One Lap 2010: The Weekend That Was

[Haltech]

Filed under: Motorsports

One Lap of America 2010 - Click above for high-res image gallery

We're still purring along on One Lap of America in our BMW Performance School-provided 335d and 550i sedans, but while there have been zero mechanical issues for the timing and scoring crew, the event is starting to take its toll on competitors' cars, as well as their drivers.

The returning #1 Nissan GT-R of Steven Rankins wasted no time staking its claim to the lead once again, posting the best results at Friday's wet skidpad event (a startling .962 g) at the Tire Rack in South Bend. After negotiating some overachieving thunderstorms on the way through Wisconsin, the #1 GT-R (above) would follow up that performance with the second-best time at Road America in the first event, trailing only the #3 Porsche 911 GT2 of Leh Keen and Doug Wilks. Dan "Mr. One Lap" Corcoran finished third on the 4.1-mile circuit in his carbon fiber-bodied Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

In the second Road America event, the #3 Porsche GT2 again mopped up, with the #4 Nissan GT-R of Catesby Jones and Jose Collado taking second and the #5 Corvette of Danny Popp rounding out the top three.

The racers noted above may be the lead sled dogs, but everyone at Road America spent the day talking about Howard LaFever and his #69 2010 Cadillac CTS-V. LaFever managed to walk away from a massive rollover crackup in the first event after overcooking the car in Canada Corner. The longtime One Lapper bounced across Turn 12's gravel trap at triple digit speeds, through a catch fence and over a concrete barrier, where the car landed in a crumpled heap on its roof (pics here). Miraculously, LaFever escaped uninjured, only to leave the track in search of a replacement vehicle. He would turn up shortly thereafter in a newly purchased white Chrysler Crossfire, a car in which he can run the rest of the event but not accrue further points. By the day's end, other cars were claimed by Road America too, although not as violently as LaFever's CTS-V. Mechanical maladies befell a Mitsubishi Evo, the sweet 1968 Dodge Charger (fuel pump), as well as a Corvette Z06 and a Mustang GTS. Thankfully, most are not permanently hobbled, showing up further down the road.

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Gallery: One Lap 2010: The Weekend That Was



Photos by Chris Paukert / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs Inc.
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One Lap 2010: The Weekend That Was originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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