This nine minute video does a fantastic job recapping the excitement of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge and showing just how difficult the course at Laguna Seca can be. As usual, the guys at Drive provide high end production quality that documents all aspects of the race and compress it into a very narrow window. Check out the video below or view it directly on our site if you’re having trouble seeing it via email.
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Filled with interesting facts and figures about past and upcoming races, along with changes to team and crew, the Porsche Motorsport Newsletter is an easy way to keep on top of this year’s racing activities within the Porsche community. The full update follows after the pictures. For the best experience click on Pictures of Porsche Motorsports to view the pictures using the “lightbox” function on our site.
World Endurance Championship: the 911 GT3 RSR wins both GT classes
At round two of the World Endurance Championship in Belgium’s Spa (5 May), works drivers Marc Lieb (GER) and Richard Lietz (AUT) won the GTE Pro class with the new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton. In a dramatic final phase of the six hour race, the leading Lietz staved off constant attacks to win six-tenths of a second up on the Ferrari. Driving the IMSA Performance Matmut 911 GT3 RSR, the all-French crew of Nicolas Armindo, Raymond Narac and Anthony Pons won the GTE Am class ahead of Christian Ried (GER), Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti (both ITA) in Felbermayr-Proton’s GT3 RSR. Fielded in this category are last year’s race cars in which only one of the driver line up is permitted to be a professional.
International GT Open: Two victories for 911 GT3 RSR and Manthey Racing
In Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche works driver Marco Holzer (GER) and Britain’s Nick Tandy clinched the two season-opening races of the International GT Open in the Autodromo do Algarve, Portugal (28/29 April) despite the changeable weather and a difficult tyre choice. Race two concluded with a triple win for Porsche: Factory pilot Patrick Pilet teamed up with Raymond Narac (both FRA) to net second in the GT3 RSR of IMSA Performance Matmut Racing ahead of Archie Hamilton (GBR) and Marco Mapelli (ITA) helming the Autorlando Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. Hamilton and Mapelli also won the GTS class.
FIA GT1 World Championship: Win for Mühlner Motorsport after tire poker
With a Porsche 911 GT3 R campaigned by Exim Bank Team China run by Mühlner Motorsport, Matt Halliday (NZL) and Mike Parisy (FRA) won the second of ten rounds of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Zolder in Belgium (22 April). Two courageous decisions set the course for victory: the team sent start-driver Halliday out on the drying track with wet tires – and in lap two the expected rain shower arrived. When Parisy took the wheel, the team switched to slicks for the still wet circuit – the track quickly dried up.
European Le Mans Series: One-two for Porsche customers in Le Castellet
Intended only as a test outing for Le Mans under race conditions, the Belgian ProSpeed Competition squad yielded victories at the six hour race in Le Castellet (1 April). Marc Goossens and Maxime Soulet (both BEL) promptly won the GTE Am class in the 2011-spec Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Anthony Pons, Raymond Narac and Nicolas Armindo (all FRA) made the double victory perfect for Porsche customers in the 911 GT3 RSR of IMSA Performance Matmut.
Works driver Romain Dumas: WEC win, rally podium, Pikes Peak
Porsche factory pilot Romain Dumas (FRA) scored overall victory on the first weekend in May with his compatriot Loïc Duval and Spaniard Marc Gené in the Audi R18 ultra Le Mans prototype at round two of the World Endurance Championship in Spa. In rallying as well, Dumas demonstrates his skill. At the Lyon-Charbonnières-Rhône rally – a round of the French Championship – Dumas scored third overall with his 911 GT3 RS in April, amongst the all-wheel-drive World Rally Cars. On 8 July, Dumas will fulfil a dream and contest the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Colorado at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R. The ‘Race to the Clouds’ leads over a distance of 20 kilometers through 156 corners from an elevation of 2,860 meters to the summit of Pikes Peak at 4,600 meters.
