Petersen/ White Lightning Overcomes Early Setback to Take Fifth ALMS Podium of 2005

Petersen/ White Lightning Overcomes Early Setback to Take Fifth ALMS Podium
of 2005

 

SONOMA, Calif., July 17, 2005 – Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing
again demonstrated why they are the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT2 class
points leaders here at Infineon Raceway today.  The No. 31 Westward Ho
Casino/ MMPIE/ PAWS/ Michelin Porsche 911 GT3 RSR made a dramatic charge
from the back of the field to capture second place in GT2 class at the Grand
Prix of Sonoma after a punctured tire forced an early race pit stop. Though
being a lap down in ninth-place at the low-point, Jörg Bergmeister
(Langenfeld, Germany) and Patrick Long (Las Vegas, Nev.) each added to the
team’s amazing, “never-give-up” drive back to the front of the running order
to take their fifth-straight ALMS podium finish of the season. The finish
also continued the team’s lock on the IMSA Cup for the class awarded to the
highest finishing privateer entrant.

 

Bergmeister started second in the two hour and 45-minute race around the
2.53-mile, 12-turn Infineon Raceway. On the third lap he felt an odd
sensation at the left rear of the car. Fearing a puncture, Bergmeister
called in that he would pit on the following lap. At that same moment, the
caution flag flew allowing the team to pit under yellow. Fortunately, no
suspension or bodywork damage resulted in the drive back to pit lane. The
Michael Petersen-owned team re-entered the event ninth in class. Bergmeister
began to turn laps faster than the leaders showing the sports car world that
the team may be down but was not out. By lap 35, the German was back running
in the top-five with a dramatic pass entering Infineon’s famous hairpin
final turn sneaking by positions six and five. They moved up to third as pit
stops began to shuffle the order. On lap 54, one hour and 30-minutes into
the event, the Petersen/ White Lightning crew went to work on their second
stop of the day and Long took over driving duties.

 

Long put on a stunning performance like Bergmeister before him. He would
move up to third and then second on track with a succession of impressive
passes with roughly 20 minutes remaining. He would hold off the leader, the
No. 23 Porsche, as it hounded him until the end to remain on the lead lap.
Long would cross under the checkered flag second in class- the team’s fourth
consecutive second-place in the last four races including the 24 Hours of Le
Mans. 

 

The Petersen/ White Lightning crew will head to the Northwest for the next
round on the ALMS schedule. The Portland Grand Prix, held on Saturday night,
will be held at Portland International Raceway on Saturday July 30th. The
No. 31 raced to third in 2004 at the Oregon track.




 

quotes…

 

Mike Petersen, owner/ driver: “What a roller coaster of a day. We had a race
car that more than likely would have won this race but an unfortunate issue
cost us this victory. The crew did an awesome job of getting Jörg back on
the track and put his head down and brought us back into contention. We
worked our way up to second-place which was a fantastic job by the drivers.
My hat’s off to the entire team for never giving up.”

 

Dale White, team manager: “These guys never give up! It was awesome. No one
doubted that we would be on the podium at the end of the day even after we
had the puncture. I am so proud of these guys. Every time something gets
thrown at them, they just turn it around and make it work. Even as other
teams are having squabbles over the little stuff, this team takes all the
challenges and keeps rising to the occasion as a team; as one unit. You
couldn’t ask for more. ”

 

Jörg Bergmeister, driver: “In the back section of the track I realized that
there was a problem. It felt like a flat tire and then the safety car came
out which was pretty good for us. We had to stay out one more lap and I
tried to bring the car back as fast as I could. Unfortunately, we lost quite
some time in the pits and fell back to last. From that point on I pushed
really hard to bring the car back to the front. The car was running really,
really good. It was just tough luck.”

 

Patrick Long, driver: “Our progression continues. I think we stepped it up
another notch and we’re really biting at their heels. This is what we need
to do; consistent finishes pushing Alex Job. Unfortunately, we had a bad
break early in the first stint but this team never gives up. Everyone joined
forces and put their heads down and we were able to come all the way back
through the field. It’s great to stick to the plan with a few curve balls
thrown at us. I think our consistency is showing that we are going to be the
team to beat come final points tally.”

 

More on Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing can be found at
<http://www.petersenmotorsports.com/> www.PetersenMotorsports.com. Learn
more about Porsche at  <http://www.porsche.com/> www.Porsche.com. 

 

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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, 

615-778-1614 (office), 615-509-5000 (cell),  
tom@darkhorsecom.com