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Porsche Factory Sportscar Team to Hit American Soil for First Appearance in More Than a Decade

13 October 1997

Porsche Factory Sportscar Team to Hit American Soil for First Appearance in More Than a Decade

  Sebring, Laguna Seca to Host FIA GT Championship, Exxon Supreme GT Series

    SEBRING, Fla., Oct. 13 -- For the first time since the
1980's, a Porsche factory sportscar race team will compete in the United
States in conjunction with FIA GT Championship races later this month here at
Sebring International Raceway and at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif.
    The two-car Porsche factory team, which includes drivers Hans Stuck,
Thierry Boutsen, Bob Wollek and Yannick Dalmas, will be competing in
three-hour races at Sebring (Saturday, Oct. 18) and in the season finale at
Laguna Seca (Sunday, Oct. 26) in mid-engined, 600-hp, Porsche 911 GT1s.
    In addition to the FIA portion of those weekends, Professional SportsCar
Racing will stage Rounds 10 and 11 of its Exxon Supreme GT Series on Friday,
Oct. 17, and Saturday, Oct. 25, respectively.  The latter is PSCR's season
finale.  The 1-hour, 45-minute races will feature a large contingent of
Porsche 911s in GTS-1, GTS-2 and GTS-3.
    Entering SportsCar's Sebring event, Porsche, which clinched the GTS-2
manufacturers' crown last month at Pikes Peak, leads the GTS-1 points race,
but trails BMW in the GTS-3 standings.
    "The Porsche factory team is looking forward to coming to the United
States," said Alwin Springer, head of Porsche Motorsport North America.  "Not
only has it been a while since a Porsche factory sportscar team raced here,
but it's the first time since Phoenix in 1991 (the U.S. Grand Prix) that the
FIA has held races in the U.S.
    "We sincerely hope American race fans enjoy watching Porsches compete, not
only in the FIA races, but in SportsCar's GT Series.  We hope to put on a good
show."
    Of the four factory drivers, perhaps, Stuck and Wollek are best known by
U.S race fans.  Stuck, from Austria, is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of
Le Mans and a three-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, while Wollek is a
four-time winner of the Daytona 24-Hour.  Boutsen, a Belgium native, also has
a Daytona 24-Hour victory to his credit, while Dalmas is a three-time Le Mans
victor.
    Just prior to the Porsche factory team taking to the track at Sebring and
Laguna Seca, a number of Porsche customer race teams will hold the spotlight
in SportsCar's GT series, including the Rohr Motorsport Team of Andy Pilgrim
and Allan McNish in another Porsche 911 GT1.  The Rohr team, which is the
leading Porsche entry in GTS-1, is riding a three-race winning streak having
captured overall and class honors at Mosport Park, Las Vegas and Pikes Peak.
With the win at Pikes Peak two weeks ago, Pilgrim clinched the GTS-1 driver's
championship.
    In GTS-2, Porsche teams expected to contend include the Konrad Motorsport
entry of Franz Konrad and Nick Ham; the Schumacher Racing Team of Larry
Schumacher and Price Cobb and the Martin Snow Racing Team of Martin Snow and
Kelly Collins.
    In GTS-3, top Porsche entries include the Jim Matthews Racing Team of
David Murry and Jim Matthews; the Scottsdale Porsche Team with driver Chris
Cervelli; and the Team A.R.E. entry of Gary Blackman and Cort Wagner.
    The FIA races are scheduled to be televised on a tape-delayed basis by Fox
Sports Net, while the SportsCar races will be shown over the Speedvision
Network (check local listings for exact dates and times).

SOURCE  Porsche Cars North America