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Written by: SPEED Channel staffCharlotte, NC – 10/17/2007
Take a look into the world of Peter Dumbreck, Dirk Muller, and their Ferrari F430. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Three champions will be crowned this weekend LIVE on SPEED, as the Formula One World Championship, the American Le Mans Series and the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown all mark the end of intensely competitive racing seasons. In addition, SPEED will be the exclusive home of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race from Martinsville, where former champions Ron Hornaday Jr., and Mike Skinner are locked in one of the tightest points races in series history.
“This weekend is what SPEED is all about,” said network president Hunter Nickell. “We’ve got Formula One, ALMS, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the best NASCAR regional racers from around the country all racing on SPEED with everything on the line. It doesn’t get any cooler than this.”
Motor sports history can be made in Brazil, as F1 phenom Lewis Hamilton tries to hold off teammate Fernando Alonso and rival Kimi Räikkönen to become the first rookie to ever earn the title of Formula One World Champion. All three are separated by only seven points.
In the American Le Mans season finale from Laguna Seca, the GT2 Class will come down to the wire as 23 points are available and the Risi Competizone team of Jaime Melo and Mika Salo leads the Flying Lizard team of Jörg Bergmeister, Johannes van Overbeek and Marc Lieb by 22 points heading to the Monterey Sports Car Championships.
In addition to live television coverage of the ALMS race, SPEED also will offer access to six full-time on-board cameras FREE through SPEED On-Board Pass powered by Acura on SPEEDtv.com, including the No. 45 Flying Lizard GT2 entry. To get this free service, log onto SPEEDtv.com and search keyword “ACURA.”
For NASCAR fans, Ron Hornaday Jr. leads Mike Skinner by just 14 points with five events remaining, as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads into the short-track excitement of Martinsville, and the best regional racers in the country come together for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.
And if a great championship battle isn’t enough to get you excited about Truck racing, 2007 IRL and Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti will make his Truck Series debut at Martinsville behind the wheel of Dodge, joining former Formula One champ Jacques Villeneuve, who will be piloting a Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. Villeneuve won the 1995 Indy 500, the 1995 CART championship and the 1997 Formula One World Championship.
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.
Please, oh please, can someone post a spoiler thread again. I just love that feeling that I read the last page of the book without any of the drama of having to deal with the plot and all that other stuff!
Sascha Maassen put Penske Racing and Porsche on pole position for the season-ending Monterey Sports Car Championships.
Sascha Maassen is looking for property on the Monterey Peninsula after Friday's qualifying session for the Monterey Sports Car Championships. The Porsche factory driver qualified the No. 6 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder on pole position for the season finale of the 2007 American Le Mans Series season by leading a contingent of 13 cars that broke the track qualifying record.
Maassen's time of 1:10.528 gave him his third straight LMP2 pole but first overall at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. He was 3.203 seconds under the former track record set by Stefan Johansson last year in a factory Zytek. Maassen also broke his own P2 record by 3.552 seconds.
"I may be thinking about living here now," Maassen quipped. "If I move to the US, it will be close to here. I like the circuit and the circuit likes me. The car is really good, and this track is made for our car because there are no big straights."
Indeed the four fastest cars were the nimble P2 entries, which thrive on the twisty 2.238, 11-turn circuit. Maassen was 0.125 seconds ahead of teammate Timo Bernhard, who has clinched the P2 drivers title with Romain Dumas, in the No. 7 Penske Porsche with Tony Kanaan third at 1:10.913 in Andretti Green Racing's Acura ARX.
Penske and Porsche have won 10 class titles this year with eight of them overall victories. The four fastest cars were LMP2 entries, which thrived on the twisty 2.238, 11-turn circuit. Tony Kanaan was third overall for Andretti Green Racing and Acura at 1:10.913 with David Brabham qualifying Highcroft Racing's Acura fourth at 1:11.101.
The Porsche RS Spyder debuted at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2005 with a class pole position and, more importantly, a maiden P2 victory. Maassen qualified the car that year with a then-class record of 1:15.606. But improvements in the track - which has been made smoother with a recent resurfacing - and with the Porsche prototype combined for Friday's record-breaking run.
