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Porsche pilots increase points’ advantage

Stuttgart. With the 911 GT3 Cup of Farnbacher Loles Racing, Dirk Werner (Germany) and Leh Keen (USA) further extended their lead in the American Grand-Am Series. At the ninth round of the season on the time-honoured circuit of Watkins Glen in the US State of New York, the pair secured second place in the GT class on Friday evening – just 0.774 seconds off claiming their fifth win of the season. With this result, they continue on a solid title course.

“Our tactic worked perfectly. We didn’t have a single problem with our car and in the championship we were able to pull further away from our opponents,” said Dirk Werner. “A huge compliment to Leh. As another car spun in front of him, he reacted brilliantly to avoid a collision, and saved us points.”

Porsche Junior Marco Holzer (Germany) also gave a strong performance at just his second Grand-Am race. In the Farnbacher Loles Racing 911 GT3 Cup he quickly became familiar with the difficult track and netted top times from all practice sessions. In the race, he took over the car from teammate Eric Lux (USA), after Lux had been involved in three collisions and had been the cause of one of many caution phases. “When I climbed into the cockpit the car was already looking the worse for wear and difficult to handle,” said Marco Holzer, who finally saw the flag as ninth. “I was so upset that I even turned the fastest GT time towards the end of the race – at least that was some consolation. Still, to race on this legendary circuit is a fantastic experience.”

In the Daytona Prototype class, David Donohue (USA) and Darren Law (USA) claimed sixth place with Brumos Racing’s Porsche Riley. Their teammates Joao Barbosa (Portugal) und JC France (USA) secured eighth which also earned them crucial championship points. “That was a tough race for us. For a time it looked as if we weren’t going to do so well,” said David Donohue, who won the season-opening 24 Hours at Daytona with Darren Law. “But then we were able to use several situations to our advantage. This makes us optimistic for the rest of the season.

With the Porsche Riley fielded by Penske Racing, Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) were well on their way to a podium result. Shortly before Timo Bernhard handed the car over to his teammate, he had even moved into the lead. After the driver change, Romain Dumas rejoined the race in twelfth and fought his way up the field. Six minutes before the finish of the two hour race he was sitting in third when his front-right tyre exploded. After the pit stop, the Porsche works drivers, who secured third at the six hour race on this circuit in June, saw the chequered flag in 13th.

“This race was again typical for our season. Right from the beginning we had to drive without a clutch but still third was within reach. We fought hard for this, but unfortunately didn’t receive the rewards,” said Timo Bernhard. Romain Dumas added: “The tyre just exploded without warning. I suspect there was something on the track. We were running well, although we still have no chance against our competitors on the straights.”

Round 10 of the Grand-Am Series takes place on 29th August in Montreal/Canada.


Statistics: 9th of 12 races of the Grand-Am Series in Watkins Glen, NY

Race result
1. Jonsson/Zonta (USA/BRA), Ford Lola (DP), 93 laps
2. Pruett/Rojas (USA/MEX), Lexus Riley (DP), 93
3. Bouchut/Tucker (F/USA), BMW Riley (DP), 93
4. Gurney/Fogarty (USA/USA), Pontiac Riley (DP), 93
5. Dalziel/Lester (USA/USA), BMW Riley (DP), 93
6. Donohue/Law (USA/USA), Porsche Riley (DP), 93
7. Friselle/Wilkins (USA/CAN), Ford Riley (DP), 93
8. Barbosa/France (P/USA), Porsche Riley (DP), 93
9. Negri/Patterson (USA/USA), Ford Riley (DP), 93
10. Forest/Taylor (CAN/USA), Chevrolet Riley (DP), 92

Result GT class
1. Assentato/Segal (USA/USA), Mazda RX-8, 87 laps
2. Werner/Keen (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 87
3. Cameron/Sutherland (USA/USA), Mazda RX-8, 87
4. Davis/Liddell (USA/GB), Pontiac GXP.R, 87
5. Collins/Edwards (USA/USA), Pontiac GXP.R, 87
6. Lally/Marks (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 87

Points’ standings
Driver DP class
1. Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Lexus, 248 points
2. Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Pontiac, 244
3. Brian Friselle, Max Angelelli, Ford, 234
4. Michael Valiante, Ford, 219
5. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Porsche, 216
6. Burt Friselle, Mark Wilkins, Ford, 209
7. David Donohue, Darren Law, Porsche, 208
8. Joao Barbosa, JC France, Porsche, 207

Manufacturer DP class
1. Ford, 289 points
2. Pontiac, 250
3. Porsche, 249
4. Lexus, 248

Drivers GT class GT
1. Dirk Werner, Leh Keen, Porsche, 279 points
2. Paul Edwards, Kelly Collins, Pontiac, 248
3. Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, Mazda, 234
4. Robin Liddell, Andrew Davis, Pontiac, 226
5. Eric Lux, Porsche, 215
6. Andy Lally, Justin Marks, Porsche, 212

Manufacturers GT class
1. Porsche, 291 points
2. Pontiac, 267
3. Mazda, 266



Facts and Figures

This is the Grand-Am Series

In the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series twelve races are contested in the USA and Canada. A traditional highlight of the season is the 24 Hours of Daytona. Most races run over a distance of 250 miles. The grid is made up of two different vehicle categories: Daytona Prototypes and GT vehicles. With one exception, both categories race together but are separately classified.

Daytona Prototypes (DP): Special manufacturers, like Riley, supply the vehicle chassis. To ensure equal chances for all, large manufacturers are not permitted to enter their own team, but may supply engines. Two Porsche teams, Penske Racing and Brumos Racing, compete with the Porsche 3.99-litre six-cylinder fitted in a Riley chassis. In the Daytona Prototype specification, the engine delivers ca. 510 hp. Minimum weight of the vehicle is 1,021 kilograms.

Grand Touring (GT): The GT class is similar to the FIA GT3 class, where the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is one of the most successful contenders. Equality of chances is attained through tyre size, rev limitations and weight. Minimum weight is between 1,043 and 1,270 kilograms.

A balanced starter field ensures thrilling racing with tough fights for positions and many overtaking manoeuvres. Porsche has won the GT championship seven times in nine years, most recently in 2007 with Dirk Werner at the wheel of a Farnbacher Loles Racing 911 GT3 Cup, and with this is one of the most successful manufacturers in the Grand-Am Series. Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister claimed the Prototype class title in 2006.