TAVARES, FLA., (July 31, 2012) – Alex Job Racing’s (AJR) Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen are taking a large GTC points lead into the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge to be run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Aug. 2-4.
MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) holds a 12-point lead in GTC over his closest pursuer, which is now his teammate Keen (Charleston, SC). Keen has moved into second place, even though he has missed a race due to a scheduling conflict. The third-place driver is 21 points behind MacNeil.
MacNeil kept in racing shape during the Le Mans break, running in selected SCCA events.
“Mid-Ohio is a great track,” MacNeil said. “I did a couple of races there a month ago in the BMW (SCCA) and cannot wait to take the points leading WeatherTech AJR Porsche there this weekend. Turn One and the Key Hole are important corners because they lead onto the longest straights on the track. Leh has already been there this year in a Porsche, so we will have the car handling great.”
Keen has ridden a roller coaster of emotions at Mid-Ohio.
“Mid-Ohio is kind of a special place for me,” Keen said. “I have had the ultimate highs and lows of racing there. I had a season-ending crash in 2007, but then came back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2009. Then we won the championship in the ROLEX Series there last year! It’s just one of those tracks for me. Mid-Ohio is a technical track that has a fast flow. It’s very important to have a good car as the track asks everything from the handling. Last year with Alex we had a great car and were running strong and looking for the race win. But, unfortunately, a mistake from the pace car ended in a penalty and took away our chances. We had a great weekend at Mosport and have extended Cooper’s lead into something we need to hold. We have to start thinking championship now, but the best way to win a championship is to win races. So we are definitely going for the win at Mid-Ohio this weekend.”
Alex Job, team owner, has the WeatherTech Racing team leading the points with a nice margin.
“With the Green Hornet team not finishing at Mosport that really helped our points lead,” Job said. “We even have Leh up there in second place, which is really nice. The points margin is good to have, but we know that anything can happen. Both Cooper and Leh have miles at Mid-Ohio already this season. We are going in there looking for another strong weekend. Cooper and Leh are really running well together, and the team is supporting them with a good car, great pit stops and strong strategy.”
The team travels to central Ohio for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge to be run Aug. 2-4. Qualifying can be viewed live Aug. 3 at 12:15 p.m. EDT on ESPN 3.com, the race broadcast can we viewed Aug. 4 at 2:00 p.m. EDT on ABC with live streaming available Aug. 4 at 12:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN3.com.
Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in ALMS history with 42 wins. This record is supported by 48 pole positions and 102 podium finishes. The team has won three championships (GT in 2002, 2003 and 2004) complimented by their two GT class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts eight Sebring 12-hour victories.
The ALMS GTC category is specific to one of the most popular factory produced racing cars in the world, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Developed for Porsche’s one-make series around the world, the new version of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is based on the road-going 911 GT3 RS. The power unit featured in the new 911 GT3 Cup is largely identical to the production engine of the 911 GT3 RS with the same output of 450 bhp and the same maximum engine speed of 8,500 rpm.