Sascha Maassen - Utah victory

Sascha Maassen extended his American Le Mans Series winning record,
finishing first in the LMP2 class and second overall in the inaugural series
race at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, on July 15. The win was the
Raeren, Belgium, driver's 24th series victory. He is one of only two who
have won every season since the series started in 1999. (Jan Magnussen of
Denmark is the other.)

 

Maassen's co-driver, Lucas Luhr of Monaco, put the No. 6 Penske Racing
Porsche RS Spyder on the class pole position with a time of two minutes
23.387 seconds on the 4.486-mile road course. Maassen drove the first race
stint, starting first in class, fourth overall. He moved to third overall in
the first 20 minutes of the two-hour 45-minute race, but soon saw his lap
times drop as he was slowed by the car ahead.

 

Porsche engineer Roland Kussmaul made a smart strategy call for Maassen to
pit for fuel and tires after 33 minutes. Maassen returned to the track
second in class, sixth overall, but with a clear track ahead. He posted the
fastest lap of the race – a record 2:23.655, quickly regained the class lead
and passed for the overall lead at 1h15.

 

Luhr took over at 1h37, returning to the track second in class, fourth
overall. He moved to the class lead, second overall, just past the two-hour
mark, and closed to finish 0.318 seconds behind the winning LMP1-class Audi
R10.

 

"We had a great race. We had pole position in our class and even quickest
lap overall," Maassen said. "The strategy call was very, very good so I was
able then to drive on my own without any dirty air in front of me, so I
could go significantly quicker. Overall, it was looking not so bad. We were
in a position to threaten the R10, which is also something quite interesting
to achieve. I enjoyed overtaking the Audi, that was really good!"

 

Maassen was impressed with Miller Motorsports Park, the longest permanent
road-racing circuit in North America. He noted the July heat, high altitude
and course design made his long stint a challenge.

 

"It's a beautiful facility. It's not only the biggest track, but it has a
standard of quality that is unique so far. This is the best track we race on
all year. The configuration is great, but also the design, the layout of the
corners. It's very quick," he said. "I was really happy to get out of the
car! You have the temperature, then altitude, and then these quick corners.
You have a lot of G-forces on you, so it's very tiring."

 

Maassen hopes to carry the momentum of his win to Portland, Ore., for the
next ALMS race on July 22.