One year after giving the new Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R its first victory in Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge competition at Sebring International Raceway, Stevenson Motorsports followed up with a one-two finish in Friday’s Microsoft Visual Studio 150, led by Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell in the 2014 race-winning No. 6 entry.
Liddell held off new teammate Lawson Aschenbach by 0.393 seconds at the checkered flag, giving the team its fifth triumph with the Z/28.R.
“Last year was our maiden win for the new Camaro, and it was a bit of a surprise,” Davis said. “It gave us confidence and we catapulted from there. We won a few more races and contended for the championship. Our Camaro was flawless for the whole race.”
Matt Bell started the No. 9 Camaro and led most of his 37-lap double-stint before handing off to co-driver Aschenbach. The key to the race proved to be the final pit stop for the team cars under green-flag conditions with 50 minutes remaining.
Davis pitted first, with Liddell taking over and getting in a solid flying lap. Taking over one lap later, Aschenbach found himself behind and was never able to catch his teammate, although he was able to close during the final laps.
“I knew my out lap was going to count, so I pushed like crazy,” Liddell said. “That essentially won the race for us, the combination of the work by the crew in the pits and our out lap. Finishing 1-2 was a fantastic result for the Stevensons and Team Chevy.”
Brothers Matt and Hugh Plumb finished third in the Daytona-winning No. 13 Rum Bum Porsche 911, followed by Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli in the No. 80 Mantella Autosport/MBRP Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R., and Bryan Heitkotter and Nick McMillen in the No. 41 Doran Racing Nismo GT Academy Nissan 370Z.
After opening with more than 30 minutes of green-flag racing, the event was slowed by three consecutive full-course cautions for minor incidents. The race went green on lap 27, and remained green for the final hour and 13 minutes.
Zimmermann, Liefooghe Score First Victory For Next Level European
Greg Liefooghe passed Andrew Carbonell for the Street Tuner (ST) lead with one hour remaining, and led the rest of the way to give Next Level European its first victory in the No. 83 Red Line Oil Porsche Cayman started by Eric Zimmermann.
It was the third ST triumph for Liefooghe and first for Zimmermann, who joined BimmerWorld Racing midway through the 2014 season. During the off-season, Next Level European was formed as a satellite team by BimmerWorld. The pair finished fourth in the team’s debut in the 2015 opener at Daytona.
“We worked out our strategy really well,” Liefooghe said. “We came out of the pits in fifth after Eric did a fantastic opening stint. It was a matter of using the speed in the car to get to the front, and then we were able to pull a gap. Then I heard we needed to save a couple of gallons of fuel, and we finished the race with no fuel in the car. The key was getting the car up to the front and being able to conserve a little fuel.”
Liefooghe said he wasn’t concerned when he heard that Next Level European teammate Seth Thomas ran out of fuel on the final lap. “I was concerned with 45 minutes to go,” he said.
“I’m kind of new at this,” said Zimmermann. “It was only my 10th race as a professional driver. When (team owner) James Clay asked who my ideal co-driver would be, I said Greg Liefooghe, and I’m blown away at how it worked out.”
While Liefooghe was in control, winning by 5.485 seconds, a terrific battle shaped up for second during the closing laps. David Murry in the No. 64 Team TGM BMW 328i fought to hold off Stevan McAleer in the No. 5 CJ Wilson Racing ModSpace Mazda MX-5 started by Chad McCumbee. McAleer managed to slip ahead entering the final turn, but Murry fought back to reclaim the position by inches at the stripe in a fender-banging finish.
Murry and Ted Giovanis finished second 12 seconds behind, while McAleer and McCumbee ended up third. They were followed by Ethan Low and Jason Rabe in the No. 31 Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman, and Jeff Segal and Wayne Nonnamaker in the No. 43 Team Sahlen Porsche Cayman.
Carbonell led after taking over the No. 26 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 started by USMC Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer before being passed by Liefooghe. Carbonell ran second behind the Cayman before brake issues led to three off-course excursions in the final 12 minutes, resulting in a 10th-place finish.
Round 3 for the Continental Tire Challenge will be at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday, May 2.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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