Event. 17th Annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda
Circuit. Road Atlanta
Track Length/Turns. 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Course
Round. TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Round 11 of 11
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. Round 16 and 17 of 17
Next Round.
Season Finale
Porsche Events.
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship
Date. Saturday, October 4, 11:15 a.m. ET/ 8:15 a.m. PT
Race Duration. Ten-Hours
Classes. GT Le Mans (Porsche 911 RSR), GT Daytona class (Porsche 911 GT America)
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama
Date. Race #1: Thursday, October 2, 3:35 p.m. ET/ 12:35 p.m. PT, Race #2: Friday, October 3, 11:35 a.m. ET/ 8:35 a.m. PT
Race Duration. 45-minutes
Classes. Platinum (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, M.Y. 2014), Gold (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, M.Y. 2013 and earlier)
Porsche Profile. Event Story Lines
Two For One. Porsche Factory Effort Returns with Two-Car Effort at Petit Le Mans
Porsche North America, the German auto manufacturer’s factory race team in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, has elected to return to a two-car effort for the 17th Annual Petit Le Mans. The first North American Porsche works team in recent memory entered three of the most sophisticated race versions of the iconic Porsche 911 in history at the Lone Star Le Mans on September 20 and had planned to continue the effort at the October 4 race at Road Atlanta. However, team management withdrew the No. 910 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR from the entry list due to Richard Lietz (Austria) not yet being fully recovered from injuries sustained at Virginia International Raceway in August.
Final Point. Porsche Tied for GTLM Manufacturer Title Entering Finale.
Just as the on-track action has been give-and-take this year between the competitors in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, the battle for Manufacturer supremacy is as equally nip-and-tuck. After ten GTLM races, Porsche North America enters the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season-finale at Road Atlanta tied for the Manufacturer’s Title. The German marque went into the penultimate round at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on September 20 with a two-point lead. After the Dodge Viper SRT team took the win and 35 championship points awarded for it, they drew equal to Porsche who took third in the race but second in manufacturer’s finishing position to earn 32 points. The pair travels to Road Atlanta with 308 markers apiece. Trailing behind the leading duo is Chevrolet and BMW, each with 300 points. Ferrari narrowly trails with 294. 35 points are allocated to the winner. Each subsequent position is allocated to the highest-placing entry from each manufacturer in order of finish.
Meanwhile, Porsche also leads the Manufacturer standings in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. The Endurance Cup trophy is awarded to the manufacturer who accumulates the most points in the TUDOR Championship’s four endurance races – events of six-hours in length or longer. The ten-hour Petit Le Mans follows the Rolex 24 at Daytona – where the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR won the GTLM class – the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring – a Porsche victory for the No. 912 – and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of Watkins Glen. Porsche, with 36 total points, currently holds a one-point margin over Chevrolet and four points over Dodge/SRT. Points for Petit Le Mans will be earned by the manufacturer leading at the four, eight and ten-hour marks.
Nothing for Granted. GT Daytona Championship Will be Earned the Hard Way.
There are nine TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class drivers within 17 points of first place of the title with one race to go. 35 points are awarded for first place. 17 points also separate the top four manufacturers. In the driver’s championship, Dane Cameron has 275 points, Lee Keen and Cooper MacNeil 271 in the No. 22 Alex Job Porsche 911 GT America, Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell 268. Christopher Haase and Bryce Miller have 259 points with Porsche customer John Potter holding 258 markers entering the final race in the Magnus Racing No. 44. Referencing the points (below) that can be earned for the top seven finishing positions, there are endless possibilities for all these drivers. A single mistake on the track or in the pits can cost the championship.
The GTD manufacturer points are even closer, as Porsche has 311 points, BMW 310, Ferrari 309 and Audi 294. Points are awarded to the top-finishing car for each marque.
Porsche teams have entered 11 Porsche 911 GT America racecars for Petit Le Mans, with Keen and MacNeil near the top of the points in their Alex Job Racing Porsche without the benefit of a race victory. They have a second-place finish (Indianapolis) and two early season races where they were leading late in the race (Daytona and Sebring), but they have stayed in the point race with eight top-six finishes.
It’s All in the Numbers. Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Championship Fight.
20 points separate first through fourth in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama entering the last two races of the 2014 season. 40 points are available for a win in the one-make series. That’s an equation for excitement during Petit Le Mans weekend at Road Atlanta.
