BOWMANVILLE — For just a moment after he clinched third place in the prestigious LMP class of the American Le Mans Series at the Grand Prix of Mosport driving a Lola B06 10, Toronto’s Tony Burgess agreed with a questioner who suggested that it was his first podium finish after years of trying in the big horsepower prototype sports cars.

“Wait a minute,” he said as a light went on in his head. “This is my second, third-place finish.”

In fact, a check of the record books show that Burgess indeed finished third back in 2007 in the same No. 12 Lola B06 10.

Surprise

However, Burgess did admit Sunday’s podium was a surprise not only to the huge crowd on hand to wish him well at the finish line, but to him as well.

After all he is a part-time driver in ALMS, spending most of his time managing his own engineering firm.

“Listen, placing third at Mosport is special no matter when or how you do it,” he said. “But there was a point about three-quarters the way through the race when I knew we could get a podium.

“When I realized that I just bore down and tried not to make any mistakes.”

And it worked.