectively.
The racing machines are made bigger hence a bit slower but the fight between Kanaan, Fernandez, and the rest of the drivers was no less extreme, with the Acura pair exchanging positions in the latter stages of the ALMS event before the Mexican driver got the better of the Brazilian at the chequered flag.
Scoring third and fourth in the LMP2 class at the same time, fifth overall signals the end of a strong season for the Lowe’s Fernandez Racing team, who have persevered with the Lola chassis this year while their Acura counterparts have had in-house chassis’ at their disposal, reported Crash.
Kanaan, who was fighting back in the AGR Acura when co-driver Bryan Herta spun on the first lap, was also happy with the result, revealing that the cars are plenty of fun to drive.
“That was a tough battle for our team today. We had to fight back from two laps down. But the AGR XM team never panicked and they helped me get back on the lead lap. I was driving very hard with the Audi, Penske Porsche and Adrian [Fernandez] at the end,” said Kanaan.
“That was exciting. It is so much fun driving this Acura car. Plus, racing at one of my favorite tracks is always great for me. I think the Acura program will continue to get stronger and get ready for the 2008 season. I believe the AGR Acura will be in contention to win Sebring again when the ALMS season begins,” Kanaan noted.
“It was a fantastic race for the Lowe’s Acura team. It felt great to have a great performance in front of our Lowe’s executives and also the [Acura] NSX Car Club who were cheering for us. I had a very good car today but it was a bit frustrating with the GT cars. I just didn’t get much luck with them today,” said Fernandez. “Every time I moved to pass, they went the same way. I made a move on [Ryan] Briscoe to get in [LMP2] second place but a GT car slid right in front of me. Overall, it was a great way to finish the season and go into 2008.”
Kanaan believes that the maker of the Acura brake caliper is capable to taking the fight to the prevailing Porsche RS Spyders next year. Looking to next season, he has now called upon Acura to go into 2008 with the intention of beating the Penske cars, which have claimed all but one LMP2 victories this season.
“It was a good day for the XM Satellite Acura team today. I can see that we are improving with the setup of the car. Of course, we also are getting ready for the 2008 season because we need to work on getting closer to those Penske Porsches. I know that the Acura and HPD folks are working very hard to get this program up with the Penskes. They set a very high bar to reach,” Kanaan concluded.
Gregory
