Sebring: Dyson Racing qualifying report

Sebring Spring Forward SEBRING FL March 19, 2010 - Continuing their uninterrupted string of top-three qualifying runs begun at Sebring last year, Dyson Racing qualified third in LMP2 for the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, the opening round of the ...

Sebring Spring Forward

SEBRING FL March 19, 2010 - Continuing their uninterrupted string of top-three qualifying runs begun at Sebring last year, Dyson Racing qualified third in LMP2 for the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, the opening round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season. Guy Smith qualified the #16 BP Castrol Mazda Lola coupe in a close effort where two tenths of a second separated the top three. "The car was close in qualifying and more importantly we have a very good race car. As Rob Dyson likes to say, 'pay day is tomorrow,'" said Smith.

The team effort was a culmination of an off-season of new: Dunlop tires, BP's isobutanol fuel, and Dyson Racing's new endurance driver, Andy Meyrick. "We are all really encouraged. Everything is going to plan," said Chris Dyson. "We are getting good performance from the MZR-R engine, the car is working well on the Dunlop tires, and the isobutanol fuel that we debuted at the end of last year is developing well." CLICK FOR MORE

Guy Smith added that "it has been a continuous development curve and compared to twelve months ago, our car is a completely different beast. The engine package and the chassis package have continued to improve. By the end of last year, we had a very fast race car. We continued our hard work over the winter and look forward to contending for the championship this year."

This is Dyson Racing's seventeenth 12 Hours of Sebring and British racer Andy Meyrick's first. "It is such an iconic race, and a challenge and I like a challenge. It is a fantastic opportunity and I thank the Dysons. I went to Disney when I was here in Florida as a youngster and am thinking of going back on Sunday to see what is like." In the tradition of Super Bowl victors, here's hoping the whole team will be joining Andy.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida, the opening round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron and America's greatest sports car race, starts Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET. The green flag falls at 10:30 a.m. ET with live coverage on SPEED at 10 a.m. ET. Live coverage also will be available on American Le Mans Radio, and Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245.