Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Peugeot 908s placed 1 and 2 at the Petit Le Mans, Corvettes Win GT2
ROAD ATLANTA, GA – Leading 299 of 394 laps, the diesel-powered Peugeot 908s placed 1 and 2 at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. With a 61-second lead, the 908 of Magny/Sarrazin/Lamy placed 1st with the Davidson/Gene/Wurz entry in second place. Suffering a late-race tire puncture, the once mighty Audi T15 TDI finished in third place, 2-laps down. After the race, Magny commented, “Last year we proved we were fastest, we didn't get to go to the end of the race but we really think and knew that we were fastest last year. The results we got last year we didn't get to prove it. But this year, we had the same team, same car, and knew we could pull it out again.”
Patron Highcroft Racing clinched the LMP2 championship with the Brabham/Pagenaud/Franchitti HPD finishing first in class. “To win Petit Le Mans… it’s a classic, one of the biggest in the world,” said Pagenaud, who won his first career Series title. “The PHR team was fantastic all weekend. The car was perfect, but it was like driving a video game all day. It’s great to be champion and thanks to my teammates for their brilliant work. Without them I wouldn't be here today. This was a chance to work with them and I have enjoyed it so much.” Should also note that co-driver Marino Franchitti’s brother, Dario, finished 8th in the IRL race in Homestead on Sunday and claimed the driver’s championship in that series.
The most exciting race in the series this year has been the GT2-class with the Ferrari’s, Corvettes and BMW fighting for wins at each race. This time, the once unstoppable Corvettes claimed their first win in 12 races, and first this season. On the final lap, the Risi Ferrari F430GT of Vilander ran out of fuel at turn 10 allowing the Gavin/Magnussen/Collard C6.R on to victory. The Extreme Peed Ferrari driven by Scott Speed and Johannes van Overbeek placed second with 3rd attributed to the Risi F430GT. The GT Team championship was clinched by BMW Rahal Letterman Racing with 4th place finish. The Flying Lizards Porsche ended up in fifth place. Claiming his 5th driver’s championship Bergmeister stated, “It was definitely an unbelievable season. I would have never expected at the beginning of the year to win this championship. Its’ a shame we didn’t win the team championship because we wouldn’t be here without them. They did a fantastic job giving us a great car all season. It was a pleasure to drive for the Lizards.”
This was the last race for the Porsche RS Spyder. After 35 class victories over 6 years of racing, Porsche has decided to pull the plug on the RS Spyder customer support program. Greg Pickett, owner of the Muscle Milk Team that has campaigned to RS Spyder stated "As I'm sure most people in this industry know, Porsche has come to the point where they need to close the chapter on the Porsche RS Spyder and I understand that.” Ironically, drivers Maasen and Luhrs drove the first RS Spyder at Laguna Seca and were the last drivers for this remarkable car.
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