Written on January 29th, 2012 at 8:33pm by Pepper Girl
Some of you have complained in the past about spoiling results of races you’ve DVR’d or otherwise recorded and not yet watched. So, if you don’t want to know Porsche’s results from the Rolex 24 Hour race at Daytona International Speedway, then stop reading now. For everyone else, read on and feel free to browse our 2012 Daytona Albums on Facebook.
When the race started, Porsche commanded 6 of the top 10 qualifying spots in the GT class. Among them were Magnus Racing in P3 and Brumos Racing in P1. 24 hours later the two swapped positions and found themselves on podium (in 1st and 3rd respectively) along with another Porsche customer team, TRG, in 2nd place.
Magnus Racing Successful in Third Year of Existence
Team owner John Potter was understandable emotional after his relatively new team won what is arguably one of the “greates sports car races in the world”.
“This crew works so hard, and we have come so close to the top step of the podium in Grand-Am in the past, but to win for the first time, at this race is something special. Rene and Andy are great guys, and Richard really brought us home strong,” said Potter.
Driving duties for the #44 Magnus Porsche were split between John Potter, Andy Lally, Rene Rast and Richard Lietz. It was Lietz who had the last two hour stint of the race and led Porsche’s sweep of the GT podium. Lietz was pleased that the team chose him to finish the race and he thought the field of drivers was especially strong.
“I was honored to carry the team flag to the finish line, and we bested a field of world-class GT drivers,” said Lietz.
Andy Lally, who won the GT event last year, has switched teams and joined Magnus for a full season is excited about the win and thinks it’s a harbinger of things to come.
“This was a great victory for John Potter and Magnus, but it is only the first step in our quest for the Rolex Grand-Am GT championship and North American Endurance GT Championship,” said Lally.
Final Results of GT Class at the 2012 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
Facts and Figures about Porsche in the Daytona 24 Hours
Overall Wins: 22 -first in 1968;most recent in 2009 (Brumos – Porsche Flat-Six powered Riley Chassis) and 2010 (Action Express Cayenne V-8 Powered Riley Chassis)
Class Wins: 73
Porsche 911 Wins: 39 Overall and Class Victories
Initial Overall Win: 1968
GT Class Wins: 26
SGS Class wins (class ran only in 2004): 1
20 Race Winning Streak (overall or class): 1966-1987
Finished 1-2 overall in 12 Daytona 24-Hours
GT class winner finishing second overall: 2001, 2004
GTX Series Winner: 1978-1981
GTP Series Winner: 1982-87, 1989, 1991
Special thanks to our intrepid photographer Roger Garbow for all the pictures on Facebook. Roger is the founder of Ridgefield, CT-based Full Throttle Marketing, and Vice President of Car Guy Nation. A member of the International Motor Press Association, Roger is a contributing writer for the Fairfield County Business Journal, Ridgefield Magazine and China’s most exclusive lifestyle publication, Fortune Character.
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Written on January 29th, 2012 at 5:21pm by Pepper Girl
Written on January 26th, 2012 at 5:14pm by Pepper Girl
When the checkered flag dropped last year at Mid-Ohio Brumos Porsche showed the racing world they had returned to their roots by winning the Grand-Am GT Series Title. This year at Daytona they’re well on their way again as Andrew Davis put his 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car on the GT class pole for the Rolex 24 Hours.
Davis, although qualifying first, was still disappointed with his opening lap.
“The guys did a great job getting me out onto pit lane in front, as we thought it would be important to get a clean lap with all the traffic, but my first lap wasn’t so great. The first time I was fastest in the session, I was surprised as I was not successful in finding someone to draft, but the car felt great and I figured we’d at least make the top ten. Then Patrick (Long in the Flying Lizard Porsche), and the Risi Ferrari went faster, but I found a drafting partner and squeezed out the best time in the end. With only a 15-minute session, we were fortunate to get in seven laps, and the new 2012 Brumos Porsche was perfect. I am humbled to be fastest in a field which includes Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette/Camaro, and BMW factory drivers. But I better enjoy it tonight, because it really means nothing once the race begins,” said Davis.
