With a fourfold victory of the RS Spyder and a second place for the GT3 RSR, Porsche secured an early win of the drivers’ titles in the LMP2 and GT2 classes of the American Le Mans Series. Heading to the final round, the RS Spyder pilots Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France), as well as Porsche GT3 RSR drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler (both Germany) are uncatchable at the front. Furthermore, Penske Racing and Flying Lizard Motorsports claimed the title in their respective team classifications.
For ‘Petit Le Mans’, the 1,000 mile race on the Road Atlanta circuit, Penske Racing fielded three 503 hp Porsche RS Spyder with direct fuel injection (DFI) for the first time. In a turbulent race, which was interrupted by a total of eleven caution phases, Penske pilots Ryan Briscoe (Australia) and Helio Castroneves (USA) relegated their team mates Bernhard/Dumas to finish second. Third place went to Sascha Maassen (Germany), Patrick Long (USA) and Emmanuel Collard (France) in the third Penske racer. Claiming fourth in their Dyson Racing RS Spyder, Dario Franchitti (Great Britain), Butch Leitzinger (USA) and Andy Lally (USA) made Porsche’s success perfect.
‘That was a perfect weekend. Fastest time in qualifying, victory in the race and preliminary winner of the team championship – it can’t get much better than this,’ said a delighted Ryan Briscoe. ‘On top of all that, it was great to share the cockpit with my team mate from the IndyCar series Helio Castroneves. It was huge fun and we didn’t make one mistake.’
To be defeated by their team mates didn’t unduly worry Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. More important for the pair was the fact that they successfully defended their LMP2 class title. ‘The fight against Acura this year was extremely tough. Before this round we pulled out all stops and put a lot of energy into testing. That paid off,’ said Timo Bernhard. ‘From the moment the Acura of David Brabham, Scott Sharp und Dario Franchitti retired we drove more cautiously. Still, it was very difficult to keep out of the fray at times and not to make a mistake,’ added the former and new LMP2 champion. ‘I’m simply happy,’ said his overjoyed team mate Romain Dumas. ‘We had experienced so much bad luck in the previous races and also made a few mistakes. I can hardly believe we’ve done it again.’
In the GT2 class for modified standard sports cars, champagne corks were also flying in the Porsche paddock. Claiming second, Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler secured an early drivers’ title win with their Porsche GT3 RSR and handed Flying Lizard Motorsports victory in the team championship. ‘The race could easily have continued for another hour. At the end in the dark I drove my fastest race lap. But the main thing is we have the title,’ said Joerg Bergmeister. ‘Our consistency was pivotal this season. With the exception of St. Petersburg we climbed the podium at every round,’ he added. Wolf Henzler was also more than satisfied: ‘Fantastic – my first ALMS title. We really deserve this after four wins this season.’ Guest driver Marc Lieb, who supported Bergmeister and Henzler as the third driver, also celebrated his victory. ‘I’m pleased that Flying Lizard put their trust in my driving skills and I could help Joerg and Wolf bring home the title,’ said Lieb after the race.
Porsche’s head of motorsport, Hartmut Kristen, was full of praise: ‘The spectators witnessed an amazing race today with ten hours of fascinating motorsport. I’m very proud that we could secure the drivers’ titles in the LMP2 and GT2 class early. Congratulations to Penske Racing and Flying Lizard Motorsports on their win of the team classification. I can only salute the performance of everyone involved.’ ”
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