Porsche Motorsport Newsletter 2009: Volume 7

If you’re not able to keep up with each Porsche Motorsport post here on FlatSixes.com and would prefer a brief synopsis of what’s happening in the world of Porsche Motorsport, there is no better way to stay in touch than by reviewing the monthly Porsche Motorsport Newsletter. Filled with interesting facts and figures about past and upcoming races, along with changes to team and crew, the Porsche Motorsport Newsletter is an easy way to keep up-to-date on this year’s racing activities.

BF Goodrich Long Distance Championship: Six hour hat-trick for Manthey

After 950 kilometres on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, Manthey Racing celebrated their third straight overall win at the 6-hour ADAC Ruhrpokal Race (18 July). Arno Klasen, Marc Lieb and Marcel Tiemann drove a 911 GT3 RSR to the eleventh Porsche win at this classic. Third place went to Oliver Kainz/Frank Schmickler in the 911 GT3 Cup of Mühlner Motorsport.

Japanese Super GT: Flawless balance for Hankook-Porsche

Two starts, two wins – that’s the balance of the Hankook Porsche team in the Japanese Super GT Series. After their first success in Suzuka (19 April), Mitsuhiro Kinoshita and Masami Kageyama managed another victory with a 911 GT3 RSR at the 300 kilometre race in Sportsland Sugo (26 July), after the Porsche had fallen back to fifth place in the field on intermediate tyres in the rain.

Italian GT Championship: Porsche drivers lead in all classes

At round seven of the Campionato Italiano GT in Misano (18 July), Sascha Maassen and Francisco Cruz-Martins, in Autorlando Sport’s 911 GT3 RSR, celebrated their fourth win of the season and came second in the eighth race, six-hundredths of a second shy of the winners. With this, they defended their lead in the top GT2 class. Gianluca De Lorenzi and Stefano Borghi lead the GT3 class, with Cédric Sbirrazzuoli and Alberto Brambati as points’ leaders in the GT Cup class.

Belgian GT Championship: Oil patch, rain showers and two podium results

Bert Longin and Francois Verbist demonstrated their driving skills in the 911 GT3 Cup S of First Motorsport at the eighth round of the Belgian GT Championship in Spa (12 July). Running with the front pack, Verbist hit a patch of oil, the Porsche successfully slalomed around spinning rivals, but he lost 20 seconds. After the driver change, Bert Longin showed what he had learned as a motocross pilot, bringing the 911 in rain from the backfield to claim second, repeating the result of round seven from the previous day.

Eifel and Wartburg Rally: 911 GT3 beats 4WD opponents

On partly wet special stages, Olaf Dobberkau and his co-driver Alexandra König beat even the 4WD opponents with a 911 GT3 at the Eifel Rally (17/18 July) and secured their second win in the German Rally Championship. On the first August weekend at the ADAC Rally Wartburg (German Rally Series) the pair pocketed their third straight win.

Race notes:

For Porsche racers and friends worldwide Porsche France organises the “Festival Porsche 2009” on 19 and 20 September on the Circuit Paul Ricard near Toulon. More information: www.festivalporsche.fr
Interesting for Porsche and Design fans: On 19 August as part of the RM Sports & Classics in Monterey, California, the Troy Lee custom-designed 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR “Art Car” raced by Flying Lizard Motorsports in Le Mans will be auctioned.
Second place for Patrick Pilet and Raymond Narac at the third Le Mans Series round in Portugal’s Portimao (2 August) in an IMSA Performance Matmut 911 GT3 RSR. Bad luck for Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz (Felbermayr-Proton team): They were caught up in an accident at the start which saw them finish in eighth place and cost the winners of the first two races their points’ lead.
After ranking fifth at the eighth round of the Grand-Am Sportscar Series in Birmingham, Alabama (19 July) and second in Watkins Glen (8 August), Dirk Werner and Leh Keen remain on the title course with a 911 GT3 Cup of Farnbacher Loles.
Wins number four and five as well as the clear championship lead for Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long in a 911 GT3 RSR of Flying Lizard Motorsports at races five and six in the American Le Mans Series in Lime Rock (18 July) and Mid-Ohio (8 August). Impressive debut by Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf (Cytosport team): With their Porsche RS Spyder they netted second place in the LMP2 category and fourth in the overall classification.

Porsche One Make Race Series:

The seventh round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup on the Nürburgring (12 July) went to René Rast, who went on the claim his third straight win two weeks later in Budapest. Two new races to conclude the season at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi enhance the calendar.
Local heroes prove unbeatable: On his home track in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben at the fifth round of the Carrera Cup Deutschland (2 August), 23-year-old Jan Seyffarth (tolimit/Seyffarth-Motorsport) left his rivals no chance. Two weeks before, Jeroen Bleekemolen had won the fourth round on the Dutch Zandvoort circuit, just a stone’s throw from his parents’ house.
The package for the 2010 Carrera Cup Great Britain is tied up with 20 races as support to the British Touring Car Championship on the calendar. On 2 August specialist Tim Harvey won at races eleven and twelve in Snetterton and snatched the lead in the championship back from Tim Bridgman.
Prior to the seven week summer break, Alessandro Balzan (Ebimotors Centro Porsche) confirmed his role as leader at the first night race in the history of the Carrera Cup Italia in Misano (18 July) with the second win of the season. Luca Rangoni (Centro Porsche Brescia by RM), as his toughest rival, responded with his third win of the season at heat two of the weekend (19 July).
The Sportsland Sugo in the subtropical north of the island Honshu was the stage for arguably the hottest Porsche race in the world on the last weekend of July (25/26). With a track temperature of over 50 degrees Celsius, Y. Nakamura won races six and seven of the Carrera Cup Japan, putting an end to the success streak of the five-time winner Y. Shimizu, and promptly took over the points’ lead.
Half time in the Carrera Cup Scandinavia and it’s a three-way fight. Cralle Lindholm ranks first four points ahead of Tony Rickardsson, who lies three points ahead of the reigning champion Jocke Mangs.
The crash involving four race cars at the second of three races of the GT3 Cup Challenge Australia on the Eastern Creek Raceway (18/19 July) was “… a chain reaction from a massive pack of 19 GT3 cars all trying to get through turn two at the same time whilst fighting for the same piece of real estate,” said the press office of the race series. No one was hurt. Matt Kingsley secured maximum points from races one and three and further extended his points’ lead with two more wins in Morgan Park (8/9 August).
Stefan Wendt (tolimit Motorsport) claimed victory in Oschersleben and on the Eurospeedway in the GT3 Cup Challenge Deutschland.
Front-runner Bob Faieta won race five of the Patrón GT3 Challenge in Autobahn Country Club (Chicago, 25 July). Martin Snow, who lies two points behind Faieta, dominated at round six (26 July). Melanie Snow leads the Gold Cup Class.

[Source: Porsche]’, ‘Porsche Motorsport Newsletter 2009: Volume 6

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