Photos by Nate Toering and Ryan ZumMallen

The Acura ARX-01c of Simon Pagenaud made a daring final lap passing maneuver on race leader Adrian Fernandez of Aston Martin to capture a thrilling overall victory and secure the second consecutive victory at Long Beach for Pagenaud and teammate David Brabham.

Despite an obvious speed advantage for the Aston Martin on Long Beach’s long straights, Pagenaud was able to bide his time and seize the opportunity when it presented itself as Fernandez swung a bit wide out on Turn 5 during the final lap.

The two leaders were bumper to bumper heading into the final hairpin turn, but Pagenaud was able to hold off Adrian Fernandez in the Aston Martin and squeezed out the victory just 0.353 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Fernandez later said that braking trouble caused him to take Turn 5 a bit too fast, leaving the door open for Pagenaud to squeak past.

“That pass was quite hairy, in fact,” Pagenaud described after the race.

“I could see [Fernandez] was driving differently for the last three laps and I thought I could play it smart and just finish second as score as many points as the winner, but in the meantime I’m a racer. And I know everybody on the team wants to win and that’s what they deserve, so I said to myself I’m going to keep pressuring him until the end and maybe I can push him to make a mistake.”

That’s exactly what happened, as the big and powerful Aston Martin gave up just enough room to the quicker Acura as it turned onto Shoreline Drive.

“He almost hit the wall in Turn 5, so I got underneath him. We crossed into Turn 6 and I was on the inside, I was expecting him to go around the inside of the next turn but I was able to brake late enough and keep him behind me.”

The win was all the more remarkable for team Patron Highcroft Racing because the car was assessed a one-lap penalty early in the race when Brabham attempted to pass the Aston Martin and made contact. A large chunk of the Aston Martin’s left rear bumper was detached and laid on the back straightaway for some time.

“He missed the apex [on Turn 7] slightly, so I thought now’s the chance,” said David Brabham, who began the race in the Acura and is Pagenaud’s teammate.

“I dived down the inside and just pinched a little bit too short. We touched, and I think I actually would have gotten away with it except he actually lost the rear end and spun. If he hadn’t spun I don’t think we would have had the penalty.”

Brabham said that the ruling was a fair penalty and that he personally apologized to the Aston Martin team, also crediting his Patron Highcroft team for making up lost ground and ultimately earning the win.

“Long Beach is very special to me,” said Pagenaud. “A win like this one I think is going to be really special in my memory. I think it’s probably my best win ever.”

The Porsche RS Spyder of team Muscle Milk Cytosport took third overall.

Four separate classes of cars raced in a 35-team field on the short track, making traffic play a major role in the race but also providing for some thrilling battles.

The LMP class features the largest, most powerful vehicles like the ARX-01c while LMPC features similar prototype cars that are all variations of the slightly slower Oreca FLM09. The GT class features production-based cars like the Porsche 911, BMW M3, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Ferrari F430 and Ford GT.  The lowest class, GTC, features variations of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

Another team captured their second consecutive Long Beach victory in the GT class when the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Patrick Long – with teammate Joerg Bergmeister – worked its way around the leading BMW M3 GTR and hurried home for the finish. The win was the second consecutive at Long Beach for Flying Lizard Motorsports, but it certainly didn’t come easy.

When most cars in the class came into the pits to change drivers – ALMS requires at least one driver change per race – the Porsche also received new tires while the two BMW cars did not in an effort to save precious seconds in the pits. With fresh rubber, Long new he had an advantage even though he trailed the two BMWs. Long found space to move into second place as he dove behind a very fast LMP car and followed it around the first BMW, but then found himself chasing Tom Milner in the #92 BMW M3.

“That was a dogfight,” Long said. “He was not making life easy for me and I was trying to be patient but as the gap started narrowing behind me and the Ferrari and the Corvette were starting to close in, I had to get a little big aggressive.”

Long and Milner battled ferociously for three laps with just inches separating their bumpers along almost the entire 1.97-mile track. Long would regularly peak out behind Milner to look for passing opportunities, but Milner blocked every conceivable opening.

“I made a little bit of contact, he evened the score on the final turn into the last lap, but we were able to break free and bring it home.”

Coming into the race, all the talk in the GT class was about the two roaring Corvettes and their determination to dominate after an embarrassing miscue caused their cars to crash into each other in pit lane during their GT class debut at Sebring last week. The #3 Corvette finished second in class while the #92 BMW M3 took third.