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Highlands Today

Consistency Present In 2009 Dyson Lineup

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Chris Dyson (left) and Guy Smith will be full-season teammates for the fourth consecutive season at Dyson Racing.

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Special to Highlands Today

Published: January 23, 2009

The debut of Dyson Racing's two new Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupes at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 21 will feature the strength of continuity behind the wheel.

All four of last year's drivers will return for the 2009 American Le Mans Series season with the key addition of one of the Series' most experience prototype pilots.

Chris Dyson and Guy Smith will pair in the No. 16 BP Dyson Racing Mazda entry and Butch Leitzinger and Marino Franchiiti will pilot the No. 20 car.

"We had very good driver chemistry last year and that is such an important component in developing a new car," said Chris Dyson. "Butch has been with us for 14 years, Guy four years and Marino fit in last year as if he had been with for us a long time."

Series veteran Ben Devlin will be adding his experience to Dyson Racing's lineup of drivers during the course of the season.

"Ben brings his in-depth knowledge of the Mazda Lola LMP2 coupe from last year to our effort this year," observed Dyson. "His race skills in the coupe will help provide added continuity and enhance our learning process with the new car. He will work closely with the team throughout the year and will co-drive with Butch and Marino at the longer races during the season.

"Dyson Racing has always been a team that stands out - not just in sports cars, but across the board. It is one of the best put-together teams in North America. It was a team I looked up to in 2001 when I first joined the American Le Mans Series and I am pleased to be part of their historical operation."

Devlin started his racing career at the age of 12 in go-karts in the U.K. and moved up to the Jim Russell School three years later, winning his first open-wheel race and four more in succession to put his stamp on the series. He continued to race successfully in Europe until 2001 when he decided to advance his career by coming to the U.S. to drive sports cars.

In 2002, he placed second in the American Le Mans Series' LMP675 championship and his competitive career in prototypes led him to B-K Motorsports in 2007 driving the new LMP2 Mazda-powered Lola. He continued with B-K Motorsports for 2008. In 44 Series tarts starts, he has 11 top-three finishes and two class victories.

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