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Porsche retains clear championship lead

Stuttgart. Heading onto the finish straight of the American Le Mans Series season, Porsche retains its clear championship lead. With the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) continue on a steady path for the title after claiming fifth in the hotly-contested GT2 class at the third to last race of the season on Sunday in Mosport/Canada.

The strategy of the five-time winners for the race on the Mosport International Raceway not far from Toronto was already thrown out in the 16th lap. Patrick Long became entangled in a collision and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop with a severely damaged front. As a result he lost a lap to the leaders and was robbed of a podium position. “As far as our speed was concerned we looked great, but there is not a lot you can do when you are a lap behind,” said Joerg Bergmeister. “We can be happy to even reach the finish. When I saw Patrick’s accident on TV I was certain we could pack it all in. It’s unbelievable what the new RSR chassis can withstand. He saved our important points towards the championship.”

In the GT2 classification, the Porsche works drivers are still 31 points ahead of their strongest rivals, Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer with the Ferrari. Porsche leads the manufacturers’ classification with Flying Lizard spearheading the teams’ standings.

Porsche factory pilot Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Dirk Werner (Germany) saw the flag one position ahead of the title favourites in fourth at the wheel of their Farnbacher Loles Racing 911 GT3 RSR. After a good qualifying, in which Wolf Henzler set the third quickest time, the race on Sunday did not look particularly good for the pair: In the warm-up, Dirk Werner slid from the partly wet track. The mechanics were able to repair the heavily damaged vehicle in time for the start. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that they had to take up the race from the back of the field. As Dirk Werner had also contested the Grand-Am race on Saturday in Montreal, he was not able to take part in all practice sessions, which is stipulated by the regulations. Nevertheless, they narrowly missed out on a podium result by just three seconds.

“Our good qualifying result was very motivating for the team. But after Dirk’s accident the car wasn’t running 100 percent, so we couldn’t bring home a good result in the race,” said Wolf Henzler. After he took over the 911 GT3 RSR from his teammate, he was able to catch up to the front-runners, “but I wasn’t close enough to really attack. Still, this race was a step forward for us.”

Round 9 of the American Le Mans Series is the 1,000 mile Petit Le Mans race on 26 September at Road Atlanta in the US state of Georgia.


Statistics: 8th of 10 races in the American Le Mans Series in Mosport, CDN

Result GT2 class
1. Magnussen/O’Connell (DK/USA), Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 117 laps
2. Melo/Kaffer (BRA/D), Ferrari F430 GT, 117
3. Berretta/Gavin (MC/GB), Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 116
4. Henzler/Werner (D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 116
5. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 115
6. Farnbacher/James (D/USA), Panoz Esperante, 115

Points’ standings GT2 class
Drivers
1. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Porsche, 138 points
2. Jamie Melo, Pierre Kaffer, Ferrari, 107
3. Dominik Farnbacher, Ian James, Panoz, 68
4. Dirk Müller, Tommy Milner, BMW, 63
5. Wolf Henzler, Porsche, 61
6. Seth Neiman, Porsche, 49
Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell, Chevrolet, 49

Manufacturers
1. Porsche 140 points
2. Ferrari 107
3. BMW 79

Teams
1. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 138 points
2. Risi Competizione, Ferrari, 107
3. BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, 79



Facts and Figures

This is the American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations correspond to those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. Ten races in the USA and Canada make up this year’s calendar. Traditional highlights are the Sebring 12 hour race and the 1,000 mile “Petit Le Mans” at Road Atlanta. Most races run over 2:45 hours.

The starter field is made up of two different race car categories: Sports prototypes and standard sports cars. These are divided into four classes:
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 750 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms. Power to weight ratio: ca. 1.2 kg/hp.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with around 440 hp (normally aspirated engine) and an 825 kilogram minimum weight. Power to weight ratio: ca. 1.8 kg/hp.
GT1 class: Heavily modified standard sports cars with up to 650 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 to 1,325 kilograms.
GT2 class: Slightly modified standard sports cars with approx. 450 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR).

All race cars start together but are classified separately. Points are awarded only for placings in each class. After 2006 and 2007, Porsche again won the championship titles in the LMP2 class last year for Drivers (Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas) as well as for Chassis and Engine Manufacturer and for Teams (Penske Racing) with the RS Spyder. In the GT2 class, Porsche secured the championship titles for Drivers (Joerg Bergmeister/Wolf Henzler) as well as for Manufacturers and Teams (Flying Lizard Motorsports) in 2008 with the 911 GT3 RSR.