Porsche pilots travel as leaders to the Great Salt Lake
The
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is the most successful GT racer of the season
in the American Le Mans Series. After taking home wins from Long Beach
and Laguna Seca, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and
Patrick Long (USA) travel as points’ leaders to Salt Lake City, where
round four of the race series with the world’s fastest sportscars takes
place on 11 July. “The track suits us. The slower corners require a lot of traction and for the quicker ones we’ve got the necessary downforce,” says Joerg Bergmeister about the 4.905 kilometre circuit in Miller Motorsports Park, a massive motorsport complex on the outskirts of the Olympic city of 2002. Temperatures of well over 30 degrees Celsius are expected for race day.
“That takes its toll on the tyres. You have to look after them otherwise it gets difficult,” says the winner from last year, who feels he has good chances to secure his third win of the season. “Last year we had everything under control. And the tests we conducted here recently ran very smoothly. Still, we have to expect that our opponents have made progress as well.”
One of the major advantages of the Flying Lizard Motorsports team fielding the #45 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR are the virtually perfect pit stops. “Our team is extremely quick with this, and we can also totally rely on the race strategy,” says Patrick Long. With the circuit at the Great Salt Lake lying at 1,288 metres above sea level, the thinner air has a noticeable effect on the engine performance and downforce. Long doesn’t regard this as disadvantageous: “We all have to cope with this.”
At
all the races by now this season, the title defenders have driven
the winning car from last year. In Salt Lake City, however, they race a
brand new 911 GT3 RSR. Sharing the cockpit of the second Flying Lizard
Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR with the starting number 44 are Americans Seth
Neiman and Darren Law. Having never competed at Miller Motorsports Park, the Falken Tire squad conducted tests recently on the demanding circuit. “We learned a lot about tyres and set-up,” says Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany), the winner from 2008 who competes in the number 17 vehicle with Bryan Sellers (USA). “Now we just have to see if we can apply everything we’ve learned to a race situation.”
In the LMP sports prototype class, Muscle Milk Team Cytosport runs the Porsche RS Spyder. With the successful racer from Weissach, the US customer team celebrated class victory at the prestigious season-opening Sebring 12 hour race, notching up their greatest success in the American Le Mans Series. In Long Beach and Laguna Seca, Klaus Graf (Germany) and Greg Pickett (USA) also yielded podium results in the number six vehicle against strong competition.
The race in Salt Lake City starts on Sunday, 11 July, at 14.35 hours local time (22.35 hours CEST) and runs over 2:45 hours. The GT qualifying on Saturday is broadcast live on www.porsche.com/alms-live from 22.55 hours CEST.
Facts and Figures
This is the American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations correspond to those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. Nine races in the USA and Canada make up this year’s calendar. Traditional highlights are the Sebring 12 hour race and the 1,000 mile “Petit Le Mans” at Road Atlanta.
Sports prototypes and standard sports cars make up the starter field: These are divided into four classes:
LMP class: In this category, sports prototypes from the former LMP1 and LMP2 classes are classified together. The difference in performance is intended to be offset as far as possible (e.g. via restriction adjustments). The Porsche RS Spyder competes in this class.
GT class: Contesting this class (formerly GT2) are slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 460 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR).
LMPC class: This newly-created class is a prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.
GTC class: Replacing the ALMS Challenge, this class is open for various model years of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
All race cars start together but are classified separately. This ensures racing that is exciting and constantly changing. Points are awarded only for placings in each class