Four promising young talents of North American road racing – Colin Thompson, 20, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania; Michael Lewis, 23, from Laguna Beach, California; Angel Benitez, 25, from Valencia, Venezuela; and Sloan Urry, 22, from Park City, Utah – are eligible to win the premier Platinum Cup (all entries drive 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racecars) championship. The four title protagonists provide a fascinating mix of varying levels of experience. Urry and Benitez were among the contenders for the 2013 championship, eventually falling short to current TUDOR Championship GT Daytona contender Madison Snow. Urry finished second in last year’s standings with Benitez third. Thompson finished eighth in the championship last season as a rookie, showing his promise. This year, Lewis is a Series’ rookie, but that’s a bit of a misnomer. He spent the last three seasons in high-level junior open-wheel competition in Europe, including Formula 3, before turning his career toward sports cars this season back home in the United States.
Current Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama point standings
Colin Thompson 218 points
Michael Lewis 217 points
Angel Benitez 208 points
Sloan Urry 198 points
To the Point. The Point Structure for the TUDOR Championship.
All TUDOR United SportsCar Championship class championships are decided in the same structure. Points are awarded to the highest finisher. For drivers, each driver receives points based on finishing position. Manufacturer and Team titles are determined by the highest finishing representative of an entrant. Subsequent positions are based on the next finishing position. Meaning, if Porsche finishes one, two, three in the race order, they receive winning points (35). The next highest-placing manufacturer earns second place points (32).
1st-place 35 Points 11th 20 pts
2nd 32 Points 12th 19 pts
3rd 30 Points 13th 18 pts
4th 28 Points 14th 17 pts
5th 26 Points 15th 16 pts
6th 25 Points 16th 15 pts
7th 24 Points 17th 14 pts
8th 23 Points 18th 13 pts
9th 22 Points 19th 12 pts
10th 21 Points 20th 11 pts
Porsche Point of View.
Jens Walther, President/CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America
“The 2014 TUDOR Championship has not been without its challenges for the manufacturers, entrants and drivers. However, as we come to Petit Le Mans to bring the curtain down on the season, it would be very difficult to argue with the on-track competitiveness of all the classes, particularly GT Le Mans and GT Daytona. We are now culminating the season with multiple championship battles being decided by the narrowest of margins. There is still work for all of us to do but I believe that this is the proof of what IMSA is trying to accomplish and, for the inaugural season, I give them high marks. For the race itself, we have placed two strong works teams on track with Porsche North America. In addition, Team Falken Tire, with a customer Porsche 911 RSR, is a threat at an event they won last year. We are looking forward to ten-hours of racing for the win and the Manufacturer title in GTLM. Similarly, in GT Daytona, the customer Porsche 911 GT America entries are providing an opportunity to win the championship with a car developed exclusively for the US-market. When you add the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars competing this weekend in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series, Porsche is involved in the championship battle for every class we compete. All of these battles are being fought with production-based Porsche 911s. It will be a challenging weekend, but we could not ask more than to have the title decision come down to an endurance race at a demanding facility like Road Atlanta.”
Bryan Sellers, Driver, No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR – Tudor United SportsCar Championship, GTLM Class
“Winning Petit Le Mans last year was a highlight of my career. The feeling of that victory was second to none. It leaves you wanting more. There is no added pressure from that though. Team Falken Tire puts pressure on ourselves every weekend to win. The goal for every race team is to win, and to win as frequently as possible. Team Falken Tire has had a good string of wins over the past few years and I would very much like to see that continue this weekend at Road Atlanta. All you can do is go out and give the best effort you possibly can give. The one thing you don’t want to do is walk away saying you could have given more. Having said that, it is very important to get Porsche the manufacturer’s championship and we will do anything in our power to help them achieve that goal. We have been fortunate enough to test at Road Atlanta a few times through the year and they have gone well. At the moment, I don’t see that there are too many weak areas for the Porsche 911 RSR at Road Atlanta. It is going to be 10 hours of great racing!”
Andy Lally, Driver, No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America – Tudor United SportsCar Championship, GTD Class
“Petit Le Mans certainly has a hometown feeling for me. I’ve lived 15 minutes from the racetrack for over a decade now. It’s great to have such a huge event so close to home. Road Atlanta has big high-speed corners that connect and generate a great flow and have challenging transitions from the exit of one corner to the next. Combine that with huge elevation changes and you have one of the most challenging tracks in the world. With Marco Seefried – who won with us a Sebring – joining us again as a third driver, I must say something about my regular co-driver, Magnus Racing team owner John Potter. I met John very early in his driving career, so there has been a huge gain in his speed, but the thing that makes a successful driver is the ability to drive at the limit but also have enough bandwidth available to observe and recall what the car is doing at different points in the corner. John has been able to do that in a short time where other drivers have spent decades attempting the same thing and never manage to achieve that level of multi-tasking at speed. We had a strong podium finish at COTA, and we hope to close out our year with a strong showing at Petit.”
