RS Spyder Will Skip Road Atlanta Race
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New Porsche Prototype Debut Delayed
Porsche announced on Tuesday that the debut of its new LMP2 prototype for the American Le Mans Series, the RS Spyder, will be delayed.
The car was originally scheduled to make its first competitive appearance in the upcoming 10-hour/1000-mile Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road Atlanta over the weekend of Sept. 29- Oct. 2. The car has been extensively tested to date, but Porsche officials said that the car isn't quite ready for a 10-hour enduro. As a result, the car's debut wil be tentatively pushed back to the ALMS season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca over the weekend of Oct. 14-17.
"Any completely new racecar requires a considerable amount of testing to acquire performance and durability," commented Hartmut Kristen, director of motorsport for Porsche AG. "By now, our RS Spyder has the speed, but not the stamina to finish a 1000-mile race like Petit Le Mans. We hope, with the additional planned testing by Penske Motorsports, it will be ready to make its test race debut at the four-hour Laguna Seca contest."
Over the next six weeks, the car will undergo extensive additional testing in North America in the hands of its new team, Penske Motorsports, before the final decision to race the car is made.
"We at Porsche Cars North America certainly support the decision of Porsche AG to maximize the car's testing program," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, PCNA president and CEO. "At the same time, we are excited to deliver the first Porsche RS Spyder to Penske Motorsports, our development partner."
Commissioned by PCNA and Porsche Motorsport North America for racing customers who compete in the LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) class of the ALMS, the Porsche RS Spyder features a completely new 3.4-liter Porsche V-8 engine plus an all-new transmission and chassis, all incorporating the latest in Porsche technology and created to conform to new 2006 rules and regulations of the Automobil Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which sanctions the 24 Hours of Le Mans and licenses the Le Mans name to the ALMS. Penske Motorsports, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Penske Racing, Inc., will field the new Porsche prototype in the entire 2006 ALMS season. -John F. Gardner
