Dalziel, EFFORT Sweep Weekend at Mid-Ohio

Photo: John Dagys

Ryan Dalziel translated a win in Saturday’s rain-shortened race into a dominant performance Sunday at Mid-Ohio, as the Scot led a weekend sweep for EFFORT Racing and Porsche.

Dalziel claimed a flag-to-flag victory in the 12th round of the Pirelli World Challenge season, outpacing the competition in impressive fashion in Sunday’s 50-minute race at the 2.258-mile circuit.

Having started from the pole thanks to having turned the quickest lap in yesterday’s race, Dalziel’s No. 31 Porsche 911 GT3 R didn’t miss a beat, despite a late-race restart that erased his five-second lead over Mike Skeen.

Dalziel bridged out a 1.547-second margin within the final six-minute shootout over the No. 2 CRP Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra of Skeen, who came home in second.

The No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Anthony Lazzaro made a charge from sixth on the grid to finish third.

Lazzaro benefited from a fading No. 3 Cadillac CTS.V-R of Johnny O’Connell, who charged to second at the start but was unable to match the pace of the FIA GT3-spec machinery and dropped back during long green-flag runs.

O’Connell came home in 5th, while Andrew Palmer elevated his No. 21 GMG Racing Audi to fourth by the checkered flag.

The top-ten in GT was completed by Andy Pilgrim (Cadillac), James Sofronas (GMG Audi), Butch Leitzinger (Dyson Bentley), Alex Figge (K-PAX McLaren) and Michael Mills (EFFORT Porsche), who picked up GT-A class honors.

Like Dalziel, Mills swept the weekend, making it a clean sweep for the Texas-based squad. Mills has taken over the championship lead as a result.

Albert von thurn und Taxis (Reiter Lamborghini) and Jim Taggart (Taggart Porsche) completed the GT-A podium.

In GTS, Lawson Aschenbach claimed his third victory of the season, and also back-to-back wins at Mid-Ohio, with the defending class champion edging out the pair of Kia Optimas for top honors yet again.

The No. 1 Blackdog Racing Camaro led from the green and finished more than two seconds clear of Nic Jonsson’s No. 36 Kia in second. The sister No. 38 Optima of Mark Wilkins completed the podium in third.

The 50-minute race, run under clear conditions, saw two safety car periods, the first for a multi-car accident on the front straight.

It was followed by the No. 04 TRG Aston Martin of Jorge De La Torre, which stopped on track with a suspected engine failure, dropping oil as a result.

RESULTS: Mid-Ohio (Round 12)

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