2008 Petit Le Mans

The 2008 Petit Le Mans powered by the Totally New Mazda6 was the eleventh running of the Petit Le Mans and the tenth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States of America on October 4, 2008. This race marked the first time that the American Le Mans Series awarded victors in their Green Challenge, in preparation for a full championship in the 2009 season.

Report

Qualifying

On Friday afternoon before Saturday's race, qualifying was held in two 25-minute sessions. The two GT categories ran first, led by the lone GT1 entries of Corvette Racing. Halfway through the session, it was Johnny O'Connell's #3 Corvette which achieved the fastest time before the squad ended the session early. In GT2, much of the battle was between the various Porsche and Ferrari teams. The Porsche of Farnbacher-Loles and the Ferrari of European entrant JMB Racing led early, but Jaime Melo in the Risi Competizione was able to give Ferrari the pole position by a margin of 0.057 seconds. Marc Goossens' LG Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette was the fastest qualifier not in a Ferrari or Porsche, completing the session in seventh.[1]

After a short break, the two Le Mans Prototype classes began their qualification session. After six minutes, Allan McNish in the Audi R10 TDI claimed overall pole position. Although Peugeot closed the gap on the Audi, McNish eventually returned to the pits to end his session. As McNish exited the car, Stéphane Sarrazin was able to better the Audi's time by 0.085 seconds and claim overall pole position for the race.[2] In the LMP2 category, returning Penske Porsche driver Ryan Briscoe led the class early. He was eventually joined by his two Penske teammates, giving the team a lock on the top three qualifying positions in the class. Andretti Green Racing's Acura followed the Porsche trio.[1]

Previous qualifying records for all four classes were broken in these two sessions. The top six overall qualifiers, the Peugeot, two Audis, and three Penske Porsches were also able to break an absolute track qualifying record initially set by Davy Jones in a Jaguar XJR-9 in 1992. Sarrazin's Peugeot bettered the Jaguar's record lap by approximately 2.5 mph (4.0 km/h) in average speed.[1]

Qualifying result

Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.

Pos Class Team Qualifying Driver Time[3]
1 LMP1 #07 Peugeot Sport Total Stéphane Sarrazin 1:06.242
2 LMP1 #1 Audi Sport North America Allan McNish 1:06.327
3 LMP1 #2 Audi Sport North America Marco Werner 1:06.818
4 LMP2 #5 Penske Motorsports, Inc. Ryan Briscoe 1:07.061
5 LMP2 #7 Penske Racing Romain Dumas 1:07.149
6 LMP2 #6 Penske Racing Sascha Maassen 1:07.401
7 LMP2 #26 Andretti Green Racing Franck Montagny 1:07.486
8 LMP2 #66 de Ferran Motorsports Simon Pagenaud 1:07.656
9 LMP1 #50 Team LNT Olivier Pla 1:07.656
10 LMP1 #37 Intersport Racing Jon Field 1:07.784
11 LMP2 #15 Lowe's Fernández Racing Adrian Fernández 1:07.866
12 LMP2 #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing David Brabham 1:08.064
13 LMP2 #16 Dyson Racing Guy Smith 1:08.175
14 LMP2 #20 Dyson Racing Marino Franchitti 1:08.446
15 LMP2 #8 B-K Motorsports Ben Devlin 1:08.896
16 LMP1 #88 Creation Autosportif Harold Primat 1:09.402
17 LMP1 #48 Corsa Motorsports Stefan Johansson 1:09.504
18 LMP1 #30 Intersport Racing Ryan Lewis 1:09.785
19 LMP1 #888 Creation Autosportif Stuart Hall 1:09.944
20 GT1 #3 Corvette Racing Johnny O'Connell 1:16.542
21 GT1 #4 Corvette Racing Olivier Beretta 1:16.589
22 GT2 #62 Risi Competizione Jaime Melo 1:19.399
23 GT2 #87 Farnbacher-Loles Motorsports Dirk Werner 1:19.456
24 GT2 #71 Tafel Racing Dirk Müller 1:19.795
25 GT2 #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister 1:19.885
26 GT2 #99 JMB Racing Pierre Kaffer 1:20.206
27 GT2 #61 Risi Competizione Niclas Jönsson 1:20.667
28 GT2 #28 LG Motorsports Marc Goossens 1:20.743
29 GT2 #007 Drayson-Barwell Darren Turner 1:20.940
30 GT2 #21 Panoz Team PTG Tom Milner, Jr. 1:21.419
31 GT2 #40 Robertson Racing David Murry 1:21.438
32 GT2 #54 Black Swan Racing Anthony Lazzaro 1:21.616
33 GT2 #18 VICI Racing Marc Basseng 1:21.876
34 GT2 #11 Primetime Race Group Chris Hall 1:22.302
35 GT2 #44 Flying Lizard Motorsports 44 Seth Neiman 1:23.589
36 GT2 #73 Tafel Racing Alex Figge 1:23.096
37 LMP1 #12 Autocon Motorsports Did Not Participate No Time
38 GT2 #46 Flying Lizard Motorsports Did Not Participate No Time