Top 10 GT Qualifying Results
1. Davis / Haywood / Keen / Lieb —Brumos Racing –Porsche GT3
2. Assentato / Lazzaro / Longhi / Segal —AIM Autosport Team FXDD Racing with Ferrari –Ferrari 458
3. Lally / Lietz / Potter / Rast —Magnus Racing –Porsche GT3
4. Bergmeister / Long / Neiman / Rockenfeller —Flying Lizard Motorsports with Wright Motorsports –Porsche GT3
5. Bruni / Fisichella / Matos —Risi Competizione –Ferrari 458
6 Cameron / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker —Team Sahlen –Mazda RX-8
7 Collard / Holzer / Leitzinger / MacNeil —Alex Job Racing –Porsche GT3
8 Edwards / Marsh / Milner / Taylor —Autohaus Motorsports –Camaro GT.R
9 Asch / Baldwin / Burtin / Ragginger / Sellers —Burtin Racing with Goldcrest Motorsports –Porsche GT3
10 Bell / Maassen / Miller —Paul Miller Racing –Porsche GT3
Check out the PorschePurist.com Facebook Page for pictures from Qualifying and other Daytona Albums
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Written on January 21st, 2012 at 5:52pm by Pepper Girl
The 24 hour race at Daytona International Speedway started out in 1962 as a three hour race. In 1964 the race grew to 1250 miles (double the distance of the classic 1000 kilometer races of Spa, Monza and the Nürburgring). It wasn’t until 1966 that the first 24 hour event took place at Daytona. Over the past 50 years Porsche became the most successful manufacturer in the history of the race with 22 overall wins.
PorschePurist.com running loud and proud on the wing of a Guardian Angel Porsche during the Rolex 24 at DaytonaToday, the Daytona International is one of the world’s most famous race tracks. The 24 hour race is contested on the 3.56 mile track combination of oval with banked corner and the infield. The circuit is also the venue for the famed NASCAR Daytona 500 race with over 250,000 spectators annually.
Seven Porsche Works Drivers to Compete
Title defender Wolf Henzler competes for TRG Racing while Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) line up for Flying Lizard Motorsports. Alex Job Racing has Marco Holzer (Germany) onboard, with Patrick Pilet (France) taking the wheel of the second TRG-Porsche. Magnus Racing competes with Richard Lietz (Austria), at the same time his teammate in the new World Endurance Championship, Marc Lieb (Germany), lines up for Brumos Racing. Also taking up the race with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is Audi factory pilot Mike Rockenfeller (Switzerland).
Lastly, in recognition of their brilliant performances in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Porsche AG gave the two-time champion René Rast (Germany) as well as “Rookie of the Year” Kévin Estre (France) the chance to compete at Daytona.
Race Schedule and TV Coverage
The race starts this coming Saturday, January 28th at 2:30 pm EST. Speed.com will offer flag to flag coverage on their web-site while Speed TV will air an hour pre-race show and then provide 7.5 hours of uninterrupted live coverage. Coverage will return to Speed TV at 9 a.m. Sunday with another seven uninterrupted hours.
Listen to the Sounds of Racing from the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Facts and Figures about Porsche in the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Written on January 9th, 2012 at 1:29pm by Pepper Girl
Flying Lizard leaves Daytona after a successful test of the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Over the three-day test, drivers Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Mike Rockenfeller, and team owner Seth Neiman took the Porsche through its paces in preparation for the 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona race, January 28-29.
Here’s what the Driver’s had to say
Patrick Long: “The driver objective for Daytona test days is two-fold: get a balance with the Porsche and get comfortable with the car. By the time we get to race week, we need to have completely sorted through ergomomics issues and be 100 percent with the car. This week, everything came together seamlessly: with Flying Lizard and John Wright’s team we worked through all of our objectives.”
“It’s a huge GT field this year. I’m confident that the Porsche will be competitive, but of course we won’t really know how things stack up until the race. Over the last few days, we stayed focused on our own program; I think we’re well on our way to having a solid car that drives well through the entire stint.”
Mike Rockenfeller: “It’s great to be back at Daytona. It’s been a while since I’ve driven a Cup car so it was important to have the time to get used to it again. We had time this week to try a lot of things on the car. We’ve still got some work to do to get to race setup, but overall I’m happy with what we accomplished. GT competition is really strong: both internally with all of the other Porsches and the other manufacturers. It’s going to be a wild race. We need to have an easy car to drive and find our rhythm early on. I’m happy to be back here and with the Lizards again.”
