Entering the last stint of today’s race, Porsche factory driver Patrick Long (Playa del Rey, Calif.) found himself fighting for fourth-place within sight of the class leader. A caution period slowed the field with ten minutes remaining bringing the GT field closer together. When the green flag waved for the final time only four minutes remained on the clock and Long put full pressure on the No. 63 Ferrari. Entering turn one on the white flag lap, Long passed the Ferrari to move up to fourth in the No. 73 Park Place Porsche he shares with Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, Calif.). The pass benefited not only Park Place, the racing arm of one of the country’s largest Porsche dealers, but also the winning Magnus Racing entry, by dropping its key championship rival one additional position.
“It was pretty eventful there at the end,” reflected Long. “It was a really good day for Porsche. I think we had a car to race at the front but the yellows didn’t go our way. In the end, it was a great day for our sister car at Magnus. If it’s not us, the first ones we hope have a great day is the 44 so congratulations to them. My race was pretty straightforward. We had great balance in the car, and at the end it was like short track racing. Everyone was out of tires and just sort of muscling around. I was able to get around the 63 on the final lap. We just ran out of time today but I am very proud of the Park Place guys.”