by Liz Halliday Press Office

Portland, ALMS, round 6

Liz Halliday Photograph copyright John Waugh

Liz Halliday, international equestrian and racing driver, is now the most successful female driver ever in the history of the American Le Mans Series as she claimed yet another LMP2 class victory in the Portland Grand Prix, round 6 of the series.

Halliday’s record number of wins for a female currently stands at six – three of which have been claimed this year with yesterday’s success adding to earlier victories from season openers, the Sebring 12 Hours and the Houston Grand Prix. Halliday and her Intersport Racing co-driver, Clint Field, have collected points at every outing and despite massive competition from the mighty, two-car Porsche factory team run by the illustrious Penske Racing outfit, they are still leading the title chase in this David vs. Goliath shoot out. 

Saturday’s story was a familiar one: Halliday and Field knew from the weekend’s practice laps that although they were much closer in lap times than before, they would still not quite have the pace to match the Porsche Spyders. However if they could just hang on to the coat-tails of their rivals and stay out of trouble, then as has so often been the case, they could be ready to capitalise on any problems that the frequently-failing Porsche might encounter. And so it was when firstly the number 7 Spyder of Romain Dumas had to pit for repairs having made contact with the Highcroft Racing Lola of Duncan Dayton shortly after the start. Dumas later rejoined the race, but was well out of contention. Finally, with just fifteen minutes to go before the flag, the class-leading sister Porsche of Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen pulled into the pits with engine-failure, promoting Halliday and Field into the top-spot and turning a slender 1-point lead in the driver’s standings into a slightly more comfortable 5-point advantage for the duo.

Liz Halliday Photograph copyright John Waugh

With just four rounds of the series to go, the privateer-team drivers know that it will be difficult to hold-back the manufacturer-backed Porsche steam train, but they will continue to work on speed and focus on the strong reliability that the team has proven to have throughout the season so far.

Liz Halliday: "It is an awesome feeling to win tonight. Up against Porsche it is always a challenge, and along with the extreme heat and lack of grip, we really had to work hard in this race. This one is all thanks to the team and how hard they have worked to make the car so dependable.  That has always been the great thing about the Lola-AER, its combination of pace and reliability."During my first stint, I had some contact from behind when I had to brake hard for a car in front,” continued Liz, “but the car was surprisingly OK and I was able carry on. Then later, when the crew told me what had happened to the Porsche, the message was to play it safe and keep it consistently going around until the chequered flag, and I did as I was told.  We cannot be the fastest P2 car out there right now, and everyone knows that, but we do have a great team that prepares the Lola so well and allows us the chance to be there at the end. That is what endurance racing is about after all.  It is not always how you start, but how you finish. “Tonight was a challenge for all of us but I cannot compliment our crew enough – they put us in a position to take advantage of our rivals’ problems and thanks to them, with four races left, we are right in the thick of the point’s race. This result gives us a lot of momentum and now we can’t wait for Road America."

Liz’s team mate Clint Field said: "We came away from Salt Lake a little disappointed. We took second which was great but we were not happy with our pace. This week we were a little closer to Porsche. The grip wasn't good and our pace in the race was a second to a second-and-a-half off. We kept going around and were happy to capitalise on their reliability. "When a company like Porsche comes into the Series, they're going to do it right," Field added. "We want to beat them outright. Toward the end of this year and next year, I think we can get closer and beat them fair and square. We have a good car, engine package and tyres. With the announcement that Porsche was coming in, we upped our game and we'll do the same for Acura. Hopefully we'll be as quick as they are."

The next race of the American Le Mans Series takes place on 20th August at Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI, USA.

MID-SEASON Q&A WITH LIZ

Liz Halliday

Following three wins, a second place and two thirds from the opening six races of the 2006 American Le Mans Series, Liz Halliday’s attention now turns to a pivotal stretch of the season.

Four races remain for Halliday and her co-drivers, Jon and Clint Field, in the #37 Intersport Lola.  After running three events during July, the Series will draw breath and next be in action on August 18-20 at the Generac 500, Road America.   During this slight break in her driving schedule, but not in her other pursuits (Liz is also an international equestrian), Halliday took the time to reflect on the first half of the sportscar season.

All in all, are you happy with how the first portion of the season has unfolded for you and the team?“By and large, yes.   Getting the LMP2 win at Sebring was a huge confidence-builder for all of us.  Winning that race over the 12-hour period proved that our car had the durability you need to win out here.”

At the end of 2005, Porsche debuted a pair of LMP2 cars with Roger Penske managing the team.   What was your initial reaction?“The more top-of-the-line manufacturers we can attract into the Series, the better it is for all of us.  We knew from the start that we could not match up to either of their cars in terms of flat-out speed.  Where we could compete, however, was in our ability to finish races.”

The Penske cars have won an overall race [Mid-Ohio] and led in several others, and some feel it is the equivalent of an LMP1 car?“I would not want to speak for them, but their stated goal has been to win as many LMP2 victories as they can, and I think they are sincere in that belief.  Lucas [Luhr] and Sascha [Maassen] are both champion drivers.  They are tough to beat no matter what car they might be in.”

You ended July with a come-from-behind win at Portland.  Explain how it came about?“Both Porsches showed early speed.  But the #6 car got tangled up with Duncan Dayton’s prototype and needed extensive repairs.  That allowed us to move up to second position.  Then, with about 15 minutes to go in the race, the #7 blew its engine and now it was up to us to take advantage.”

When Luhr’s #7 went out, you were in the car.  What did the team tell you on the radio?“Just the normal lap information followed by the fact that I was running in first place!  After that I was just told to keep the car on course, and not do anything too risky that would jeopardize a win.”

Of the three wins so far, which was more satisfying, Sebring or Portland?“You can’t categorize winning.  Sebring was great because it set a tone.  When the Porsches came on the scene, a lot of people thought we might not win again.  Both Sebring and Portland were gratifying from the standpoint that we had a reliable car, managed to avoid trouble, and came home first in class.”

Intersport and Porsche are currently locked in a tight battle in the overall LMP2 points race?“We are, and I hope we will continue to be all the way to the final event at Laguna Seca in October.  All of us at Intersport have a lot of respect for the team that Penske/Porsche has put together.  At the same time, I hope they have the same respect for us.”

How has your driving improved from last year to this?“I believe I get better from race to race, but there are still some rough spots along the way.  At Salt Lake City, I thought my first stint [to open the race] was one of my poorest as I always have very high standards for myself.  Jon pulled me aside and said, ‘We all know you can do better,’ and put me back in the car for the finish of the race.  That meant a lot.  I’ve only been driving this type of car for about a year and I’m improving all the time, but I’m competing against some of the best drivers in the world and I try to learn from each of them as I go along.”

At Portland, you “debuted” as a CBS reporter on one of the feature segments.  How did that go?“It was a lot of fun.  Television commentary is something I want to pursue career-wise and the more experience I can get now, the better.  My job was just to talk to the other drivers about some fun topics that were a bit different than the average interview, racing or non-racing.  I think I came off okay!”

What will you be doing between now and the next race at Elkhart Lake? "I’ll be concentrating mostly on my horses and eventing in England.  I left the States the day after Portland, and for the most part, I’ve just been working my horses out in preparation for several events in early August.  It will be good to spend a couple weeks focusing on my horses consistently, but I also think that I’ll be more than ready to get back in the car by mid-August.  It’s going to be a fight to the finish in our class and I’m greatly looking forward to being in the middle of it.”  

Liz Halliday's Thunder Valley Racing Profile

Liz Halliday's Website

Liz Halliday Photograph copyright John Waugh

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