Porsche says eight RS Spyders could race in 2008

As many as eight Porsche RS Spyders could race world-wide next season, according to Porsche motorsport boss Hartmut Kristen.

Kristen said four or five of the LMP2 prototypes will race in the American Le Mans Series and three teams will race the car in the Le Mans Series in Europe.

The American car count includes two factory cars from Penske Racing and another pair from Dyson Racing, which this year became the first privateer to run the Porsche. The prospective fifth chassis might be fielded by the CET Racing Solaroli Motorsports team announced at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March.

Solaroli shelved its plans to race this year, but team owner Al Solaroli is adamant that he will be on the grid next season with a car driven by J.J. Lehto and Johnny Herbert, who both have contracts with the team.

“We said from the beginning that we wanted everything to be 100 percent before we came out and we are sticking to that,” Solaroli said.

Two of the three European RS Spyder teams announced their plans. Equipe Verschuur revealed its intention to race one car in the LMS and at the Le Mans 24 Hours back in the summer. Now, Swiss privateer Fredy Lienhard and the Horag-Lista team have confirmed their deal for a European-based program that wil also likely include three ALMS enduros, including Sebring in March.

The third European team's identity is unknown.