Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca: Catch the RS Spyder

<div class="image"> </div> <p class="introduction">PENSKE PORSCHE RS SPYDER PROTOTYPE WINS CLASS IN FLAWLESS DEBUT; PETERSEN/WHITE LIGHTNING PORSCHE WINS GT2 RACE/ DRIVER/TEAM TITLES --Sascha Maassen/Lucas Luhr took the Penske Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 Prototype (sunset photo above) to victory in its first race ever, completing the four hour ALMS event at Mazda Laguna Seca with only one driver change and four routine pit stops, including a late splash of fuel for insurance near the end of the event. Also, Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long ended their GT2 season in successful fashion by winning the class at Laguna, and clinching the season drivers championship and team championship in their Petersen/White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3 RSR-- Porsche revealed today the racing livery for the new LMP2 Spyder, which will premiere at Laguna Seca, California, for the final round of the ALMS championship on October 15. The main sponsor for the car will be DHL Smart & Global Mail, which also sponsors a car in the Champ Car World Series. DHL will partner with Penske Motorsports as the main sponsor for the a 2-car team for the 2006 season. More details and pictures at: http://www21.porsche.com/all/motorsport/rsspyder/pcna.asp . Rumor has it that the new Spyder is just as fast as the LMP1-class cars… Edited by - mpollard on 10/17/2005 8:08:57 PM Edited by - mpollard on 10/17/2005 8:12:13 PM Edited by - mpollard on 10/17/2005 8:17:21 PM

Interesting that the photo froze the front wheel but not the back! I see they painted it the right color finally, now it will go out there and show them what 'speed' yellow is all about!

It doesn't look like he locked-up the left front - no tire smoke!

Tires typically don't smoke until they stop rotating altogether. I'm guessing this guy has the Spyder under braking (front end seems to be dipping slightly) and his front brake bias has reduced rotational speed just enough that a fast shutter speed makes the wheel stand still.

MONTEREY, Calif. - October 14 - For the first time since 1999, Porsche race cars took the pole position in two different American Le Mans Series classes - LMP2 and GT2 - as the new Penske Porsche RS Spyder qualified by Sascha Maassen will start first in LMP2 and Romain Dumas put the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR on the GT2 pole for Saturday's Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. The official Porsche media web site - www.press.porsche.com - has qualifying information for the Laguna event for the Porsches entered, and will post stories and photos during and after the race. Porsche media web site users enter the word 'carrera' for both user name and password, then choose 'motorsports news' and 'ALMS' to find the Petit Le Mans updates. From motorsports.com Edited by - Santa Fe on 10/15/2005 6:17:32 PM

Although Porsche are often seen to be at the top of the timesheets in the American Le Mans Series, Laguna Seca saw the manufacturer tread pastures new with their first LMP2 effort, the Spyder , with superb results. Indeed, after starring in practice, Sascha Maassen placed the new car fifth on the grid and on pole in the LMP2 class, with a podium position now within reach in Sunday's race. Together with their customary domination in the GT2 class, Porsche look in good shape for an impressive double come Sunday. The Penske run car, complete with distinctive yellow livery, did enough to split the Audi R8s on the grid, as well as break the Laguna Seca lap record in the process to line up on the third row. Paired with Lucas Luhr, Maassen broke the record, set in 2003 by James Weaver in the Dyson, by more than two mph, although the German is merely pleased to have gotten through one half of the weekend without any mechanical dramas. 'Although we have been testing for the last four months, these two days at Laguna have been our first real-world experiences for the Penske Porsche RS Spyder . The fact that we had no major problems is a credit to both the Penske and Porsche team members, and gives us a reason to be optimistic for tomorrow's event,' said Maassen, whose scored his 11th pole in ALMS - the last one being at Petit Le Mans in 2003 in the Alex Job Porsche . With their closest competitor, the Courage of Chris McMurry, James Gue and Jeff Bucknum, some five seconds slower, Porsche are well placed to complete a double after Romain Dumas gifted the German manufacturer a pole position in the GT2 class, again with a new lap record. Edited by - mpollard on 10/16/2005 11:10:31 AM Edited by - mpollard on 10/16/2005 11:12:23 AM

1. Shimoda/Chilton Zytek Zytek 04S 164 laps 2. Biela/Pirro Champion Audi R8 164 laps 3. Dyson/Wallace Dyson Lola EX257-AER 163 laps 4. Lehto/Werner Champion Audi R8 163 laps 5. Maassen/Luhr Penske Porsche RS Spyder 163 laps* 6. Weaver/Leitzinger Dyson Lola EX257-AER 162 laps 7. Gavin/Beretta Corvette Corvette C6-R 158 laps ** 8. Fellows/O'Connell Corvette Corvette C6-R 157 laps ** 9. Kox/Lamy AMR Aston Martin DBR9 156 laps ** 10. Brabham/Turner AMR Aston Martin DBR9 155 laps **

