Weaver, Dyson win 6 hours of The Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- The Dyson Racing duo of James Weaver and Chris Dyson survived an oppressively hot and humid day and an early off course excursion to win the 6 Hours of the Glen. As many of their competitors fell by the wayside due a variety of mechanical problems, Weaver and Dyson soldiered on through the automotive carnage and incapacitating summer heat to capture their second consecutive Grand American Road Racing Association Rolex Sports Car Series victory. The duo recorded 187 laps around the 3.4-mile 15-turn Watkins Glen International course.

"We had a trouble free run today," Weaver explained. "This is a great track -- one of the best in the world -- and it's really a privilege to drive here, even though it was so hot."

"The No. 16 car did a tremendous job today," said team owner Rob Dyson. "James did a great job helping us set the car up this weekend, and James and Chris just did a terrific job behind the wheel today."

"It's been a great weekend because Friday was my dad's birthday, and this was a great present for him," added Chris Dyson.

Although the No. 16 Dyson Racing Riley & Scott of Weaver and Dyson performed almost flawlessly throughout the entire 6-hour race, the same cannot be said for the rest of the 38-car field, which was decimated by an unusually high amount of attrition. In fact, the attrition was so bad that three underpowered SRPII cars finished second, third, and fourth overall.

The No. 8 Rand Racing Nissan Lola of Terry Borcheller, Anthony Lazzaro, and Ralf Kelleners finished second, two laps behind the winners. Their Rand Racing teammates, Niclas Jonsson, William Rand, and Marino Franchitti, brought their Nissan Lola home in third overall, followed by the No. 22 Archangel Motorsports entry of Howard Katz, David Sternberg, and Bret Arsenault.

"Our car is very reliable because of the way it's built," Lazzaro stated after recording the highest overall finish ever by an SRPII machine. "And when the SRP guys run into trouble, we really shine. But the only way we'll ever win one of these overall is if the SRP guys have a lot bad luck."

The No. 6 Miracle Motorsports Riley & Scott of John Macaluso, Buddy Rice, and James Gue could have finished on the podium, but a whole host of late race mechanical problems dropped them to fifth overall and second in SRP.

The other two contenders for the overall win, the No. 20 Dyson Racing Riley & Scott and the No. 27 Doran Racing Judd Dallara, fell off the pace relatively early in the six-hour race. The No. 20 Dyson car of Butch Leitzinger, Elliot Forbes Robinson, and Rob Dyson retired less than three hours into the event with a faulty power steering rack, while the No. 27 Doran entry of Didier Theys, Mauro Baldi, and Freddy Lienhard Jr. spent a great deal of time behind the pit wall as Doran's veteran crew worked feverishly to repair various components of the team's new 5.0-liter engine.

As a result, the No. 33 Ferrari of Cort Wagner and Bill Auberlen finished sixth overall, claiming Ferrari's first GT win in a number of years and preventing Darren Law from winning his third consecutive 6 Hours of the Glen. Law and Brent Martini had to settle for second in class and eighth overall in the No. 81 G&W Motorsports Porsche GT3, three laps in front of the No. 10 Alegra Motorsports BMW M3 of Emil Assentato, Nick Longhi, and Chris Gleason, which rounded out the top-10.

"This was a brand new car and it handled so well all weekend that it made me nervous because of all of things that have happened to us this year," Wagner remarked. "But it feels so good to give Ferrari its first GT win in a long time."

In American GT, the pole sitting No. 47 Morgan Dollar Motorsports Corvette of Rob and Charles Morgan finished ninth overall and first in class, defeating the Flis Motorsports Corvettes for the first time this season.

"It was great to win in car that my dad designed and built," Rob Morgan stated after breaking Flis's stranglehold on the AGT class. "You really work hard here and it's so tough to drive fast. I'm so tired right now because I drove more than four of the six hours."

The unexpected retirement of Chris Bingham's previously all conquering Saleen S7R enabled the No. 72 Jack Lewis Enterprises Porsche of Jack Lewis and Keith Fisher to claim GTS class honors for the first time this season. The No. 14 Front Porch Racing Porsche of Thomas Soriano, Lynn Wilson, and Adam Merzon hung on to finish second after a late race wreck blew out its windshield, while the Saleen claimed third by default, due to the fact that it was the only other GTS car in the field.

"We went for it and fortunately we won it even though our car is really Porsche Cup car," Lewis explained. "We've been trying to win one of these races for years, and we've finally done it. This is a dream come true to win the 6 Hours."