Porsche Motorsports Pre-Event Notes. 16th Annual Petit Le Mans Dateline. Braselton, Ga. Circuit. Road Atlanta Track Length/Turns. 2.54-miles/12-turns Round. 10 of 10, American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón Remaining ALMS Rounds. This marks the season and Series finale. Date. Saturday, October 19, 2013 Race Duration. 1,000 miles or Ten Hours, whichever comes first Classes. GT (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR), GTC (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) Television Race Broadcast: Live Race Broadcast - FOX Sports 2 – Saturday, October 19 - 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. EDT FOX Sports 2 – Saturday, October 19 - 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. EDT FOX Sports 1 – Saturday, October 19 - 11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. EDT FOX Sports 2 – Saturday, October 19 - 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. EDT Re-Air of Race Highlights Package FOX Sports 1 - Sunday, October 20, 2013 – 4:00 p.m. EDT Live Race Streaming: ALMS – Saturday, October 19, 2013 – 11:30 a.m. EDT Live Qualifying Streaming: ALMS – Friday, October 18, 2013 – 1:50 p.m. EDT Race Weekend Schedule. (all times EDT) Tuesday, October 15, 2013 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Test Session – 9:30 –10:00 a.m. IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Test Session – 1:15 –1:45 p.m. IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Test Session – 4:15 –4:45 p.m. Wednesday, October 16, 2013 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Practice 1 – 9:20 –9:50 a.m. IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Practice 2 – 11:30 a.m. –12:00 p.m. ALMS Test Session – All Classes – 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. ALMS Test Session – GT/GTC Only – 3:15 –3:45 p.m. Thursday, October 17, 2013 ALMS Practice 1 – 10:45 –11:45 a.m. IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Race 1 – 1:45 –2:30 p.m. ALMS Practice 2 – 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. ALMS Practice 3/”Night Practice” – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Friday, October 18, 2013 ALMS Practice 4 – 10:20 – 11:20 a.m. IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Race 2 – 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ALMS Driver Autograph Session – 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. ALMS Live Auction at CORE autosport – 12:40 p.m. ALMS GTC Qualifying – 1:45 – 2:00 p.m. ALMS GT Qualifying – 2:05 – 2:25 p.m. Saturday, October 5, 2013 ALMS Warm Up – 9:15 – 9:40 a.m. ALMS Pre-Race Activities – 10:00 –11:30 a.m. ALMS Race – 11:30 a.m. Porsche Entries. American Le Mans Series GT Class (3) Porsche 911 GT3 RSR No. 17 Team Falken Tire Wolf Henzler (Germany)/Bryan Sellers (Braselton, Ga.)/Nick Tandy (United Kingdom) No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Marco Holzer (Germany)/Bryce Miller (Summit, N.J.)/Emmanuel Collard (France) No. 06 CORE autosport Patrick Long (Playa del Rey, Calif.)/Michael Christensen (Denmark)/Colin Braun (Ovalo, Texas) GTC Class (10) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup No. 10 Dempsey Racing Charlie Putman (Mills, Wyo.)/Charles Espenlaub (Lutz, Fla.)/Darren Law (Phoenix, Ariz.) No. 11 JDX Racing Mike Hedlund (Woodside, Calif.)/Jan Heylen (Tampa)/Jon Fogarty (Bend, Ore.) No. 22 Alex Job Racing Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.)/Jeroen Bleekemolen (Monaco)/Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (Netherlands) No. 27 Dempsey Racing Patrick Dempsey (Malibu, Calif.)/Andy Lally (Dacula, Ga.)/Joe Foster (Suwanee, Ga.) No. 30 NGT Motorsport Henrique Cisneros (Miami)/Kuba Giermaziak (Poland)/Mario Farnbacher (Germany) No. 31 NGT Motorsport TBD/TBD/TBD No. 44 Flying Lizard Motorsports Seth Neiman (San Francisco)/Dion von Moltke (Coral Gables, Fla.)