Driving the CORE autosport Porsche 911 RSR in Road America on what was an historic and packed weekend, Patrick Long finished 5th in the GT class. Long took over the car in 10th from his teammate Tom Kimber-Smith. Quick pit work by the CORE autosport crew and the veteran experience of Long worked in tandem to bring the car past both of the factory BMWs and the Risi Ferrari to fifth. Once there, the team entered a fuel conservation strategy, hoping to make it to the checkered flag without another stop. The GT cars ahead were also hoping to make it the distance, leaving everyone in the CORE pits wondering if another car might fall out before the checkered flag and if a podium might be in the wings.
Alas, the final full-course caution sealed the GT fields’ fate and ended the race to conserve fuel. Long crossed the finish line fifth.
“We had a green flag stop, so I just put my head down and hoped for a yellow because we were pretty far behind. Once we got a yellow, the guys put in a great pit stop. The car was really balanced and we were able to fight past both BMWs and the Ferrari. It was tight racing; we were battling with the No. 48 and keeping the Corvettes honest. The Vipers had a measure on everybody today. It’s solid to get a top-five on a day that started out pretty rough. It was an ambitious fight from everybody,” said Long.