gaijin
07-25-2005, 04:19 PM
Porsche® Names and Conducts First Track Testing of New Prototype Racecar
Manufacturer Story 7-21-2005
Three Drivers Selected For 2005 Test Races
ATLANTA - Porsche has just completed initial track tests of its newly named LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) racecar. Called RS Spyder after the legendary 550/1500RS Spyder that first brought Porsche international motorsport recognition in the 1950s, the new racecar finished three days of intense high-speed driving over the demanding former Formula One grand prix circuit in Estoril, Portugal. When the tests were concluded, Porsche race engineers and factory race drivers expressed satisfaction with the performance of the car's completely new 3.4-liter V8 engine, sequential six-speed transmission, and carbon fiber chassis.
On hand for these tests was Peter Schwarzenbauer, president of Porsche Cars North America, who commissioned Porsche to build the car for Porsche customer race teams in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).
"It was a very exciting time for me to be a part of these first tests," said an emotional Schwarzenbauer. "The RS Spyder is definitely state-of-the-art, incorporating the latest in Porsche's technology. It looks great and sounds terrific. I can't wait to watch it race."
Sharing the driving duties during the tests were veteran German Porsche factory drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr. The pair of two-time ALMS GT Champions will co-drive the new Porsche RS Spyder entered by Penske Motorsports in the final two races of the ALMS season, the Oct. 1st Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and the Oct. 16th season finale at Laguna Seca. Over the past five years, Maassen and Luhr have driven Porsches to class victories in virtually every major sports car race in the world including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Most recently they were victorious in the N/GT Class of the 2004 FIA GT Championship.
Joining Maassen and Luhr for the 1000 mile, or 10 hour, Petit Le Mans event will be Emmanuel Collard. The talented Frenchman lists among his many international sports car racing victories a class win in the 2001 12 Hours of Sebring co-driving a Porsche 911 GT3 RS with Maassen and Luhr.
This first track test session of the Porsche RS Spyder saw a truly international motorsport gathering of participants from Germany, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Holland, France, and England. They included engine, transmission, suspension, aerodynamic, and race engineers and technicians from Porsche AG, as well as race engineers and technicians from Penske Motorsports.
The Estoril test was the first event in a testing program in 2005 for the new Porsche RS Spyder that includes sessions at other major racetracks in Europe and America and concludes with the two races at Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca. This program serves as a prelude to a two-car Penske Motorsports Porsche LMP2 effort that will contest the entire 2006 ALMS season.
Porsche is proud that its current associate sponsors - Michelin, ZF Sachs, Mobil 1, Hyatt, and mail2web - will provide products, and in some instances technical assistance, throughout the duration of this new LMP2 program.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga., and its subsidiary, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., are the exclusive importers of Porsche sports cars and Cayenne® sport utility vehicles for the United States and Canada. A wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs approximately 300 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 208 U.S. and Canadian dealers. They, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service.
Biography Briefs
Name: Lucas Luhr
Hometown: Mülheim-Kärlich, Germany
Residence: Monaco
Date of Birth: July 22, 1979
Major accomplishments:
Championships: FIA N-GT ('04), ALMS GT (2002, '03), Porsche Carrera Cup ('99), International Formula Ford co-champion ('96), Kart-Europe Champion ('94); FIA-GT champion with Maassen in 2004, also in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Factory driver: Porsche, since 1999
Major sports car wins: 19 ALMS GT/GT2 class wins, three 24 Heures Du Mans ('00, '02, '03), 24 Hours of Daytona ('01), Petit Le Mans ('02), 4 12 Hours of Sebring ('00-'03, '05), 1000Km of Nürburgring ('00) - Has the second most GT class wins of any driver in ALMS history behind Sascha Maassen.
A second-generation driver, Luhr got his start in karts at an early age in his native Germany. From 1989 to 1995, Luhr won four championships in Europe. In that time he raced as the factory driver for two different karting manufacturers. Moving to cars in '96, Luhr raced open wheel Formula Fords across Europe and earned a Formula-Opel victory at Hockenheim for Eiffeland Racing. In 1997, Luhr made the move into German Formula 3. He remained in the series in '98 taking eighth in the season title chase with one victory. This success drew Porsche's eye to Luhr and he was signed a to the UPS Porsche Junior team for the '99 season, when he won the Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany with three first-place finishes.
Name: Sascha Maassen
Hometown: Aachen, Germany
Residence: Raeren, Belgium
Date of Birth: September 28, 1969
Major accomplishments:
Championships: ALMS GT champion (2002, 2003 with Lucas Luhr); factory driver: Porsche, since 1999; FIA-GT champion with Maassen, also in Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - 2004.
