Andy leads Laguna Seca ALMS race

Andy Meyrick made a sparkling debut at the challenging Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track, actually leading the race for 16 laps

Andy Meyrick made a sparkling debut at the challenging Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track, in the latest round of the American Le Mans Series, actually leading the race for 16 laps after his team mate Chris Dyson started and the car put it into a comfortable top-three pace, handing the car over to Andy after an hour into the race.  The slippery and unseasonably cold California track wasn’t, however, to offer such an easy ride for Andy but the 24-year-old maintained a competitive pace, matching the leader’s lap times and leading laps 97-113. However an uncharacteristic error from Andy at the three-hour mark, cost him dearly as he explained "I was on tyres which had done a double stint and I made a simple mistake as I went into the last corner before the pit straight. That pushed me wide and then into the path of another car. I can’t really put it into words how it happened as I’m still so disappointed in myself, and up until that point I’d had a really strong and trouble-free run." That caused a pit-stop to replace a damaged nose which put the car down a lap and, although the team was able to make up that deficit and once again lead the race, their race cruelly came to a premature end when the car stopped on course twenty-five minutes from the end with mechanical problems. As more than 75 percent of the race had been completed, Dyson Racing was classified and Meyrick, Dyson and Smith still claimed a third place finish.

Later Andy summed up"I was really enjoying the time in the car, and was very relaxed behind the wheel. The Mazda-powered Lola was excellent in traffic, much better than some of our competitors it seemed, and I was very happy with my overall performance apart from that one corner; it was the perfect drive I’d been working towards all year. We were very quick in all the sessions and, to be able to finish third after nine pit stops, showed the outright performance of the car."

Dyson Racing’s Team Principal, Rob Dyson, was keen to back up Andy’s performance in California. "Andy did a great job in the race. He showed terrific composure out in front and his lap times kept the Highcroft team in check throughout his stint. He's got a high level of maturity and he's shown that he's learning quickly. Mazda Raceway is by no means the easiest place to learn and he got right with the program this weekend. We are looking forward to having him back in the car for the American Petit Le Mans race."

The Laguna Seca 6 hour race is just part of a very busy few weeks for the emerging sports car star, culminating in his debut for the French ORECA team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 12/13th June

Live Commentary from Radio Le mans http://rlm08.0157.org/alms.php

Live coverage on SPEED, http://www.speedtv.com/programs/american-le-mans-series/

Highlights on  Motors TV   Monday 31/5/2010 4.30 am American Le Mans Series RD 3 : LAGUNA SECA

http://www.andymeyrick.com     http://www.dysonracing.com/ http://www.americanlemans.com/