Penske Porsches on Front Row at Lime Rock Park

Penske Porsches on Front Row at Lime Rock Park

Posted: June 30th, 2006 in American Le Mans
Author: American Le Mans Series
Photo By: Joe Martin

Romain Dumas led Penske Racing’s charge to the front row of the New England Grand Prix on Friday with a record-breaking lap at Lime Rock Park. The Frenchman put Penske’s No. 7 Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 on the overall pole position for Round 4 of the American Le Mans Series.

Dumas turned a lap of 45.588 to beat out the No. 6 sister car of Lucas Luhr for top overall honors. It marks the second time that two non-LMP1 cars will start on the front row of an American Le Mans Series race. Dyson Racing accomplished the feat in 2003 at Infineon Raceway in the LMP65 class.

Penske nearly turned the trick in the last Series round at Mid-Ohio, but the pole-winning No. 7 car – with Timo Bernhard driving – was found to be too light in post-qualifying inspection. The No. 6 car was awarded the pole then. But there was no such misfortune for Dumas and Timo Bernhard on Friday.

“When we are doing these times, we cannot complain about the car,” Dumas said. “The team has been working a lot with the shocks since Houston, which has improved it. Today, we really have a better car that is easier to drive. I was surprised by the time, I have to say. This is a good track for us, just like Mid-Ohio.”

That’s an excellent sign for Penske, which posted a 1-2 overall finish there in the last Series round.

James Weaver put the No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola B06/10-AER on the LMP1 pole and will start third overall. He also set a class record with a lap of 46.306, still 0.7 seconds behind the lead Porsche.

Still, Weaver was more than a half-second better than the Audi R8 of Allan McNish and Dindo Capello, which will start fourth overall. Third in class and fifth overall is Highcroft Racing’s Lola.

“The car was running fantastic. It’s the best it’s been all year,” Weaver said. “I can’t think of a time I’ve had a car that good in qualifying. The car is great, and we love coming to Lime Rock. The new chicane is different. It will make overtaking a little more difficult. I just wish that foxy Porsche was a little slower!”

Darren Turner gave Aston Martin Racing its third GT1 pole position in four races as the No. 007 Aston Martin DBR9 out-qualified Corvette Racing’s two Corvette C6.Rs with a lap of 50.272. It marked the first Series pole for the Englishman in his ninth race.

Turner is the third different Aston Martin pilot to win the class pole. Pedro Lamy qualified the No. 009 DBR9 fastest at Sebring, as did Tomas Enge in the No. 007 at Mid-Ohio. The next step is translating qualifying success to a race win.

“Difficulties tomorrow are usually the Corvettes, but the trick will be to just stay on the track,” Turner said. “We don’t have any idea how our tires are going to run in a race setting. We’ll still be collecting data until our first stop to figure everything out. We’ve been unlucky with the safety car this year, and if we have any special plans to try and avoid problems they haven’t told me. But the best way to avoid that is to keep the gap close or be in front. Life is easy when you have the lead.”

The No. 3 Corvette C6.R, pole-winner at Houston, will start second after Ron Fellows’ best lap of 50.491. Olivier Beretta, in the winning Corvette from Le Mans, was third at 50.491. Beretta and Oliver Gavin have teamed to win the first three rounds of the Series, so Turner knows the two Aston Martins have their work cut out for them.

In GT2, Toni Vilander put the No. 61 Ferrari F430GT from Risi Competizione on the class pole in his first Series race and first time in the F430GT. The Finn, who has driven the Ferrari 360, set a class record with a lap of 53.322, which bested Patrick Long’s time from 2005 by 0.426 seconds.

No doubt Vilander is a quick study, which bodes well for Risi’s chances for a second class win at Lime Rock in three years. In 2004, Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro piloted a Ferrari 360 to a GT2 win, snapping Porsche’s 21-race winning streak in class.

“Overall the 430 is similar to drive,” Vilander said. “It is easy to adapt with experience in single-seaters. The biggest difference is the traffic. The P1 and P2 cars are so quick, when you look in the mirror it is a fraction of a second before they overtake you. It’s not the size of the track that’s difficult; it’s the difference in surface, the asphalt and the cement. This is a lot bumpier than the tracks I’m used to in Europe.”

The No. 21 BMW M3 from BMW Team PTG, with drivers Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand, will start second in class, the best starting position for the team in its return to the American Le Mans Series. The Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long will start third in class.