GT Class Results at Laguna Seca

1. Gavin/Milner (GB/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 232 laps
2. Magnussen/Garcia (DK/E), Chevrolet Corvette, 232
3. Auberlen/Müller (USA/D), BMW E92 M3, 232
4. Hand/Müller (USA/D), BMW E92 M3, 232
5. Sharp/van Overbeek (USA/USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, 232
6. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 232
7. Henzler/Sellers (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 232
9. Holzer/Neiman /D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 230
10. Maassen/Miller (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 229

GTC Class Results at Laguna Seca

1. Bleekemolen/Di Guida/Curtin (NL/VEN/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 219 laps
2. Sofronas/Welch/Villeneuve (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 219
3. Vaeta/Avenati/Wagner (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 219

ALMS GT Class Driver Standings

1. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Chevrolet, 59 points
2. Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, BMW, 52
3. Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, Chevrolet, 48
4. Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek, Ferrari, 29
Bill Auberlen/Jörg Müller, BMW, 29
7. Wolf Henzler, Bryan Sellers, Porsche, 19
8. Sascha Maassen, Bryce Miller, Porsche, 18
9. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Porsche, 17
10. Seth Neiman, Porsche, 16

ALMS GT Class Manufacturers’ Standings

1. Chevrolet, 62 points
2. BMW, 55
3. Porsche, 45

ALMS GT Class Teams Standings

1. Corvette Racing, Chevrolet, 62 points
2. BMW Team RLL, BMW, 55
3. Extreme Speed Motorsports, Ferrari, 31
4. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 22
5. Team Falken Tire, Porsche, 19
6. Paul Miller Racing, Porsche, 18

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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

GTC Class Result at ALMS Long Beach

1. Faulkner/LeSaffre (IRL/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 79 laps
2. Keen/MacNeil (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 79
3. Cumming/Valiante (CAN/CAN), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 79

ALMS GT class Driver standings

1. Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, BMW, 40 points
2. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Chevrolet, 37
3. Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, Chevrolet, 30
4. Jonathan Summerton, BMW, 24
5. Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet, 20
6. Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek, Ferrari, 19
8. Sascha Maassen, Bryce Miller, Porsche, 15
10. Wolf Henzler, Bryan Sellers, Porsche, 13
11. Seth Neiman, Porsche, 12
12. Darren Law, Andy Lally, Porsche, 10
13. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Porsche, 9

ALMS GT class Manufacturers’ standings

1. BMW, 40 points
Chevrolet, 40
3. Ferrari, 27
4. Porsche, 23

ALMS GT class Team standings

1. BMW Team RLL, BMW, 40 points
Corvette Racing, Chevrolet, 40
3. Extreme Speed Motorsports, Ferrari, 25
4. Paul Miller Racing, Porsche, 20
5. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 18

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It’s a question we get asked a lot and one we’ve never had a very good answer for, until now. For numerous reason, most of them obvious, teams don’t want to talk about the money aspect of racing. The fact is, racing is expensive. Very expensive.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “How do you make a small fortune in racing? Start with a large one!” There’s a reason for that. Without factory support, private teams burn through money at an alarming rate. Tires, fuel, crew, transportation, parts, lodging, food, training, practice, etc. These all ad up, and fast. We talked to one private team that entered a single Porsche at Sebring this year (they do it right and don’t skimp) and they said spending a quarter of a million preparing for, and participating in, This famous endurance race is easy (and that doesn’t include the cost of the car). They emphasized that costs can go much higher depending on what happens in the race (blown engines, accidents, etc.).

$250,000 plus for one race for a private team? That’s huge money! With those kind of costs, the purse for the 12 Hours must make it worth it, right?

Apparently not. After much searching and digging we finally found a copy of the 2012 Sebring Schedule and Supplementary Regulations. This particular document outlines some of the details not covered in other information supplied by IMSA. One of the gems is section 2A.3.26 Prizes and Cups. As you can see in the image above (you can click on it for a larger version), the entire Purse for all five classes totals $284,000. That’s barely enough for a team competing with only one car and that’s the entire purse. Those competing in LMP1 and GT can win the most with a 1st place podium position bringing $25,000 each. The top 5 positions, in all classes, put you in the money, but 5th place in any class is only good for $2000. That’s not even enough to buy one of the three sets of tires you’ll use during the race.

We all know that most racers don’t race for the money. Hell, most of them pay to play. Still, are you as surprised as I am at how little the prize money is?

