Photo by John Thawley St. Petersburg, Florida- The demanding streets of the American Le Mans Series Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg reached out and derailed a promising day for the E85 fueled Intersport Racing No. 37 Very Berry Exotics AER-powered Lola B06/10. Approximately 45 minutes into the one hour and 55 minute race, running at a podium pace, team driver Jon Field made heavy contact with the turn four barrier. The impact damaged the left front of the Lola B06/10 beyond repair.

Field started the car and ran as high as fifth during the event, working his way forward from a 10th place starting spot. In the opening laps Field finessed his way through traffic and past the Audi R10 of Frank Biele. He went on to hold a comfortable margin for many tours of the circuit.

"That was great fun," said veteran driver, Field. "We were pretty racey there for a while, the car felt really quick. This should probably be our worst track. I am really looking forward to some of the longer tracks."

"I had slight contact Biela with the left front tire while passing him on the first lap," added Field recalling the start of the race. "I think that might have bent a toe-link or something. Then going into turn four it just went straight off into the barriers, so something in the suspension broke."

"Obviously a disappointing way to end the day," commented Intersport Racing team owner and 2005 LMP2 Champion, Clint Field. "The car was turning some very good lap times and we were holding our own against the other LMP1 cars out there. The guys will make the required repairs and we'll look to do it again in Long Beach."

Offered team co-driver Richard Berry, "I am disappointed the day ended too soon. I really think we had a shot at another P1 podium result. But, these street courses can be difficult, the traffic and close walls do come into play. Long Beach will be another chance."
 
Next up will be the Tequila Patron American LeMans Series at Long Beach, April 18-19. The series returns for the second straight year at the historic street circuit just south of Los Angeles in one of the most anticipated races of the season. Coverage will be on ABC at 12:30PM PDT, April 20th.

Very Berry Exotics specializes in buying and selling some of the world’s more exotics and hard to find automobiles. Not only do they sell cars already in the inventory, Very Berry Exotics will search for automobiles that are their customer’s dream cars. Company owner Richard Berry founded Very Berry Exotics in 2004 and is himself a racer.

The American Le Mans Series is the premium brand of motorsport in North America, featuring high-tech sports cars from the most prestigious automobile manufacturers in the world. With its direct link to the world famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, its unique four classes of competition showcase exotic prototypes (LMP1 and LMP2 classes) and sophisticated production-based GT cars (GT1 and GT2 classes), all competing on the track at the same time. With a 12-race schedule in 2008, the American Le Mans Series competes at premier road racing tracks across North America and at selected temporary street circuits in major urban markets. With a television package that includes five network broadcasts on ABC and NBC as well as seven live telecasts on SPEED, plus live broadcasts across Europe, the Series delivers a global marketing platform that is unmatched in motorsports. The Series, founded in 1999 by Georgia entrepreneur Don Panoz, represents a mirror image to the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most famous and authentic automobile race. The American Le Mans Series features elite marques such as Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Corvette, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Mazda, Panoz and Porsche, and premium brands such as Michelin, Yokohama, Kumho, Lowe’s, EPIC, Shell, DHL, Hyatt Hotels, XM Radio and many others. The teams competing in the Series range from top professional teams such as Penske Racing, Andretti Green Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing to top-level independent teams such as Dyson Racing and Intersport Racing.

The American Le Mans Series features technical rules that not only allow new technology, but actually encourage auto manufacturers to introduce new innovations into the racing environment as a means of rapid development for production car application. The Series is the only motorsports body in the world that features multiple street-legal alternative fuel sources - clean diesel, E10 gasoline and E85 cellulosic (non-feedstock) ethanol. Through partnerships with diesel fuel supplier Shell, VP Racing Fuels and EPIC (Ethanol Promotion and Information Council), the American Le Mans Series has taken the global leadership role in motorsports for the development of alternative fuel technology and its practical use in production cars.