Porsche History. Road Atlanta
1970 – Tony Dean – Porsche 908/2 – Can-Am – overall winner at first race ever at Road Atlanta
1972 – George Follmer – Porsche 917/10 – Can-Am – overall winner
1973 – George Follmer – Porsche 917/10 TC – Can-Am – overall winner
1973 – Peter Gregg – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA/Camel GT – overall winner
1973 – Ludwig Heimrath – Porsche 911s – IMSA/Camel GT – GTU winner
1974 – Al Holbert/Elliott Forbes-Robinson – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA/Camel GT 6 hours – overall winners
1974 – Fred Baker/Mike Sherman – Porsche 911s – IMSA/Camel GT 6 hours – GTU winners
1975 – Al Holbert – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA/Camel GT 100 – Race #1 – overall winner
1975 – Peter Gregg – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA/Camel GT 100 – Race #2 – overall winner
1977 – Bob Hagestad – Porsche 934/5 – SCCA Trans-Am – TA-11 winner
1977 – John Bauer – Porsche 911s – SCCA Trans-Am – TA-1 winner
1977 – Dennis Aase – Porsche 911s – IMSA/Camel GTU (separate GTU race) – overall winner
1978 – Dave White – Porsche 911s – IMSA/Camel GTU (separate GTU race) – overall winner
1978 – Peter Gregg – Porsche 935 – IMSA Camel GT 100 Spring – overall winner
1978 – Peter Gregg – Porsche 935/77A – IMSA Camel GT Fall – overall winner
1978 – Howard Meister – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA Camel GT Fall – GTO winner
1979 – Peter Gregg – Porsche 935/79 – IMSA/Winston GT Spring – overall winner
1979 – Peter Gregg – Porsche 935/79 – IMSA/Winston GT Fall – overall winner
1979 – Howard Meister – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA/Winston GT Fall – GTO winner
1980 – Bill Whittington – Porsche 935/K3 – IMSA/Camel GT 100 – overall winner
1980 – John Fitzpatrick – Porsche 935/K3/80 – IMSA Camel GT 50 – overall winner
1980 – Gianpiero Moretti – Porsche 935 – IMSA Camel GT 50 – overall winner
1980 – Terry Herman – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA Camel GT 50 – GTO winner
1981 – John Fitzpatrick – Porsche 935/K3/80 – IMSA Camel GT – overall winner
1982 – John Paul, Jr. – Porsche 935/JLP-3 – IMSA Camel GT 150 – overall winner
1982 – John Paul, Jr., – Porsche 935/JLP-3 – IMSA Camel GT 500 Km – overall winner
1983 – Wayne Baker/Jim Mullen – Porsche 934 – IMSA/Camel GT 500 Km – GTO winners
1987 – James Weaver/Price Cobb – Porsche 962 – IMSA/Camel GT – overall winners
1997 – John O’Steen/Larry Schumacher – Porsche 911 GT2 – IMSA 2 Hours – GTS – 1 winners
1997 – Jim Matthews/David Murry – Porsche 911s – IMSA 2 Hours – GTS-3 winners
1998 – Thierry Boutsen/Bob Wollek – Porsche 911 GT-1 Evo – IMSA 3 Hrs. 45 Min,. – GT-1 winners
1998 – Thierry Boutsen/Bob Wollek/Ralf Kelleners – Porsche 911 GT-1 Evo – Inaugural Petit Le Mans – LM-GT1 winners
1998 – Michael Ligonnet/Lance Stewart – Porsche 911 GT2 – Inaugural Petit Le Mans – LM – GT2 winners
1998 – Peter Argetsinger/Richard Polidori/Angelo Cilli – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – Inaugural Petit Le Mans – Sports Car GT-3 winners
1999 – Larry Schumacher/John O’Steen – Porsche 911 GT2 – American Le Mans Series – GTS winners
1999 – Dirk Mueller/Sascha Maassen/Cort Wagner – Porsche 911 GT3 R – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winners
2000 – Sascha Maassen/Bob Wollek – Porsche 911 GT3 R – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winners
2002 – Sascha Maassen/Lucas Luhr – Porsche 911 GT3 RS – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT Winners
2003 – Timo Bernhard/Joerg Bergmeister – Porsche 911 GT3 RS – American Le Mans Series Spring – GT winners
2003 – Timo Bernhard/Joerg Bergmeister/Romain Dumas – Porsche 911 GT3 RS – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winners
2004 – Timo Bernhard/Joerg Bergmeister/Sascha Maassen – Porsche 911 GT3 RS – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winners
2005 – Patrick Long/Joerg Bergmeister – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winners
2006 – Timo Bernhard/Sascha Maassen/Emmanuel Collard – Porsche RS Spyder – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – LMP2 winners
2006 – Patrick Long/Joerg Bergmeister – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winner
2007 – Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas/Patrick Long – Porsche RS Spyder – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – LMP2 winners
2007 – Joerg Bergmeister/Johannes van Overbeek/Marc Lieb – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winners
2008 – Ryan Briscoe/Helio Castroneves – Porsche RS Spyder – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – LMP2 winners
2013 – Bryan Sellers/Wolf Henzler/Nick Tandy –Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – ALMS/Petit Le Mans – GT winner
Race Weekend Schedule. (All times ET)
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA Practice Session 1 – All Classes – 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA Practice Session 2 – All Classes – 1:40 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA Qualifying – All Classes – 8:35 a.m. – 8:55 p.m.
