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Porsche works drivers with new confidence

Stuttgart. On the way to the final in Miami, the Grand-Am Series heads to the west of the USA: In Miller Motorsports Park close to Salt Lake City, the penultimate round of this popular championship takes place on Saturday. Lining up to compete are again the Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France), who now travel to the 2002 Olympic City in the state of Utah with new optimism, after their strong performance recently in Montreal.

“We’ve never been as good this season as we are now. We know we can win by our own effort. This gives the entire team new motivation,” says Timo Bernhard, who yielded second in Canada at the wheel of the #12 Penske Racing Porsche Riley. Romain Dumas is also optimistic: “Perhaps we can even secure the victory we’ve all waited for so long. Our whole team has never given up and always believed in itself. They really deserve the success.”

The customer team, Brumos Racing, also fields two Daytona Prototypes featuring the 510 hp Porsche six-cylinder engine (maximum revs 9,600 rpm). Taking up the race on the 4.904 kilometre circuit with its 24 corners in the #58 vehicle are David Donohue (USA) and Darren Law (USA), the winners of the Daytona 24 hour classic. Sharing driving duties in the #59 cockpit are again Joao Barbosa (Portugal) and JC France (USA).

Whilst Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas head to the race in Salt Lake City now ranking third in the points, Dirk Werner (Germany) and Leh Keen (USA) are on a steady course to claim the title in the popular and fiercely-contested GT class. After four wins so far this season with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Farnbacher Loles Racing, the pair hold a clear lead in the championship and, turning onto the season’s finish straight, can now concentrate on defending their comfortable points’ advantage.

The traditionally strong Porsche contingent in the GT class is rounded off by Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Eric Lux (USA), driving for Farnbacher Loles Racing, as well as three other 911 GT3 Cup racers entered by the TRG team and Miller Barrett Racing.

The race in Salt Lake City starts on Saturday, 19 September, at 15.30 hrs local time (23.30 hrs CEST) and runs over 250 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.