RS Spyder on pole position
The
best always comes last: In
the next-to-last lap of the fiercely contested qualifying session at
Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, Timo Bernhard (Germany) set
the fastest time with the RS Spyder to take up the fourth round of the
American Le Mans Series on Sunday from pole position. This marks the
second pole in succession for the reigning champion, who has already
won the Sebring 12 hour race with Romain Dumas (France) this season. “That was a great qualifying. I can’t remember the last time things were so close,” said Timo Bernhard, who asserted himself at the wheel of his #7 RS Spyder over the fastest Acura driven by IndyCar legend Gil de Ferran by 0.139 seconds. “We were already quite certain during practice that we could claim pole position on the shortened track. And this is just what we did. We had not anticipated that it’d be so close, but it’s fantastic for the fans. They can now look forward to an exciting race.”
In the #6 sister car run by Penske Racing, last year’s winner Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) take up the race from the third row of the grid. The Porsche-supported US customer team, Dyson Racing, also put in a good performance against strong competition. Butch Leitzinger (USA) qualified the RS Spyder with starting number 20 on the fourth grid row, with his team colleague Guy Smith (Great Britain) planting #16 RS Spyder one row behind. The nine top qualifying are within eight-tenths of a second.
In
the GT2 class for modified
standard sports cars, the top time also went to Porsche: Wolf Henzler
(Germany) secured the third straight pole position for Porsche with the
Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR which he shares with Joerg
Bergmeister (Germany). His team colleague Patrick Pilet (France)
claimed the third quickest qualifying time in class. With fourth, Marc
Basseng (Germany) also brought home a good starting position for
tomorrow’s race at the wheel of a Farnbacher Loles Racing 911 GT3 RSR. The race in Salt Lake City starts on Sunday at 13.05 hours local time (21.05 hrs CEST) and runs over 2:45 hours.
Qualifying result
1. Timo Bernhard (D), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:31.050 minutes
2. Gil de Ferran (BRA), Acura ARX-01.B (LMP2), 0.139 seconds behind
3. Luis Diaz (MEX), Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 0.292
4. David Brabham (AUS), Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 0.302
5. Patrick Long (USA), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 0.412
6. Marco Werner (D), Audi R10 (LMP1), 0.540
7. Butch Leitzinger (USA), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 0.633
8. Frank Biela (D), Audi R10 (LMP1), 0.747
9. Christian Fittipaldi (BRA), Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 0.853
10. Guy Smith (GB), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1.306
Facts and Figures
This is the American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created in 1999. The regulations are based on the rules of the Le Mans 24 hour race. This season twelve rounds will be contested in the USA and Canada. The traditional highlights of the year are the Sebring 12 hour race and the 1,000 mile “Petit Le Mans” race in Road Atlanta. Most races run over 2.45 hours. The ALMS is the American counterpart to the European-based Le Mans Series (LMS).
The starting field consists of two different sports vehicle categories: Sports prototypes and standard sports cars. They are divided into four classes:
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 750 hp and a minimum weight of 925 kilograms (in the LMS: 750 hp/900 kilograms).
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with around 475 hp (normally-aspirated engines) and an 800 kilogram minimum weight (in the LMS: 475 hp/825 kg). The Porsche RS Spyder competes in this class.
GT1 class: Heavily modified standard sports cars with up to 650 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (in the LMS: 650 hp/1,125 – 1,325 kilograms).
GT2 class: Slightly modified standard sports cars with between 450 hp to 470 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (in the LMS: 450 to 470 hp/1,125 – 1,325 kilograms). The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR competes in this class.
All race cars start together but are classified separately according to the class. This system ensures diverse and gripping racing with many overtaking manoeuvres. Points are only allocated for placings in each class. Championship titles are awarded in the LMP1 and LMP2 classes for drivers, chassis and engine manufacturers, teams and tyre suppliers. In the GT1 and GT2 classes titles are awarded for drivers, car manufacturer and teams. With the RS Spyder in 2006 and 2007, Porsche won the championship title for drivers (Sascha Maassen/Lucas Luhr and Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas respectively) as well as for manufacturer chassis, manufacturer engine and team (Penske Racing).