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[Source: ALMS/IMSA]

Fortunately, Porsche fared better in the World Endurance Championship with a second place finish in the GTE Pro class by Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Patrick Pilet in the Felbermayr-Proton team Porsche and a first place finish by Christian Ried (Germany) and his Italian teammates Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti in the second Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2011 model year) run by Felbermayr-Proton in the GTE Am class. Complete results for the classes Porsche participates in are at the end of this post, after the pictures.

Round two of the World Endurance Championship takes place on 5 May 2012 in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium. Round two of the American Le Mans Series takes off on the street course in Long Beach, California Round two of the World Endurance Championship takes place on 5 May 2012 in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium on April 14th. See our post explaining the World Endurance Challenge if you’re confused as to the different classes and different championships. If you’re viewing this post via email you may want to visit our post, pictures and results for Porsche at the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring, directly on our site to make use of the gallery function for viewing the pictures.

World Endurance Championship Results

GTE Pro class
1. Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci (I/MC/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, 307 laps
2. Lieb/Lietz/Pilet (D/A/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 306
3. Mücke/Fernandez/Turner (D/MEX/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 291
4. Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander (I/I/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, 215
5. Melo/Makowiecki/Vernay (BRA/F/F), Ferrari F458 Italia, 183

GTE Am class
1. Ried/Roda/Ruberti (D/I/I), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 298 laps
2. Bourret/Gibon/Belloc (F/F/F), Chevrolet Corvette, 297
3. Bornhauser/Canal/Lamy (F/F/P), Chevrolet Corvette, 288
4. Kaufmann/Waltrip/Aguas (USA/USA/P), Ferrari F458, 283
5. Krohn/Jönsson/Rugolo (USA/S/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, 265
6. Binnie/Palttala/Camathias (USA/SF/CH), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 251

American Le Mans Series Results

GT class
1. Hand/Müller/Summerton (USA/D/USA), BMW E92 M3, 307 laps
2. Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor (DK/E/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 307
3. Gavin/Milner/Westbrook (GB/USA/GB), Chevrolet Corvette, 307
4. Müller/Auberlen/Alzen (D/USA/D), BMW E92 M3, 306
5. Maassen/Miller/Bell (D/USA/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 302
6. Brown/Segal/Lazzaro (USA/USA/USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, 302
7. Law/Neiman/Lally (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 302
9. Henzler/Sellers/Ragginger (D/USA/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 289
10. Bergmeister/Long/Holzer (D/USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 251

GTC class
1. Sweedler/Bell/von Moltke (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 291 laps
2. Keen/Dumoulin/MacNeil (USA/CAN/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 291
3. Faulkner/Bleekemolen/LaSaffe (IRL/NL/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 290

World Endurance Championship Points’ standings

Teams GTE Pro
1. AF Corse, Ferrari, 25 points
2. Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche, 18
3. Aston Martin Racing, Aston Martin, 15

Teams GTE Am
1. Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche, 25 points
2. Labre Competition, Chevrolet, 18
3. AF Corse-Waltrip, Ferrari , 12

American Le Mans Series Points’ standings

GT class
1. Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, Jonathan Summerton, BMW , 24 points
2. Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet , 20
3. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Richard Westbrook, Chevrolet, 17
5. Sascha Maassen, Bryce Miller, Rob Bell, Porsche, 12
7. Seth Neiman, Andy Lally, Darren Law. Porsche, 8
9. Wolf Henzler, Bryan Sellers, Martin Ragginger, Porsche, 6
10. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Marco Holzer , Porsche, 5

Manufacturers Points’ standings

1. BMW, 24 points
2. Chevrolet, 20
3. Porsche , 12
4. Ferrari, 10

Teams Points’ standings

1. BMW Team RLL, BMW, 24 points
2. Corvette Racing, Chevrolet, 20
3. Paul Miller Racing, Porsche, 12
4. Extreme Speed Motorsports, Ferrari, 10

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World Endurance Championship Explained

The World Endurance Championship is a new series making its debut this year. The inaugural race was this weekend at Sebring (the reason we heard so much about it). Similar in format to the Le Mans Cup, the WEC season concludes in October at the 6 Hours of Shanghai after an 8 race season. A total of six titles, based on point tally, will be awarded. Two of the awards are the much coveted Manufacturers’ World Endurance Champion and Driver’s World Champion. The other four awards are a “World Cup” for the GTE Pro Class (see below), a Trophy for the leaders in LMP2 and GTE AM and a final Trophy for the best privateer team (one that is not supported by the factory). Both sports prototypes and GT vehicles race in this series. They are divided into four classes that all start together but are classified separately and only score points for their respective class and series:

• LMGTE Pro class: This class is reserved for slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,245 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR).

