Guy Smith news 2006-12-18

*SMITH BIDS FOR CLASS HONOURS IN AMERICAN SPORTSCAR SERIES*
*Dyson Racing Switch To Porsche Spyders For Assault On LM P2 Category*

Britain's last Le Mans 24 Hour race winner Guy Smith is to drive one of the most famous and successful marques in endurance sportscar racing.

The 32-year-old Yorkshireman who won the 2003 Le Mans race with Bentley, will compete for LM P2 honours in the 2007 American Le Mans Series at the wheel of a Porsche RS Spyder.

Smith remains for a second consecutive full ALMS season with New York State-based Dyson Racing which switches from the LM P1 Lola to a two-car Porsche entry for the expanded 12-race series which begins with the Sebring 12 Hours (17 Mar).

"The Porsche was very good this year while the revised '07 model looks very sexy and am confidant it will have increased performance and other detail improvements," states Smith.

"I believe the LM P2 will be /the/ class next season. There will be at least seven potential class winning cars, entered by very good teams and each featuring top class driver line-ups. So it's going to be a very tough year."

Guy first competed in the ALMS championship in 2000 and finished sixth in the LM P1 Drivers' Championship this year having recorded a best finish of second place at Mosport. He will continue to partner Chris Dyson while fellow American Butch Leitzinger shares with Britain?s Andy Wallace.

Smith, who is still trying to secure a drive at Le Mans next June, added: "I'm confidant that with the Dyson team, and Chris [Dyson], we can claim some wins and hopefully the ALMS LM P2 Championship."

"I've never driven a Porsche racing car before but I'm obviously aware of the company's amazing motorsport history and I'm very excited to be adding the Porsche marque to Bentley and Audi as one of the sportscars I have raced."

Smith will drive the Dyson Racing Porsche for the first time in the ALMS Winter Test (21-24 Jan) at Sebring before contesting the Daytona 24 Hours, also in Florida, with fellow Briton Oliver Gavin, Dyson and his father, Rob, in a Crawford Pontiac on 27-28 January.

The Porsche Spyder raced in this year's 10-race ALMS championship after making a class-winning race debut at Laguna Seca 14 months ago. It scored eight LM P2 class victories including a 1-2 outright result at Mid-Ohio this season to win the Manufacturers' and Drivers' LM P2 titles (Sascha Maassen & Lucas Luhr).

-credit: guysmith