News

DETROIT (August 29, 2008) – In Friday’s qualifying for the American Le Mans Series’ (ALMS) Detroit Sports Car Challenge Presented by Bosch, the DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyders qualified sixth and seventh in the LMP2 class/overall.  The Penske Porsches both had challenges on the 14-turn, 2.07-mile temporary street circuit during qualifying - the No. 7 car of Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) was plagued with electrical problems and the No. 6 of Patrick Long (USA) and Ryan Briscoe (Australia) racer was missing the set-up after limited track time earlier in the day due to rain.

“The Bernhard/Dumas car had the right setup, but electrical problems prevent Timo from using full power during qualifying, so he only turned a handful of laps with limited revs and shifting ability,” said Dieter Steinhauser, head of the RS Spyder program for Porsche AG. “Because of the limited amount of dry track time earlier in the day, we decided to use the qualifying to test our race set-up, and the Long/Briscoe car had the wrong set-up for Patrick’s qualifying effort.  While the other car had the right set-up, it was hampered by the electrical problems.  In all, we have all the information we need for our race set-up, but it was not soon enough for good qualifying.”

The No. 7 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder driven by Bernhard and Dumas is currently involved in a tight championship points battle – they are currently leading the LMP2 points by a mere 10 over the second place Acura of Scott Sharp/David Brabham.  Even tighter is Porsche’s lead in manufacturer points over Acura, at six. 

The Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch from Belle Isle is scheduled to start at 2:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 30. SPEED TV will broadcast the race live for its two hour, 45-minute duration, and XM Satellite Radio channel 144 will air it from 5 to 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 31. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage of all on-track sessions at www.americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA's Live Timing and Scoring.

Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch
The Raceway at Belle Isle Park, Detroit
Friday's qualifying

(drivers; car/class; fastest lap time; speed)

1. Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:13.483, 102.68
2. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:13.660, 102.44
3. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:14.209, 101.68
4. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:14.380, 101.45
5. James Rossiter, England; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:14.446, 101.36
6. Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:14.598, 101.15
7. Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:15.476, 99.97
8. Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:15.879, 99.44
9. Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:15.923, 99.38
10. Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:16.554, 98.57
11. Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Ben Devlin, England; Lola B07 46 Mazda (P2), 1:16.742, 98.32
12. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:23.307, 90.58
13. Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:24.477, 89.32
14. Wolf Henzler, Germany; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:24.941, 88.83
15. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:24.978, 88.79
16. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:25.270, 88.49
17. Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:25.501, 88.25
18. Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Patrick Pilet, France; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:25.770, 87.97
19. Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Robert Bell, UK; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:26.627, 87.10
20. Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1), 1:26.676, 87.06
21. Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (GT2), 1:27.232, 86.50
22. Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Martin Raggenger, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:27.444, 86.29
23. Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (GT2), 1:27.961, 85.78
24. Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Marc Basseng, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:28.075, 85.67
25. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:29.391, 84.41
26. Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:30.694, 83.20
27. David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:31.013, 82.91
28. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (GT2), No Time.