Penske Porsches Prepared for Mid-Ohio ALMS Round
July 16, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 16, 2008) - Only days after fierce competition at Lime Rock Park, where the Porsche and Acuras did LMP2 battle the American Le Mans Series moves to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for the Acura Sports Car Challenge.
The race, which will last two hours and 45 minutes, will take the green flag on Saturday, July 19, at 3:30 PM EDT, will be broadcast live on American Le Mans Radio, available at www.americanlemans.com, which also has live timing and scoring. The event will be telecast on a delayed basis on NBC-TV at noon EDT on Sunday, July 20. This is a recent change announced earlier in the week by NBC, which will also extend its usual two hour broadcast to two hours, 30 minutes.
“As Acura is sponsoring the race, and we know they will have a big crowd from their nearby factory in Ohio, we hope to turn the tables on them and score a win at Mid-Ohio,” said Patrick Long, Porsche’s only American factory driver, who led the Lime Rock race early in the event in the No. 6 Penske Porsche RS Spyder before the Brabham/Sharp Acura eventually won the event.
Two Penske Porsche RS Spyders will again contest the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series, which runs in conjunction with the IndyCar Series. Sharing the cockpit of the No. 6 car are Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA), with LMP2 points leader Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) manning the No. 7 RS Spyder.
In Lime Rock last weekend, Maassen/Long lost track position due to miscommunication on its pit stop/driver change, and Bernhard was passed by the winning Acura with two laps to go. Still, Dumas/Bernhard maintained their LMP2 points lead and Porsche kept their manufacturers championship lead by finishing second.
Their overall wins at Sebring and Salt Lake City, along with the class win at St. Petersburg, have put them in control of the drivers points, while the combined efforts of Penske Racing and Dyson Racing have kept Porsche ahead on the manufacturers side.
Points’ standings - Driver LMP2 class
1. Timo Bernhard, Porsche 102 Romain Dumas, Porsche 102
2. David Brabham, Acura 78 Scott Sharp, Acura 78
3. Sascha Maassen Porsche 55 Patrick Long Porsche 55
4. Butch Leitzinger Porsche 52