Terry Borcheller scored a well-deserved GT1 podium finish in the Petit Le Mans, second-last race in the 2005 American Le Mans Series. He had a short 10-mile commute from his home in nearby Gainesville, Ga., to Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., but a long drive to finish third in the 1000-mile race.
Borcheller qualified the Saleen S7R he shared with Ralf Kelleners of Dusseldorf, Germany, and Johnny Mowlem of London, England. His lap time of one minute 17.234 seconds (118.393 mph) on the 2.54-mile road course was good for fifth on the GT1 grid behind the powerful factory teams of Corvette and Aston Martin.
Borcheller drove the first stint of the nine-hour 17-minute race. He started fifth in class and moved to third on the first lap, but his charge was stopped by a power-steering problem. He manhandled the car around the track for 13 minutes until he was able to stop for repairs during a caution period. He returned to the track sixth in class, one lap behind the leaders.
"The power steering belt just jumped off and I had to run the first eight laps with no power steering. The belt just somehow derailed, came completely off the pulley. We got a yellow, thankfully, so we could put it back on," Borcheller said. "Even though we lost a lap, the boys did a great job under the conditions – everything was very hot and not easy to get to. Even rolling the belt back on was a feat, considering they had to use a mirror to see it."
Mowlem took the second stint, followed by Kelleners. The trio rotated through three times, holding fourth or fifth in class despite problems including contact with a GT2 car, punctured tires, a transmission issue, bodywork repair and team penalties. About 30 minutes from the finish, one of the Corvettes was sidelined, opening up third place for the Saleen.
"The whole race was made a lot more difficult than it should have been with what happened at the start, when we went down a lap. That was very difficult to make up and we just kept having one thing after another. We pitted 18 times! The lead car pitted half that," Borcheller explained. "We were fast all night, that's what was frustrating. We had a car that could run in the front."
off-track
Borcheller participated in two events during the Petit Le Mans race week. He drove in a Motorsports Ministries charity go-kart race and spoke to youth attending a Steve Deal Band concert. "It was great, really good for the community and the kids who were there," he reported.
next
Borcheller will drive the No. 15 CB Motorsports Pontiac-powered Riley Mk XI in a Rolex Sports Car Series race at Virginia International Raceway in Danville, Va., on Oct. 9.
