Here is the article:
SHARP, BRABHAM LEAD ACURA’S ST. PETE SWEEP
Acura scores first victories at St. Petersburg
The Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg proved not to be much of one for Patrón Highcroft Racing. Scott Sharp and David Brabham won the second round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series with a convincing victory in the season’s first street race.
Brabham and his Acura ARX-02a finished 32.150 seconds ahead of Adrian Fernandez as Acura took the top two positions and swept the prototype classes for the first time. Fernandez was the LMP2 winner for the second straight race with Luis Diaz in Lowe’s Fernandez Racing’s Acura ARX-01b.
Brabham and Sharp won their second overall event together. They have won five times class, having scored four in LMP2 together last year.
Fernandez and Diaz were a lap clear of Dyson Racing’s Guy Smith and Chris Dyson in the team’s first Mazda-powered Lola B09/86. The second entry of Butch Leitzinger and Marino Franchitti were third after a mid-race stop to replace a cut front-right tire.
Intersport Racing’s Clint Field, Jon Field and Chapman Ducote were second in P1 driving their AER-powered Lola B06/10. They finished ahead of the pole-sitting de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a, which finished the race stranded on course with electrical problems.
Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister won in GT2 by two laps in their Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The pairing, class champions together in 2005, gave Porsche its first victory at St. Petersburg after wins by Ferrari in 2007 and 2008.
Long drove the opening stint and was one of the last drivers to pit, coming in when Joel Feinberg crashed at the 53-minute mark to bring out the race’s lone caution period. He had gained a lap over the rest of the field and increased that advantage when he went around the safety car as it picked up overall leader Fernandez.
Dirk Müller and Tommy Milner were second in GT2 class as Müller picked up two positions in the final 15 minutes driving one of BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team’s BMW M3s. He was more than 15 seconds ahead of Panoz Team PTG’s Dominik Farnbacher, who drove the Panoz Esperante GTLM with Ian James. The pairing finished third for the second straight race.
Fernandez and Diaz also were prototype winners in the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge, which goes to the fastest and most energy efficient entry.
Hand and Milner were GT winners in their BMW.
The Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach is the next round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series. The race is set for 4:15 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 18 from the famed Long Beach street circuit in southern California. The race will be televised from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 19 on ABC. Qualifying is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT on Friday, April 17. American Le Mans Radio and Live Timing and Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.
The race also will mark the next round for the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge. For tickets, visit americanlemans.com or gplb.com.