Dyson Tops Thursday Test at VIR

Photo: John Dagys

Dyson Racing led the way in Thursday’s test session at Virginia International Raceway, as American Le Mans Series teams gear up for Saturday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix.

In his series return, Johnny Mowlem peddled the No. 16 Lola B12/60 Mazda to a best lap of 1:40.213 around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn circuit.

The Englishman, sharing the wheel of the P1 car this weekend with Guy Smith, was more than 1.3 seconds ahead of the P2 pace-setting No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b of Johannes van Overbeek, who was second overall on the time sheets.

The Nos. 551 and 552 Level 5 Motorsports HPDs were third and fourth quickest overall, respectively, followed by the No. 8 BAR1 Motorsports Oreca FLM09 of Kyle Marcelli, who topped the PC class with an impressive 1:42.684 lap time.

GT was paced by the No. 06 CORE autosport Porsche of Patrick Long, who reeled off a 1:47.886, while Jeroen Bleekemolen led the way in GTC aboard his Alex Job Racing Porsche.

A number of cars ran into trouble in the two-hour session, including the No. 11 JDX Racing Porsche and the No. 81 DragonSpeed Oreca FLM09, the latter having to undergo an engine change after breaking a radiator.

The No. 05 CORE autosport PC entry stopped on track with gearbox issues.

Official track activity kicks off Friday with Practice 1 at 10:25 a.m. ET.

RESULTS: Test Session 

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John