"These five seconds are not all our car," Maassen said. "Part of it is the track which has improved. The track is better than it has been with more grip. Three to 3.5 seconds are the improvements that we made with the car. It's a lot of work but it is worth it. Technology is advancing and everyone is doing the same. We don't want to follow; we want to lead."
Allan McNish took the LMP1 pole in Audi Sport North America's No. 1 Audi R10 TDI with a lap of 1:11.175. The Scot and Dindo Capello will start fifth overall but won last year's four-hour endurance race.
"It's going to take quite a bit of luck and being very, very cute with the yellows and the traffic," McNish admitted. "The line gets quite narrow with the sand, and with a four-hour race and our fuel tank size (81 liters of diesel compared to 90 liters for E10-powered cars) it will be tricky. We have nothing to lose and we will attack."
McNish and Capello wrapped up the P1 championship with an overall victory at Petit Le Mans, a race that saw Capello beat Dumas to the checkered flag by 0.923 seconds after 1,000 miles. It was the type of competition McNish and the rest of the Audi crew live for, and he said as much Friday.
"These guys (Penske) are doing a very good job and with good drivers and a car that they are driving to the maximum," he said. "They are doing a job similar to what Audi Sport has done in the past and I take my hat off to them for it. I like the competition, and I think Petit was a very hard-fought win at the end. That proved that the two organizations are at their maximums."
McNish earned his first Laguna pole position and was a half-second better than Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 2 diesel-powered Audi. The Arena Motorsport Zytek 07S of Tom Chilton and Darren Manning qualified third in class at 1:12.785.
Jan Magnussen took the GT1 pole in his first race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since 2003.
Jan Magnussen made the best of his return to Monterey with a GT1 pole position for Corvette Racing and the No. 3 Corvette C6.R. The Dane's time of 1:19.304 was 0.36 seconds better than Olivier Beretta in the sister Corvette and also broke Terry Borcheller's class record from 2005 by 1.003 seconds.
"It is a low-grip track now and different from what it used to be," Magnussen said. "The track surface feels slippery, although we are going faster than last year. This requires a special driving style. It'll be hard in the race when you get off line because it will be so slippery. But it will be the same for everyone."
Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell are seeking their third class victory in four races. It's pretty clear that Magnussen feels comfortable at Laguna; he won his last Series start here in 2003 by teaming with David Brabham with Prodrive and Ferrari.
"Both cars were great cars," Magnussen said. "The track and the surface has changed. I'm happy with the way everything has gone. We missed some time this morning after contact with a prototype. This is a new car for this race (after a hard crash destroyed the previous chassis at Petit Le Mans) and to get pole position for this race is a bonus."
The GT2 championship remains in play entering the weekend, and Jaime Melo fired the opening salvo for Risi Competizione and the Ferrari F403 GT. The Brazilian broke teammate Mika Salo's class record in qualifying with a lap of 1:22.880 for a 0.410-second gap back to Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning's Peter Dumbreck.
Salo and Melo hold a 22-point lead over the Flying Lizard Motorsports duo of Jörg Bergmeister and Johannes van Overbeek in the race for the drivers championship. The race winners receive 23 points. So even if Bergmeister and van Overbeek win, all the Risi pairing needs to do is complete 70 percent of the race distance and finish in the top-10.
Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo won the GT2 pole in his first visit to the track.
"Tomorrow is a special day because we have the championship to win," Melo said. It's very important for Ferrari and really need to concentrate to score the right amount of points. If we can win the race, we will go for that. But if there is too much risk we will readjust. You always drive with mirrors. We have to be very careful and stay out of trouble.
Bergmeister qualified third behind Dumbreck, turning in a lap of 1:23.353 in the Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Salo won last year's event with Stephane Ortelli for Risi, and Melo is hoping for a repeat in his first visit to the circuit.
"I like it very much," he said. "We had some problems in the morning session. I had a little bit of oversteer but I think we have a good setup for the race. It's quite a European track. It's really good and very fast. You have to be really careful with the slow speed turns."
The final round of the 2007 American Le Mans Series is the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The four-hour race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, October 20. SPEED will air the race live from 5:30 to 10 p.m. ET. Live coverage from American Le Mans Radio and IMSA Live Timing and Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.
