In the American Le Mans Series' (ALMS) visit to Virginia, the Dyson Racing Lola Mazda LMP1 entry led 31 laps of the 84-lap race before finishing second. Having secured pole position in qualifying, the Dyson entry was piloted by Johnny Mowlem for the start, the Briton handing the machine over to compatriot Guy Smith from the top spot after his opening stint. Although Smith protected his position at the head of the leaderboard from laps 37 to 56, the gap to the second place Muscle Milk entry was very close at less than a second.

However, a risky bet during refueling saw a reversal of fortune, and the #16 Lola Mazda LMP1 machine finished in 2nd place. The result means Guy Smith moves into third place in the driver's standings.

Having qualified the car on pole, Smith relayed, “The car's been fantastic all week, and we were fastest in practically every session. It feels really good to get pole, and is a true reward to all the staff that have worked so hard on the development of the car. In addition to winning pole, the pace was demonstrated as we led the race. I only wish we had the car we have now at the season-opener at Sebring!”

Johnny Mowlem is one of only a few drivers who have competed in every race year in the American Le Mans Series since its inception in 1999, and talked about his Virgina effort: “I basically kept pushing and pushing and used the traffic to my advantage and I gave the car over to Guy in the lead as I promised him I would! He then did a phenomenal job and got past Lucas to lead after the pit stops and I thought, 'this is looking really good.' The Muscle Milk car pitted under the second yellow and they could not have made it to the end without another stop, but then they got very lucky with a twenty-minute yellow four laps later that allowed them to run to the end. The Dyson guys worked very hard this weekend, and deserved to win.”

The American Le Mans Series stays south and will be holding its final race on October 19th at Road Atlanta.