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BRASELTON, Ga. (October 3, 2008) - When Penske Racing decided to add a third DHL Porsche RS Spyder for the 2008 Petit Le Mans, the intent was to put as many positions between their cars and the rival Acura LMP2 prototypes for Saturday’s ten-hour American Le Mans Series (ALMS) event.  Little did they expect, however, that they would qualify in the top three spots on the LMP2 grid and shut out the Acuras for the start of the race.

Ryan Briscoe (Australia), who will co-drive the No. 5 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder with Helio Castroneves (Brazil), qualified fourth overall and first in LMP2.  2008 LMP2 driver championship-contenders Romain Dumas (France) and Timo Bernhard (Germany), qualified second in class in the No. 7 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder.  And in a thrilling last-minute qualifying effort, Sascha Maassen (Germany) qualified the No. 6 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder third in class, narrowly squeaking by the fastest Acura.  Maassen's co-drivers will be Patrick Long (U.S.A.) and Emmanuel Collard (France) .

All three DHL Penske Porsche drivers shattered the LMP2 class record, which was set in 2007 by Dumas, by more than a second.

“We had to stop for fuel part-way through the qualifying session, but the car was great and it seemed to feel even more energetic after the stop,” said Briscoe, who is coming off of a successful 2008 IndyCar Series season with Penske Racing with two wins. “It was a good team effort to prepare three cars, and the hard work for the long race tomorrow is still ahead of us, but the Penske Porsches are still off to a good start.” 

The 2008 Petit Le Mans will be broadcast live on the SPEED channel starting at 11 a.m. EDT. The SPEED coverage will include the first two hours of the event and will resume at 6:30 p.m. EDT until the conclusion of the race (approximately 9:15 p.m.).  The race will be broadcast in its entirety on the American Le Mans Radio at www.americanlemans.com, which will also have live timing and scoring.

Petit Le Mans Qualifying Results

Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga. - 2.54-mile road course

Drivers/Car/Class/Fastest Lap Time, Speed in mph.

1. Nicolas Minassian, France; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Christian Klien, Austria; Peugeot 908 (P1), 1:06.242, 138.039
2. Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:06.327, 137.862
3. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:06.818, 136.849
4. Helio Castroneves, Brazil; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:07.061, 136.353
5. Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:07.149, 136.175
6. Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Emmanuel Collard, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:07.401, 135.666
7. Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Marco Andretti, Nazareth, PA; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:07.486, 135.495
8. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:07.656, 135.154
9. Danny Watts, UK; Olivier Pla, France; Ginetta Zytek 07S (P1), 1:07.660, 135.146
10. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:07.784, 134.899
11. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Michel Jourdain, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:07.866, 134.736
12. Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:08.064, 134.344
13. Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:08.175, 134.125
14. Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:08.446, 133.594
15. Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Lola B07 46 Mazda (P2), 1:08.896, 132.722
16. Jamie Campbell-Walter, England; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Stephen Simpson, South Africa; Creation CA 07 AIM (P1), 1:09.402, 131.754
17. Johnny Mowlem, England; Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Zytek 07S (P1), 1:09.504, 131.561
18. Georges Forgeois, New York, NY; Ryan Lewis, UK; Luke Hines, England; Lola B07-17 Judd (P1), 1:09.785, 131.031
19. Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Stuart Hall, England; Dean Stirling, England; Creation CA 07 AIM (P1), 1:09.944, 130.733
20. Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Ron Fellows, Canada; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:16.542, 119.464
21. Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:16.589, 119.391
22. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:19.399, 115.165
23. Dirk Werner, Germany; Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Joerg Hardt, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:19.456, 115.083
24. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:19.795, 114.594
25. Wolf Henzler, Germany; Joerg Bergmeister, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:19.885, 114.465
26. Ben Aucott, England; Stephane Daoudi, France; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari 430 GT (GT2), 1:20.206, 114.006
27. Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:20.667, 113.355
28. Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Marc Goosens, Belgium; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (GT2), 1:20.743, 113.248
29. Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Darren Turner, England; Aston Martin Vantage (GT2), 1:20.940, 112.973
30. Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andreas Wirth, Germany; Panoz Esperante Ford (GT2), 1:21.419, 112.308
31. David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:21.438, 112.282
32. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Andy Pilgrim, Del Ray Beach, FL; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:21.616, 112.037
33. Marc Basseng, Germany; Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:21.876, 111.681
34. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (GT2), 1:22.302, 111.103
35. Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:23.096, 110.041
36. Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:23.589, 109.392
37. Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Lola B06-10 AER (P1), No Time
38. Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), No Time.