For Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard, the eighth round of the American Le Mans Series finished with a sixth place and a meagre six points.
The Porsche RS Spyder No 7 had however led the first part of the race and after the first rounds of pit stops, Romain, originally from Alès in the Gard region of France, even left the pits in first place overall. The second hour of the race began well too, with all their main competitors quite some distance behind, but then the Safety Car was deployed and all the cars closed up on each other and the gap was reduced to the absolute minimum. The second round of refuelling stops did not go off quite so well for the No 7 Penske Porsche. All four tyres were replaced but not enough fuel went in to the Porsche’s fuel tank. Romain left the pits with the bit between his teeth, for the second part of the race, still with the firm intention of winning it. He put up a great fight on the track but he could not consistently defend his position against the Acura driven by David Brabham. Then the Porsche was forced to stop again in the pits to top up with fuel and finally ran out of petrol on the last lap.

So, just sixth place for the No 7 Porsche when the Acura No 9 won the round at Mosport. Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard however still lead the points table but their lead has now been reduced to 10 points.
Over the whole weekend the Porsche RS Spyder was easily the fastest car in the LM P2 class. Romain was not bale to continue the good progress as he had hoped because of this tiny slip-up, which also prevented him from finishing on the podium for the first time in many races. The next round of the ALMS will be held at Detroit next weekend, on a totally different style of track from the Mosport Park circuit in Canada. Romain and Timo will defend their position with even greater determination.
Credit Photos: ALMS