Monterey Sports Car Championships Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. Friday's qualifying
1. Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:10.528, 114.24
2. Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:10.653, 114.03
3. Bryan Herta, Valencia, CA; Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Acura/ARX-01a (P2), 1:10.913, 113.62
4. David Brabham, Australia; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Robbie Kerr, UK; Acura/ARX-01a (P2), 1:11.101, 113.31
5. Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Allan McNish, Scotland; Audi AG/R10/TDI (P1), 1:11.175, 113.20
6. Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Luis Diaz, Mexico; Lola/B06-43/Acura (P2), 1:11.204, 113.15
7. Marco Werner, Germany; Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Audi AG/R10/TDI (P1), 1:11.676, 112.41
8. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:12.091, 111.76
9. Andy Wallace, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:12.499, 111.13
10. Tom Chilton, Horely, UK; Darren Manning, England; Zytek Z07S/Zytek (P1), 1:12.785, 110.69
11. Greg Pickett, Alamo, CA; Klaus Graf, Germany; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:13.053, 110.29
12. Jamie Campbell-Walter, England; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Creation CA 07/Judd (P1), 1:13.165, 110.12
13. Stefan Mucke, Germany; Hayanari Shimoda, Japan; Zytek 073/Zytek (P2), 1:13.181, 110.09
14. Ben Devlin, England; Jamie Bach, Saukville, WI; Lola/B07-40/Mazda (P2), 1:14.224, 108.55
15. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Creation/CA06H/Judd (P1), 1:14.302, 108.43
16. Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:19.304, 101.59
17. Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:19.664, 101.13
18. Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Canada; Creation CA06H/Judd (P1), 1:21.781, 98.52
19. Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (GT2), 1:22.880, 97.21
20. Peter Dumbreck, Scotland; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Ferrari 430GT (GT2), 1:23.290, 96.73
21. Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:23.353, 96.66
22. Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:24.201, 95.69
23. Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:24.249, 95.63
24. Nathan Swartzbaugh, La Habra Heights, LA; Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Lars Nielsen, Denmark; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:24.376, 95.49
25. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:24.704, 95.12
26. Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 1:24.967, 94.82
27. Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (GT2), 1:26.691, 92.94
28. David Murry, Cumming, GA; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; Panoz Esperante GTLM Elan (GT2), 1:27.377, 92.21
29. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Dodge Viper (GT2), 1:28.988, 90.54
30. Wolf Henzler, Germany; Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), No Time.
The teams were asked to return a set of tyres to ensure no advantage was gained by using part-worn tyres.
But the loss of a set of tyres may not be a great setback if a weather forecast predicting dry weather on Sunday proves to be accurate.
Hamilton explained: "We did a slow out lap on wet tyres, then came in and went out on another set.
Maybe there's a bit too much tension in the team that has led to a silly mistake
McLaren boss Ron Dennis
"It was an easy mistake to make. A couple of other teams did it, yet we haven't gained anything by it. We didn't do it intentionally. There wasn't any benefit."
Team boss Ron Dennis added: "It was a 100% team mistake.
"Lewis did an installation lap on one set of wet tyres and we just put on another set. It was nothing to do with Lewis.
"He only did an in-and-out lap. It wasn't as if there was any advantage, but it's clearly a breach of a rule.
"We are trying so hard and maybe there's a bit too much tension in the team that has led to a silly mistake.
"We can do no more than our best, and we are really trying hard. People make mistakes. I'm not trivialising it, but it perhaps shows we are all human.
"There's a rule there, we broke it, and now we have to get on with it." 606: DEBATE
Hamilton was fifth fastest in the first, wet session but led the way in the drier second session, ahead of McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso.
The 22-year-old Briton leads the double world champion by four points in the race for the drivers' championship, which will be decided on Sunday, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen a further three points behind.
Even Alonso admitted he wasn't too familiar with the regulation that Hamilton breached.
"I don't think we were totally aware of this rule," said the Spaniard. "I probably would have done the same thing." It was pretty evil out there in the wet
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton is aiming to become the sport's youngest champion as well as the first driver to win the championship in their debut season.
He clocked a time of one minute 12.767 seconds in the second session with Alonso managing 1:12.889.
Raikkonen had led a Ferrari one-two in the opening session ahead of Felipe Massa but Massa finished in third place ahead of his team-mate in the second session.
