TOOELE — One element characterized the way Gil de Ferran and teammate Simon Pagenaud attacked the track at Miller Motorsports Park.
Sheer domination.
Making good use of the pole position Pagenaud earned a day earlier, de Ferran wasted no time carving out a sizable lead that helped the LMP1 team take control from the green flag to the checkered flag en route to an easy victory at the Utah Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
The American Le Mans Series has not witnessed a performance this dominant in quite some time. Seventeen minutes into the race, de Ferran had built up a 16-second lead. Just 10 minutes later, he had already carved out a 22-second advantage.
Getting a clean start with the Acura ARX-02a was the team's goal, and it was one they successfully reached.
"I knew the start was going to be very important," de Ferran said.
Pagenaud kept building on the lead de Ferran established. During the 2-hour, 45-minute race, the duo trailed for just two laps. At race's end, de Ferran and Pagenaud had beaten second-place finishers David Brabham and Scott Sharp by 73.693 seconds — making it the largest margin of victory in an American Le Mans race since 2005.
It was the second straight overall victory for de Ferran's team, which also won at Long Beach in round three.
As important as the start was, the modifications that de Ferran Motorsports made to the Acura prototype proved just as vital. Even after winning the pole on Saturday, the team still tinkered with the car's setup and was still making adjustments as late as Sunday morning.
"This is what we do," de Ferran said. "We're always seeking perfection. And it's a process I enjoy quite much — figuring out how to make cars go quicker."
Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, who placed third overall, were the top finishers in the LMP2 class. Driving a Acura ARX-01B car, the duo engaged in a spirited battle with Butch Leitzinger and Marino Franchitti down to the final lap of the race before pulling out a 0.585-second victory.
Diaz indicated that they came out ahead when it counted because they focused on running a mistake-free race.
"We decided to be patient, and patience paid off today," Diaz said.
Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister echoed the dominant streak of de Ferran and Pagenaud in emerging as the top finishers in the GT2 class.
The duo, who competed in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, led from the first lap to the final one — even with pit stops factored into the mix. They finished 74.559 seconds ahead of Wolf Henzler and Marc Lieb and placed seventh overall.
Long pointed to extra preparation as being a big key in getting the duo its third straight victory in four American Le Mans races this season. The entire Flying Lizard Motorsports team came out to Utah after its victory at Long Beach and spent a full two days testing their car on the track.
"That's what really makes the difference with the Flying Lizards," Long said. "They go through every single box and check it off."
Given that the yellow flag was virtually unseen in the race and Bergmeister got the team off to a good start, Long had a relatively simple task of keeping the momentum going. He did not really face a serious challenge from other GT2 drivers after taking over the driver's seat.
"My stint was relatively uneventful," Long said.
It marked the 26th career series victory for Bergmeister and the 12th for Long.
Pleasant Grove residents Martin and Melanie Snow emerged as the winners in the GT3 Challenge class. The husband-and-wife tandem won by 38.782 seconds, while driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, and finished 17th in the overall standings.
For the Snows, it was their third victory of the day. Both of them recorded wins in the Patron GT3 Challenge Cup earlier in the day. Martin Snow won the platinum cup, while Melanie Snow prevailed in the gold cup race.
Martin Snow admitted it was challenging preparing for two different races in the same day because they had to change out a laundry list of items ranging from brake pads to the motor to prep for the main event. But the Snows met the challenge and found a way to conquer it.
"It always feels a little better to win at home," Martin Snow said. "It's tough competition out there. But I ran good. The tires were good. It's really been a perfect weekend."
E-MAIL: jcoon@desnews.com