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="550" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="black12px" valign="top" align="left" colspan="11"> PHOTO: PENSKE PORSCHE RS SPYDER LEADS THE PACK AT LAGUNA CORKSCREW PERFORMANCE - The Penske Porsche RS Spyder leads the Jon Field LMP2 car through Laguna Seca's famous corkscrew turn early in the event. To obtain a hi-res copy of this image, contact Andy Schupack [phone removed] </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="black12px" colspan="11"> For high-res Penske Porsche RS Spyder photos, e-mail Andy Schupack at [email removed] . </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p class="black10px"> For more information, contact: Bob Carlson [phone removed] or Andy Schupak [phone removed]. <p class="black10px"> COURTESTY OF PORSCHE PRESS SITE AND PCNA

Zytek, Porsche take first victories at Laguna. Maassen, Luhr and the Porsche prototype lived up to the lofty expectations which accompanied the car to the Monterey Peninsula. The first race for Porsche's first factory prototype since 1998 couldn't have gone much better. Not only did it win in its first outing, albeit one round later than planned, but it also broke the qualifying lap record for the LMP2 class on Friday, and remained within 1.2secs from the overall lead as deep as the third hour. 'Everything happened like we expected,' Maassen said, 'It was crowded out there, and the traffic was incredible. It wasn't very easy. I wanted to be conservative, and the pit-stops were incredibly good. We almost made it to the end, but needed a splash of fuel. The car was very reliable and almost perfect.' One of the questions coming into the day was how the car would respond to changing track conditions, and Luhr found the answer first-hand when his stint started with a little more than an hour left. 'When I went out from the pits, I thought 'what happened',' he said, 'The track was dirty and had stones everywhere, but I got used to it. I really enjoyed the ride today. We did such hard work with Penske and Porsche over the summer.' Having already starred in qualifying for the final round of the American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca, Penske Porsche sustained their stunning form in the race with a comfortable class victory, as well as an impressive fifth place overall. With Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr at the wheel, the RS Spyder was never headed in its class and even ran as high as second place mid-way through the race during the pit stop window. Finishing some eight laps ahead of their nearest LMP2 competitor, the prototype has displayed unfailing reliability throughout the weekend, something that can only bode well for the team when the car makes its full ALMS debut in 2006. Maassen was delighted at the strength of the package, as well as the cars ability to maintain pace with their more seasoned rivals. 'Everything from the engine, transmission and chassis to driver changes, night racing and pit stop strategy was new for this team, and everyone performed flawlessly. It was great to run near the front all day, and we were pleased to beat more experienced teams in our class to finish first,' said Maassen. 'This car did not even turn a wheel until June, and we have won a four-hour class battle in October - unbelievable!' added Luhr. 'Testing is fine, but this car was built to race, and today we found out we have been pointed in the right direction,' Edited by - mpollard on 10/16/2005 11:01:14 AM Edited by - mpollard on 10/16/2005 11:04:36 AM Edited by - mpollard on 10/16/2005 11:09:10 AM Edited by - mpollard on 10/16/2005 11:18:05 AM

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="right" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px" align="center" bgcolor="#000000"><span class="whiteLink"> AVAILABLE FOR PRINT [/quote]</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: red" align="center" bgcolor="#0000cc"><span class="whiteLink"> <script type="text/javascript">buy('115411.jpg', 'BUY PRINT', 'subvendor=10-CRA')</script> BUY PRINT[/quote] <span class="whiteLink">|[/quote] BUY FOR MOBILE </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="9"></td> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px" align="center" bgcolor="#000000"><span class="whiteLink"> AVAILABLE AS PRINTS [/quote]</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: red" align="center" bgcolor="#0000cc"><span class="whiteLink"> <script type="text/javascript">buy('115393.jpg', 'BUY PRINT', 'subvendor=10-CRA')</script> BUY PRINT[/quote] <span class="whiteLink">|[/quote] BUY FOR MOBILE </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="9"></td> </tr> <tr> </tr> </tbody> </table> Having already starred in qualifying for the final round of the American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca, Penske Porsche sustained their stunning form in the race with a comfortable class victory, as well as an impressive fifth place overall. With Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr at the wheel, the RS Spyder was never headed in its class and even ran as high as second place mid-way through the race during the pit stop window. Finishing some eight laps ahead of their nearest LMP2 competitor, the prototype has displayed unfailing reliability throughout the weekend, something that can only bode well for the team when the car makes its full ALMS debut in 2006. Maassen was delighted at the strength of the package, as well as the cars ability to maintain pace with their more seasoned rivals. 'Everything from the engine, transmission and chassis to driver changes, night racing and pit stop strategy was new for this team, and everyone performed flawlessly. It was great to run near the front all day, and we were pleased to beat more experienced teams in our class to finish first,' said Maassen. 'This car did not even turn a wheel until June, and we have won a four-hour class battle in October - unbelievable!' added Luhr. 'Testing is fine, but this car was built to race, and today we found out we have been pointed in the right direction,'