Porsche Motorsports NOTES USA GP
Contact:
Bob Carlson 770-290-3676
Andy Schupack 401-739-5677
Porsche-Pirelli-Supercup: Results of the 12th Round at the
USA Grand Prix, Indianapolis
JORG BERGMEISTER TURNS TABLES ON SASCHA MAASSEN TO TAKE
SUNDAY’S PORSCHE-PIRELLI SUPERCUP SEASON FINALE AT INDY
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – September 30 - After sitting on the pole
yesterday and finishing second when Sascha Maassen got by him
early in the race, newly-crown 2001 Porsche-Pirelli Supercup
champion Jorg Bergmeister grabbed the early lead from pole-sitter
Maassen today to win the final round of the series at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Bergmesiter, who clinched the championship on Saturday, scored
his seventh victory of the season and his 10th podium finish in 12
events. His winning ways started with the Sunday race last year
at Indy, when he scored his first Porsche-Pirelli Supercup win.
All 18 competitors were driving identically-prepared Porsche 911
GT3 Cup cars, with their 3.6-liter engines producing 370 horsepower.
At the start of the race, Maassen, Bergmesiter, Wolf Henzler
and former Le Mans winner Stephane Ortelli all dove into turn #1
together, but Bergmesiter established inside position and edged out
Massen and Ortelli for the lead. For the next 12 laps, Sascha tried
to pass inside, outside, and even side-by-side for the lead, but
Bergmeister held fast in front. Finally, while trying to pass at
turn #1 on lap #12, Maassen’s nose touched the back of Bergmeister’s
car, damaging Maassen’s radiator, causing it to spring a leak.
“On the last lap, the hot temperature light came on, so I slowed down
to make sure I could finish the race without melting the engine,“
said Maassen, who goes right from this event to Road Atlanta for the
American Le Mans Series‘ finale, Petit Le Mans, to drive the Alex Job
Racing McKenna Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Bergmesiter said Maassen tapped him three times during the race, but
he made sure he held on to the car and maintain his lead.
“I knew he would take the lead like he did yesterday if I made even
a little mistake, so I was determined to give him full concentration
and not let him by,“ said Bergmesiter, who hopes to get a sports car
or FIA GT ride for next season.
Stephane Ortelli finished third, Alex Zampedri fourth, and Tim
Bergmeister, Jorg’s older brother, was fifth.
Of the Americans in the event, 19 year-old Gunnar Jeannette, who
felt he had a good first race lap, was forced out of the race when he
spun on the banking trying to pass Nicolas Kropp, and was hit by
IRL champion Sam Hornish. Hornish was able to continue with minor
front-end damage, but Jeannette’s car suffered terminal cooling
system punctures, eliminating him from competition. Hornish, who
felt much more comfortable today driving the Porsche, thought he
could be competitive with “three or four days“ of additional testing.
David Donohue also felt more comfortable in the car in today’s race,
again finishing eight as he did on Saturday. He pointed out that
the drivers in the Porsche-Pirelli SuperCup were not entry-level
competitors, but world-class, experienced racers.
“Stephane Ortelli, Le Mans winner; Marc Werner, Daytona 24 Hour
winner; Alex Zampedri – CART race winner; and Sascha Maasen,
ALMS race winner are hard to catch and hard to pass it they get
ahead of you. I was pleased just to keep up with this crowd,“
said Donohue.
Terry Lingner, owner of Lingner Productions in Indianapolis and
veteran ESPN television race producer, finished 11th overall, and
was pleased with his performance.
“I had great fun out there, and I know I could have cracked the top
ten if the race had gone on another hour or so,“ joked Lingner, who
fulfilled a personal dream by racing both at Le Mans and
Indianapolis this year.
The Porsche-Pirellie Supercup series will be back at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002 to again support the running
of the United States Grand Prix.
# # #
Porsche-Pirelli SuperCup Results – Round #12 Indianapolis (Sunday)
1. J. Bergmeister (D, Infineon Team Farnbacher), 26:15.713min
(=153.237 kmh);
2. S. Maassen (B, Software AG Racing), 3.086 sec behind;
3. S. Ortelli (MC, Kadach Tuning), 3.990;
4. A. Zampedri (I, Kadach Tuning), 8.555;
5. T. Bergmeister D, MAT Racing Team), 14.342;
6. M. Werner (D, Infineon Team Farnbacher), 16.962;
7. P. Peter (A, Infineon Team Farnbacher), 18.015;
8. D. Donohue (USA, Porsche AG), 38.589;
9. G. Anapoli (I, Software AG Racing), 39.523;
10. S. Hornish (USA, Porsche AG), 53.790;
11. T. Lingner (USA, PZ Rhein-Oberberg) 60.714;
12. J. Pabst (CDN, Kadach Tuning), 65.877;
13. N. Kropp (B, Kadach Tuning), 70.778
Not classified: M. Lieb (D, Carsport Supercup Team Swiss),
G. Jeannette (USA, Carsport Supercup Team Swiss),
G. Frazier (USA, Kadach Tuning),
W. Henzler (D, PZ Rhein-Oberberg),
F. Schmickler (D, PZ Rhein-Oberberg),
Fastest lap: S Maassen, 1:36.807min (=155.889 kmh)
# # #
