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| Houston Weekend Preview Notes: Porsche Motorsport |
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ACURA BATTLE IN LMP2 AND PORSCHE-FERRARI RIVALRY IN GT2 BOTH IN FULL
SWING AS THE AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES HEADS FOR THE STREETS OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, Texas - April 18, 2007 - As the American Le Mans Series travels to the
Southwest for round number four, the Lone Star Grand Prix of Houston this
Saturday evening, Porsche teams involved in both the LMP2 and GT2 classes have tough
challenges from worthy rivals on both the prototype and GT levels as the fight for the season
championships is now in high gear.
In the LMP2 class, the Porsche RS Spyders have earned class wins and an overall win in the
past two street races, but the rival Acura prototype earned the pole at Long Beach and won
the opening ALMS round at Sebring. In GT2, the 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - new for this
year - has finished second to the Ferrari in all three races so far, but Porsche trails the
manufacturers chase by only 12 points (20 points awarded for a win) going into Houston.
Porsche Motorsport North America President Uwe Brettel would rather be way ahead in both
categories, but points out the close competition is good for the classes and good for the
series.
"We would like to be far ahead in the points - especially in the GT2 class - but the fans come
to the races to see good racing, and Porsche customers teams have provided just that
during the first three events. Patrick Long and Darren Law were less than five seconds short
of winning Long Beach in their Flying Lizard Porsche, while Jorg Bergmeister in the Lizard
team Porsche lost to the Ferrari by two-thousandths of a second at Sebring. Our overall win
by the Penske Porsche RS Spyder at Long Beach was exciting, but the Acura provided stiff
competition by taking the pole and turning the fastest race lap," said Brettel.
Brettel also pointed out that, with the street course in Houston being repaved for this year's
event, and the race being run in April instead of July, the heat and roughness of the course
which plagued teams a year ago should not be a factor this year. In 2006, both Penske
Porsche RS Spyders did not finish the Houston event due to transmission problems traced to
the beating the cars took from the bumpy track surface.
For Porsche, the Long Beach overall victory by Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard in the
LMP2 class Penske Porsche RS Spyder was its second one-two overall finish in the American
Le Mans Series (the same Dumas/Bernhard combination accomplished the feat at Mid-Ohio
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