• LMGTE Am class: Like the LMGTE Pro, but the regulations stipulate that there must be no more than one professional driver per vehicle.

• LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms.

• LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with around 440 hp and a 900 kilogram minimum weight.

So, in this weekend’s race there were more than 60 cars on the field but some were racing for WEC points and others were racing for ALMS points. Audi was the overall winner of the 12 Hour race, but their points go toward the WEC vs. the ALMS series. Hopefully, this explanation helps some. If we just confused you more, sorry, we’re still sorting it out too. Checkout this site for more info and standing.

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Many consider Herrmann’s 1960 victory at Sebring one of the most important in the history of Porsche motorsport. Herrmann’s Type 718 RS60 (a 1.6 liter car) was raced for the first time at this event. His win and the 2nd place finish of Porsche teammates Hobert/Schecheter (in a similar RS60) cemented Porsche in the minds of fans and competitors as they both crossed the lines in front of competitors with almost twice the engine displacement (the 3-liter class).

Born in on February 23, 1928 in Stuttgart, Herrmann compiled more than 80 overall wins and class victories for Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Borgward and Abarth. However, his greatest victories were all at the whee of Porsches; at the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio, the Carrera Panamericana and in Le Mans, where he achieved Porsche’s first overall victory in a 917 in 1970. After his triumph at Le Mans, Hans Herrmann retired from active racing at the age of 42. Today he can be found at racing events around the world either receiving honors or helping honor others.

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PP: What is the history of the cows?

Cows: [In] 1992, Original Cow and a few of his fraternity brothers later to be known as, Old Cow (should not need ask why), Stunt Dick Cow (do you really need to ask?) and Stingy Cow (yep, squeezes boogers out of Lincoln’s nose), were at yet another Sebring and this year he brought along his Halloween costume because he would, “never wear that again.”

As Original Cow and Co. were walking around Green Park, several good looking young ladies wanted a picture with the “cow guy”. Being the enterprising men that they were, one of them thought that a beer should be offered in return for the photo. Thus, moo for a brew was born.

As they continued around, attentions were drawn, photos were taken and beers were consumed. The very next year the herd was born. To the herd was added those mentioned above and Big Cow (my father). Slowly, over time, a core group of the cows [came to] exist. Big Balls Cow (its his beads), Holy Cow (beer be with you!), Zoo Cow (from the nearly world famous Animal Section of Dick Howzer Stadium at Florida State University where baseball is played), Builder Cow (he builds stuff for a big corporation), Wrestler Cow (was a wrestler, not professional), Dr. Cow (he’s our vet), and Dalmatian Cow (his suit is handmade and looks more like a dalmatian). This year, rejoining the herd after a brief absence will be Wisconsin Cow (from duh!) and Bionic Cow (one leg!). If ever we have a first year cow, he is given the moniker of Virgin Calf. Big Balls Cow was the first Virgin Calf. There have been others who have come and gone and their names shall remain nameless (because we cannot remember them).

PP: When did you start?

Cows: Me personally, Holy Cow, I started going to Sebring in 1984 at the ripe age of 6. I was raised just south in Lake Placid, FL. I was to remain a non-cow until 1999 when I was of age to join the herd. The cow with the most experience at Sebring is Old Cow, who began attending in 1959 [but not as a cow]. The majority of the herd were fraternity brothers and started attending in the late 60′s early 70′s. Most were present when the race did not run in 74! My generation of cow started in the mid-80′s, we had to wait to be cows till the late 90′s for obvious legal, ethical and moral reasons. Three other of my generation began attending in the late 90′s as they were not raised in the area.

PP: What inspired the cow suits?

Cows: See above. The original cow suit has been donated to the Sebring International Raceway Museum.

PP: How many cows are there?

Cows: Since 1992, there has never been no cow at Sebring. After 1992, at least one and as many as 18 (we decided that was too many). This year a Baker’s dozen are expected with a Virgin Calf.

PP: Do you do this for yourselves or is it charity related? If charity related, who do you raise money for and how do you do it?

