Liz Halliday and team-mate Clint Field were targeting their second joint win of the season before heading to the race in Mosport, and they achieved their objective with flying colours. The two young Americans won the LMP2 class ahead of their main rival, the Courage of Team Miracle, and finished an impressive fifth overall behind four LMP1 cars.
As she was coming down from the top step of the rostrum, Liz Halliday said: “I am over the moon. To win this race after the drama of Road America is a major achievement for the team, Clint and me. Everybody has worked flat out over the past two weeks as the car had to be rebuilt completely. They only finished it late on Thursday night and I would like to thank all the crew for a tremendous effort.
“I would also like to dedicate this win to the people of New Orleans,” added Liz. “Hurricane Katrina put things in perspective but everybody in the paddock was thinking of the people suffering in the South. The length of the race was reduced by 15 minutes to save fuel. A lot of money has been raised during the weekend and further donations can be made calling 1 800 SAV ARMY.”
Halliday who started the race from fifth place overall and pole position in the LMP2 class continued: “I didn’t take any risks at the start and let the Miracle car go by. There was no point doing anything silly. Jeff Bucknum is their number one driver, he is very experienced and I knew he was on a mission to overtake me. But I stayed close to him throughout my entire stint and despite the traffic, which was difficult to negotiate, I was only 18 seconds behind him when I handed the car over to Clint, as planned, on lap 44. Then there was an issue with the refuelling system and Clint lost around 30 seconds in the pits.”
Field went back on the track with a mission and charged through the field during his two stints, setting fast lap after fast lap. Strangely enough, there was not a single lap under yellow flags during the race and Field continued to put pressure on the Courage. On lap 85, the Miracle car stopped for its second planned stop and Chris McMurry got on board. The Intersport Racing strategy combined with excellent drives from Liz and Clint allowed the 22-year old American to take the lead on lap 86 and he was looking good for another win. Clint stopped for fuel on lap 90, rejoined the race still in the lead, 24 seconds ahead of the LMP2 Miracle car and drove brilliantly to the flag. With a few laps to go, Team Miracle’s McMurry damaged the front of his car and after a quick pit stop to check everything was OK he finished the race 10th overall and second in class.
Liz Halliday added: “Our strategy worked perfectly and we beat them fair and square. I lost so little time compared to their best and more experienced driver that I knew Clint would overtake them. The time we lost in the pits during the first stop was not planned, but the second stop was faultless and it just shows the pace of the car. The chassis (Lola), engine (AER) and tyres (Goodyear) were just perfect and we were flying.”
Liz’s pace during the race was impressive. It was the first time she had driven at the ultra fast Mosport circuit and following some minor problems on Friday, she only drove during the Saturday practice sessions.
Liz said: “I didn’t drive on Friday and I was thrown in at the deep end on Saturday during the two practice sessions. It went well and I discovered an amazing track, so fast you hardly needed to touch the brakes for three quarters of the lap!
A delighted Clint Field said: “It’s good to come to Mosport and victory after a bad week at Road America. Liz drove really well this weekend and it’s great to win again together. Despite the challenges of the track, her lack of track time and traffic during her stint, she didn’t put a foot wrong and handed over the car in a good position. Liz’s increasing comfort in the car was a key in the early part of the race. Liz really stuck close to Jeff and kept us close.”
Liz Halliday concluded: “I am delighted to score the second LMP2 win of my career and I look forward to driving at Petit Le Mans at the end of September with Clint and John Field. This will be a different challenge for us as the car needs to be fast as well as reliable. We know we have the speed; we need to make sure that we don’t have any technical issues during the 10-hour race. If we don’t, then we should be on for another win.”
Liz Halliday is now flying back to the UK and on Friday she will join the Beechdean Team at Silverstone for the first ever Britcar 24 Hours.
