Claw Backs
BOWMANVILLE, ONT July 22, 2012 – Dyson Racing owned most of the real estate on the podium at the end of the two hour and forty-five minute Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport. Chris Dyson and Guy Smith came in second in the #16 Mazda-powered ModSpace entry and the #20 sister car of Eric Lux and Tony Burgess finished third in P1 and fifth overall.
It was a fighting back race. The #20 car made up six spots from its lowest race position after yellows and a stop and go penalty dropped it to eleventh in the first part of the race, and Guy Smith made a fight of it at the end, taking large chunks out of the lead of the Muscle Milk car after the last yellow period ended eleven minutes from the end. He set his personal best and the race’s second fastest lap on lap 113 of the 117 lap race. At race end, he was ten seconds back.
Smith noted that “the car was good at the end. We made a lot of changes throughout the race with tire splits and tire combinations. When I got in the car, it felt pretty good – certainly the best it has been all weekend. After the restart on the last yellow, we were forty seconds behind. Then they said I was twenty-five behind and then fifteen seconds. I kept on pushing because you want to be there to take advantage of any problems they may have at the end.”
“It was a good weekend,” summed up Lux. “I am learning how this car works and this is my best race so far with Dyson Racing. I can’t say enough about the job Tony (Burgess) did in the car having never turned a lap in it until this weekend. He got up to speed quickly in the first practice session. That says a lot about the car the Dyson crew gave us off the truck and also Tony’s knowledge of this track. It was a pleasure driving the Dyson car with Tony this weekend.”
“I could have raced that car all day,” Burgess said. “Half-way through the stint you get to really know the car and then you can do all kind of things with it. I had a good race with one error in terms of pit speed. I am glad we gave the Canadian fans a good show today: they are some of the most dedicated fans out there.”
“If they had stumbled we would have been right there at the end,” said Dyson. “We really unlocked some performance on our last compound combination of Dunlops, and this gives us a big step in the right direction for our next race. Eric continues to impress us with his composure, speed and ability. We were thrilled with the job Tony did. We have raced together for a long time and it was nice to have him in the team. He gave us a good run and we are looking forward to having him at Elkhart Lake.”