Carrera Cup Deutschland: Strong start to the season for René Rast
With four races at two successive weekends, the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland took off into its 23rd season. After his win at the season-opener on the Hockenheimring (28 April) René Rast (GER, Team Deutsche Post by tolimit – Team Pole Promotion) followed up with further top placings to assume the lead of the series. Britain’s Sean Edwards (Team Deutsche Post by tolimit) ranks second in the drivers’ classification thanks to victories at race two on the Hockenheimring and race four on the Lausitzring (6 May). The third race of the year on the Lausitzring went to Nicki Thiim (DEN, Hermes Attempto Racing). Porsche Junior Michael Christensen (DEN, Konrad Motorsport) celebrated his first success in the Carrera Cup Deutschland yielding third at race four.
Carrera Cup Australia: Two wins earn Jonny Reid the points lead
Alex Davison (AUS, McElrea Racing) had just one day to enjoy his status as points leader after winning the season-opener on the Barbagallo Raceway near Perth in Western Australia (4 May). With victories at both races on Sunday in the 911 GT3 Cup of Hunter Sports Group, New Zealander Jonny Reid shunted Davison from the top of the points. For the fourth race weekend (18-20 May), the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia travels to Phillip Island, Victoria.
Carrera Cup Great Britain: Daniel Lloyd ends Michael Meadows’ winning streak
From the second to the fifth race of the Carrera Cup Great Britain, Michael Meadows seemed unbeatable in the 911 GT3 Cup fielded by Redline Racing. The winning streak of last year’s vice-champion was only halted at race six in Thruxton (29 April). Daniel Lloyd – just 20 years old and 2012 recipient of the Carrera Cup Scholarship of Porsche Cars Great Britain – dominated under extreme weather conditions. Lloyd is the first of the young drivers who receive support from Porsche UK to win in his maiden Carrera Cup season.
Carrera Cup Italia: Rookie Daniel Mancinelli makes catapult start to first place
The 23-year-old ex-Formula 3 driver Daniel Mancinelli (ITA) made an impressive debut on the first May weekend (5/6 May) at the season-opening round of the Carrera Cup Italia in Vallelunga. After scoring third at race one on Saturday, the MIK Corse Centro Porsche Padova pilot clinched his first victory on Sunday to take over the championship lead. The winner of race one was seasoned veteran Vito Postiglione at the wheel of the 911 GT3 Cup fielded by Ebimotors – Centro Porsche Milano.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA: The Snow family writes history
Madison and Melanie Snow (both USA) wrote history at the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama: In the Miller Motorsports Park (Utah, 28 April), 16-year-old Madison won both races in the “Platinum Cup” class for current Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars with a Porsche fielded by Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports. His mother Melanie clinched victory in race 1 of the “Gold Cup” class for older Cup-911. Two weeks later in California, the Snow family repeated their feat in Laguna Seca (12 May) at the second race of the weekend. By now in professional racing there has never been a mother/son victory in one race. Angel Benitez Jr. (USA) claimed “Gold Cup” honours at both Utah and Laguna Seca. Sean Johnston (USA) took the top podium spot in the Platinum Cup class at race one in Laguna Seca.
Porsche Race notes
At the start of the French GT Championship season, Laurent Pasquali and Franck Perrera (both FRA) win race two in Lédenon (29 April) in the 911 GT3 R of Pro GT by Almeras.
John Potter and Andy Lally (both USA) finish race four of the Grand-Am Series in Milville, New Jersey (13 May) in third with a 911 GT3 RSR of Magnus Racing and now sit second in the GT classification.
Works driver Patrick Long (USA) wins the fourth round of the Pirelli World Challenge in Salt Lake City (27 April) in the 911 GT3 Cup of Truspeed.
Double win for Klark Quinn (AUS) in the VIP Holdings Porsche 911 GT3 R at the first meeting of the Australian GT Championship in Adelaide (4 March).
Alexandre Imperatori (SUI) wins both races of the Carrera Cup Asia as support to the F1 Grand Prix in Shanghai (14/15 April) for PICC Team StarChase.
