With the first double victory of the season, Porsche further extends its lead in the American Le Mans Series. At the fourth round in Miller Motorsports Park on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, the Porsche factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) won the GT2 class in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Flying Lizard Motorsports. With the Farnbacher Loles Racing 911 GT3 RSR, their works driver colleagues Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Marc Lieb (Germany) secured second place.
“That was a dream weekend. Right from the start we had a super car and were fastest in all sessions. In qualifying, we only needed one lap to set pole position,” Joerg Bergmeister beamed after claiming his third victory in succession. With his pole-setting time, Bergmeister also set a new GT2 track record. “We tested here after the race in Long Beach,” he added, “and that really paid off.”
After already winning in St. Petersburg and Long Beach, and now with this clear flag-to-flag win, the points’ leaders extended their advantage further in the GT2 championship. “Our start wasn’t the best. Three cars got past me but after the first lap I was back at the front again,” said the reigning champion and last year’s winner, Joerg Bergmeister. Even the pit stops with a driver change did not put their lead in jeopardy. Patrick Long said: “Joerg handed me a perfect car in the lead. But with such a strong pursuer like Wolf breathing down your neck, you can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
Wolf Henzler, who last year won in Salt Lake City with Joerg Bergmeister and who this year received support from Marc Lieb, made the double victory for Porsche perfect in the 2002 Olympic city. After taking up two races from pole position so far this season, he now managed to secure his first podium result in second. Crossing the finish line in fifth was Johannes Stuck (Austria) and Nicky Pastorelli (Netherlands) with the 911 GT3 RSR of VICI Racing, one position ahead of Johannes van Overbeek (USA) and Seth Neiman (USA) in the second 911 GT3 RSR of Flying Lizard Motorsports.
The ALMS Challenge ran for the first time as support to the American Le Mans Series. The inaugural win in this new category below the GT2 class went to Martin and Melanie Snow (USA) with their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Round 5 of the American Le Mans Series takes place on 18 July in Lime Rock Park in the US state of Connecticut.
Source : Porsche