MacNeil, Keen and Dumoulin Second in WeatherTech Porsche at Sebring
Sebring, Fla, (Mar. 16, 2012), Alex Job Racing's (AJR) Cooper MacNeil, Leh Keen and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin finished second in their No. 022 WeatherTech/Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3 Cup entry in GTC at the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida.
Keen had the wheel of the No. 022 WeatherTech Porsche for the start. Keen was able to take the lead by lap 41. Soon after, on lap 45, he suffered a left rear flat tire and had to pit. Handing the car over to MacNeil the drama for the WeatherTech Porsche team continued. On lap 87 MacNeil tangled with a P2 car causing another flat and heavy damage to the side and rear of the white 022. The team made quick repairs, but went down three laps. The trio of MacNeil, Keen and Dumoulin then went to work getting the laps back. A combination of fast lap times and strong strategy got them back into contention finishing on the lead lap and taking second place.
MacNeil (Hinsdale, Illinois) ran his first Sebring 12-hours and came home second after a successful recovery from early race contact.
"My second stint was better than the first," MacNeil said. "I was more used to the traffic. It is too bad what happened during my first run, when I came together with a P2 car. We put that behind us, and I went out the second time and put in some good lap times. The crew did a great job putting the car back together. Leh, LP and I went out and ran clean the rest of the race and came home in second."
Dumoulin (Quebec, Canada) had an interesting day behind the wheel and logged a second-place finish in his first Sebring 12-hours race.
"It has been interesting for me," Dumoulin said. "When I got in we were having a problem with the door staying closed. So I had to pit again to fix it. I did a long stint. The cool suite broke, so that made things a little uncomfortable. We were three laps down and we were able to come back and finish second. Leh and Cooper did a great job all day. The 022 WeatherTech car was great. The team had strong pit work that kept us in the race, and we ended up with a great finish."
Keen (Charleston, South Carolina) put the car in the lead and then had a puncture.
"We salvaged some great points for the season," Keen said. "The 023 car isn't going to run the season, so we are basically leading the points heading to Long Beach. The Alex Job crew did a great job. I took the lead and then had that puncture early. I can't believe the work they did to get us back out there and come back from three laps down to finish second. Congratulations to the 023 guys they did an awesome job. I am happy to help get the WeatherTech Porsche on the podium."
Alex Job, team owner, had a comeback story with the 022 WeatherTech car.
"The 022 WeatherTech guys had a tough start to the race," Job said. "Leh had his early puncture and then the contact with Cooper and the P2 car had the crew working hard early. The guys then settled in and with some crafty strategy and strong lap times were able to come home second on the lead lap just a few seconds behind our winning car. Cooper, Leh and LP did a great job getting the car back to the front. The crew also did a great job managing the car without having to take it back to the paddock. It was a great day for the team."
The television broadcast of today's race will run tomorrow, Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 12:00p.m. EDT
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron will travel to the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix for round two on April 14.
Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in ALMS history with 42 wins. This record is supported by 48 pole positions and 102 podium finishes. The team has won three championships (GT in 2002, 2003 and 2004) complimented by their two GT class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts seven Sebring 12 hour victories.
The ALMS GTC category is specific to one of the most popular factory produced racing cars in the world, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Developed for Porsche's one-make series around the world, the new version of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is based on the road-going 911 GT3 RS. The power unit featured in the new 911 GT3 Cup is largely identical to the production engine of the 911 GT3 RS with the same output of 450 bhp and the same maximum engine speed of 8,500 rpm.
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MacNeil Automotive, headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, has long been recognized by the discerning automotive enthusiast as a supplier of accessories of unparalleled quality. In addition to the WeatherTech brand, the company supplies products to many automobile manufacturers (OEM) as an original equipment supplier. In fact, MacNeil currently supplies accessories to all four German manufacturers of luxury automobiles as well as a host of other automobile manufacturers worldwide! More information can be viewed at