PETERSEN MOTORSPORTS/ WHITE LIGHTNING RACING 24 HOURS OF LE MANS MID-POINT UPDATE
PETERSEN MOTORSPORTS / WHITE LIGHTNING RACING 24 HOURS OF LE MANS MID-POINT UPDATE LE MANS, France, June 15, 2003 - Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing, who has joined with Alex Job Racing (AJR) to compete at the 71st running of the 24 Heures Du Mans, is currently leading the Le Mans Grand Touring (LM GT) class at the mid-point of the world's most famous sports car race. The Michael Petersen-owned number 93 Westward Ho Casino/ MMPIE/ PAWS/ mail2web.com Porsche 911 GT3 RS is being driven by AJR regulars Lucas Luhr, of Monaco, and Sascha Maassen, of Raeren, Belgium, as well as France's Emmanuel Collard. The white, red and yellow Porsche started from the class pole position at 4 pm local, Le Mans time on Saturday, June 14. In the 12th hour, the No. 93 has completed 153 laps and shares that lap with the second-place no. 87 Orbit Racing Porsche. It is 20th overall. The race has not been without drama for the AJR-Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning effort. A remarkably efficient 24-minute pit stop to repair a damaged radiator forced the car to the pits and four laps behind the race lead. Collard, Luhr and Maassen fought back through the field to regain the lead in the Michelin-shod entry shortly before the halfway point. The Alex Job and Dale White-managed team is currently turning four minute, 13 second laps of the 8.6-mile track with a quick lap of 4:09.045. The effort qualified at a new class track record of 4:06.984. Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing's regular season lead driver Johnny Mowlem is also participating in this year's 24 Heures Du Mans. The Warfield, England-resident, who lead the No. 31 Westward Ho Casino/ MMPIE/ PAWS Porsche to second-place at the Mobil1 12 Hours of Sebring in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season-opener, drove a LM GT class competitor to the AJR-Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing entry today. Mowlem and teammates, Butch Leitzinger and Shane Lewis, took advantage of the No. 93 radiator repair to take the class lead before and engine failure ended his Ferrari's day. Craig Stanton, who was recently named as the team's full-season second driver, did not participate in this year's 24-hour classic. Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing began operation in the late 1980s competing in off-road endurance events. The duo of White and Petersen joined to win over 50 off-road truck victories including three-consecutive overall wins at the Baja 1000 and Baja 500 and four SCORE, SNORE and SODA championships. Since introducing the team to sports car racing, the effort has scored victories in the Trans-Am Series, Speed Challenge Series and endurance sports car wins at Watkins Glen and at the Rolex 24 of Daytona. For more about Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning, please visit www.PetersenMotorsports.com. For more on Alex Job Racing see www.alexjobracing.com. For more on Le Mans visit the official race site at www.LeMans.org. Porsche Motorsports Public Relations and Alex Job Racing Public Relations contributed to this release. ### Digital images and complete team and driver bios available upon request. Editors, please do not publish any contact information other than web sites. Thank you. contact: Tom Moore, Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing, 770-466-5442, tom@darkhorsecom.com Lee Heublein, Alex Job Racing, Leeh@teleport.com