Lime Rock: BAM! Saturday report

Das Ringer!

Lucas Luhr started on the right foot with his new team when he qualified the No. 43 YES Network Porsche 911 GT3 RSR second on the GT grid for Monday's American Le Mans Series race at Lime Rock Park. Luhr quickly learned the tight 1.54-mile road course and turned a fast lap in 54.920 seconds, just three-tenths of a second off the class pole position.

"I'm happy that we are on the first row. I think it's a really good result for BAM!," he said. "I made a slight mistake in my quickest lap, otherwise we would have been a little bit faster. But I think it's a good place to start the race on Monday."

Leo Hindery, Jr., BAM!'s lead driver, immediately nicknamed his young German partner.

"It's easy to see that Das Ringer rang the bell!," he enthused. "Lucas was extraordinary out there. He ran the heck out of the car - his fast lap was later in the session than anybody else's. He's one of these fellows who can bring the track to him instead of the other way around. He is a gift to watch."

Yankee cameras

The BAM! crew pays attention to every detail on the YES Network Porsche. The team now carries adhesive vinyl painted to match the car's metallic blue color, so any mark on the car can be quickly covered. This weekend, BAM! mechanic Rob Joy fashioned custom covers for the Speed Channel cameras on the car's roof, to present a smooth Yankee blue line.

for the fans

BAM! crew chief Matt Bishop presented an hour-long tech talk for fans at Lime Rock on Saturday. He gave them a close-up tour of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, spiced with his stories of past race campaigns.

double flag

BAM! will carry two flags for American Le Mans Series pre-race ceremonies, starting with the Lime Rock race. The British and American flags reflect the team's dual heritage, both owners (Tim Munday of England and American Peter Baron) and crew.

-sp/bam-