2008 Petit Le Mans

The Track map of Road Atlanta

The 2008 Petit Le Mans powered by the Totally New Mazda6 was the eleventh running of the Petit Le Mans and the tenth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States of America on October 4, 2008. This race marked the first time that the American Le Mans Series awarded victors in their Green Challenge, in preparation for a full championship in the 2009 season.

Report

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Qualifying

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On Friday afternoon before Saturday's race, qualifying was held in two 25-minute sessions. The two GT categories ran first, led by the lone GT1 entries of Corvette Racing. Halfway through the session, it was Johnny O'Connell's #3 Corvette which achieved the fastest time before the squad ended the session early. In GT2, much of the battle was between the various Porsche and Ferrari teams. The Porsche of Farnbacher-Loles and the Ferrari of European entrant JMB Racing led early, but Jaime Melo in the Risi Competizione was able to give Ferrari the pole position by a margin of 0.057 seconds. Marc Goossens' LG Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette was the fastest qualifier not in a Ferrari or Porsche, completing the session in seventh.[1]

After a short break, the two Le Mans Prototype classes began their qualification session. After six minutes, Allan McNish in the Audi R10 TDI claimed overall pole position. Although Peugeot closed the gap on the Audi, McNish eventually returned to the pits to end his session. As McNish exited the car, Stéphane Sarrazin was able to better the Audi's time by 0.085 seconds and claim overall pole position for the race.[2] In the LMP2 category, returning Penske Porsche driver Ryan Briscoe led the class early. He was eventually joined by his two Penske teammates, giving the team a lock on the top three qualifying positions in the class. Andretti Green Racing's Acura followed the Porsche trio.[1]

Previous qualifying records for all four classes were broken in these two sessions. The top six overall qualifiers, the Peugeot, two Audis, and three Penske Porsches were also able to break an absolute track qualifying record initially set by Davy Jones in a Jaguar XJR-9 in 1992. Sarrazin's Peugeot bettered the Jaguar's record lap by approximately 2.5 mph (4.0 km/h) in average speed.[1]

Qualifying result

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Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.

Pos Class Team Qualifying Driver Time[3]
1 LMP1 #07 France Peugeot Sport Total France Stéphane Sarrazin 1:06.242
2 LMP1 #1 United States Audi Sport North America United Kingdom Allan McNish 1:06.327
3 LMP1 #2 United States Audi Sport North America Germany Marco Werner 1:06.818
4 LMP2 #5 United States Penske Motorsports, Inc. Australia Ryan Briscoe 1:07.061
5 LMP2 #7 United States Penske Racing France Romain Dumas 1:07.149
6 LMP2 #6 United States Penske Racing Germany Sascha Maassen 1:07.401
7 LMP2 #26 United States Andretti Green Racing France Franck Montagny 1:07.486
8 LMP2 #66 United States de Ferran Motorsports France Simon Pagenaud 1:07.656
9 LMP1 #50 United Kingdom Team LNT France Olivier Pla 1:07.656
10 LMP1 #37 United States Intersport Racing United States Jon Field 1:07.784
11 LMP2 #15 Mexico Lowe's Fernández Racing Mexico Adrian Fernández 1:07.866
12 LMP2 #9 United States Patrón Highcroft Racing Australia David Brabham 1:08.064
13 LMP2 #16 United States Dyson Racing United Kingdom Guy Smith 1:08.175
14 LMP2 #20 United States Dyson Racing United Kingdom Marino Franchitti 1:08.446
15 LMP2 #8 United States B-K Motorsports United Kingdom Ben Devlin 1:08.896
16 LMP1 #88 United Kingdom Creation Autosportif Switzerland Harold Primat 1:09.402
17 LMP1 #48 United States Corsa Motorsports Sweden Stefan Johansson 1:09.504
18 LMP1 #30 United States Intersport Racing United Kingdom Ryan Lewis 1:09.785
19 LMP1 #888 United Kingdom Creation Autosportif United Kingdom Stuart Hall 1:09.944
20 GT1 #3 United States Corvette Racing United States Johnny O'Connell 1:16.542
21 GT1 #4 United States Corvette Racing Monaco Olivier Beretta 1:16.589
22 GT2 #62 United States Risi Competizione Brazil Jaime Melo 1:19.399
23 GT2 #87 United States Farnbacher-Loles Motorsports Germany Dirk Werner 1:19.456
24 GT2 #71 United States Tafel Racing Germany Dirk Müller 1:19.795
25 GT2 #45 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports Germany Jörg Bergmeister 1:19.885
26 GT2 #99 Monaco JMB Racing Germany Pierre Kaffer 1:20.206
27 GT2 #61 United States Risi Competizione Sweden Niclas Jönsson 1:20.667
28 GT2 #28 United States LG Motorsports Belgium Marc Goossens 1:20.743
29 GT2 #007 United Kingdom Drayson-Barwell United Kingdom Darren Turner 1:20.940
30 GT2 #21 United States Panoz Team PTG United States Tom Milner Jr. 1:21.419
31 GT2 #40 United States Robertson Racing United States David Murry 1:21.438
32 GT2 #54 United States Black Swan Racing United States Anthony Lazzaro 1:21.616
33 GT2 #18 Germany VICI Racing Germany Marc Basseng 1:21.876
34 GT2 #11 United States Primetime Race Group United Kingdom Chris Hall 1:22.302
35 GT2 #44 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports 44 United States Seth Neiman 1:23.589
36 GT2 #73 United States Tafel Racing United States Alex Figge 1:23.096
37 LMP1 #12 United States Autocon Motorsports Did not participate No time
38 GT2 #46 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports Did not participate No time

