LMP2 Podium: Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard
Successful race premiere for the new direct injection race engine from Porsche: Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) won the LMP2 class at the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series in Lexington/Ohio with the engine that was run for the first time in the RS Spyder. With this, they further increased their lead in the championship. For the reigning champions this marked the fourth victory so far this season, and the third in a row on the demanding Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
When Romain Dumas climbed out of the cockpit of the #7 RS Spyder at the finish he was visibly exhausted – and this was not only due to the summer heat of the mid-West. ‘That was a fight to the finish,’ he said. ‘I gave my all to stay in front, I had nothing else left but luckily it was enough to bring home victory.’ With a strong drive in a gripping and dramatic finale, he fended off his toughest rival David Brabham in the Acura and swept over the finish line first in the Weissach-developed and built sports prototype. ‘When you’re up against someone like David you daren’t show any weakness. The tiniest error and the game’s over. But our car was perfect. This race is not very good for your nerves but it’s fantastic for the fans and the championship. And isn’t that exactly what we all want.’
Timo Bernhard, who secured second one week ago with the RS Spyder of Penske Racing in Lime Rock Park and who drove the first stint in Mid-Ohio, witnessed the battle for class victory from the pitwall. ‘That’s much worse than driving yourself because you are powerless to do anything,’ he said. ‘It was a great race for us. With so much traffic it’s sometimes a bit of a gamble. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. A week ago we lost, this time we won. It’s a well-earned success for the whole team.’
Manning the #6 RS Spyder, Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) finished fourth in their class, defending their third place in the championship. Directly behind the pair was the RS Spyder of the Porsche-supported US privateer team, Dyson Racing. Chris Dyson (USA) and Guy Smith (Great Britain) claimed fifth ahead of their team mates Butch Leitzinger (USA) and Marino Franchitti (Great Britain).
On the traditional 3.620 kilometre circuit, on which Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas secured their first overall victory with the RS Spyder in the American Le Mans Series in 2006, the new 3.4-litre V8 engine with direct fuel injection featured in the number 6 and 7 sports prototypes for the first time. Like the standard units in the Cayenne and the 911, power was increased and fuel consumption decreased – an important element of endurance racing. Instead of 476 hp, the new racing power-unit has an output of 503 hp (370 kW) at 10,000 rpm. Maximum torque rose from 370 Nm at 7,500 revs to 385 hp at 8,500 rpm.
The new engine of the Porsche RS Spyder is the first with fuel injection technology that can rev to more than 10,000 rpm. During the development of the engine, synergies in the areas of standard and motorsport design were utilised to a large extent. Above all, in the calculation and evaluation of the engine many important details were developed jointly.
‘That was a truly exciting race. We provided fans some great racing today,’ said Dieter Steinhauser, Head of Motorsport Development, after the RS Spyder’s fourth win of the season. ‘This was a perfect premiere for our new engine. In fact, due to the many breaks in the race today we couldn’t even make full use of the direct fuel injection technology.’
In the GT2 class for slightly modified near-standard sports cars, Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler (both Germany) defended their lead in the championship with their 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Flying Lizard Motorsport. The class winners of Sebring, Salt Lake City and Lime Rock Park secured third behind their team mates Johannes van Overbeek (USA) and Patrick Pilet (France). Fourth went to Dirk Werner (Germany) and Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) in a 911 GT3 RSR of Farnbacher Loles Racing.
Statistics: 6th of 11 races of the American Le Mans Series in Mid-Ohio, Ohio
Race result
1. Werner/Luhr (D/D), Audi R10 (LMP1), 111 laps
2. Pirro/Capello (I/I), Audi R10 (LMP1), 111
3. Bernhard/Dumas (D/F), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
4. Brabham/Sharp (AUS/USA), Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 111
5. Fernandez/Diaz (MEX/MEX), Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 111
6. Maassen/Long (D/USA), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
7. Dyson/Smith (USA/GB), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
8. Leitzinger/Franchitti (USA/GB), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
9. Müller/Farnbacher (D/D), Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 104
10. van Overbeek/Pilet (USA/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 104
LMP2 class result
1. Bernhard/Dumas (D/F), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
2. Brabham/Sharp (AUS/USA), Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 111
3. Fernandez/Diaz (MEX/MEX), Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 111
4. Maassen/Long (D/USA), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
5. Dyson/Smith (USA/GB), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
6. Leitzinger/Franchitti (USA/GB), Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 111
Points’ standings
Drivers LMP2 class
1. Timo Bernhard, Porsche, 122
Romain Dumas, Porsche, 122
2. David Brabham, Acura, 94
Scott Sharp, Acura, 94
3. Sascha Maassen, Porsche, 62
Patrick Long, Porsche, 62
4. Butch Leitzinger, Porsche, 58
Marino Franchitti, Porsche, 58
5. Chris Dyson, Porsche, 51
Guy Smith, Porsche, 51
Manufacturer LMP2 class – Engine
1. Porsche, 122
2. Acura, 105
Manufacturer LMP2 class – Chassis
1. Porsche, 122
2. Acura, 105
Teams LMP2 class
1. Penske Racing, Porsche, 122
2. Highcroft Racing, Acura, 96
3. Dyson Racing, Porsche, 68
Drivers GT2 class
1. Jörg Bergmeister, Porsche, 101
Wolf Henzler, Porsche, 101
2. Dominik Farnbacher, Ferrari, 97
Dirk Müller, Ferrari, 97
3. Johannes van Overbeek, Porsche, 78
Patrick Pilet, Porsche, 78
Manufacturer GT2 class
1. Porsche, 118
2. Ferrari, 109
Teams GT2 class
1. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 118
2. Tafel Racing, Ferrari, 103
