A fifth-place finish in the Brickyard Grand Prix – AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari’s eighth consecutive top five – had this year’s GT championship trophy figuratively in the engraver’s hands. Then came The Glen and, as the saying goes, that’s why they run the races. The No. 69 Ferrari collided with its closest rival, the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro on the opening lap sending both cars to pit road.
Both cars finished the Continental Tire 200 but the remainder of this season’s road forks in different directions. Stevenson dropped from second to fourth in points, essentially ending the team’s title hopes.
For AIM, what had been a comfortable, 26-point lead was nearly halved.
The new challenger is the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW, winner at The Glen with Paul Dalla Lana and, Bill Auberlen and Billy Johnson at the controls. Turner’s blue and yellow M3 trails AIM’s Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal by 16 points entering Saturday’s race in Montreal.
AIM has won three times. Turner’s Glen victory was its second.
Actually, the Rolex 24 At Daytona is the difference between the two teams with Montreal, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park remaining on the 2012 schedule. Until last weekend, AIM’s only finish outside the top five was an eighth at Daytona. Turner finished 15th in the twice-around-the-clock classic.
AIM was seventh at Watkins Glen and pleased – under the circumstances.
“I think we definitely made the best of a bad situation,” said Segal, who entered the race with a 26-point lead. “It is pretty unbelievable that we managed to get out of here with seventh place after going a two or three laps down. It’s not ideal, especially with the No. 94 winning. They are right behind us in the points now.”
Dalla Lana, last year’s Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport champion, looks forward to applying additional pressure at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“I hate to wish bad luck on anyone, but we could have used some good luck – and we got it today,” he said following the team’s Glen victory.
Stevenson won’t mind playing the role of spoiler in Montreal. The organization is the race’s defending GT winner with Robin Liddell, who shares driving duties Saturday with John Edwards.