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Clear points’ leaders aim to widen gap

Stuttgart. Heading onto the finish straight of the season, the Grand-Am Series visits Canada to race on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this coming Saturday. The clear points’ leaders Dirk Werner (Germany) and Leh Keen (USA) aim to secure their fifth win of the season with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Farnbacher Loles Racing and to pull away further from their rivals in their campaign for the GT class title.

The comfortable points’ lead they built up with wins in Millville, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio and Daytona allows them to take things relatively easy for the final three races. “We don’t have the pressure now to win and risk everything,” says Dirk Werner. “First and foremost, the points are what counts and not wins. Still, we will of course keep doing our very best.” Should they miss out on victory, as they did by a mere 0.774 seconds recently at the second Watkins Glen race, it is not a major setback. Leh Keen says: “We’ve won four out of nine races so far, and climbed the podium six times. We can be proud already at this stage.”

In the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype class, Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) take up the race on the 4.36 kilometre Grand Prix circuit on the Ile de Notre Dame with the #12 Porsche Riley. The pair yielded third at the races in Millville and the six hour race in Watkins Glen. And at the second Watkins Glen round a top three result was within reach. Timo Bernhard handed the Penske Racing-run prototype to Romain Dumas in the lead, who lost the almost certain podium result with a damaged tyre. In Montreal they are hoping for more luck. Timo Bernhard: “If we could just bring home another podium result - that would be a well deserved reward for the team’s untiring efforts.”

Brumos Racing, the successful customer team from Jacksonville/Florida, fields two Porsche Riley. Sharing the #58 vehicle are David Donohue (USA) and Darren Law (USA), who won the most prestigious race of the year at the season-opening 24 Hours at Daytona. Their teammates, Joao Barbosa (Portugal) and JC France (USA), third place-getters in Daytona, man the #59 Porsche Riley in Montreal.

Contesting the GT class alongside points’ leaders Dirk Werner and Leh Keen are Eric Lux (USA) and Bryan Sellers (USA) for Farnbacher Loles Racing. The teams TRG and Miller Barrett Racing have entered two more 911 GT3 Cup.

The race in Montreal starts on Saturday, 29 August, at 14.15 hours local time (20.15 CEST) and runs over 200 miles.



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.