Laguna Seca - October 19-21

Preview
TEAM BRUICHLADDICH RADICAL CROSSES THE ATLANTIC
The Team Bruichladdich Radical SR9 had a quick turn-round before heading across the Atlantic Ocean to take up position in the grid for the final round of the American Le Mans Series.

Having competed in the last three rounds of the Le Mans Series in Europe and showing that the car
has impressive pace, the team is taking the factory supported SR9 to wow the American audience.
Being keen to impress, it has changed its line-up to include a driver with circuit knowledge and
experience.

Michael Vergers, newly crowned Le Mans Series LMP2 champion will be joining regular driver Stuart
Moseley for the four hour race which takes place on Saturday 21st October at the Southern California
track near Monterey. Tim Greaves, team owner, will be on hand to watch two of his sometime Radical
race-partners drive together in what is sure to be a gripping race. A full grid and serious competition is
promised from the Porsche, Lola and Courage rivals. Without set-up knowledge for the Radical SR9,
Michael will be working with Stuart and Racing Director Paul Thomas to get the car in good shape for
the race.

Tim Greaves, Team Owner:
“Laguna suits LMP2s well with it being tight and twisty but the locals will definitely have the advantage
on set-up. We’ll be on the chase to find ours and Michael should be a big help with that and getting
Stuart up to speed on the circuit, although he doesn’t need much coaching! Having an LMS champion
in the car supporting Stuart’s going to be a big help for this race. He’s an excellent driver and knows
his way round Laguna well. In terms of the car, we’ve had a few engine troubles but think we’ve got to
the bottom of that and hopefully that’s behind us now so we’re looking for a good result. Tyres are
going to be critical too so we’re taking our Dunlops with us. We’ve got our tried and tested wide range
of compounds so we’ve got plenty of choice. We really want to take the race to the Americans so
we’re going with the best possible team, equipment and drivers for the job. We would like to thank
Dyson for helping us with some equipment – a really appreciated gesture.”

Stuart Moseley, Driver:
“I’m desperately looking forward to the weekend. It’s a fantastic experience from my point of view.
From being a kid there were three tracks I wanted to race at and this is the first of those that I’ll be
able to cross off my list. It’s going to be a high pressure race. A one-off’s always tricky and the team
deserves a good result after a cracking start to the season spoiled only by a few minor first-season
niggles. I drove a Radical SR8 in the Radical World Cup with Paul Thomas [Bruichladdich Radical’s
Racing Director] in Spa last weekend. It was a great way to learn more about how each other thinks
differently with car set-up and driving and we even managed to take a third place in the process from
a grid of over 50 cars – so that wasn’t bad! Hopefully we’ll come up with another cracking result in
California with the LMP2 and maybe even manage to mix it with the LMP1s over there.”

Michael Vergers, driver:
Tim has sponsored me over the years and it is great honour to be asked to drive for his new team.
I’ve been involved with Radical from the start [1997] and to drive the SR9 is a superb opportunity. I
recently tested the car at Snetterton and have been depressed ever since – knowing what a fantastic
and easy car it is to drive compared to the Courage, I hope I get the opportunity to drive on next year.
I have had a couple of races at Laguna in a Radical Prosport , a great circuit and one that should suit
the Radical SR9 well.”

Thursday
TEAM BRUICHLADDICH RADICAL – ALMS LAGUNA SECA PRACTICE
With two hours testing on Thursday afternoon, Team Bruichladdich Radical got to work on preparing for the two days of competition ahead. The Radical SR9 was put through its paces, Michael Vergers spent time learning the car and Stuart Moseley got up to speed with the track. The team put in 55 laps of the Californian circuit with a fastest lap time of 1:18.046.

Stuart Moseley, Driver:
“This track’s a lot of fun – and the Corkscrew’s awesome! It’s amazing how little you see – you can’t see anything even as you’re turning in as the track drops away so steeply. It’s very dusty though so staying on-line’s going to be critical and I’m surprised at how bumpy it is – even the bumps have got bumps. It’s very busy compared to the LMS circuits. There’s something going on for every inch of the lap.”