Major sports car wins: 23 ALMS GT class wins, 24 Heures Du Mans win (2003 and 2004), four 12 Hours of Sebring (2001-2004); four Petit Le Mans ('00, '01, '03, 04)
Maassen started his racing career in 1988 with a two-year stint in German karting and Formula 1600 racing becoming the European and German Formula 1600 champion in 1990. He parlayed that success into a ride in the German Formula 3 Championship finishing in the top-10 in season points every year from 1991-'94.
He capped his F3 career by winning the Formula 3 World final at Macau in 1994. In 1996, he moved to the final stepping-stone to Formula One by racing in British Formula 3000 winning the Donnington-round of that highly competitive series. Maassen moved from open wheel to sports cars in 1997 with a tenth-place finish in the German Super Touring Car Championship points.
He contested the FIA GT Championship the following season winning at Budapest in the GT2 class. The likable German started his winning way in the ALMS in 1999 with a GT class victory at the Petit Le Mans while finishing fourth overall in the Porsche Supercup series. His four ALMS wins in 2000 came with co-driver Bob Wollek before joining Luhr and Alex Job Racing in 2001.
Name: Emmanuel Collard
Hometown: Arpajon, France
Residence: London, UK
Date of Birth: April 3, 1971
A former Porsche Michelin Supercup driver, this 34 year-old Frenchman has extensive experience in world sports car endurance racing, having won major championships several types of race cars.
Collard was the 1996 Porsche Supercup champion by winning five Supercup events in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, after finishing third in the standings in 1995 and second in 1994. He has also driven at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the last 11 years, winning the GT class in 2003 with Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr in the Alex Job Racing/Petersen/White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. His first Porsche ride was in 1995 with Ortelli and Dupuy in a Porsche RSR GT1, and he also drove a Porsche GT1 (1997) with Dalmas and Kelleners. This year, Collard finished second overall at Le Mans in a Pescarolo Hybrid. He has also driven at Le Mans in factory Toyota and Cadillac efforts, as well as winning this year's Rolex 24 in a Pontiac.
In the FIA GT series, Collard is currently co-driving with Tim Sugden in the GruppeM Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR , and has driven in the series in a Porsche since 1997, all in Porsches. His co-drivers have included Mauro Baldi, Stephane Ortelli, and Romain Dumas, and he has scored eight class wins and 17 podium finishes.
Collard also has a class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, having teamed with Maassen and Luhr to win the 2001 event in the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Manufacturer Story 7-21-2005
Three Drivers Selected For 2005 Test Races
ATLANTA - Porsche has just completed initial track tests of its newly named LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) racecar. Called RS Spyder after the legendary 550/1500RS Spyder that first brought Porsche international motorsport recognition in the 1950s, the new racecar finished three days of intense high-speed driving over the demanding former Formula One grand prix circuit in Estoril, Portugal. When the tests were concluded, Porsche race engineers and factory race drivers expressed satisfaction with the performance of the car's completely new 3.4-liter V8 engine, sequential six-speed transmission, and carbon fiber chassis.
On hand for these tests was Peter Schwarzenbauer, president of Porsche Cars North America, who commissioned Porsche to build the car for Porsche customer race teams in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).
"It was a very exciting time for me to be a part of these first tests," said an emotional Schwarzenbauer. "The RS Spyder is definitely state-of-the-art, incorporating the latest in Porsche's technology. It looks great and sounds terrific. I can't wait to watch it race."
Sharing the driving duties during the tests were veteran German Porsche factory drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr. The pair of two-time ALMS GT Champions will co-drive the new Porsche RS Spyder entered by Penske Motorsports in the final two races of the ALMS season, the Oct. 1st Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and the Oct. 16th season finale at Laguna Seca. Over the past five years, Maassen and Luhr have driven Porsches to class victories in virtually every major sports car race in the world including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Most recently they were victorious in the N/GT Class of the 2004 FIA GT Championship.
Joining Maassen and Luhr for the 1000 mile, or 10 hour, Petit Le Mans event will be Emmanuel Collard. The talented Frenchman lists among his many international sports car racing victories a class win in the 2001 12 Hours of Sebring co-driving a Porsche 911 GT3 RS with Maassen and Luhr.
This first track test session of the Porsche RS Spyder saw a truly international motorsport gathering of participants from Germany, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Holland, France, and England. They included engine, transmission, suspension, aerodynamic, and race engineers and technicians from Porsche AG, as well as race engineers and technicians from Penske Motorsports.
The Estoril test was the first event in a testing program in 2005 for the new Porsche RS Spyder that includes sessions at other major racetracks in Europe and America and concludes with the two races at Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca. This program serves as a prelude to a two-car Penske Motorsports Porsche LMP2 effort that will contest the entire 2006 ALMS season.
