...Portland News and Notes - 2005 Portland Grand Prix – Portland International Raceway, Portland, Ore., July 28-30
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
Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing won the GT2 class at the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
That was the start of a string of five-straight podium appearances by the team extending through the most recent round at Infineon Raceway. At Infineon, the team overcame an early race obstacle to earn the team’s third consecutive GT2 class second-place finish. Infineon also accounted for the team’s fifth-consecutive top-two starting positions— including two pole positions (Sebring and Lime Rock). Also, in each of the five total ALMS races held to date, the Las Vegas-based team has walked away with all five IMSA Cups awarded to the highest-finishing, privately-entered car in each class. The team and the driving duo of Jörg Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) and Patrick Long (Las Vegas, Nev.) have been on top of the point standings since the first race.
Lastly, but certainly not the least impressive, is that the Petersen/ White Lightning Porsche has been running at the end of every ALMS race since the 2003 season finale, a streak of 16-straight races without a DNF! Overall, the team has been running at the conclusion of 37 of the 41 ALMS races it has entered since 1999!
Moonlighting
Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing driver Jörg Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) did a little moonlighting on one of his few ‘off’ weekends of the season. Bergmeister sat in on the Porsche Michelin Supercup round at Hockenheimring on July 23rd. Driving for the same team he raced with while coming up through the Porsche Supercup ranks, Farnbacher Racing, Bergmeister qualified fifth but finished 19th in the Saturday support event for the German Grand Prix. It was Bergmeister’s first time to race the famous German track since it was reconfigured several years ago.
To The Point
Since the season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing No. 31 Westward Ho Casino/ MMPIE/ PAWS/ Michelin Porsche 911 GT3 RSR has been at the top of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GT2 class point chase. Teammates Jörg Bergmeister (Langenfeld, Germany) and Patrick Long (Las Vegas, Nev.) are at the sharp end of the drivers list after five of ten races. The two are tied with 87 points, 11 ahead of second place while the team also holds an 11 mark lead on the second-place team effort. The program has also been the top-effort helping give Porsche the car manufacturers points lead in the class and Michelin the dominating lead for tire makers.
History
Petersen/ White Lightning has made three career starts at the Portland International Raceway. In that time they have racked-up two sixth-place finishes (2000 and 2001) and a third in 2004. The No. 31 led in the late going last season before being chased-down and, after a stirring battle in the last 20-minutes.