Cows: We do this because people will give us a beer or two. We wear the cow suit at Sebring because we are the cows. Happily, we need no further reason. We do this for fun’s sake. So that we can have fun, spread fun, and enjoy fun. We wish to be respectable (somewhat), fun, honest and safe. The suit is easy to wear, but hard to live up to. Other philosophical drivel, blah, blah, blah.

PP: Are there any misconceptions about the cows you would like to clear up?

Cows: Happily, we do not work for nor are endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Dell computers, the Wisconsin, California or any state’s dairy boards. We are just cows, not pawns in the grand scheme of some corporations marketing plans.

PP: What would you want people to know about the cows?

Cows: The commercials are lying. The happiest cows come from Green Park!

PP: What’s the strangest things you’ve ever been part of at Sebring?

Cows: Often, young ladies will feel enticed to show us their udders. Well this urge to share udders is not just restricted to the younger ladies. Some of the seasoned citizens of the Sebring Nation got together to give the cows a good showing of udders. There were about 6 of them… ladies I mean, not udders. Anyway the short of it was one of the most spectacular showing of udders that many of us have ever witnessed. That, and I was almost thrown on a bonfire for BBQ…

PP: Do the cows attend any other races besides Sebring?

Cows: The cows did make an appearance at Petite LeMans in October of 2010. Only 5 or 6 were present. They report that it’s a totally different event. We have plans on attending the 24 Hours at Le Mans, however we are unable to secure sponsors at this time. Anyone???

PP: Do you hang out with the Drunk Monks of Sebring or is there a rivalry between you two?

Cows: There are some of us who do hang with the Drunk Monks. In fact, as far as I know, I am the only ordained Cow Monk. Therefore, Holy Cow. They are a more diverse group of folks (allowing women into the order) and we like them a lot. The Cows have no beef with them. In fact we share a motto. Be respectful, have fun, be honest and be safe. [Editors Note: We too have been ordained into the "order" and have the towel to prove it!].

PP: Has anyone ever tried to “tip” a Sebring Cow?

Cows: UMM… see the video below. The cow in question is fine, he was a cow the following year and has yet to rejoin the herd. His name is forgotten to time.

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In the No. 44 racing Porsche, Seth Neiman is joined by Darren Law and Andy Lally. Law has driven with the Lizards since 2004 and will return as a guest driver in 2012. Sebring will be Lally’s first race with the team. Lally heads to Sebring following a GT win last week at the 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona (with Magnus Racing). 2012 is Lally’s fourth GT win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Among his notable achievements in endurance racing and stock car racing, Lally was named NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year for 2011.

Thomas Blam, Flying Lizard Chief Strategist said,

“Marco Holzer has proven to be a highly consistent driver; he contributed a great deal to our 2011 program. He will be a very solid addition to Joerg and Patrick in the No. 45 for Sebring. In the No. 44, we have an All-American lineup with Seth, Darren and Andy. This will be Andy’s first time driving with the Lizards but he has a proven performance record in Porsches and brings a wide breadth of endurance racing experience.”

The new Porsches will have their first run at the ALMS Sebring Winter test this week: February 8 and 9 in Sebring, Florida. Developments to the RSR for 2012 include a wider body, increased front tire diameter and wider front and rear track width. Porsche has also modified the bodywork to optimize aerodynamics and added new air intake ducts to the rear quarter panel. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is powered by a six-cylinder boxer engine with a four-liter capacity.

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It would seem that the Ferrari was running under European/International Le Mans Regulations vs. ALMS Le Mans Regulations. Similar to how the Porsche Hybrid crossed the checkered flag first at Laguna Seca but couldn’t qualify for ALMS point, the same holds true for the Ferrari. As a result, the Flying Lizard team gets first place points.

ALMS Final Manufacturers Standings

Unfortunately, even with the extra points from today’s win thy weren’t enough to overtake BMW. Not only did BMW win the manufactuer’s championship, they took first in the Driver’s and Team competitions too.

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Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) in the Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR passed Dirk Werner in the BMW just before the last lap to capture first place at the 14th running of the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Bergmeister, who co-drove with Patrick Long (USA) and Patrick Pilet (France), actually finished behind the Bruni/Kaffer/Fisichella Ferrari on the track, but since that car was only entered in the International Le Mans Series points battle, the Lizards get first place American Le Mans Series points.

