Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman, who were at one point more than 45 seconds behind the leaders in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class during Sunday’s main event of the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America, caught a break when Simon Trummer went off course under yellow with 46 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 40-minute race.
Hanley, piloting the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA LMP2 07, made a timely change from slick tires to wets and pulled off a surprising victory with help from Hedman’s opening effort.
“I can’t speak much about the rain,” said Hedman, who started the car second in class and 10th overall before rain changed the race. “I just thought the team made a crucial call and got Ben in early and got the wets on. That’s what won us the race today.”
The No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA led almost the entire first two hours of the race after Patrick Kelly’s sizzling opening effort and Trummer’s strong second half.
But with 46 minutes remaining and the field struggling to get around the wet track under caution, Trummer found himself in a tangle, went off course and picked up an advertising sign on the car’s nose.
The No. 52 eventually finished fourth in class, while Hanley brought the No. 81 car home with the LMP2 lead. Cameron Cassels and James French finished second in class in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA, while Dwight Merriman and Kyle Tilley finished third in the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA.
The unusual circumstances of Sunday’s race extended the strange back-and-forth between the Nos. 52 and 81 teams to a second successive race.
The No. 81 entry shared by Hedman and Gustavo Menezes was stripped of its victory July 18 at Sebring International Raceway because of disqualification over minimum driving time, giving the win to the No. 52 entry shared by Kelly and Spencer Pigot.
“We should have won the race in Sebring, but we didn’t,” Hedman said. “The 52 car probably should have won this race, but they didn’t. We’re happy. We’ll take it. This was a team victory for us today.”
