From: "Porsche"  
Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 07:04:27 +0200 
To: efbussian@aol.com 
Subject: Press-Information 

American Le Mans Series, round 5 in Salt Lake City, USA, race

Stuttgart. With the third overall victory in succession Porsche continues
its impressive winning streak in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Sascha
Maassen (Germany) and Ryan Briscoe (Australia) put in a strong and
determined drive at the wheel of their #6 Porsche RS Spyder run by Penske
Motorsports, relegating even the more powerful LMP1 vehicles to finish
behind them in Salt Lake City (USA). Third place overall went to their team
mates Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France).

Due to irregularities at the start the situation at first did not look good
for a further Porsche success. After the first corner the RS Spyders manned
by Timo Bernhard and Sascha Maassen sat in positions five and nine
respectively after starting from the first row. "The ALMS regulations state
that you may only drive a maximum of 50 miles per hour until the green flag
is waved to start. I did this, but it seems that apart from Sascha and me
the others obviously didn't," explained a disappointed Dumas. "But during
the race we made the best of the situation," he added.

When both Penske Porsches became caught up in traffic, the team boss
decided on a clever change in strategy. Already in the sixth lap Maassen
pitted to refuel and took up the race again with new tyres. Dumas pulled
into the pits for his first service already in lap eleven. Subsequently
both RS Spyders had a clear run, turning one fastest race lap after
another.

Following a collision with a slower vehicle which resulted in damage to the
#7 RS Spyder's rear diffuser, Dumas had to come into the pits after
receiving a Stop-and-Go penalty. "In the slow to semi-fast corners the car
was driving well, but in the quick corners the rear was jittery due to the
damaged aerodynamics," said Timo Bernhard describing the handling of his
car in the later stages of the race. Despite the damage to the rear
Bernhard fought his way through the field, setting the fastest race lap in
the process. "That was a fiercely-contested victory. This makes my first
overall victory in the American Le Mans Series all the more wonderful. Our
strategy today was perfect," said the delighted victor Sascha 
Maassen.

The pair of RS Spyders fielded by the privateer US Dyson Racing team, with
assistance from Porsche, also finished the race in Utah without problems.
Andy Wallace (Great Britain) and Butch Leitzinger (USA) crossed the finish
line in fourth position. Chris Dyson (USA) and Guy Smith (Great Britain)
saw the flag in fifth overall. With this result, the four
Weissach-developed and built sports prototypes occupied positions one
through four in the highly competitive LMP2 class.

"The four Porsche RS Spyders run by Penske Motorsports and Dyson Racing ran
without any technical problems. Through perfect team work and a cleverly
thought-out race strategy, Penske Motorsports could claim its third overall
victory in succession. With regard to the championship, positions one to
four in the LMP2 category are extremely important," summarised technical
director Dieter Steinhauser.

In the GT2 class for modified near-standard sportscars, title defender
Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Johannes van Overbeek (USA) again finished
second at the wheel of their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR run by Flying Lizard
Motorsports. Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Robin Liddell (Great Britain)
crossed the finish line in their Tafel Racing 911 GT3 RSR close behind in
position three.


Overall result
1. Maassen/Briscoe (D/AUS), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 66 laps
2. McNish/Capello (GB/I), Audi R10 (LMP1), 66
3. Bernhard/Dumas (D/F), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 66
4. Wallace/Leitzinger (GB/USA), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 66
5. Dyson/Smith (USA/GB), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 66
6. Pirro/Werner (I/D), Audi R10 (LMP1), 66
7. Fernandez/Diaz (MEX/MEX), Acura Lola B06 (LMP2), 61
8. Beretta/Gavin (MC/GB), Chevrolet Corvette (GT1), 61
9. O'Connell/Magnussen (USA/DK), Chevrolet Corvette (GT1), 61
10. Field/Field/Berry (USA/USA/USA), Creation CA06H (LMP1), 60

Fastest race lap
Timo Bernhard, Porsche RS Spyder, 2:21.749 minutes

Class winners
LMP1: McNish/Capello (GB/I), Audi R10
LMP2: Maassen/Briscoe (D/AUS), Porsche RS Spyder
GT1: Beretta/Gavin (MC/GB), Chevrolet Corvette
GT2: Enge/Turner (CZ/GB), Ferrari 430 GT

Points standings
Drivers LMP2 class
1. Timo Bernhard, Porsche, 91; Romain Dumas, Porsche, 91
3. Sascha Maassen, Porsche, 78; Ryan Briscoe, Porsche, 78
5. David Brabham, Acura , 55; Stefan Johansson, Acura, 55

Manufacturers LMP2 class
1. Porsche, 99
2. Acura, 73

Round six of the American Le Mans Series gets underway on 7th July 2007 in
Lakeville (Connecticut) on the circuit of Lime Rock Park.




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