Petersen/ White Lightning to Challenge for First ALMS Title from Second on GT2 Grid

Petersen/ White Lightning to Challenge for First ALMS Title from Second on
GT2 Grid

 

MONTEREY, Calif., Oct. 14, 2005 – Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning
Racing will approach the final hurdle for their first-ever team and driver
American Le Mans Series (ALMS) championships from second on the GT2 class
grid. In the closing stages of the Grand Touring (GT) class qualifying
session, Patrick Long (Las Vegas, Nev.) turned a strong lap of one minute,
25.536 seconds to earn second for tomorrow’s Monterey Sports Car
Championships. Long’s lap of the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
facility jumped the No. 31 Westward Ho Casino/ MMPIE/ PAWS/ Michelin Porsche
911 GT3 RSR from sixth on the provisional grid to second. The time of was
just .130 seconds behind championship rival Alex Job Racing (AJR) who won
the pole position as the two Porsche teams enter the tenth and final race of
the ALMS season. The front-row mimics the season-long battle with Long and
Jörg Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) behind the wheel of the No. 31
Porsche and the No. 23 AJR Porsche; a battle which will conclude tomorrow
evening in the Northern California darkness. The Michael Petersen-owned team
has maintained the point lead throughout most the season but came under
heavy attack during the middle stages of the year before going on a
three-race win streak that the Dale White-managed team hopes to stretch to
four-straight this weekend.

 

Long turned his quick lap following an extended red flag that left only ten
minutes to set the 28 car grid for tomorrow’s four hour endurance race. It
marked the ninth time in ten ALMS races this season that the combination has
started from the front row. It is the sixth time the No. 31 has qualified in
second-place on the GT2 grid this year. They sat on the pole position twice;
the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March and at Lime Rock Park in July.
They started third at the most recent race at Petit Le Mans marking their
only trip off the front row in ‘05. Under the watchful eye of crew chief/
engineer Stefan Pfeiffer(Croatia) and lead technician Dennis Chizma
(Spokane, Wash.), the operation has won four events in 2005— Sebring, Road
America, Mosport and Petit Le Mans. They have earned podium finishes in
eight of the nine races run thus far and taken eight IMSA Cups awarded to
the highest finishing privately-owned team. 

 

With 23 points available, Bergmeister and Long currently hold a 22 point
lead in the driver championship. They must complete two hours and 38 minutes
of the four hour daylight to night race to win the 2005 ALMS driver title—
the first for both. The team holds a six point lead in the entrant chase.
Several scenarios allow for the team to win or finish second for that title.
With that in mind, the team will continue to fight for the race win. They
have already clinched the 2005 IMSA Cup Championship for privately entered
GT2 cars. 

 

The Monterey Sports Car Championships on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca can be seen on SPEED, Sunday, Oct. 16 beginning at 1 PM
(EDT). Live timing and scoring for all sessions can be viewed at
<http://www.americanlemans.com/> www.AmericanLeMans.com. 

 

 

 

Quotes…

Stefan Pfeiffer, crew chief/ engineer: “The drivers are very happy with the
car. It is getting faster from the start to the finish of the runs and that
is what we wanted. We want a strong racecar and all the changes we have made
this weekend have been to give us that. The whole team is working very well
together, very smooth.”

 

Patrick Long, driver: 

(about the qualifying run): “It was a good result. We were going towards a
consistent racecar. There’s a lot of sand and debris out on the race track
so the key is going to be keeping a car that handles and keeps the tire
happy. We’re pretty happy with how the lap came through at the end. It was
pretty much go out there and go for broke. It was going to be either a
really good lap or a really bad lap and, fortunately, it was a really good
lap. In dramatic fashion we ended up in P2 (position two), very close to the
pole. To be upfront is the key here.” 

 

(about the race strategy): “The same outlook we had going into this weekend
continues through and that is to push for wins. We’re only out here to do
that. Obviously, being smart with traffic but too much caution during a race
can turn against you. The track conditions are going to be very tough as the
race goes on. Jörg and I have always kept the outlook that there is no need
to take unnecessary risks in endurance racing and, if all that sticks to
plan, and the racing gods are with us, we look forward to celebrating after
the race.” 

 

 

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