TUDOR Championship Practice Session 1 – All Classes – 10:10 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.
TUDOR Championship Practice Session 2 – All Classes – 2:10 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA Race 1 – All Classes – 3:35 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.
TUDOR Championship Practice Session 3 – All Classes – 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Friday, October 3, 2014
TUDOR Championship Practice Session 4 – All Classes – 10:10 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA Race 2 – All Classes – 11:25 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
TUDOR Championship Driver Autograph Session – 11:30 a.m.– 12:15 p.m. – Team Transporters
TUDOR Championship Qualifying – GT Daytona Class – 4:20 p.m. – 4:35 p.m.
TUDOR Championship Qualifying – GT Le Mans Class – 4:40 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
TUDOR Championship Warm-Up – All Classes – 9:00 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.
TUDOR Championship Pre-Race Activities/Recon Laps – 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
TUDOR Championship Lone Star Le Mans – All Classes – 11:15 a.m. – 9:15 p.m. (10-Hours)
TUDOR Championship Post-Race Activities – 9:15 p.m.
Porsche Entries.
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (14).
GT Le Mans (GTLM) Class: (3) Porsche 911 RSR
No. 911 Porsche North America Nick Tandy (Great Britain)/Jörg Bergmeister (Germany)/Richard Lietz (Austria)/Patrick Pilet (France)
No. 912 Porsche North America Patrick Long (Playa del Rey, Calif.)/Michael Christensen (Denmark)/Earl Bamber (New Zealand)
No. 17 Team Falken Tire Wolf Henzler (Germany)/Bryan Sellers (Braselton, Ga.)/ Marco Holzer (Germany)
GT Daytona (GTD) Class: (11) Porsche 911 GT America
No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio)/TBA
No. 19 Muehlner Motorsports America TBA/TBA
No. 22 Alex Job Racing Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.)/Leh Keen (Atlanta)/Craig Stanton (Long Beach, California)
No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Ian James (Phoenix)/Mario Farnbacher (Germany)/Alex Riberas (Spain)
No. 27 Dempsey Racing Patrick Dempsey (Malibu, Calif.)/Andrew Davis (Athens, Ga.)/Joe Foster (Suwanee, Georgia)
No. 30 MOMO NGT Racing Henrique Cisneros (Venezuela)/Kuba Giermaziak (Poland)
No. 44 Magnus Racing John Potter (Salt Lake City, Utah)/Andy Lally (Dacula, Ga.)/Marco Seefried (Germany)
No. 58 Snow Racing Madison Snow (Lehi, Utah)/Jan Heylen (Tampa)
No. 71 Park Place Motorsports TBA/TBA/TBA
No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, Calif.)/Kevin Estre (Austria)
No. 81 GB Autosport Damien Faulkner (Ireland)/Ben Barker (Great Britain)/Philipp Eng (Germany)
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama Entries (30).
Platinum Class (19) Gold Class (11)
http://www.imsa.com/sites/default/files/races/entry_lists/2014_GT3CupAtlantaEntry%20List_1.pdf
Porsche North America Livery Delineation.
No. 911 White windshield banner with red lettering, White rear wing
No. 912 Black windshield banner with red lettering, Black rear wing
Source. Porsche
