Audi, Luhr & Werner win ALMS thriller in St. Petersburg
Written by Scott Keller · April 6, 2008
The Audi vs. Porsche battle in the American Le Mans Series prototypes heated up today in St. Peterburg. In the closing minutes, Lucas Luhr drove his Audi R10 past the Porsche Spyder of Romain Dumas to give Audi their first ALMS overall win for 2008.
The consolation for the Penske Porsche team was taking first and third place in the LMP2 class results, and second and fourth in the overall results. In GT1, the Corvettes got no challenge from the Bell Motorsports Aston Marton that crashed on lap 33. In GT2 the #71 Ferrari F430 GT driven by Jim Tafel and Dominik Farnbacher gave Tafel/Bell Micro Racing their first ever GT2 win. ABC sports interviews Jim in the closing minutes, and he could barely contain his excitement. It was a thrilling first victory for their budding team.
Here’s the news wrap for the day:
Tama Bay Online: Sports Car Race Ends In Dramatic Fashion
Motorsport.com: St. Pete: Tafel Racing race report
AmericanLeMans.com: Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg Results
It was a sprint race marred with a lot of full course caution periods, but it was definitely an exciting and interesting race. The street courses seem to be an equalizer for the P1 and P2 classes, and I’m looking forward to witnessing these sexy beasts in Long Beach.
Michelin Tires released a special “street soft” tire for the weekend, and they worked wonderfully. Reports from the teams was that the tires were wearing very well, and the on-track action was excellent. Hopefully they will bring this tire to Long Beach.
The Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach takes place on April 19th at 4:10 PM PDT.
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