“We are thrilled to take first place at the last two races of the season, especially in the fashion that we did. I was close to the BMW several times in the last 20 minutes, but could never get close enough to pass. Finally, after the late yellow flag, with a little more than one lap to go, Werner got caught in traffic and I took some risk and squeezed by him outside turn six. He got back on my bumper, but I was able to hold him off to the checkered flag,” said Bergmeister, who was also pleased that the pass enabled Michelin to earn enough points to capture the GT Tire Manufacturers Championship.

The “pass” and the rest of the race details can be watched today, Sunday, on ABC-TV starting at 4:00 PM Eastern time.

The Race Progression

The Lizards started their march from the fifth-place qualifying position when the Melo/Vilander/Matos Ferrari retired after crashing in morning warm-up before the race. The one of the factory Corvettes broke early in the race and could not continue, and the other factory BMW had several flat tires. Meanwhile, Pilet, Long and Bergmeister kept a steady pace and stayed away from the multiple accidents that littered the 2.54-mile course during the 1000-mile event.

“We stayed with our plan to stay out of trouble so we were in a position to attack at the end. Everyone saw that the plan worked,” said Long, who had clinched the SCCA World Challenge championship in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car last month.

Patrick Pilet, who was a late replacement for Marc Lieb (Germany) as the team’s third driver, was impressed by the professionalism of his Flying Lizard teammates.

“Everyone here was really focused on finishing first, and, by adjusting the tire pressures constantly during the race to compensate for the changing track temperatures, the balance of our Porsche improved as the race went on. This was a great weekend for me, and I was glad to be part of the Lizard first place,” said Pilet.

Other Porsche 911 GT3 RSR finishers included the Team Falken Tire entry of Wolf Henzler/Bryan Sellers/Martin Ragginger (fourth); the Flying Lizard Porsche of Marco Holzer/Darren Law/Seth Neiman (eighth); and the Paul Miller Racing Porsche of Bryce Miller/Sascha Maassen/Emanuel Collard (11th).

GT Challenge

Jeroen Bleekemolen and his brother Sebastiaan (both The Netherlands), along with team owner Tim Pappas, brought the Black Swan Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car its second straight championship, and Pappas’ second straight drivers title. The Alex Job Racing Battery Tender Porsche of Leh Keen/Brian Wong/Bill Sweedler was second, with Spencer Pumpelly/Duncan Ende/Peter Ludwig third.

“We are actually in a better position ahead of the Corvettes than we expected,” said Joerg Bergmeister, who is the reigning GT champion of the American Le Mans Series with Patrick Long. “That was the fastest lap that we’ve ever driven in Road Atlanta. I’m not surprised that the BMWs are faster than us here because at this race, which also counts towards the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the Balance of Performance rules from Europe apply and this means an even greater power handicap for us. But I hope that we’re more up with the play during the race than we were in qualifying. Then anything is possible.”

The Falken Tire squad posted the 12th quickest time with Bryan Sellers at the wheel. Bryan shares driving duties of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler and Martin Raggineger. American Darren Law, teammate of Porsche factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany) and Seth Neiman (USA) in the second Flying-Lizard Porsche, secured the 14th grid spot.

Porsche works pilot Richard Lietz clinched the third quickest time with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Proton Competition in the GTE Am class of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, .

“That was a decent lap. Aside from a little understeer it was actually perfect,” said the Austrian who joins forces with Christian Ried (Germany) and Mark Bullitt (USA). “This track reminds me more of the Petit Nordschleife than the Petit Le Mans. It’s my first time here but my teammates and I have almost ten hours to familiarise ourselves with the circuit.”

The 1,000 mile race starts on Saturday at 11.30 hrs local time (17.30 hrs CEST) and is broadcast live in the internet on www.americanlemans.com.

Full GT class Qualifying result

1. Gianmaria Bruni (I), Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:18.669 minutes
2. Dirk Werner (D), BMW M3 GT, + 0.087 seconds
3. Jörg Müller (D), BMW M3 GT, + 0.520
4. Jaime Melo (BRA), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.548
5. Jörg Bergmeister (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.812
6. Johannes van Overbeek (USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.820
12. Bryan Sellers (USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.078
14. Darren Law (USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.391
16. Sascha Maassen (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.878

GTE Am class
1. Rui Aguas (P), Ferrari F430, 1:20.619 minutes
2. Niclas Jönsson (S), Ferrari F430, + 0.261 seconds
3. Richard Lietz (A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.278

GTC class
1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 1:24.543 minutes

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