Bad luck continue to plague Porsche’s top customer teams in the ALMS as it did in both Long Beach and Sebring. Both Flying Lizard Motorsports and Team Falken Tire lead the race at various times during the day. However, even with updated aero Packages providing better performance neither team could hold the lead. Team Falken Tire’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR suffered from tire wear and contact from other competitors late in the race knocking them out of podium contention with a seventh place finish. Also in the top three spots was the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long. However, a stop-and-go penalty caused by an air-house contacting the rear wing of the FLying Lizard Porsche on the way out of the pits took the team out of position and into a sixth place finish. If you’re viewing this post via email you may want to visit Porsche’s Results and Pictures in the ALMS at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to take advantage of our media gallery viewer for easier browsing.
Update: Having missed qualifying for the Pirelli World Challenge race at the iconic Laguna Seca circuit in Monterey, CA, Lawson Aschenbach made up 11 places in the race to finish a strong 4th and hang tough in the championship race. Aschenbach, driving the #1 PrivacyStar / Entrust Porsche GT3, sat out qualifying because he was on the far side of the country in practice for this weekend’s Grand-Am Continental Series race, which caused him to start 15th on the GT grid. See story below for full details.
At least for this upcoming weekend that is. Most Porsche racing fans know that to compete at a professional level within the various Porsche motorsport series takes serious skill and dedication. However, this weekend at Laguna Seca, Lawson Aschenbach will redefine the concept of dedication as he pulls double duty with two different teams on two different coasts in two different series.
At this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge race in Laguna Seca TruSpeed will field four cars for the event. Drivers include Jeff Courtney (#99 Kenda Tires Porsche), Tomy Drissi (#47 Ice Age: Continental Drift Porsche), Justin Marks (#46 GoPro/MMX Porsche) and Lawson Aschenbach (#1 PrivacyStar / Entrust Porsche). Aschenbach returns to the team after missing the last round at Miller Motorsports Park (Patrick Long filled in for him) due to a scheduling conflict, but faces a tough race due to yet another scheduling problem.
Aschenbach will test with TruSpeed on Wednesday in California before catching a flight east in order to practice at the New Jersey Mortorsports Park on Thursday in his Grand-Am Chevy Camaro. After practicing in New Jersey on Thursday Lawson will jet back to California for Friday’s World Challenge race. Once the checkered flag drops on the World Challenge event Lawson will fly back to New Jersey for Saturday’s Grand-Am race. If you’re jet lagged just thinking about it, you’re not alone. Thank God he’s young!
In his return to the Pirelli World Challenge Series after having won the driver’s championship last year, Patrick Long clinched victory Saturday at at Miller Motorsports Park. Having won pole position, Long fell to second at the start, to the charging Cadillac of Johnny O’Connell. Long and O’Connell gapped the rest of the field for the first six laps before Long was able to pass the Cadillac into turn one, and once at the front of the race, checked out to win by 3.032 seconds over championship leader O’Connell.
Driving the #1 PrivacyStar / Entrust Porsche GT3, Long was happy with his race.
“I dropped the clutch at the start and the thing hooked up so well I had to dip the clutch again and that gave everybody a jump,” Long said. “But I learned from last year that you can’t give up on the starts even if you get beat off the line so I went hucking down into one and laid it on the ABS and got a couple of those spots back.” “After that, Johnny was really quick the first couple of laps and I just tried to keep him honest, find out where his strengths and weaknesses were, and really just use him up. Today, we were just so evenly matched on speed but it came down to consistency and with TruSpeed and [Long’s engineer] Steve Trindade, that thing was so hooked up. You can’t sit there and count your chickens because the Pratt and Miller guys are going to be there every single weekend. For a small team out of Southern California, it’s pretty awesome to beat the Detroit iron.”