† - The #73 Tafel Racing was penalized due to a rule infraction during a pit stop in qualifying. The car was therefore moved to the back of the starting grid.

Race

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Just twenty minutes short of the ten-hour limit, the #1 Audi of Allan McNish completed the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) endurance just 4.5 seconds ahead of the #07 Peugeot of Christian Klien. The second Audi finished the overall podium, also on the lead lap. In LMP2, rookie Petit Le Mans entrant Hélio Castroneves led the trio of Penske Porsches past the checkered flag, locking out the podium. Porsches finished in five of the top six positions in the LMP2 class, joined only by the de Ferran Acura in fifth.[4]

After earlier mechanical problems with the #4 Corvette, its #3 teammate led to victory in the GT1 class unchallenged. The GT2 class was won by a Ferrari for the first time in the event's history, the #62 car of Risi Competizione leading the marque. It was followed by several seconds by the championship-leading Flying Lizard Porsche.[4]

In the first ever Green Challenge, Penske Racing and Corvette Racing won in their respective categories. The #6 car was the most efficient of the LMP cars, while the already victorious #3 Corvette was also the most efficient amongst GTs.

Race result

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Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not classified (NC).[5][6]

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps
Engine
1 LMP1 1 United States Audi Sport North America Italy Emanuele Pirro
Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI M 394
Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
2 LMP1 07 France Peugeot Sport Total France Nicolas Minassian
France Stéphane Sarrazin
Austria Christian Klien
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP M 394
Peugeot HDi 5.5 L V12
(Diesel)
3 LMP1 2 United States Audi Sport North America Germany Marco Werner
Germany Lucas Luhr
Audi R10 TDI M 394
Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
4 LMP2 5 United States Penske Motorsports, Inc. Brazil Hélio Castroneves
Australia Ryan Briscoe
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 394
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
5 LMP2 7 United States Penske Racing Germany Timo Bernhard
France Romain Dumas
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 394
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
6 LMP2 6 United States Penske Racing United States Patrick Long
Germany Sascha Maassen
France Emmanuel Collard
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 392
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
7 LMP2 20 United States Dyson Racing United States Butch Leitzinger
United Kingdom Marino Franchitti
United States Andy Lally
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 391
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
8 LMP2 66 United States de Ferran Motorsports Brazil Gil de Ferran
France Simon Pagenaud
New Zealand Scott Dixon
Acura ARX-01B M 388
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
9 LMP2 16 United States Dyson Racing United States Chris Dyson
United Kingdom Guy Smith
Porsche RS Spyder Evo M 384
Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
10 GT1 3 United States Corvette Racing United States Johnny O'Connell
Denmark Jan Magnussen
Canada Ron Fellows
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 365
Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
11 GT1 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
Monaco Olivier Beretta
Italy Max Papis
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 359
Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
12 GT2 62 United States Risi Competizione Brazil Jaime Melo
Finland Mika Salo
Ferrari F430GT M 358
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
13 GT2 45 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports Germany Jörg Bergmeister
Germany Wolf Henzler
Germany Marc Lieb
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 358
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
14 LMP1 50 United Kingdom Team LNT
United States Conquest Racing
United Kingdom Danny Watts
France Olivier Pla
Ginetta-Zytek 07S M 355
Zytek 4.5 L V8
15 GT2 71 United States Tafel Racing Germany Dominik Farnbacher
Germany Dirk Müller
Ferrari F430GT M 355
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
16
DNF
LMP2 26 United States Andretti Green Racing France Franck Montagny
United States Marco Andretti
Brazil Tony Kanaan
Acura ARX-01B M 347
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
17 GT2 61 United States Risi Competizione
United States Krohn Racing
United States Tracy Krohn
Belgium Eric van de Poele
Sweden Niclas Jönsson
Ferrari F430GT M 346
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
18 GT2 99 Monaco JMB Racing
United Kingdom Aucott Racing
United Kingdom Ben Aucott
Germany Pierre Kaffer
France Stéphane Daoudi
