Tag Archives: mosport

MacNeil and Keen Finish Second at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

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889BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA, (July 22, 2012) – Alex Job Racing’s (AJR) Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen raced to a second-place finish in GTC today at the American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport International Raceway).

MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) had the controls of the white and black No. 22 WeatherTech Racing Porsche at the start. The speedy college student wasted little time getting to the front and was able to lead several laps during his hour-and-thirteen-minute minute stint. Handing over to Keen (Charleston, SC) the Mosport newbie continued his education on the fast 2.4-mile, 10 turn track all in preparation for the sprint to the checker. Keen drove the car into second position and with a late race yellow leaving just a handful of laps to the finish, he set-up the leading 66 Porsche for a pass but found himself on the outside going into the treacherous Turn Two. He decided to lift forcing him to settle for second position at the finish.

“I had a run on Spencer Pumpelly on the last restart, but found myself on the outside going into Turn Two,” Keen said. “With Cooper leading the points and the Green Hornet car not finishing today, I thought that I shouldn’t take the chance. It was a great points day for Cooper’s lead, which is the goal. The most important thing was that we were fighting for the win at the end. This is my first time here. I have the track down now. I wasn’t totally happy with the car in qualifying. We made some changes to the car to try this morning, but it rained, and we didn’t get to try them. We needed some fine-tuning and, it was a lot better for the race. The AJR guys came through again.”

MacNeil extends his points lead as the team heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in two weeks.

“It was a great points day for us,” MacNeil said. “It was a great outcome, especially with this being Leh’s first race here. The WeatherTech Porsche was good today. We extended our points lead, like we did last race and that is the strategy. This place is like a big Lime Rock, very busy with traffic. It is hard to pass here as well. I had a good stint, avoided problems, and ran strong.”

Alex Job, team owner, has his team strategizing for the championship.

“We thought it would be a challenge coming in here with it being Leh’s first time at Mosport,” Job said. “He did a great job, did his homework and was able to get up to speed in a hurry. He took a conservative approach to qualifying, which was the right thing to do. With his limited laps here we may have been one adjustment behind the other guys, but we knew in the race things would be different. He had a run on the TRG car, but used his head and backed off. We made a big gain in the points today, and we are heading to some strong tracks for both Cooper and Leh.”

The team will travel to central Ohio for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge to be run Aug. 2-4.

The American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be run July 20 – 22. The television broadcast will be joined live July 22 at 1:00 pm EDT on ESPN 2, with full race live streaming starting at 11:45 am 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.

MacNeil and Keen to Start on Second Row at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

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886BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA, (July 21, 2012) – Alex Job Racing’s (AJR) Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen will start from the second row in GTC for tomorrow’s running of the American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport International Raceway).

Keen (Charleston, SC) is making his first visit to the 2.4-mile, 10 turn track located 30-minutes north of Toronto. The pole sitter and winner from Lime Rock Park two weeks ago is taking a measured approach to the weekend. Keen had the wheel of the WeatherTech.ca Porsche in qualifying where he turned a conservative lap of 1:22.520 that will have the duo starting from row two in GTC.

“Mosport is a heck of a track,” Keen said. “I think in the near future it will be one of my favorite tracks, when I get some more miles around it. I am still trying to grasp and learn the track. If you try to abuse it or overdrive it, it will pay out back ten-fold. I am trying to learn it as fast as possible, while being safe and keeping the car in one piece. So far, we have been able to do that this weekend. I have some more learning to do out there tomorrow. With me having to learn the track, we are a little behind on the set-up of the car. Cooper has been doing a great job all weekend. Everything changes once the green flag drops, and we are looking forward to the race.”

MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) has a lot of respect for the fast Mosport circuit.

“This is the fastest track we come to, which is also the most challenging,” MacNeil said. “You have to be nice to it and it will be nice to you. This is Leh’s first time at Mosport, and he is doing a great job learning the track and had a good qualifying run. The AJR guys are working hard with us to improve the handling, and we have done that each session. It is Leh’s birthday tomorrow, so we are hoping to win our second race in a row.

Alex Job, team owner, is getting Keen up to speed and looking to keep MacNeil at the top of the driver’s points standings.

“We are coming off a very good win at Lime Rock ten days ago,” Job said. “Leh is getting up to speed, working with the data and showing a lot of respect for the track. Cooper is doing a strong job this weekend and we are looking forward to him giving us a strong start tomorrow. A lot of funny things can happen here at Mosport and we will be looking to take advantage of every opportunity to stay at the front tomorrow once the green flag drops.”

The American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be run July 20 – 22. The television broadcast will be joined live July 22 at 1:00 pm EDT on ESPN 2, with full race live streaming starting at 11:45 am 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.

MacNeil and Keen Taking Winning Momentum to Canada

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884
MacNeil extends points lead and Keen visits Mosport for first time

TAVARES, FLA., (July 17, 2012) – Alex Job Racing’s (AJR) Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen are heading north of the border for the American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport to be run at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport International Raceway) July 20-23.

The duo of MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Keen (Charleston, SC) are coming off their first win in the WeatherTech.ca Porsche. The win at Lime Rock Park ten days ago goes along with podium finishes at Sebring and Long Beach. With the strong first third of the season, MacNeil is leading the GTC points.

“I love the infamous Turn Two, superfast, slightly blind left hander,” MacNeil said. “It is very important to set the car up for this corner and the turn before the long back straight. I raced there last year and can’t wait to go back. The track is very fast, and it takes a decent amount of laps to get a rhythm where you feel comfortable turning a good lap at Mosport. It’s a Leh Keen kind of track. I can’t wait for the race!”

Keen will be making his first visit to the 2.4-mile, 10-turn track located 30-minutes north of Toronto.

“Every time I tell someone I haven’t been to Mosport, they can’t believe it,” Keen said. “Then immediately they tell me that I will love it. I know it’s very fast with massive elevation changes. The kind of stuff I really love as do most drivers. High risk, challenging tracks are my favorite. So I absolutely cannot wait to get the WeatherTech.ca AJR Porsche out there for my first Mosport experience. Doing the One Lap of America event trains you to learn tracks quickly. I usually watch multiple videos of the race track and can do each corner in my mind before I even see the track in person. I will walk the track to check out surface changes and look for bumps. It’s a lot easier to inspect a track at a slow walking pace then the blinding speed of a GT3 Cup car. It looks like high speed balance and an overall comfortable set-up will be the key. We really had a great weekend at Lime Rock with the pole and win. We were able to extend Cooper’s points lead for the championship. We are taking that momentum to Canada with us and will try to repeat it!”

Alex Job, team owner, has the WeatherTech.ca team hitting on all cylinders.

“We are coming off a very good win at Lime Rock ten days ago,” Job said. “Cooper and Leh really work well together, and we are seeing the results that we expected in the off season. Although Leh has never been to Mosport, we have a lot of data and miles there as a team, and he will get up to speed quickly. Last year, Cooper had to learn the track and was able to put in a top five finish in the GT3 Cup race.”

The American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be run July 20 – 22. Live qualifying can be viewed July 21 at 3:15 pm EDT on ESPN3.com, the television broadcast can be seen July 22 at 1:00 pm EDT on ESPN 2, with live streaming July 22 starting at 11:45 am 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.