09.07.2004 "The track was getting wet and it was a difficult call whether to come in for wets or not and everyone was on the radios deciding what to do" Lamborghini pilot David Brabham reflects on Lime Rock

"After our first run in the Krohn-Barbour Lamborghinis at Mid Ohio, it was straight off to Lime Rock for the Independence Day weekend. However, just as America was celebrating its independence, we were fighting our own battles on the race track.

"As we have had no time to do any development between races, we were still off the pace in the Lambo.

"We did make changes to the car during the weekend, which has given us some direction to go with the car, but they still weren't enough to get us on the pace of the Corvettes or Saleens.

"The Lime Rock track is a very stunning part of America. The area up there is just wonderful, and the circuit is surrounded by trees, small mountains and lakes. The track, however, is tight and very bumpy. Not like Sebring, but with dips in the road where the weather - which, up there, is brutal - has caused the land and the tarmac to buckle and sink.

"Practice was going well, as the reliability of the car was still strong, and we were able to make changes to the car that found us a bit more time, but we are quite a bit slower than the Saleen and the 'Vettes. We were again three seconds slower, so it made for a tough race, but this was to be expected to some degree, because we are still shaking down the cars with the races so close together.

"I started the race, as Peter [Kox] had qualified, but the weather was closing in just as we started. The track was getting wet and it was a difficult call whether to come in for wets or not. One car went into the wall due to the rain, and everyone was on the radios deciding what to do. I was about to come in to change tyres, when I saw blue sky in the distance and thought that staying out was the best option.

"On the restart, I was able to keep up with the 'Vettes and the Saleen, and was a little quicker on some parts of the track. As the track started to dry, however, the cars in front just pulled away. It was a shame, and I wanted slippery conditions to continue to even things out.

"Even though we were falling back, I was still pounding around, pushing the car to its limits, when a safety car came out and I took the opportunity to hand over to Peter. The car was very hot inside, and I knew I couldn't do another hour in the cockpit, so it was timely for Peter to jump in and continue the chase.

"He was just getting into the swing of things when the Saleen of Johnny Mowlem came up to lap us. He dived down the inside at the first corner - but didn't make it. He hit the right rear corner of our car and bent the suspension, forcing Peter to come into the pits to get the damage fixed, costing us a lot of laps.

"Peter got going again after the team did a great job fixing the suspension, and got to the finish for the second time with the car. Johnny later said sorry for hitting us - and that was nice. The car will now go back to base to join the sister car, which is getting fixed after its Mid Ohio accident, and both cars will make the journey to the next race at Sears Point, which is only one week away."