Monterey, Calif. — Patrick Long and his teammate Sascha Maassen, driving the #6 Penske Porsche RS Spyder, helped Porsche claim the 2008 LMP2 Manufacturer’s Championship by the narrowest of margins, as Porsche beat Acura by a single point. Long and Maassen, teamed to claim 9th place in the season finale at Laguna Seca this Saturday.
In a race which featured 13 yellow flags and a racing surface which lost its grip due to excessive gravel on the track from the many racing incidents, the 2007 and 2008 LMP2 drivers champions, Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard, overcame an off-track incident of their own to guide their Penske Porsche RS Spyder to a third-place finish ’ just high enough to edge Acura by a single point in the final standings. Porsche ended up with 214 points, and Acura, with its one-two finish at Laguna, finished second with 213. Penske Racing had previously clinched their third straight LMP2 team title at Petit Le Mans.
“Laguna was a wild event in and of itself. I was really happy with my start, and though my stint had some physical bumps along the way, to lead overall at the time of driver changes was my personal mission accomplished. As far as the race goes, another mission accomplished and a hat-trick of championships for Penske and Porsche. Contributing to Porsche and the team winning all three was fantastic. For the #6 car, it was a tough finish to the season, but this was the best example to me of how teamwork can pay off that I’ve ever experienced in my career.”