It was a wet start to Friday's practice at Interlagos with Hamilton opting to leave it late before heading out on to the track, while team-mate Fernando Alonso chose not to leave the pits at all.
"It was pretty evil out there in the wet," said Hamilton, who could become the first Briton to win the title since Damon Hill in 1996. There is still a lot of room for improvement on the car
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen
Alonso added: "We did not expect to stay wet for the rest of the weekend so we took the decision not to do any running in the morning.
"The session this afternoon was far better. I am looking forward to a competitive weekend."
The Ferraris looked good in the wet with both Raikkonen and Massa posting the fastest times.
"We are reasonably happy with the way today went," Raikkonen said. "But there is still a lot of room for improvement on the car."
"The track is great now," Massa added. "We don't have to worry about the bumps anymore. We need to congratulate those who worked on the track."
All three title challengers posted quick times during the later practice run, but it was Hamilton who proved quickest, although Alonso almost stole the lead with a fast lap with seconds remaining of the session.
If Hamilton needs an omen for the weekend, the driver who has posted the quickest practice time on Friday has subsequently won the race on 11 occasions this season.
Times after Friday's first practice session:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari one min 19.580 secs
2. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:20.062
3. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 1:20.829
4. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:21.064
5. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:21.121
6. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 1:21.243
7. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:21.598
8. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:22.104
9. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:22.104
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:22.250
11. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:22.434
12. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:22.477
13. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1:22.667
14. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri - Honda 1:22.929
15. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker - Ferrari 1:23.248
16. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:23.261
17. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri - Honda 1:23.551
18. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Spyker - Ferrari 1:24.366 Opted out of practice: Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber, Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber, Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren, Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault
Times after Friday's second practice session:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren one min 12.767 secs
2. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 1:12.889
3. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:13.075
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:13.112
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 1:13.549
6. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:13.587
7. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:13.655
8. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:33.664
9. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1:13.706
10. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:13.785
11. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 1:13.829
12. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 1:13.879
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:13.892
14. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:14.095
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:14.152
16. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:14.179
17. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:14.409
18. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri - Honda 1:14.431
19. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri - Honda 1:14.477
20. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:14.543
21. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker - Ferrari 1:15.095
22. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Spyker - Ferrari 1:15.715
Hamilton, aiming for his fifth win of the year, finished 0.151 seconds behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa in qualifying.
Kimi Raikkonen, currently third in the drivers' standings, will start from the second row at Interlagos.
Fernando Alonso, who can take his third successive title if he wins with Hamilton third or lower, goes fourth.
We've got a bit of work to do but nothing too serious and it will be a good, clean fight for the championship
_____McLaren boss Ron Dennis
Hamilton, 22, will become Britain's first world champion since Damon Hill in 1996 if he wins or comes second in his McLaren on the Sao Paulo circuit.
"I feel very confident. I really hope the weather is good and we can have a good weekend," he said after qualifying.
"I'm just buzzing, I'm really excited. I feel very relaxed, the car feels good and I love the circuit.
"I've seen quite a few British flags out there and I'm really happy to see the support."
Hamilton leads McLaren team-mate Alonso by four points, with Ferrari's Raikkonen a further three back entering the defining weekend of a thrilling championship.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis said of Hamilton: "It's almost all in his hands now. We've got a bit of work to do but nothing too serious and it will be a good, clean fight for the championship."
Home town hero Massa was fastest in Saturday morning practice and for much of the qualifying session.
Massa celebrated with an extra lap after qualifying finished, which will affect the amount of fuel he has available for the race.
Scot David Coulthard will go off 10th in his Red Bull-Renault. Of his fellow Brits, Honda's Jenson Button missed out at the second stage and will start 16th, while Anthony Davidson takes 20th spot.
Renault's Heikki Kovalainen, seventh place in the drivers' championship, will start in 17th place after being eliminated at the Q1 stage for just the second time this season following a late mistake.
Hamilton escaped any personal sanctions after his McLaren team fitted two sets of wet-weather tyres to his car during the first practice session on Friday.
McLaren were fined 15,000 euros (£10,445) and made to return one set of wet tyres but with dry weather forecast for Sunday's race, that setback should not prove too damaging.
Report: Lewis Hamilton avoids tyre penalty 