Justin Marks had a tough race in the #46 GoPro / MMX Porsche GT3, enduring two pitstops to fix what ended up being a pebble lodged in the throttle linkage inside the cockpit. Marks qualified 7th and climbed to 5th in the GT class before his throttle problems popped up. He went on to finish 12th, 5 laps down.
Madison Snow, who pulled double duty this weekend and who won the IMSA GT3 Cup race earlier on Saturday, drove a solid debut race in the Pirelli World Challenge, and was forced to sit out qualifying due to a rules technicality. Starting from the back of the grid, Snow worked his way forward into 6th, where he was pressuring James Sofronas for position. Madison ended up running wide into marbles and spinning the car, but was able to hang on for a 9th place finish.
Team Manager Tyler Tadevic said,
“What a day we’ve had! We’ve got mixed emotions right now because it was awesome to see Patrick win today, but frustrating for Justin and Madison. All three of our cars and drivers were solidly in the top 5 all weekend, but due to a rules decision that affected Madison and the throttle problem for Justin, we feel like we could have had a better team result this weekend. We seem to be a little snakebit with Justin, but we’re looking forward to getting to Laguna, a track we know suits our car well, and where Justin’s had success in the past.”
“All in all, it was great to watch Patrick race today and it continues to be rewarding to have him with the team. It was an awesome feeling seeing the car so hooked up, and it’s a tribute to how hard the team has worked for the last two years to develop as racers.”
It might only be for one race, but the 2011 Pirelli World Challenge Champion, Patrick Long, is taking Lawson Aschenbach’s place in the TruSpeed #1 PrivacyStar/Entrust Porsche 911 GT3 at round four of the 2012 championship.
Long claimed the 2011 championship with four wins and four pole position, despite the fact he missed a race due to a scheduling conflict. Ironically enough, last year’s one missed race was at Miller Motorsports Park. This weekend’s race at Miller puts Patrick back behind the wheel of a World Challenge-spec car, continues his relationship with TruSpeed and gives him a chance to take care of last year’s unfinished business.
Patrick had this to say about the upcoming race. “I’m thrilled to be continuing my relationship with TruSpeed and to return on a weekend to fill in for Lawson. Miller is a very unique track, but it’s been good to me in general. Rob Morgan and Tyler Tadevic have put a ton of effort into building the team into a serious contender, and it’s been awesome to watch as they’ve had good pace and early success this year.”
Even though Patrick is acting as a substitute for Lawson Aschenback due to a scheduling conflict, he will still be handicapped with 44 lbs of “success ballast”. Something he’s well acquainted with having won the 2011 Championship with an extra 200 lbs to contend with.
Packed Racing Weekend for TruSpeed
Long might be the headliner this weekend in Utah, but his Porsche is one of only eight that TruSpeed Motorsports will run in three different series at the same venue. TruSpeed regular Justin Marks will race in the #46 GoPro / MMX Porsche this weekend, and will seek to build on strong results from Long Beach on the season’s first proper road course.
He and Long will be joined by Utah native and 16-year old racing phenom Madison Snow, who himself will pull double racing duty this weekend, as he drives in both the Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA GT3 Challenge at his home track. Snow will drive the #47 TruSpeed Porsche GT3 Cup in the World Challenge event.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge
Tom Haacker, driving the #80 G22 Racing / TruSpeed Porsche and Sloan Urry, driving the #20 TruSpeed Porsche, get back to racing after a long layoff since Sebring. Urry was raised in Utah and turned his first racing laps at Miller Motorsports Park. For him, the return to Miller feels like a homecoming.
He said, “I first caught the racing bug in a Mustang at Miller Park, and am really excited to be racing here in IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. It’s great to be home, and I’ll have lots of friends and family here this weekend, which is a huge plus. Sebring and Miller Motorsports Park are pretty different, despite both being long and fast. It’s so much smoother around here, and with the size of the field, it will be important to keep my nose clean. Fortunately, I know my way around here pretty well!”