/Brett Sandberg (Allendale, N.J.) No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nelson Canache Jr. (Venezuela)/Spencer Pumpelly (Atlanta)/Madison Snow (Lehi, Utah) No. 66 TRG Ben Keating (Port Lavaca, Texas)/Damien Faulkner (Ireland)/Craig Stanton (Long Beach, Calif.) No. 68 TRG TBD/TBD/TBD IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Entry List Available at. IMSAChallenge Bryan Sellers, Driver, No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR “There is nothing about Petit Le Mans that is an endurance race other than the distance. From the drop of the green flag it is an all out door-to-door race. It is a very demanding race, physically and mentally; it is by far one of the most difficult races of the year. With the heavy competition and the extreme pace it completely forces your hand in how you have to play the race. There is no other option than to push as hard as you can for as long as you can otherwise you will go laps down quickly. There are a lot of contributing factors that have gone into the 911s success at Petit Le Mans. First and foremost is the reliability of the car. Although the race is treated like a sprint race in terms of how you approach it, it still has the DNA of an endurance race and reliability is a must. Porsche has always prided themselves of their ability to finish races, and attrition at Petit is generally high. Porsches are there at the end, when it counts.” Jens Walther, President/CEO, Porsche Motorsports North America “The 12 customer programs racing Porsche 911-based racecars here this weekend are among the best in the sport. They have provided very good results for us beginning with Team Falken Tire’s podium at Sebring through to the most recent podium with CORE autosport at VIR. The GTC class has never been more competitive with a tight title chase between veteran teams Alex Job Racing and NGT. Another longtime Porsche operation, TRG, has won the last two races adding to this weekend’s story for Porsche. While we are looking forward to the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, our focus right now is to give the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and the previous generation 911 GT3 Cup car a proper sendoff with victories in the Petit Le Mans.” Alex Job, Team Owner, Alex Job Racing, No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 Cup “GTC has been the most competitive it has been since the categories inception four years ago. I think this is attributable, in large part, to the strength of the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Series. The drivers that have moved up from GT3 Cup Challenge like Cooper MacNeil and Henrique Cisneros have made the GTC class that much more competitive. The first stints of the GTC races have gotten as competitive as when the true pro drivers are in the cars at the end. Coming into the season we knew that we probably would not be able to wrap up the championship by VIR like last year. Like in all good championship runs it comes down to the final race. We are looking at Petit Le Mans like Long Beach, VIR, Road America or any of the other events on the schedule. We are prepared for an all-out sprint race. If you try to go conservative and someone goes all out, especially in a spec class like GTC, you are probably going to lose. The only variable, like in all of our races, are the things you cannot control, like the aggressive nature of the other four classes on the track.” Kevin Buckler, Team Owner, TRG, No. 66 & No. 68 Port Lavaca Group/Viper Exchange/Adobe Road Winery Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Were on a roll because we are doing everything right. We had some missteps at the beginning and in order to win at this level you have to do everything perfectly. We are going to Petit Le Mans with the same team and the same desire to win as we have had all year. Petit Le Mans has turned into an extraordinary event in all areas. And the Series has done an amazing job in building it up and promoting it. Winning in 2010 was a great memory but also taking two of the top podium spots last year. GTC has really turned into a world-class platform for a pro-am combo. This class features some of the best drivers that I have ever seen in their respective categories. Watching some of the best Porsche pilots on the planet race nose-to-tail for over an hour at the end of the race is epic. It is just that close every weekend. To beat these guys you have to do everything perfectly Road Atlanta and Porsche Motorsports With 12 GT victories and three LMP2 wins since the first Petit Le Mans in 1998, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer at the Road Atlanta classic. Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) has set the benchmark with five wins in a row from 2003 to 2007 with Alex Job Racing, White Lightning Racing and Flying Lizard Motorsports. With the Porsche RS Spyder sports prototype, Porsche also celebrated three straight victories in the LMP2 class from 2006 to 2008 at Petit with factory driver Romain Dumas (Germany) finishing second overall in 2007 and almost running down the overall race-winning Audi on the last lap. Even Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid won its experimental class at Petit Le Mans. The history of Porsche motorsports and Road Atlanta dates back to the first days of the Georgia track. On September 13, 1970, the best drivers were competing at Road Atlanta’s first event: Vic Elford, Denis Hulme, Peter Revson and the sole Porsche in the field, a Porsche 908 with race winner Tony Dean. A huge crowd gathered to watch the most sophisticated cars of the day turn 75 laps on the brand new circuit, and Porsche take the checkered flag. Throughout the remainder of the 1970s faster, more sophisticated cars and better talent in series like the Can-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA Camel GT and Trans Am brought Porsches to North Georgia. All the Porsche stars of the day – George Follmer, Mark Donohue, Peter Gregg, Hurley Haywood, the Whittington Brothers (who also served at Road Atlanta owners for a time), Milt Minter, Al Holbert, Dennis Aase, John Fitzpatrick, Dick Barbour (who still has a shop on the grounds), and many others raced and won at Road Atlanta in the Porsche 917, Porsche 911 Carrera RS and RSR, Porsche 935 and Porsche 936. The Camel GT series made two stops at Road Atlanta during this era, one in April and one in September, a theme which has renewed this year as GRAND-AM raced here in May – the Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup GRAND-AM driven by Patrick Long (Playa del Rey, Calif.) and Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, Calif.) raced to second-place in Rolex GT – and this weekend with the Petit Le Mans. ALMS GT class teams will use the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to fight for the series’ final Petit Le Mans trophy before combining with GRAND-AM in 2014. Paul Miller Racing with drivers Marco Holzer (Germany), Bryce Miller (Summit, N.J.) and Emmanuel Collard (France), will challenge multiple-time ALMS winner Team Falken Tire and its factory aces Wolf Henzler and Nick Tandy (United Kingdom) as well as Falken factory driver and local Bryan Sellers (Braselton, Ga.) for GT supremacy. Core autosport makes its first-ever Petit Le Mans GT class start in a third 911 GT3 RSR with Long, Colin Braun (Ovalo, Texas) and Porsche Junior driver Michael Christensen (Denmark) driving. It will be Christensen’s debut in professional racing in the U.S. 10 GTC cars will compete for class honors in comparably prepared Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. GTC Battlefield is Ripe with Veteran Generals Like all the ALMS classes, GTC will have its final battle Saturday at Road Atlanta. Since its inception, the one-make class using the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup as its base has provided intense competition. It has also drawn-in some of the biggest names in recent Porsche history to compete. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Alex Job Racing and TRG (The Racers Group) were combatants in the GT ranks using Porsche 911-derived cars on the sport’s biggest stages. That rivalry grew to include the Daytona Prototype class in GRAND-AM as well. Each has Daytona 24 and 24 Hours of Le Mans titles to accompany their Petit Le Mans accolades. Enter Flying Lizard Motorsports to the mix in the early part of this decade, bringing its own stranglehold on the GT ranks with ALMS and Petit Le Mans victories to join with Sebring titles. Sending a warning shot across the flanks of these greats in 2012, veteran racers Jeremy Dale and Harrison Brix won the GTC championship with their gold JDX Racing Porsche. All have found the pro-am class to be a remarkable match for their championship-caliber operations. All have also found the pleasure of renewing old rivalries. NGT Motorsport came into the theater of operation through the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge category – which uses a similar Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car – and has placed their own brand on the category. In 2013, Dempsey Racing brought their blend of focus and celebrity to the class and quickly proved a threat for wins. When one includes the professional and gentleman driver mandate to the “spec” 911 GT3 Cup and Yokohama tire, the GTC class provides some of the most evenly matched racing in the sport. The separating factor often comes down to the minds on pit lane more than any other ingredient. To have veterans of the sport see the