With the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Flying Lizard Motorsports, Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) took a clear cut victory in the GT2 class at round two of the American Le Mans Series in St. Petersburg/Florida. With this victory, they move to the top of the points table in the GT2 championship.

On the demanding street circuit on the Gulf of Mexico, Patrick Long swept past two competitors early on in the race from fifth position to eventually move into the lead. The first victory of the season for Porsche in the American Le Mans Series was the result of a tactical masterpiece: Whilst most of the opponents fitted the soft faster tyres and hence had to pit early for a tyre change, Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long chose the somewhat harder medium tyres which enabled them to stay out longer and use a Safety Car Phase to come in to the pits. Through this, they held their lead and brought victory home. At the finish line the duo held a comfortable two-lap advantage.

“I actually had a relatively easy job today,” smiled reigning champion Joerg Bergmeister. “Patrick handed me the car in the lead and I just had to bring it home safely.” Patrick Long added: “We worked on the set-up not only with qualifying in mind, but had a great car for the race as well. We were dead right with our choice. To top it all off our strategy was perfect and our pit stop was fast.”

After claiming pole position at the season-opener in Sebring, the German duo Wolf Henzler and Dirk Werner again took up the race from the first row with their Farnbacher Loles 911 GT3 RSR. Despite having to change a brake line which threw them far back down the field, they still managed to secure seventh and earn crucial championship points. Dirk Werner confirmed that their 911 GT3 RSR is a winning car by turning the fastest race lap. “Everything was running excellently until the defect. We could have won,” confirmed Wolf Henzler. “Now we can only hope that luck is on our side for the rest of the races after our bad fortune at Sebring and St. Petersburg. We don’t give up on the title that quickly.”

1. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 88 laps
2. Müller/Millner (D/USA), BMW E92 M3, 86
3. Farnbacher/James (D/USA), Panoz Esperante, 86
4. Curran/Gigliotti (USA/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 85
5. Law/Neiman (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 84
6. Robertson/Murry (USA/USA), Ford GT, 83
7. Henzler/Müller (D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 74