Porsche celebrated a triumph at the final round of the American Grand-Am Series. Joao Barbosa (Portugal) and Hurley Haywood (USA) won the race in the heat of Florida on the Homestead Miami Speedway with the Porsche Riley fielded by Brumos Racing. With their Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Dirk Werner (Germany) and Leh Keen (USA) clearly secured the drivers’ championship title in the GT class. Thanks to their four wins this season, Porsche also won both the manufacturer and the team classification.

Joao Barbosa and Hurley Haywood’s win marked the second success of the season for Porsche in the Grand-Am prototype class. At the season-opening Daytona 24 hour race, their Brumos Racing teammates, David Donohue (USA) und Darren Law (USA), claimed victory. In Miami, the two saw the flag in fifth after sitting a promising third until shortly before the finish, when David Donohue made an excursion off the track.

“This win is another milestone in the history of our team’s success,” said Hurley Haywood, one of the world’s most successful sportscar pilots. “We began the season with a victory in Daytona and afterwards suffered a great deal of bad luck. No one thought we would win today, so it feels even better to finish the season with such a great result.” Joao Barbosa, who moved into the lead towards the end of the race and managed to fend off all his rivals’ attacks, was also overwhelmed by this triumph. “Before the start I didn’t dare believe we could win today. But after each pitstop our car ran better and better until I suddenly found myself fighting for the lead. I wanted to use the chance. When I took the lead I could have cried with happiness.“

Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) received the flag in twelfth position in the Penske Racing Porsche Riley with a 14-second gap to their victorious Porsche colleagues. Timo Bernhard missed out on a better result due to a jumped start after the penultimate Safety Car Phase, for which he received a Stop-and-Go penalty. “Typical for a season with so many disappointments,” he said. “We had a perfectly set-up car today and Romain even took the lead. But the penalty denied us the rewards of our efforts.”

In the GT class, Dirk Werner and Leh Keen avoided taking any risks in fighting for the last points to win the title. With a consistently strong performance and four wins as well as two podium results they had managed to build up a comfortable points’ advantage. Third in Miami was enough for the pair to secure their first championship title together.

“To be honest, I was really nervous before the start. You never know what can happen at such a long race,” said Dirk Werner. “It was tough going right from the word go and you had to totally concentrate to make it to the finish.” Leh Keen added: “When I took over the car the nervousness had subsided. The boys at the front had pulled away slightly and I wasn’t prepared to take any risks and put the championship in jeopardy. Everyone in the team deserves this title and that makes us very proud.”

Race result
1. Barbosa/Haywood (P/USA), Porsche Riley (DP), 100 laps
2. Pruett/Rojas (USA/MEX), Lexus Riley (DP), 100
3. Negri/Patterson (USA/USA), Ford Riley (DP), 100
4. Gurney/Fogarty (USA/USA), Pontiac Riley (DP), 100
5. Donohue/Law (USA/USA), Porsche Riley (DP), 100
6. Bouchut/Tucker (F/USA), BMW Riley (DP), 100
7. Angelelli/Friselle (I/USA), Ford Dallara (DP), 100
8. Dalziel/Lester (USA/USA), BMW Riley (DP), 100
9. Friselle/Wilkins (USA/CAN), Ford Riley (DP), 100
10. Taylor/Taylor (USA/USA), Chevrolet Riley (DP), 100

Result GT class
1. Edwards/Collins (USA/USA), Pontiac GXP.R, 97 laps
2. Davis/Liddell (USA/GB), Pontiac GXP.R, 97
3. Werner/Keen (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 97
4. Lally/Pumpelly (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 97
5. Ham/Tremblay (USA/USA), Mazda RX-8, 97
6. Cameron/DiLeo (USA/USA), Mazda RX-8, 96

Points’ standings
Drivers DP class
1. Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Pontiac, 337 points
2. Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Lexus, 331
3. Brian Friselle, Max Angelelli, Ford, 325
4. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Porsche, 295
5. David Donohue, Darren Law, Porsche, 282
Burt Friselle, Mark Wilkins, Ford, 282
6. Michael Valiante, Ford, 279
Manufacturers DP class
1. Ford, 386 points
2. Porsche, 344
3. Pontiac, 343
4. Lexus, 331

Drivers GT class
1. Dirk Werner, Leh Keen, Porsche, 359 points
2. Kelly Collins, Pontiac, 334
3. Andrew Davis, Pontiac, 317
4. Paul Edwards, Pontiac, 308
5. Andy Lally, Porsche, 304
6. Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, Mazda, 301

Manufacturers GT class
1. Porsche, 385 points
2. Pontiac, 367
3. Mazda, 357