Championships, Celebrities, Controversey to grace Porsche Paddock in Petit Le Mans
27 September 2000
ATLANTA, Georgia - September 26, 2000 - Quickly joining the 24 Hours at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring as a world-class endurance event in the United States, the third running of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on September 30 has all the markings of a sports car road racing classic.For Porsche, an American Le Mans Series GT class win this weekend means clinching the manufacturers championship with the superb performance of its Porsche 911 GT3 R - a feat which makes Porsche Motorsports North American President Alwin Springer proud.
"This championship will represent a group effort of what I consider the finest group of customer teams we have ever had," said Springer, who runs the Porsche racing effort in the U.S.
"We have won all eight ALMS GT races, plus the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans - what a season for this first-year race car."
The controversial part of the weekend comes in the current point standings, where Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R driver Dirk Muller, the leader for most of the season, thought he has lost his first place position to teammate Sascha Maassen with Maassen's recent win at Portland International Raceway. But Maassen and co-driver Bob Wollek, who had finished second the previous week in Texas, were disqualified for not splitting the driving chores appropriately, and the loss of those points for M aassen put Muller back in the lead.
"We hope the sanctioning body will restore Sascha and Bob's points upon appeal," said team owner Dick Barbour, whose race shop is right on the Road Atlanta property, "but we have to put the politics behind us and prepare for the biggest race of th e season - right here in our back yard."
The celebrity part of the equation involves the third Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, which will be driven by actor and two-time SCCA national champion Paul Newman, who earned those national titles at Road Atlanta. Mexico City's Randy Wars and veteran road racer Michael Brockman will share the driving duties with Newman.
All the players from last year's Porsche GT3 R win at Petit Le Mans are back, but you can't tell the players without an updated entry list. Already mentioned is Dirk Muller, who will be driving for Dick Barbour. Last year's winning car, the #23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, will be driven - as it has all year, by Bruno Lambert from Belgium and Randy Pobst, from Melbourne, Florida. The Lambert/Pobst combination has won two races this year - Mosport and Texas - and Randy is just return from a successful trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he scored back-to-back fifth place finishes competing against Europe's top drivers in the Porsche-Pirelli-Supercup.
The other winning driver from last year - and the defending ALMS GT champion - Cort Wagner - will be co-driving in the Aspen Knolls/Mike Collucci Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with Shane Lewis.
With the rival Grand American Road Racing series over for the season, several Porsche 911 GT3 Rs are entered from that series, including the G&W Motorsports car to be driven by GARR points runner-up Darren Law - also a Porsche-Pirelli-Supercup competitor last week at Indy - and veteran racer John Moton. A second G&W Motorpsorts Porsche 911 GT3 R will be driven by top drivers in the Women's Global GT series, namely Cindy Lux, Davina Galica, and Sarah Wahl.
Three local drivers, who have had both good and bad luck this season, hope their home track will help turn their seasons into a success. Doc Bundy, former SCCA and IMSA champion from Gainsville, GA, hopes broken ribs suffered when his Skea Racing International Porsche 911 GT3 R hit the wall in Portland will be healed enough to race this weekend, while Atlanta's David Murry, former SCCA World Challenge title holder, will drive with England's Johnny Mowlem in the other Skea Porsche.
Mike Fitzgerald, from Atlanta, who won the Grand American GTU championship, is contesting the world-wide Porsche Cup title, and will try to finish high in the GTS standings in the Roock Motorsports North America Porsche 911 Turbo,
Two teams have scored all eight ALMS GT wins this season - the Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Rs have six wins and the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Rs have two. The Barbour #5 Dirk Muller/Lucas Luhr Porsche 911 GT3 R has produced three wins, with Muller leading the points chase with 155. Muller/Luhr have lead almost all the other races as well, only to have various misfortune come their way. Maassen is second with 143 points, and Wollek and Luhr ar e tied with 142 each. David Murray has 135 points, Pobts 134, Lambert 133 and Mowlem 125.
Built at the Porsche Motorsport in the Research and Development at Weissach, the Porsche 911 GT3 R delivers 410 horsepower from its 3.6-liter normally-aspirated engine. In 1999, its first year of competition, the car finished 1-2 in class at Le Man s, and won its class in the American Le Mans Series. More than 60 Porsche 911 GT3 Rs have been sold so far worldwide, with almost half of those cars having raced in the U.S. this year. All eight 2000 ALMS GT races have been won by Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.
Petit Le Mans - all ten hours - will be broadcast live on the Speedvision TV Network starting at 12:30 PM EST, and rebroadcast on Fox Sports Network on October 15 starting as noon EST. Check your local listings for the exact time and station in y our area. Live radio broadcast can be heard on the American Le Mans Web Radio Network at www.americanlemans.com. Updates on the Porsches which contesting this event at Road Atlanta can be found all weekend on www.porsche.com.