Dyson Racing will be bolstering its bench for the championship-deciding Petit Le Mans on Oct. 20, the 10th and last race of the American Le Mans Series season.
Reigning ALMS champions Chris Dyson and Guy Smith enter the 10-hour, 1,000-mile endurance classic at Road Atlanta 13 points back in the P1 driver's championship and the team is nine points out in the P1 team championship. Returning to join Dyson and Smith in the No. 16 Mazda-powered ModSpace/Thetford entry will be Steven Kane while Chris McMurry will partner Tony Burgess and Mark Patterson (ABOVE) in the No. 20.
This will be the inaugural Dyson race for McMurry, who commented, “The combination of one of the world's leading teams and one of the world's greatest sports car races was too hard to pass up. I'm very familiar with Petit Le Mans having run it about 10 times. And I know Dyson all too well having competed against them for so many races over 10 years. I'll say that I'm glad to be on their side this time around!”
“We're very happy to have Chris join the team,” Chris Dyson said. “He's a very proven driver, with a solid pair of hands and we have seen firsthand over the years how steady he and Tony are as a pairing. Adding Mark to the mix, the 20 car has a good chance to score a solid result at the Petit.”
McMurry brings experienced competence to the Petit Le Mans race weekend. He has raced in sixty-four races in the American Le Mans Series since his first Petit in 2001. The ALMS veteran finished fourth in the P1 championship last year with five consecutive P1 podiums to his credit including a second in P1 at the Petit Le Mans.
He started racing in 1998 in the Star Mazda Series and recorded his first wins in the ALMS in 2002, taking three wins in nine starts in P2. He added three more P2 wins in 2005, including the class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring and finished second in the championship. He moved to P1 in 2006 with three class podiums his first year. No stranger to endurance racing, he has raced twice at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: his first in 2003 and again in 2008.
Patterson made his Dyson Racing debut last month at Virginia International Raceway and returns to the No. 20 car lineup for the season-ending race. Like McMurry, he brings Petit Le Mans expertise to the mix, including a second place P2 finish last year with Stefan Johansson and Zak Brown.
Rounding out the driving trio will be Burgess. He first drove with the team at his home track at Mosport, where he finished third in P1, followed by a third place finish at the four-hour Road America race.
Kane will be back again sharing Dyson driving duties. He co-drove earlier this year with Dyson and Smith at the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring, where they won first place ALMS P1 points. “Kaney” made a big splash in the series when he co-drove the sister No. 20 car last year and won the Baltimore Grand Prix in only his fifth race with the team.
“It's great to come into the last race of the season with a shot at winning the championship,” team principal Rob Dyson said. “It's not going to be easy, but I'm confident we have two strong cars and the team is executing better than ever. It's a long race and we have seen over the years, anything can happen at the Petit – one of our favorite events.”