Ferrari F430GT D 344
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
19 GT2 44 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports 44 United States Darren Law
United States Seth Neiman
United States Lonnie Pechnik
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 339
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
20 GT2 73 United States Tafel Racing United States Jim Tafel
United States Alex Figge
Germany Pierre Ehret
Ferrari F430GT M 331
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
21
DNF
GT2 46 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports United States Johannes van Overbeek
France Patrick Pilet
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 311
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
22
DNF
GT2 007 United Kingdom Drayson-Barwell United Kingdom Paul Drayson
United Kingdom Jonny Cocker
United Kingdom Darren Turner
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 D 294
Aston Martin 4.5 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
23
DNF
GT2 18 Germany VICI Racing Netherlands Nicky Pastorelli
Netherlands Francesco Pastorelli
Germany Marc Basseng
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR K 291
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
24 GT2 54 United States Black Swan Racing United States Tim Pappas
United States Anthony Lazzaro
United States Andy Pilgrim
Ford GT-R Mk.VII F 291
Ford 5.0 L V8
25 GT2 21 United States Panoz Team PTG United States Tom Milner Jr.
United States Joey Hand
Germany Andreas Wirth
Panoz Esperante GT-LM Y 282
Ford (Élan) 5.0 L V8
26
DNF
LMP2 15 Mexico Lowe's Fernández Racing Mexico Adrian Fernández
Mexico Luis Díaz
Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr.
Acura ARX-01B M 281
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
27
DNF
GT2 11 United States Primetime Race Group United States Joel Feinberg
United Kingdom Chris Hall
Dodge Viper Competition Coupe H 280
Dodge 8.3 L V10
28
DNF
GT2 87 United States Farnbacher-Loles Motorsports Germany Jörg Hardt
Germany Dirk Werner
United States Bryce Miller
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 277
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
29
DNF
GT2 40 United States Robertson Racing United States David Robertson
United States Andrea Robertson
United States David Murry
Ford GT-R Mk.VII D 263
Ford 5.0 L V8
30
DNF
LMP1 30 United States Intersport Racing United Kingdom Ryan Lewis
United Kingdom Luke Hines
France Georges Forgeois
Lola B07/17 K 237
Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10
31
DNF
LMP1 37 United States Intersport Racing United States Jon Field
United States Clint Field
United States Richard Berry
Lola B06/10 D 160
AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
(E85 ethanol)
32
DNF
LMP1 88 United Kingdom Creation Autosportif United Kingdom Jamie Campbell-Walter
South Africa Stephen Simpson
Switzerland Harold Primat
Creation CA07 D 138
AIM (Judd) YS5.5 5.5 L V10
(E85 ethanol)
33
DNF
LMP1 12 United States Autocon Motorsports United States Chris McMurry
United States Bryan Willman
Canada Tony Burgess
Lola B06/10 D 122
AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
34
DNF
LMP1 888 United Kingdom Creation Autosportif United States Liz Halliday
Canada Dean Stirling
United Kingdom Stuart Hall
Creation CA07 D 113
AIM (Judd) YS5.5 5.5 L V10
(E85 ethanol)
35
DNF
LMP1 48 United States Corsa Motorsports United States Gunnar Jeannette
United Kingdom Johnny Mowlem
Sweden Stefan Johansson
Zytek 07S D 73
Zytek 2ZG408 4.0 L V8
36
DNF
GT2 28 United States LG Motorsports United States Lou Gigliotti
United States Tomy Drissi
Belgium Marc Goossens
Chevrolet Corvette C6 D 37
Chevrolet LS3 6.0 L V8
37
DNF
LMP2 9 United States Patrón Highcroft Racing United States Scott Sharp
Australia David Brabham
United Kingdom Dario Franchitti
Acura ARX-01B M 16
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
DNS LMP2 8 United States B-K Motorsports United States Gerardo Bonilla
United Kingdom Ben Devlin
Lola B08/86 D -
Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4
(E85 ethanol)

References

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  1. ^ a b c "ALMS: Record-Breaking Day in Qualifying at Road Atlanta". SpeedTV.com. 2008-10-03. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  2. ^ Frank Feenstra (2008-10-03). "ALMS Petit Le Mans - Qualifying Report (updated)". Planet Le Mans. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  3. ^ "ALMS Provisional Grid" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 2008-10-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  4. ^ a b "ALMS Provisional Results" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 2008-10-04. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  5. ^ "2008 Petit Le Mans". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Petit Le Mans 2008". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
American Le Mans Series
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