Michael Vergers, driver:
“The car’s amazing round this circuit – a really great combination. We’ve only started with testing and I know we can find a lot more time with a small change or two to the car.”

Qualifying
TEAM BRUICHLADDICH RADICAL QUALIFIES THIRD ON ALMS DEBUT
Before the 20 minute LMP qualifying session held this afternoon the team had two more opportunities to practice and work on set-up. Overnight changes led to a major improvement in time and 2.28 seconds were shaved off yesterday’s SR9 lap time for the Californian circuit.

Qualifying itself was a matter of getting in good clean laps and avoiding traffic. Stuart Moseley was the driver chosen for the job given his familiarity with the car and he excelled himself setting a time of 1:15.311, nearly another half second faster than morning practice. The time puts Team Bruichladdich Radical third in class and eighth overall on the grid for the start of the race tomorrow.

Stuart Moseley, Driver:
“I think to get down to the 1:15 seconds was a realistic goal for our first attempt and we’ve definitely got more time to be had. Overnight we made the car more driveable for this circuit and for the SR9s to be closing on the Porsches is not only good for Radical but for the race and spectators. The car set-up worked well. I guess from my point of view we need to lap consistently quickly tomorrow and keep out of trouble. I want to bring the car home and in a podium position, which after the performance today from the team and car is something I know we’re capable of.”

The drivers were actually very much happier than they looked!

Tim Greaves, Team Owner
“I’m ecstatic with the result. There’s still time to be had but unfortunately the tyres went off at the end. To be so close to Porsche is stunning for our first time out here and I think we’ve raised a few eyebrows. It was a shame that Gunnar’s car was baulked by the Porsche on its hot lap but to have third and fourth in class behind them is very gratifying and shows we’re heading in the right direction. The team has been working hard and we’ll be on it again tonight getting ready for the race.”

Race
MIXED WEEKEND FOR TEAM BRUICHLADDICH RADICAL
Practice sessions for the event had gone really well for the team with lap times being cut significantly. Qualifying itself was a matter of getting in good clean laps and avoiding traffic. Stuart Moseley excelled himself setting a time of 1:15.311 putting Team Bruichladdich Radical third in class and eighth overall on the grid for the start of the race.

The team had another race of ups and down, this time in California.

Stuart Moseley was running sixth overall and second in LMP2 when an incident called for the deployment of a safety car. While the pace was slowed the tyres lost temperature and on the restart lap Stuart struggled for grip and had an off-track excursion. From there he drove the Radical back up through the field regaining position and was up to third in class and eighth overall when the next challenge came along. A water hose seal failure was quickly diagnosed and fixed but Stuart had another mountain to climb to get back in the reckoning from his seventh in class position.

At the two hour mark another blow was presented with a broken throttle cable. The team took the opportunity to change tyres and driver and Michael Vergers went back out on track when repairs were complete to race to the end. From there a podium was out of reach unless real disaster hit rivals so the team focussed on driving at a good pace and finishing the race. So good was his pace that even as late as lap 111 Michael managed to put in the fastest race time for the team of 1:17.516. After four hours and 134 laps the car took the chequered flag and had claimed fifth.

Tim Greaves, Team Owner
“The car showed it’s performance capabilities in qualifying, then today we started out running a steady pace to suit the four hour long race and letting the race come to us. It was a good plan but then we were unfortunate running into the hose and cable problems. After that our best hope was a finish.”

Stuart Moseley, Driver:
“It’s very frustrating to be let down by such minor, inexpensive parts. It’s definitely been an interesting experience and just a shame we couldn’t convert our pace into a podium.”

Michael Vergers, Driver
“I can only echo Stuart’s comments. Apart from problems we struggled with grip here on the newv surface but then some of the others did too. The car’s great to drive and this is such an impressive track – all that was missing was a top-three result.”