value of the chess match with many of their eternal archrivals, it is hard to imagine a category with more back-stories and “bench racing” opportunities for participants and fans as the GTC class. Porsche and the ALMS: A Joined History When Dr. Don Panoz decided that the American sports car fan wanted to see real Le Mans racing in North America, he put up his own money to bring a one-off event to Road Atlanta in 1998. He then worked with the ACO – organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – to call this event “Petit Le Mans”. No one knew how it would turn out, but Porsche brought its Le Mans-winning 911 GT1 factory racecars, and other manufacturers followed suit. After the success of that event, Panoz, again with Porsche leading the way, announced that he would start a series in North America in 1999 called the American Le Mans Series. In cooperation with the ACO, it would bring Le Mans-rules racing to the U.S. – important to Porsche, as America’s is the company’s largest consumer market. Again, no one really knew who would show up for that first ALMS race at Sebring in March, 1999, but once Porsche announced its support, BMW, Corvette, Audi and others followed and ALMS was born. As the ALMS runs its final race this weekend at Road Atlanta, and then folds its operation into the NASCAR-owned TUDOR SportsCar Championship for 2014, Porsche can look back proudly at 15 years of great racing and success. The majority of Porsche’s ALMS activity has centered around the Le Mans GT class, where, through its customer teams, the company has pitted its best Porsche 911 racecars against the world’s factory efforts over the years from Ferrari, BMW, Corvette, Dodge/SRT Viper, Aston Martin, Maserati and others. In nine of those 15 years, Porsche customer teams won the manufacturers’ championship with entrants Dick Barbour Racing, Alex Job Racing, Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing and Flying Lizard Motorsports. Championship drivers have included Cort Wagner, Dirk Mueller, Timo Bernhard, Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr, Sascha Maassen and Wolf Henzler. When Porsche teamed up with Penske Racing to initiate a factory LMP2 effort in the 2005, the company developed a clean-sheet-of-paper 3.4-liter V8 engine and matching Porsche-designed chassis and transmission that was an instant success in the series. After winning its class at the car’s debut at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr), the Porsche RS Spyder went on to three LMP2 class championships, including the summer of 2007, when the Porsche beat the LMP1 Audi seven races in a row to win the ALMS events overall. Winning RS Spyder drivers included Sascha Maassen, Lucas Luhr, Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Emmanuel Collard, Helio Castroneves, and Ryan Briscoe for Penske Racing, while, in a former Dyson Racing RS Spyder, Klaus Graf and Greg Pickett, along with Luhr and Maassen, also scored ALMS wins for Pickett’s Muscle Milk Racing. In the final season of ALMS competition, Porsche customer teams CORE autosport, Team Falken Tire and Paul Miller Racing have campaigned Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs in the GT class while multiple teams, including Alex Job, TRG, Flying Lizard, JDX Racing, NGT Motorsports and Dempsey Racing have raced in the one-make GTC class. Porsche American Le Mans Series Statistics 1999 – 2013 (*with one event remaining) Porsche overall wins. 13 (Mid-Ohio, ‘06; Long Beach, ‘07; Houston, ‘07, Salt Lake City, ’07, Lime Rock, ’07, Mid-Ohio ’07, Road America, ’07, Mosport ’07, Detroit ’07, Sebring, ’08, Salt Lake City ’08, Lime Rock ’10, Mosport ‘10) Porsche Class Victories. 115* Audi - 82 Corvette – 79 Lola - 45 Honda/Acura – 36 Ferrari - 34 BMW - 33 SRT/Dodge - 16 Porsche P1 Wins. 2 (Muscle Milk P2 car re-classified when ALMS combined P classes) Porsche P2 Wins. 25 Porsche GTS Wins. 2 Porsche GT/GT2 Wins. 83 Porsche 911 GT3 R/RS/RSR Wins. 81 Porsche Class Poles: 98 Audi – 64 Corvette – 64 Porsche won the GT/GT2 ALMS manufacturers title nine of the 15 years of ALMS’ existence – all with the Porsche 911 GT3 R/RS/RSR family of racecars. 2006 was Porsche’s first LMP2 title, and Porsche won the drivers, manufacturers, engine and chassis titles in LMP2 for 2006, 2007, and 2008. *does not include GTC, unclassified Hybrid wins, and GTE-Am WEC wins at Petit and Sebring
Posted on: Mon, 14 Oct 2013 17:49:44 +0000
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