Starworks team happy with third placeRyan Dalziel ready for return to Le Mans Delighted Ryan Dalziel helped Starworks Motorsport beat the odds and get their Ford Riley on to the podium in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in the Diamond Cellar Classic at Mid-Ohio.Proud Scot Ryanfrom Windermere, Floridaand Venezuelan team-mate Alex Popow took a gamble with the race strategy and set-up of the car as they bid to take points off their championship rivals.After an excellent opening stint from Alex, Ryanoriginally from Airdrie in Lanarkshire, Scotlandtook over the driving duties and produced a mature display aimed at maximizing the Fort Lauderdale-based teams position in the championship.After an amazingly fast final pitstop from the Starworks crew, Ryan emerged ahead of the #99 crew of Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney and the #10 team of Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor. Knowing he was ahead of his title rivals, Ryan set about closing down the gap at the front.But the 2012 Speed.com Sports Car Driver of the Year had to settle for third place, despite narrowing the gap to the leader from more than 20 seconds to just under three seconds at the finish.The result moved Ryan just two points out of the championship leadin third place.After the race, Le Mans 24-Hour class winner Ryan jetted over to Europe to take part in this years 24-hour race. He will be driving the SRT Viper in the hugely competitive GT class, as part of Vipers return to the legendary race.RYAN ON MID-OHIO: We definitely went off strategy in terms of car set-up for the race. We made it difficult for ourselves, but we felt that was our best shot for a result. It gave us a faster lap time but it made it very hard for us to race other carsthe plan was to save fuel and try to skip people in the pits. I think I only passed one car on track. But the team did a great job and we got the podium. I think that was the most we were going to get out of the weekend.Our goal was to take points off the #99 and #10, so once we were in front of them, we were happy with the race. Then, towards the end of the race, the guys on the long runs on low downforce were starting to struggle and we really caught them up. Another couple of laps and we might have done even better, but I just didnt get the last five laps in traffic the way I wanted.We dont ever enter a championship without wanting to win races. We always want to win, but there are timeslike Detroitwhere you dominate and know you can win. Then you are disappointed if you dont. Then there are weekends like Mid-Ohio where we thought it was probably the case that we wouldnt be on the podium so we have to look after the championship. We finished on the podium, which is great, and we finished ahead of our rivals.We now have a couple of tracks that are really strong for us so we are very confident. We are excited about the next couple.  RYAN ON LE MANS: The competition gets tougher every year and it is 13 years since Viper were there and a lot has changed since then, but it is a realistic goal for us to aim for a finish. We would love to get a podium and, ultimately, everyone wants to win.The old saying to finish first, first you must finish is so true at Le Mans. Based on the reliability of the car at Sebring, Laguna and Long Beach, the car is running pretty faultlessly, so we are confident on the reliability and the signs are that we have the speed to be competitive. NOTES:  Ryan will next be in action in the SRT Viper at the ACO Le Mans 24-Hours. He will be back with Starworks Motorsport in the Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series at Watkins Glen on June 30.Ryan was second at Road Atlanta and Circuit Of The Americas in the 2013 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. He managed a career-best second place in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2012, with a win at Watkins Glen, second place in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and third at Sahlens Six Hours Of The Glen and Laguna Seca. He also won the Rolex 24 in 2010.He had four Rolex Grand-Am podiums in 2011a win at Mid-Ohio and third at Barber, Lime Rock and Watkins Glen. He also had three fourth-place finishes. Ryan also gave Starworks Motorsport its first DP victory, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in 2008.Ryan and Starworks Motorsport won the FIA World Endurance LMP2 Championship, thanks to class wins at Sebring in Florida, the Le Mans 24 Hours and Brazil. They were also on the podium at Silverstone in the UK, Japan, China and Bahrain.He also grabbed an American Le Mans Series LMPC class wins at Petit Le Mans, Baltimore and Long Beach in California as well as a third place in class at Mosport in Canada.