Joerg Bergmeister: “We are still learning the car and the tires but we made a lot of progress over the test. The competition in GT is going to be tough: there are over 20 Porsches alone and a lot of other manufacturers with good cars and lineups. All signs point to GT being even more challenging than the DP class was in 2011.”
Details about the Rolex 24 at Daytona
The Rolex 24 At Daytona gets the green flag on Saturday, January 28 at 3:30 pm ET. The race will be broadcast live in the U.S. on SpeedTV (select broadcast hours – see your local listings) and also in Europe on MotorsTV. Flying Lizard will broadcast the team radio live and offer a real time race blog: for details see http://www.lizardms.com.
Flying Lizard at Daytona
2012 will be Flying Lizard’s fourth year at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In 2011, the GT team fielded their first prototype: the No. 45 Porsche-powered Riley DP. After a promising start from the pole (Bergmeister) and having set the fastest race lap, the No. 45 was retired at hour 23 after a challenging race. In 2010, the No. 67 Flying Lizard/TRG Porsche GT3 Cup finished second in GT. In 2005 the No. 75 Porsche finished thirteenth, and in 2004, the No. 74 Flying Lizard Porsche GT3 Cup was second in GT and third overall.
Bergmeister has won three times here: in GT in 2009 (with Patrick Long), in GT and overall in 2003, and in GT in 2002. Rockenfeller won overall in 2010.
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[Photo Source: © Bob Chapman, Autosport Image]
Written on September 18th, 2011 at 2:27pm by Pepper Girl
Heading into this year’s final round of GRAND-AM Rolex Series competition at Mid-Ohio, Brumos Racing had a lot on the line. Just three points out of the lead, Brumos set their sights on the GT Championship and were prepared for the challenge of a winner-take-all contest. When the checkered flag dropped on one of the most thrilling races of the season, Brumos Racing proved that they had indeed returned to their roots by bringing the 2011 Rolex Series GT Championship back to their Jacksonville, Florida, home.
The Mid-Ohio finale will go down in the record books as one of the most memorable comeback races ever. An electronic problem that forced the #59 to sit out the qualifying session placed it at the back of the pack to start the race. Andrew Davis faced the daunting task of getting the #59 Porsche GT3 from 19th place back to the front. He drove a phenomenal opening stint, passing car after car, before going on to lead the race for 12 laps. Strategy calls were executed perfectly and the team used the numerous yellow flags to full advantage. The car was handed over to Leh Keen under yellow, as the crew delivered a flawless stop. During the critical final stop, the crew got the #59 back on track ahead of the #70 Mazda, the only car standing between them and the championship. Keen faced considerable pressure but held his position, ending the race in 4th place and taking the 2011 Rolex GT Championship for Brumos and its drivers in the process.
The race provided an emotional finish to the season for the entire Brumos team, particularly for Andrew Davis, who claimed his first professional championship.
“I’m so proud and so honored to be a Brumos driver and to follow in Hurley Haywood’s footsteps,” he said. “With Brumos’ legacy of winning GT championships, it’s almost unbelievable that Leh and I were able to bring home our own championship for the team. For Dan Davis and Hurley to have faith in us and give us this opportunity, it means a tremendous amount. I have to thank all of our crew members who have worked so hard and fought through thick and thin all season long. I also appreciate all the employees back at Brumos in Jacksonville who are always cheering for us. They may not be here at the track, but they are always there in spirit and willing us along. To say I am the 2011 Rolex GT Champion is awesome, but to be able to say I did it as a Brumos driver is unbelievable.”
For Leh Keen, his second Rolex GT Championship was no less thrilling than his first.
“Wow, that was amazing – and I’m not talking about just this race, but the whole year,” he said. “It is so special to be part of this Brumos group. At the beginning of the year Dan and Hurley told us we were part of the family now, and I now know what that truly means. There were many things that made it more difficult for us in our first year, but that just shows how hard our team worked to get it done. For me, to win in a Porsche is also special. I started my career and won most of my races in a Porsche, and the Brumos Porsches were always my favorites. To win this championship and win another championship for Brumos and be a part of that organization is spectacular.”
Hurley Haywood has worked with many crew members and drivers in his career, but his team this year was special.
