Porsche celebrates class victory and wins environmental classification

The jubilation in the pits of the Cytosport team knew no bounds. Class victory with pilots Klaus Graf (Germany), Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Greg Pickett (USA) at the wheel of the RS Spyder at the most prestigious race of the year was the first for a customer team with the Weissach sports prototype in the American Le Mans Series. “What a fantastic achievement. We didn’t have any problems in the race. The car ran like clockwork over the twelve hours,” said Sascha Maassen. With this, the RS Spyder continues on from its greatest success of 2008 when it claimed overall victory in Sebring and won all LMP2 championship titles between 2006 and 2008 in the American Le Mans Series. Sascha Maassen: “I can’t wait for the next race with this fantastic car in Laguna Seca.”

The 58th running of the oldest sports car race in the USA on the Sebring International Raceway also began well for Porsche in the GT2 class. With the 911 GT3 RSR of the new Falken Tire squad, Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) got the jump off the line to move into first in the fiercely-contested sports car class, before his factory pilot teammate Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) seized the lead in his Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR. “Our car is good,” said the title defender after the first driver change. “I put in some particularly quick laps towards the end of my stint.”

However, when his #45 911 GT3 RSR was hit by a run-away wheel on the course which had come off Wolf Henzler’s Porsche, all hopes for class victory evaporated. “I had to come into the pits which was then closed because of the pace car,” explained Joerg Bergmeister. “I was with my team but in this case the regulations don’t permit any repairs to the car. Our mechanics were forced into inactivity.” Only when the pace car caught the leader after four laps could the Flying Lizard pit crew begin repairs. His teammates Patrick Long (USA) and Marc Lieb (Germany) pulled out all stops to make up for lost time, but it still wasn’t enough for a podium result.

“Maybe it’s a good omen,” said Patrick Long. “We kicked off the last season with a fourth in Sebring and followed up with five wins and the title.” This perspective seemed to help Joerg Bergmeister get over his initial disappointment. “I should have played lotto today. The chances of being hit by a wheel or buying the winning ticket are about the same.” Wolf Henzler, sharing driving duties with his works driver colleague Patrick Pilet (France) and Bryan Sellers (USA), chose to see the positive side of this unlucky incident. He said: “As a novice team we’ve learned a huge amount from this race. We now know where our weak points are and we will attempt to remedy them by the next race.”

Flying Lizard’s second 911 GT3 RSR with starting number 44 finished in fifth place. During the 2009 season, this car claimed overall honours in the Michelin Green X Challenge and now won the environmental award in Sebring again ahead of the #45 car. Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria), who shared the cockpit with Darren Law (USA) and Seth Neimann (USA), said: “The 911 GT3 RSR has again proven that it’s the most efficient GT race car.”

Prior to the start of the race Porsche aroused memories of old times in fans at the Sebring International Raceway. Fifty years after the first of 18 overall victories for Porsche at the long distance classic, Hans Herrmann turned several demonstration laps on the airfield circuit of Florida with the then winning Porsche RS 60 Spyder. The German, now 82-years-old, had won the race on 26th March 1960 with his Belgian teammate Olivier Gendebien.

Round 2 of the American Le Mans Series takes place on 17 April on the street circuit of Long Beach in the US state of California.

Statistics: 1st of 9 races in the American Le Mans Series in Sebring, FL

Result LMP2 class
1. Graf/Maassen/Pickett (D/D/USA), Porsche RS Spyder, 353 laps
2. Brabham/Franchitti/Pagenaud (AUS/GB/F), Honda ARX-01c, 349
3. Dyson/Smith/Meyrick (USA/GB/GB), Mazda-Lola B09, 303

Result GT2 class
1. Melo/Kaffer/Bruni (BRA/D/I), Ferrari 430 GT, 331 laps
2. Werner/Milner/Auberlen (D/USA/USA), BMW E92 M3, 330
3. Müller/Hand/Priaulx (D/USA/GB), BMW E92 M3, 330
4. Bergmeister/Long/Lieb (D/USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 329
5. Law/Neiman/Lietz (USA/USA/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 325
6. Cosmo/Brown/Barbosa (USA/USA/P), Ferrari 430 GT, 323

Points’ classification LMP2 class
Drivers
1. Klaus Graf, Sascha Maassen, Greg Picket, Porsche, 30 points
2. David Brabham, Marino Franchitti, Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 26
3. Chris Dyson, Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick, 23

Manufacturers
1. Porsche, 30 points
2. Honda, 26
3. Mazda, 23

Teams
1. Cytosport, 30 points
2. Highcroft Racing, 26
3. Dyson Racing Team, 23

Points’ classification GT2 class
Drivers
1. Jamie Melo, Pierre Kaffer, Gianmaria Bruni, Ferrari, 30 points
2. Dirk Werner, Tommy Millner, Bill Auberlen, BMW, 26
3. Dirk Müller, Joey Hand, Andy Priaulx, BMW, 23
4. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Marc Lieb, Porsche, 20
5. Darren Law, Seth Neiman, Richard Lietz, Porsche, 18
6. Guy Cosmo, Ed Brown, Joao Barbosa, Ferrari, 16

Manufacturers
1. Ferrari, 30 points
2. BMW, 26
3. Porsche, 20

Teams
1. Risi Competizione, Ferrari, 30 points
2. Rahal Letterman Racing, 26
3. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 20

Facts and Figures

This is the American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations correspond to those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. Nine races in the USA and Canada make up this year’s calendar. Traditional highlights are the Sebring 12 hour race and the 1,000 mile “Petit Le Mans” at Road Atlanta.

Sports prototypes and standard sports cars make up the starter field: For the season-opener at Sebring, these are divided into five classes:

LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 750 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms (petrol engines) or 930 kilograms (diesel engines).
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with around 440 hp and an 825 kilogram minimum weight (e.g. Porsche RS Spyder).
GT2 class: Slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 460 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR).
LMPC class: This newly-created class is a prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.
GTC class: Replacing the ALMS Challenge, this class is for various model years of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

All race cars start together but are classified separately. Points are awarded only for placings in each class. From 2006 to 2008, Porsche won the championship titles in the LMP2 class for Drivers (Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas) as well as for Chassis and Engine Manufacturer and for Teams (Penske Racing) with the RS Spyder. In the GT2 class, Porsche’s most recent title was won in 2009 with Joerg Bergmeister/Patrick Long clinching the drivers’ title, Flying Lizard Motorsports taking the team title and Porsche claiming manufacturer honours with the 911 GT3 RSR.