Butch Leitzinger to drive for Dyson
In a dramatic, last lap attempt, Butch Leitzinger, of Rebersburg, PA, stormed to the LMPC class pole position at Road America yesterday by a mere 0.095s over the second place qualifier. Having spent the majority of the qualifying session building up heat in the tires and waiting for the traffic to clear out in front of him, Leitzinger's final lap dash for the pole caught the paddock and the race announcers by surprise. Touring Road America's fourteen turn, four mile layout in 1:59.262 in the #52 Oreca FLM09, Leitzinger was able to stay in front of an incredibly competitive LMPC field that saw the top four qualifiers put up times that were less than second of each other.
Leitzinger's performance was made all the more impressive by the fact that he is making his American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n LMPC class debut this weekend.
"I've never driven one of these cars before, but PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports did such a good job preparing it for us, I just felt right at home immediately," Leitzinger said. "And the good news for tomorrow's race is that I'm not even the fastest in this #52 car this weekend. Rudy is actually quicker, so it's looking great for tomorrow."