Oil leak setback hits Ryan’s US race hopes

Jun 19 2008 by George Topp, Hamilton Advertiser

A CLYDE Valley racing driver is the latest Scot to carve out a reputation as one of the men to beat in the tough American racing circuits.

Ryan Dalziel, a member of the well-known Lanarkshire bakery family, is competing in endurance racing in the USA.

But his hopes of consecutive Grand-Am Daytona Prototype victories were quickly diminished as an oil-leak in the first 15 minutes of the recent ‘Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen’, Round 6 of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, put his SAMAX Motorsport BMW-Riley three laps down at the Watkins Glen International Circuit in New York.

The 26-year-old Scot, triumphant in the previous round at Laguna Seca, was partnered for the six-hour endurance event at the 3.4-mile permanent road course by regular team-mate Henri Zogaib and Canada’s David Empringham.

Zogaib qualified for the SAMAX entry 15th in class and was behind the wheel for the opening stint when an oil-leak forced the Florida-based outfit to go three laps down for immediate repairs to the car.

While the car rejoined and was again immediately competitive, the track-time lost proved almost impossible to make up despite the time remaining in the race.

Empringham replaced Zogaib before handing over to Ryan who in turn drove a blistering double-stint in extreme heat – a factor in the race that tested the physical limits of all competitors.

Dalziel finished the race, driving a stint-and-a-half having earlier been relieved from his arduous ‘double’ by Empringham.

A late race brake issue once again saw the team frantic in pit-lane but again the pace of the car had proved to be the measure of the leaders throughout.

Ryan took the chequered flag after a gruelling six hours in 15th place, four-laps down on the race winning entry of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in a Lexus-Riley.

“It just wasn’t our weekend,” said Dalziel, looking back on his latest Watkins experience.

“We were on the back foot almost from the off with the oil leak in the opening stint. It was a weird race to be honest as we just failed to catch any breaks in terms of getting our laps back and holding on to them. We got within a lap-and-a-half of the lead lap at one point but again, things just didn’t go our way and we ended up dropping back.

“On top of everything else the heat out there was unbelievable. Without a doubt it was one of the hardest, most physical races I’ve ever competed in. We again had a quick car, the team performed well, but we didn’t have luck on our side so it wasn’t to be, which is a shame!”

Round 7 of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series takes place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio on June 20-21.