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| Long Beach Race Notes: Porsche Motorsports |
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PORSCHE RS SPYDER SWEEPS LONG BEACH PODIUM AS PENSKE, DYSON RACERS TAKE
FIRST THREE LMP2 POSITIONS; SMALLER PROTOTYPE CLASS TAKES FIRST SIX SPOTS
LONG BEACH, Calif. - April 14 - Romain Dumas (France) and Timo Bernhard (Germany)
brought their Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 prototype, prepared by Penske Motorsports, to a
first place finish overall and class win at Saturday's American Le Mans Series race through
the streets of Long Beach.
Bernhard, who started the car from the front row, ran second to the Franchitti/Herta Acura
for the first 30 minutes of the 100-minute event, and turned the car over to Dumas, who took
the lead when the Acura pitted for a driver change. The Sascha Maassen (Germany)/Ryan
Briscoe (Australia) Penske Porsche RS Spyder was second, and the Andy Wallace
(England)/Butch Leitzinger (USA) Dyson Racing Porsche RS Spyder was third.
It was the first time the Audi R-10 diesel LMP1 has not won an ALMS race that it entered.
For Porsche, this was the second one-two overall finish in the American Le Mans Series (the
same Dumas/Bernhard combination accomplished the feat at Mid-Ohio last year), and it was
the first time any manufacturer has swept the overall podium in ALMS.
"How can you top this?" declared Penske Racing President Tim Cindric, who called the
strategy on the radio for the winning car.
"Not only a one-two finish overall for Penske Racing, but a one-two-three finish for Porsche
Motorsport," said Cindric.
The Dumas/Bernhard racer ran a flawless race, with a perfect driver change that helped the
car minimize its time in the pits. The car ran the whole race without a tire change, proof that
the Michelin race tires it uses provide exceptional track life. As no mechanical work can take
place in the American Le Mans Series while the car is being fueled - including a tire change -
this also helped the team save time in the pits.
Porsche now leads Acura in the LMP2 manufacturers points by six points, and
Dumas/Bernhard lead the drivers championship by ten points over teammates Maassen
and Briscoe and 16 points over the leading Acura drivers.
Although Maassen/Briscoe had a terrific race and good pit work, Briscoe ran over a bolt on
the track - possibly from a P1 car which hit the wall on the pace lap - and incurred a
deflating tire on lap number five, only eight minutes into the race. This meant a pit stop very
early, and the Penske crew changed all four tires. Although Briscoe and Maassen charged
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