Patrick Long set pole position around the bullring that is Lime Rock Park in Western Connecticut, clocking a fast lap of 1:03:904, .474 seconds clear of his closest competition. Patrick and his longtime teammate Jörg Bergmeister won at Lime Rock in 2009 en route to the GT2 class driver’s championship, and the duo hope to reclaim the 2010 championship lead with another win this year. Today’s practice and qualifying was run almost entirely in the wet, a development that Long feels is an advantage for he and his teammate.
“Lime Rock in the wet is certainly a combination that’s daunting. Around here, there is a fine line between being a hero and going into the guardrail, but the Flying Lizard crew and Michelin put us in position to turn a good lap in the steady rain. We tried every single lap to get it hooked up. I think the rear engine in the 911 helped us.”
GT3 R Hybrid in New York
Long has had an eventful week leading up to the Northeast Grand Prix. Earlier in the week, he was in New York on a media tour for Porsche and the American Le Mans Series, making the announcement that Porsche would field its 911 GT3 R Hybrid in the season-ending Petit Le Mans. The story has been picked up by many notable national media outlets. Long, who tested the 911 GT3 R Hybrid recently, is enthused about its prospects.
“The hybrid flywheel system works so well, and it’s a testament to the guys at Weissach,” he said. “At first, I saw it was a project or a technology test, until I got in and saw how refined it was. After driving it, I knew we were onto something.”
FOXNews.com: Testing Porsche’s Hybrid Race Car
USA Today: Porsche to race hybrid
New York Times: Porsche Hybrid Racecar to Compete in America
edmunds.com: Porsche to Run GT3 R Hybrid at Petit Le Mans in Atlanta
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Follow Patrick’s Twitter feed for day-to-day updates: https://www.twitter.com/PLMotorsport
Patrick’s Fan Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=59855999746&ref=ts
Patrick on the web: https://www.patricklong.com
Patrick wishes to thank all his 2010 partners and sponsors for their support.
Porsche – https://www.porsche.com
Oakley – https://www.oakley.com
Club Corp – https://www.clubcorp.com
Troy Lee Designs – https://www.troyleedesigns.com
Speedware Motorsports – https://www.speedwaremotorsports.com
FRS Healthy Energy – https://www.frs.com
Photos courtesy © Bob Chapman / Autosport Image, Rick Dole 2010