2005 New England Grand Prix – Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn., July 1-4
No. 31 Westward Ho Casino/ MMPIE/ PAWS/ Michelin Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
drivers: Jörg Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany), Patrick Long (Las Vegas, Nev.), Michael Petersen (Las Vegas)
owner: Michael Petersen team manager: Dale White crew chief: Stefan Pfeiffer
"Love Bug" linked to lightning bolt porsche
While most in the Lime Rock paddock know who Herbie the Love Bug is, few can say that they have actually turned a wrench and a steering wheel on the personality-filled Volkswagen Beetle that is making his Hollywood return this summer in “Herbie, Fully Loaded”.
However, Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing lead technician Dennis Chizma (Seattle, Wash.) knows the No. 53 almost as well as he knows the No. 31 Westward Ho Casino Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Chizma, a very successful rally racer who earlier this year won the production GT class of the prestigious “Rim of the World” rally as a driver, worked on the movie cars for “Herbie Goes Bananas” in the late 1970s while a mechanic in Burbank, Calif. Then, in 1999, he drove a replica of the famous car in the open class at the 24 Hours of Mexico City rally adding to Herbie’s fame south of the border.
iI focus
Having fallen one position short of making history as the only American, privately-owned team to win three consecutive Le Mans titles, Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing is now preparing to go after another milestone. In only its third full season of ALMS competition (2001, 2004 and 2005), the Michael Petersen-owned team has set its sights on winning both the GT2 entrant and driver championships. To accomplish that would also give the team the IMSA Cup for privateer entrants in the series. Thus far, the team holds a commanding lead in each category having won the season-opening GT2 race at the 12 Hours of Sebring and by finishing third at Road Atlanta and second at Mid-Ohio.
Along with the podium success, the Las Vegas-based operation has also taken home each of the IMSA Cups awarded this season for the highest placing privately-owned entry in the GT2 class.
Giving back
As one of the most open teams in a paddock full of friendly operations, Petersen/ White Lightning enjoys having fans stop by. In 2005, beyond the usual groups of fans that file by the transporter, the team has enjoyed visits from children’s groups in two of the three race markets the ALMS has visited.
At Road Atlanta, a group of 20 kids from a variety of Salvation Army-supported organizations visited with the team and got a tour of the car from team manager Dale White (Las Vegas) and driver Patrick Long (Las Vegas). At Mid-Ohio, ten children and their “Big Brothers/ Big Sisters” visited the garage where several sat in the car as Long and Jörg Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) explained the Porsche 911 shortly before they went on to a second-place finish.
This weekend, the Salvation Army will bring 20 children to Lime Rock Park for a visit with the GT2 class points leading team. The visits are a joint effort between the American Le Mans Series and the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans GT2 class winning team. Several longer-term, fund-raising projects are currently being put into place that will announced at a later date.
History
2005 marks the second appearance of the ALMS at Lime Rock Park. In 2004, fresh off a victory at Le Mans, Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing started fifth in the GT (now GT2) class.
Last year, with an early race rain storm that looked like it would settle in for longer than it did, the team gambled switching to rain tires. When the track dried the gamble didn’t pay off for the team… or for many others. A fifth place finish was the result.