Porsche is proud that its current associate sponsors - Michelin, ZF Sachs, Mobil 1, Hyatt, and mail2web - will provide products, and in some instances technical assistance, throughout the duration of this new LMP2 program.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga., and its subsidiary, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., are the exclusive importers of Porsche sports cars and Cayenne® sport utility vehicles for the United States and Canada. A wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs approximately 300 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 208 U.S. and Canadian dealers. They, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service.
Biography Briefs
Name: Lucas Luhr
Hometown: Mülheim-Kärlich, Germany
Residence: Monaco
Date of Birth: July 22, 1979
Major accomplishments:
Championships: FIA N-GT ('04), ALMS GT (2002, '03), Porsche Carrera Cup ('99), International Formula Ford co-champion ('96), Kart-Europe Champion ('94); FIA-GT champion with Maassen in 2004, also in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Factory driver: Porsche, since 1999
Major sports car wins: 19 ALMS GT/GT2 class wins, three 24 Heures Du Mans ('00, '02, '03), 24 Hours of Daytona ('01), Petit Le Mans ('02), 4 12 Hours of Sebring ('00-'03, '05), 1000Km of Nürburgring ('00) - Has the second most GT class wins of any driver in ALMS history behind Sascha Maassen.
A second-generation driver, Luhr got his start in karts at an early age in his native Germany. From 1989 to 1995, Luhr won four championships in Europe. In that time he raced as the factory driver for two different karting manufacturers. Moving to cars in '96, Luhr raced open wheel Formula Fords across Europe and earned a Formula-Opel victory at Hockenheim for Eiffeland Racing. In 1997, Luhr made the move into German Formula 3. He remained in the series in '98 taking eighth in the season title chase with one victory. This success drew Porsche's eye to Luhr and he was signed a to the UPS Porsche Junior team for the '99 season, when he won the Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany with three first-place finishes.
Name: Sascha Maassen
Hometown: Aachen, Germany
Residence: Raeren, Belgium
Date of Birth: September 28, 1969
Major accomplishments:
Championships: ALMS GT champion (2002, 2003 with Lucas Luhr); factory driver: Porsche, since 1999; FIA-GT champion with Maassen, also in Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - 2004.
Major sports car wins: 23 ALMS GT class wins, 24 Heures Du Mans win (2003 and 2004), four 12 Hours of Sebring (2001-2004); four Petit Le Mans ('00, '01, '03, 04)
Maassen started his racing career in 1988 with a two-year stint in German karting and Formula 1600 racing becoming the European and German Formula 1600 champion in 1990. He parlayed that success into a ride in the German Formula 3 Championship finishing in the top-10 in season points every year from 1991-'94.
He capped his F3 career by winning the Formula 3 World final at Macau in 1994. In 1996, he moved to the final stepping-stone to Formula One by racing in British Formula 3000 winning the Donnington-round of that highly competitive series. Maassen moved from open wheel to sports cars in 1997 with a tenth-place finish in the German Super Touring Car Championship points.
He contested the FIA GT Championship the following season winning at Budapest in the GT2 class. The likable German started his winning way in the ALMS in 1999 with a GT class victory at the Petit Le Mans while finishing fourth overall in the Porsche Supercup series. His four ALMS wins in 2000 came with co-driver Bob Wollek before joining Luhr and Alex Job Racing in 2001.
Name: Emmanuel Collard
Hometown: Arpajon, France
Residence: London, UK
Date of Birth: April 3, 1971
A former Porsche Michelin Supercup driver, this 34 year-old Frenchman has extensive experience in world sports car endurance racing, having won major championships several types of race cars.
Collard was the 1996 Porsche Supercup champion by winning five Supercup events in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, after finishing third in the standings in 1995 and second in 1994. He has also driven at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the last 11 years, winning the GT class in 2003 with Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr in the Alex Job Racing/Petersen/White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. His first Porsche ride was in 1995 with Ortelli and Dupuy in a Porsche RSR GT1, and he also drove a Porsche GT1 (1997) with Dalmas and Kelleners. This year, Collard finished second overall at Le Mans in a Pescarolo Hybrid. He has also driven at Le Mans in factory Toyota and Cadillac efforts, as well as winning this year's Rolex 24 in a Pontiac.
In the FIA GT series, Collard is currently co-driving with Tim Sugden in the GruppeM Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR , and has driven in the series in a Porsche since 1997, all in Porsches. His co-drivers have included Mauro Baldi, Stephane Ortelli, and Romain Dumas, and he has scored eight class wins and 17 podium finishes.
Collard also has a class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, having teamed with Maassen and Luhr to win the 2001 event in the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RS.