† - The #73 Tafel Racing was penalized due to a rule infraction during a pit stop in qualifying. The car was therefore moved to the back of the starting grid.

Race

Just twenty minutes short of the ten-hour limit, the #1 Audi of Allan McNish completed the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) endurance just 4.5 seconds ahead of the #07 Peugeot of Christian Klien. The second Audi finished the overall podium, also on the lead lap. In LMP2, rookie Petit Le Mans entrant Hélio Castroneves led the trio of Penske Porsches past the checkered flag, locking out the podium. Porsches finished in five of the top six positions in the LMP2 class, joined only by the de Ferran Acura in fifth.[4]

After earlier mechanical problems with the #4 Corvette, its #3 teammate led to victory in the GT1 class unchallenged. The GT2 class was won by a Ferrari for the first time in the event's history, the #62 car of Risi Competizione leading the marque. It was followed by several seconds by the championship-leading Flying Lizard Porsche.[4]

In the first ever Green Challenge, Penske Racing and Corvette Racing won in their respective categories. The #6 car was the most efficient of the LMP cars, while the already victorious #3 Corvette was also the most efficient amongst GTs.

Race result

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps
Engine
1 LMP1 1 Audi Sport North America Emanuele Pirro
Rinaldo Capello
Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI M 394
Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
2 LMP1 07 Peugeot Sport Total Nicolas Minassian
Stéphane Sarrazin
Christian Klien
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP M 394
Peugeot HDi 5.5 L V12
(Diesel)
3 LMP1 2 Audi Sport North America Marco Werner
Lucas Luhr
Audi R10 TDI M 394
Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
4 LMP2 5 Penske Motorsports, Inc. Hélio Castroneves
Ryan Briscoe
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 394
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
5 LMP2 7 Penske Racing Timo Bernhard
Romain Dumas
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 394
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
6 LMP2 6 Penske Racing Patrick Long
Sascha Maassen
Emmanuel Collard
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 392
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
7 LMP2 20 Dyson Racing Butch Leitzinger
Marino Franchitti
Andy Lally
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 391
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
8 LMP2 66 de Ferran Motorsports Gil de Ferran
Simon Pagenaud
Scott Dixon
Acura ARX-01B M 388
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
9 LMP2 16 Dyson Racing Chris Dyson
Guy Smith
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 384
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
10 GT1 3 Corvette Racing Johnny O'Connell
Jan Magnussen
Ron Fellows
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 365
Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
11 GT1 4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin
Olivier Beretta
Max Papis
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 359
Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
12 GT2 62 Risi Competizione Jaime Melo
Mika Salo
Ferrari F430GT M 358
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
13 GT2 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister
Wolf Henzler
Marc Lieb
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 358
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
14 LMP1 50 Team LNT
Conquest Racing
Danny Watts
Olivier Pla
Ginetta-Zytek 07S M 355
Zytek 4.5 L V8
15 GT2 71 Tafel Racing Dominik Farnbacher
Dirk Müller
Ferrari F430GT M 355
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
16
DNF
LMP2 26 Andretti Green Racing Franck Montagny
Marco Andretti
Tony Kanaan
Acura ARX-01B M 347
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
17 GT2 61 Risi Competizione
Krohn Racing
Tracy Krohn
Eric van de Poele
Niclas Jönsson
Ferrari F430GT M 346
