Max Hyatt Racing News
Utah Grand Prix Podium Finish for PR1/Mathiasen
Motorsports
Team celebrates a third place result in only
their third American Le Mans Series Presented
by Tequila Patrón race.
July 11, 2010
Tooele, UT -
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports achieved a team
milestone today with their first podium finish
in the American Le Mans Series presented by
Tequila Patrón LMPC class. In only the
Fresno, CA, based team's third start in the
series, drivers Alex Figge, of Boulder, CO,
and Max Hyatt, of San Jose, CA, finished P3
in class and P7 overall.
Starting from third position, Hyatt took the
green flag for the Larry H. Miller Dealerships
Utah Grand Prix. Driving the #52 Corsa Car
Care Oreca FLM09, Hyatt rocketed his way past
the #55 and #99 cars with an impressive inside
pass in the first turn on the first lap. Hyatt
would follow his impressive race start by leading
the first few laps while also setting the early
race fastest laps. Hyatt would continue to
race for the lead for 28 laps until handing
the #52 over to Figge, who re-joined the race
in 2nd.
Mid-race, Figge would go on to set the #52's
fastest time while trying to overhaul the #55's
LMPC class lead. On lap 66, Figge would lap
Miller Motorsports Park's 23-turn outer course
in 1:44.742 before pitting one last time for
fuel on lap 68 in second place. With services
complete, the #52 suffered a disastrous engine
starter failure, causing the PR1/Mathiasen
Motorsports crew to take emergency action to
get the car restarted. The #52's V8 roared
to life, but the nearly 30 second delay had
cost the team one position with Figge rejoining
the race in third.
With less than 20 minutes to go, Gunnar Jeannette
in the #99 LMPC entry went off of the track
allowing Figge to once again challenge for
second place honors. Despite an exciting battle
for position, race traffic and a filthy offline
racing surface would keep the #52 in P3 all
the way to the checkered flag.
Despite the troubles on and off the track,
Figge was elated to capture the team's first
American Le Mans Series podium finish.
"Everyone on the team is pretty happy
with today's results," Figge exclaimed. "The
starter issue in the pits, and some traffic
kept us from getting to the top step today.
After Gunnar went off, we had a great chance
to get back around him. But the track was so
dirty offline, that every time I passed a GT
or a GTC car, the tires would get too much
pickup on them to attack. Our goal was to finish
strong and we're now looking to grow the program
into something even better in the near future.
It's great to be on the podium for PR1/Mathiasen
Motorsports and Corsa Car Care today!"
Hyatt had studied the support series races
to learn where he could find the grip needed
to make the stunning lap one, turn one overtaking
maneuver for the lead.
"I knew I needed to get past the #55
and the #99 as soon as possible," Hyatt
explained. "So when I saw the opening
on the inside, I went for it. I knew there
was grip down there from watching the IMSA
Lights and GT3 races. We studied those guys
to see how the track worked for them, as we
knew we had to get up front and build a gap
early on. It was great to lead and if it wasn't
for some pickup on the tires after the yellow,
the #95 may not have gotten by us in turn six
after the restart."
"With the starter issues in pit lane,
it makes today's finish somewhat bittersweet," Hyatt
continued. "We could have easily gotten
P2. Still, for my first American Le Mans Series
race, it's absolutely fantastic to be standing
on the podium with this caliber of competition.
Thanks again to my family, Club Auto Sport,
Borelli Motor Sports, Corsa Car Care and PR1/Mathiasen
Motorsports for giving me this opportunity."
Bobby Oergel, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Team
Principal, is proud of how his drivers and
team performed under pressure this weekend.
"So far this year, our race weekends
in the LMPC class have been about our dedication
to overcome what we can't control," Oergel
said. "From our electrical issues on Friday,
to our starter problems today, this team has
had to dig deep and push themselves to the
limit. Both Alex and Max showed tremendous
speed and race craft today, and the whole crew
displayed outstanding professionalism by successfully
overcoming adversity. Our first podium result
is theirs to enjoy, and I'm sure that it will
be the first of many."
LMPC qualifying for next round of the 2010
American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila
Patrón, the American Le Mans Northeast
Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park, begins on Friday,
July 23, 2010 at 1:40pm PT. The two hour and
forty-five minute main event starts on Saturday,
July 24, 2010 at 11:05am PT with live coverage
on SPEED.
Drivers and potential partners interested
in the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports American Le
Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón
LMPC program can contact the team directly
at pr1motorsports@aol.com or at (559) 277-1300.
Corsa Car Care manufactures professional grade
automotive detailing products including cleaners,
polishes and protective sealants for exterior
finishes, interior leathers & textiles,
glass, vinyl and rubber applications. As a
division of Miracle Sealants Company, Corsa
Car Care draws on over 25 years of knowledge
and experience in advanced polymer chemistry.
For more details, visit corsacarcare.com.
In paddocks packed with excellent teams and
quality drivers, PR1 Motorsports has established
itself as one of the top driver development
programs. Based in Fresno, CA, PR1 Motorsports
occupies an expansive facility housing a stable
of F2000 Zetec, GRAND-AM Rolex Series, and
American Le Mans Series race cars. Team drivers
enjoy the benefits of a completely professional
program including engineering support, state-of-the
art data acquisition, and a race winning experienced
crew. PR1 Motorsports drivers, and partners,
enjoy first-class trackside hospitality and
comprehensive marketing support.
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports team information
can be found at:
www.PR1Motorsports.com
www.MathiasenMotorsports.com
www.CorsaCarCare.com
www.MaxHyattRacing.com
For more information please contact PR1 Motorsports
at (559) 277-1300 or pr1motorsports@aol.com
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