Surrey-based Californian Liz Halliday returns to the wheel of the Interport Lola B05/40 AER this week-end, to tackle the two-hour, 45 minute event at the Infineon raceway in Sonoma, California. The race comes less than three weeks after the 26-year-old’s tilt at the classic Le Mans 24 Hours, where she competed with flying colours. Teaming up with her for the race is fellow American, Clint Field, who partnered her in the Sebring 12 Hours at the beginning of the year.
Delighted to be back in America competing in an LMP2 car, Halliday comments: “I had a great time with the Intersport team in Le Mans and I really enjoyed driving the new Lola. The car is fantastic and it has a lot of potential. Had we not had an engine problem in the middle of the night, we could definitely have finished in the top 10 overall and won the LMP2 class by miles. After the race, I felt that I had unfinished business in prototypes this year and I wanted to do more races as soon as I had time in busy my schedule. I have never raced at the Infineon raceway and I look forward to driving an LMP2 car there.”
Commenting on her future plans, the 26-year-old says: “I will definitely do two races with Intersport and Clint. The first of those races will be the Infineon this weekend and then, secondly, Elkhart Lake between 19th and 21st August. I know that we have the car and the engine to win the LMP2 class of both events, so if we finish both races, we should score two strong results. Halliday continues: “I also hope that we can mix with the LMP1 cars and go for an overall podium. I have been working hard on my driving and physical preparation since the beginning of the year and everything is starting to fall in to place nicely.”
In addition to these two rounds of the ALMS championship, Liz will continue her programme with the Lister team in the FIA GT Championship. Halliday confirms: “My main programme for this year remains the FIA GT Championship with the Lister works team and Justin Keen. We had some technical issues at the start of the season but it was great to finish the race in Brno at the end of June and score a strong 7th place overall.”
Before flying to California on Thursday morning, Liz and the Lister team will be in action at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium for the Official Test day on Tuesday 12th July. Liz comments: “I look forward to Tuesday. After racing in Le Mans, driving at Spa in the Lister will be a superb experience for me. It is one of my favourite circuits and I look forward to it. The Lister team has been working hard since the beginning of the year and it would be fantastic for everybody in the team to score a strong result there during the race at the end of July.”
It will be a busy summer for the young Californian, who in addition to her motor sport career, is also working hard to ultimately join the USA Equestrian Team for the 2008 or 2012 Summer Olympics in the three-day event competition. Based in Farnham, Surrey, UK, for the past three years, she is delighted that London will be hosting the games in 2012: “Of course, I would have wanted New York to win the bid but London is awesome for me. I could not believe it on Wednesday when I heard the news. In addition to my ambitious programme in endurance racing, three-day eventing is very important to me and my career and I will be next competing near Banbury in the Aston Le Walls Horse Trials on the 22nd and 23rd July. So I have little time for a social life!”
The 2.22-mile, 12-turn Infineon Raceway is located 30 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and serves as the gateway to the beautiful Sonoma Wine Country. The track hosts several events, including NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing, the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Superbike tour and the IRL IndyCar Series.
Programme of events at the Infineon Raceway
(Time difference: BST less 8 hours):
Friday 15th July
12.15pm – 12.45pm: Practice (LM P1 / LM P2)
12.45pm – 1.45: Practice (all classes)
Saturday 16th July
10.00am – 11.00am: Practice
3.40pm – 4.00pm: Qualifying (LM P1 / LM P2)
Sunday 17th July
8.20am – 8.50am: Warm-up (all classes)
11.00am – 1.45pm: Race