Haacker and Urry will be joined on the grid by Phil Fogg Jr., driving the #40 Entrust/TruSpeed Porsche GT3. Fogg makes his return to the TruSpeed fold after debuting in 2011 in the Pirelli Driver’s Cup at Portland International raceway, and the team welcomes him back for the first of four races this season.
Pirelli Driver’s Cup
Rounding out the eight cars TruSpeed will field at Miller this weekend are two Pirelli Driver’s Cup Porsches – Jim Slavik in the #81 Zorro Tools Porsche GT3 Cup and Tom Haacker in the #45 G22 Porsche GT3 Cup. Slavik will contest the full season of the Pirelli Driver’s Cup, while Haacker will be pulling double duty on the weekend by driving in both the IMSA GT3 and Pirelli Driver’s Cup races.
TruSpeed Team Manager Tyler Tadevic previewed the weekend, saying:
“For sure, this is a very busy week of racing for us, and we’ve got every last TruSpeed employee firing on all cylinders getting things ready for our races. Juggling eight cars across three series doesn’t leave much down time, but we’ve got the right people in the right jobs, and a huge amount of confidence about our ability to be competitive across the board. It’s a huge deal having Patrick back for us this weekend; he was an integral part of our organization’s growth in 2011, and we need him to score maximum points to offset Lawson not being in the car this weekend. He’s a consummate professional, however, and once the green flag drops, it’s fun to just sit back and watch the guy race.”
Porsche’s hopes for a strong showing in California were drowned out on Friday when the qualifying round was rained out. Torrential rains forced the scheduled two hour and fifteen minute practice session to end after less than sixty minutes. The same rains came back later Friday evening just in time to cancel qualifying due to the conditions. As a result, starting positions were based on championship points vs. time on the track. On a circuit where room to pass is notoriously hard to find, Porsche’s best teams started in 5th (Miller/Maassen), 6th (Neiman/Holzer), 8th (Henzler/Seller) and 10th (Bergmeister/Long), limiting their chances for success from the start.
Under sunny skies on race day things looked much better when the green flag dropped onto a dry track. Even though Flying Lizard had no time get their Porsche set-up properly, Patrick Long gained six places during his stint to put the #45 car into fourth place.
Unfortunately, the same bad luck that haunted Flying Lizard in Sebring was still present in Long Beach; this time in the form of a flat tire. Debris from a previous accident slashed Long’s tire forcing him into the pits. Given how hard it is to pas on the Long Beach track, Patrick had no chances to get ahead and make up lost time. His Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR finally crossed the finish line in seventh place, followed by Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Bryce Miller (USA) in Paul Miller Racing’s 911. In the second Flying-Lizard racer, Porsche factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany) secured ninth place with his teammate Seth Neiman (USA).
Porsche’s best finish came at the hands of factory driver Wolf Henzler in his team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Henzler’s sixth place finish was the best Porsche could do given the conditions.
Head of Motorsport at Porsche, Hartmut Kristen, said:
“During free practice the track was wet and the qualifying was stopped due to heavy rainfall. So our teams didn’t get the chance to find a suitable set-up for the new 911 GT3 RSR’s first race in Long Beach and they weren’t able to explore the full potential of the vehicle. Apart from that, we need to work with the American Le Mans Series to find a solution that gives us a comparable classification to our competitors. Three of our opponents are competing with a much larger air-restrictor than ours and hence with significantly more power output.”
Round three of the American Le Mans Series takes place on 12 May in Laguna Seca/California.
GT Class Result at ALMS Long Beach
1. Gavin/Milner (GB/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 84 laps 2. Hand/Müller (USA/D), BMW E92 M3, 84 3. Sharp/van Overbeek (USA/USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, 84 4. Magnussen/Garcia (DK/E), Chevrolet Corvette, 84 5. Fernandez/Turner (MEX/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 83 6. Henzler/Sellers (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 83 7. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 83 8. Maassen/Miller (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 83 9. Holzer/Neiman /D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 81 10. Brown/Cosmo (USA/USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, 80
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