“To say I am proud would be an understatement,” he said. “At the beginning of the year Brumos put together a kind of dream team, but the recipe was unproven. We worked hard to get it right and the end result got us to the team and the drivers’ championship. My main responsibility was working with the drivers and they certainly did not let me down. If I have to give up my seat, I can’t think of two guys I would rather give it to than Andrew and Leh. Every single person on our crew did a tremendous job and made a noticeable contribution to the success of this effort, beginning with the first race in Daytona. I am really happy to see Brumos bring another championship home to Jacksonville.”
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Written on August 14th, 2011 at 2:50pm by Pepper Girl
Spencer Pumpelly and Steven Bertheau managed to coax just enough fuel out of TRG’s No. 67 Sargent & Lundy Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to take the GT victory in a thrilling finish at the Canadian Tire 200 at Watkins Glen – the most recent round of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
Pumpelly led the final six circuits as the lead changed hands five times in the final hour, taking the checkered flag 2.12 seconds ahead of Taylor. Craig Stanton and John Potter took third in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor regained the lead in the production-based GT championship standings with a second place finish in the No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. Andrew Davis and Leh Keen entered the race with a one-point lead, but finished seventh in the No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and are now seven points behind (272-265) as they had to stop late in the race for fuel while leading the event.
Revised Grand-Am GT Points
- Jordan Taylor/Bill Lester (Camaro) 272
- Leh Keen/Andrew Davis (Porsche) 265
- Jonathan Bomarito/Sylvain Tremblay (Mazda) 257
Team Overcomes Obstacles to Win
Starting from the 18th position, the winning TRG Porsche GT3 Cup car piloted by Steve Bertheau and Spencer Pumpelly secured one of the Series’ most dramatic GT wins of the season. With a qualifying session cut short due to on-track incidents and limited practice time, the team battled several obstacles to claim victory in the fastest paced Grand-Am race of all time.
Bertheau, winnner at the Daytona 24 earlier this year, was only able to get one flyer in during qualifying but managed to put down one of his best laps of the weekend.
“We knew we had some work to do on this one,” said TRG team owner/CEO Kevin Buckler. “We didn’t qualify as well as we had wanted, and definitely had our hands full with an ill-handling 66 team car, so we managed the strategy to death and knew we had a real shot early on with 67. If there’s a group of guys who can overcome adversity and get the job done at the end of the day, it’s our guys, and I am really proud of them today,” said Buckler.
The team seized the opportunity of a caution early to get all of its pit stop duties out of the way for the No. 67. This strategy paid dividends in the end. Bertheau nailed his performance and handed the car off to Pumpelly, the seasoned veteran. Pumpelly put on an outstanding drive, moving into the lead in the last 10 minutes then masterfully saved fuel to bring it home to the checker for his third professional sportscar win in a row.
“Strategy, a great crew and a fantastic co-driver, that’s what makes you win,” said Bertheau. “Kevin and Greg [Jones] were managing our time and fuel strategy from the drop of the green.”
The race was a fuel mileage game for other competitors as well, and it worked out nearly to perfection for John Potter and Craig Stanton as the two drove the no. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to a third place finish in the two-hour race.
Starting from ninth place in the twenty-two car GT field, Potter was called into the pits during an early full-course caution to take fuel. The race restarted with Potter in 12th position, and throughout the next hour he advanced the Magnus Racing Porsche up through the field to the second position. Just past the one hour mark, Potter turned the car over to Stanton, who came out of the pits in 11th place – but with enough fuel to make it to the checkered flag.
Withstanding pressure from the no. 70 Mazda of Jonathan Bomarito, Stanton would take the checkered flag in third place, taking the second Rolex Series podium of the season for Magnus Racing. At the line, Stanton was a scant 12 seconds behind the winning no. 67 TRG Porsche and 10 seconds behind the runner-up no. 88 Autohaus Camaro.
Daytona Prototype class
Porsche factory driver Joerg Bergmeister, who has a Rolex Grand-Am DP championship to his name (2006), the pole for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in his lone Rolex Series appearance this season, and a three-time winner of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, taking the overall victory with TRG in 2003 and taking GT honors for that team in 2002 and 2009, joined the Porsche Riley team entered by Starworks Racing with Enzo Potolicchio.
With the only six cylinder engine in the DP field, Bergmeister/Potolicco finished 11th overall, five laps down from the leaders after suffering various mechanical ills.
The Rolex Series will be in action next Saturday with the Montreal 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on August 20, Round 11 of the 2011 season. This will be the Rolex Series’ fifth visit to the famed island circuit.
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[Source: Porsche Motorsport]
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