It was Keating's first attempt at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, considered one of the world's premier sportscar endurance races.
Keating drove with Dion Von Moltke and Jim Norman in the #68 Porsche GT3 fielded by the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona GT winning team, The Racers Group.
Saturday was an eventful day for the #68 car. The car went behind the pit wall after early contact with the pit-wall.
Then, late in the race, it was involved in the race defining incident when the second placed Audi prototype clipped the front of the #68 Porsche (while Keating was driving) as it tried to pass the leading Peugeot.
Despite the drama, Keating kept his cool, as the team had done all day, and with extremely strong lap times brought the car home for a fantastic 4th place finish in the GTC class.
We spoke with him yesterday to hear his thoughts on his first Petit Le Mans.
Q: Ben, you've now completed your first Petit Le Mans. Describe it in five words or less.
BK: Crazy traffic! Closure rate!
Q: Tell us a little more about that.
BK: Fifty three cars in the race. Six different classes. I am driving a car in the slowest class. This means watching my mirrors at least as much as the road in front of me. We were doing about 100 mph into turn one. The LMP1's were doing 164 into turn one. So, the closure rate was equivalent to our being at a dead stop and them passing by at 64 mph! They were eighteen seconds per lap faster than we were. It was amazing.
Q: You finished just off the podium, fourth in class. A tremendous result, especially after quite a few setbacks during the day. Describe how the race went from your perspective.
BK: While our car had various issues during the race, I was extremely happy with my personal performance. I drove for 2 stints in the car, which was a little over 2 hours in the car. My fast lap of the race was 1:25.9, and the fastest lap by our pro-driver was a 1:25.6. I kept the car on the track. No spins. No flat spotted tires. I did my job about as well as I could have hoped. I was very happy with my performance.
Unfortunately my moment of fame was that I was driving the Porsche that the leading Audi ran into. There was nothing I could do. I was completely molested by the leading cars. This ended up being ABC's 'Move of the Race'.
Q: What was your longest stint?
BK: A single stint was 50 laps, which was about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Q: Is it hard to keep your motivation, to churn out lap after lap over such a long time?
BK: No way. The was so much activity on track that your survival instincts keep you extremely motivated.
Q: I'm guessing with that much traffic you never got a clean lap. How did you manage to maintain your pace? Were you looking at sector times or corner speeds?
BK: All you can do is manage what you are given. The leaders got into lap traffic on the second lap of the race. There was never a single clean lap. We did not really look all that much at lap times. It was more about doing the best you can with the hand you are dealt.
Q: And what does it feel like when it's all over. Were you worn out? Was the adrenaline still pumping?
BK: I love the feeling after an endurance race. So much anticipation. I am never wiped out. It is always a laid back positive energy. I can't explain it other than to say that there is still a ton of energy in hours following the race.
Q: We couldn't help but notice your 'My other car is a Dodge Viper' sign on the side of the TRG Porsche. I'm sure a lot of Viper fans loved that. Do you wish it had been a Viper you were racing, rather than a Porsche?
BK: Of Course! My dream is to race a Viper at that level. Right now, there aren't any Vipers racing in either Grand Am or ALMS. I am hoping that will change over the next couple years with the introduction of the new Viper. I keep telling myself this is just practice and training for winning in a Viper.
Q: Finally, NARRA's 2011 Finals Weekend at Daytona is coming up this month, October 21-23. What's your plans beyond that, and for 2012? More USGTC? More ALMS?
BK: RIght now, my only plans are to run the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 24hr race in January. And to do a full season of the Dodge Viper Cup again in 2012 for ViperExchange.com, with more select appearances in the USGTC. Beyond that, we will just have to see what develops.