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
18 GT2 99 JMB Racing
Aucott Racing
Ben Aucott
Pierre Kaffer
Stéphane Daoudi
Ferrari F430GT D 344
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
19 GT2 44 Flying Lizard Motorsports 44 Darren Law
Seth Neiman
Lonnie Pechnik
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 339
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
20 GT2 73 Tafel Racing Jim Tafel
Alex Figge
Pierre Ehret
Ferrari F430GT M 331
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
21
DNF
GT2 46 Flying Lizard Motorsports Johannes van Overbeek
Patrick Pilet
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 311
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
22
DNF
GT2 007 Drayson-Barwell Paul Drayson
Jonny Cocker
Darren Turner
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 D 294
Aston Martin 4.5 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
23
DNF
GT2 18 VICI Racing Nicky Pastorelli
Francesco Pastorelli
Marc Basseng
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR K 291
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
24 GT2 54 Black Swan Racing Tim Pappas
Anthony Lazzaro
Andy Pilgrim
Ford GT-R Mk.VII F 291
Ford 5.0 L V8
25 GT2 21 Panoz Team PTG Tom Milner, Jr.
Joey Hand
Andreas Wirth
Panoz Esperante GT-LM Y 282
Ford (Élan) 5.0 L V8
26
DNF
LMP2 15 Lowe's Fernández Racing Adrian Fernández
Luis Díaz
Michel Jourdain, Jr.
Acura ARX-01B M 281
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
27
DNF
GT2 11 Primetime Race Group Joel Feinberg
Chris Hall
Dodge Viper Competition Coupe H 280
Dodge 8.3 L V10
28
DNF
GT2 87 Farnbacher-Loles Motorsports Jörg Hardt
Dirk Werner
Bryce Miller
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 277
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
29
DNF
GT2 40 Robertson Racing David Robertson
Andrea Robertson
David Murry
Ford GT-R Mk.VII D 263
Ford 5.0 L V8
30
DNF
LMP1 30 Intersport Racing Ryan Lewis
Luke Hines
Georges Forgeois
Lola B07/17 K 237
Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
31
DNF
LMP1 37 Intersport Racing Jon Field
Clint Field
Richard Berry
Lola B06/10 D 160
AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
(E85 ethanol)
32
DNF
LMP1 88 Creation Autosportif Jamie Campbell-Walter
Stephen Simpson
Harold Primat
Creation CA07 D 138
AIM (Judd) YS5.5 5.5 L V10
(E85 ethanol)
33
DNF
LMP1 12 Autocon Motorsports Chris McMurry
Bryan Willman
Tony Burgess
Lola B06/10 D 122
AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
34
DNF
LMP1 888 Creation Autosportif Liz Halliday
Dean Stirling
Stuart Hall
Creation CA07 D 113
AIM (Judd) YS5.5 5.5 L V10
(E85 ethanol)
35
DNF
LMP1 48 Corsa Motorsports Gunnar Jeannette
Johnny Mowlem
Stefan Johansson
Zytek 07S D 73
Zytek 2ZG408 4.0 L V8
36
DNF
GT2 28 LG Motorsports Lou Gigliotti
Tomy Drissi
Marc Goossens
Chevrolet Corvette C6 D 37
Chevrolet LS3 6.0 L V8
37
DNF
LMP2 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Scott Sharp
David Brabham
Dario Franchitti
Acura ARX-01B M 16
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
DNS LMP2 8 B-K Motorsports Gerardo Bonilla
Ben Devlin
Lola B08/86 D -
Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4
(E85 ethanol)

References

  1. "ALMS: Record-Breaking Day in Qualifying at Road Atlanta". SpeedTV.com. 2008-10-03. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  2. Frank Feenstra (2008-10-03). "ALMS Petit Le Mans - Qualifying Report (updated)". Planet Le Mans. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  3. "ALMS Provisional Grid" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 2008-10-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  4. "ALMS Provisional Results" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 2008-10-04. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
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2007
Petit Le Mans
2008
Next race:
2009
American Le Mans Series
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2008 Detroit Sports Car Challenge
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