SECOND STRAIGHT LMP WIN- 4 RS Spyder

Acura Sports Car Challenge through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.
Dumas, who drove the last hour and 15 minutes of the hour and 55-minute event
(distance dictated by the ABC-TV live coverage), gained the overall lead several
times by either passing the LMP1 Audi or having his Penske crew give him the
lead with a superior pit stop.  But what spoiled his chance for a double victory
was the last yellow flag – with only four laps to go.
“We could gain enough time on the Audi in the corners to stay ahead on the
straight-away, but the late yellow closed up the field.  With 200 less
horsepower than the Audi, our Porsche could not hold off the more powerful LMP1
car,” said Dumas.
“With the extra points we scored at Sebring, and the Acura disqualification
there, this LMP2 was very important for both driver and manufacturer points, and
gives us good momentum going into Long Beach in two weeks,” said Dumas.
Co-driver Bernhard, who started the car, said the heat and the yellow flags made
the race difficult as the tires were getting lots of pickup and the slow pace of
the yellow laps made the car run hot.
“Even with all of that, the most important result is our class win.  Yes, we
enjoy the overall wins, but there are no championships for overall wins in this
series – we earn our points in class,” said Bernhard.
His boss at Penske Racing – President Tim Cindric – agreed, and could not
emphasize the importance of the Penske Porsches getting off to a fast start this
season with two victories.
“People were congratulating us for the team effort to prepare the car for
qualifying yesterday after a practice crash, but yesterday seem years away with
the difficult event.  The drivers and crew had to start the event with new
energy, and concentrate on the race.  This was our 13th class win in a row for
Porsche and Penske dating back to last year, and the 298th professional win for
Penske Racing,” said Cindric.
The team #6 Penske Porsche driven by Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Patrick Long
(USA), finished third in LMP2 and fourth overall (right behind one of the
Acura’s LMP2 cars), but their journey was much more adventuresome.

At the start, Maassen and Acura driver Scott Sharp touched, sending Sascha back
six places on the first lap.  Then, on lap #35, the Jon Field LMP1 Lola crashed,
and Sascha was forced off the track to avoid hitting that car, losing places
again.  Then, after the one-hour mark, when Patrick Long took over, the #6 car
was hit by the GT2 Viper, causing no damage again, but bringing out another
yellow flag.  Finally, with only ten minutes left in the race, Long and Dyson  
Porsche RS Spyder driver Butch Leitzinger (USA) came together after contesting
the same piece of asphalt, with Leitzinger spinning and then being hit by the
#45 Flying Lizard Porsche.
Speaking of the Dyson Racing Porsche RS Spyders, the team ran a strong race, and
contested for the podium positions all afternoon before Leitzinger’s accident.
He and Marino Franchitti, who led the race overall for a brief time at the 40-
minute mark, finished ninth in class, while teammates Chris Dyson (USA) and Guy
Smith (England) finished just off the podium in fourth place in LMP2.    
In GT2, a promising second win by the Jorg Bergmeister/Wolf Henzler Flying
Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR came to an end abruptly with only ten
minutes left in the race in the incident described above with the Dyson Racing
Porsche LMP2 car.  That left the door open for the Mueller/Farnbacher Ferrari,
which won the class.  The Johannes van Overbeek/Patrick Pilet team Porsche
finished second, while the Marc Basseng/Dirk Werner Farnbacher Loles Porsche,
which dropped to dead last on the first lap due to a faulty fuel pressure
setting switch, came all the way back to finish third in GT2.
Complete results are available on www.americanlemans.com

Tags: ALMS