News

MONTEREY, Calif. (October 15, 2008) – With a driver’s and team championships already clinched for the 2008 season, the DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder drivers have put their teams in position to help Porsche clinch their third consecutive LMP2 class manufacturers championship with solid qualifying efforts for Saturday’s Monterey Sports Car Championships, the final race of the 2008 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season.  The No. 7, No. 6 and No. 5 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyders will start third, six and seventh overall/in-class on the challenging 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course.

2008 ALMS Driver Champion Timo Bernhard (Germany), co-driving the No. 7 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder with co-champion Romain Dumas (France), will start the four-hour event in third place on the grid, behind two Acura LMP2 prototypes.  Porsche currently leads Acura by eight points in the LMP2 class, and with 25 points to the winners in each class, 21 points for second and 18 points for third, Porsche will only need a podium finish to clinch the title.  

Sascha Maassen (Germany), who will co-drive with Patrick Long (USA) in the No. 6 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder, qualified sixth, while Petit Le Mans winners Ryan Briscoe (Australia) and Helio Castroneves (Brazil) in the No. 5 machine, will start seventh.

The Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is scheduled to start at 2:45 p.m. PDT on Saturday, October 18. NBC Sports will air the race from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT on Sunday, October 19 and XM Satellite Radio's Channel 144 will air the race from 4 to 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage on americanlemans.com, which also will feature Live Timing & Scoring.

Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif.
Qualifying Results:

1. Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:10.103, 114.93 mph
2. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:10.202, 114.77
3. Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:10.351, 114.52
4. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:10.451, 114.36
5. Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:10.567, 114.17
6. Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:10.586, 114.14
7. Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Helio Castroneves, Brazil; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:10.606, 114.11
8. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:11.010, 113.46
9. Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Christijan Albers, The Netherlands; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:11.264, 113.06
10. Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:11.825, 112.17
11. Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:12.089, 111.76
12. Johnny Mowlem, England; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Zytek 07S (P1), 1:12.819, 110.64
13. Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Raphael Matos, Brazil; Lola B07 46 Mazda (P2), 1:13.321, 109.88
14. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Ryan Lewis, UK; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:13.379, 109.80
15. Stephen Simpson, South Africa; Jamie Campbell-Walter, England; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Creation CA 07 AIM (P1), 1:13.481, 109.64
16. Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Lola B06-10 AER (P1), 1:14.549, 108.07
17. Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:19.291, 101.61
18. Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:19.790, 100.98
19. Dirk Werner, Germany; Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:22.060, 98.18
20. Wolf Henzler, Germany; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:22.380, 97.80
21. Dirk Mueller, Germany; Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:22.701, 97.42
22. Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Patrick Pilet, France; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:22.869, 97.22
23. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:22.962, 97.11
24. Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ben Aucott, England; Ferrari 430 GT (GT2), 1:23.243, 96.79
25. Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:23.928, 96.00
26. Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (GT2), 1:24.084, 95.82
27. Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Marc Basseng, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:24.111, 95.79
28. Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (GT2), 1:24.626, 95.20
29. Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Andy Pilgrim, Del Ray Beach, FL; Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:24.711, 95.11
30. David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:24.727, 95.09
31. Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:24.970, 94.82
32. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (GT2), 1:26.124, 93.55
33. Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:26.704, 92.92
34. Hideki Noda, Japan; Andrew Prendeville, Chatham, NJ; Radical SR10 AER (P1), No Time.