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Porsche pilots look forward to premiere in Virginia

On the finish straight of the season, the American Le Mans Series celebrates a premiere: On 15 September the world's fastest sports cars contest a four hour race on the Virginia International Raceway for the first time. Special focus is on Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Bryan Sellers (USA), who recently celebrated their first win of the season in Baltimore with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Falken Tire.

The race
This is the first time the 6.6 kilometre Virginia International Raceway is on the American Le Mans Series calendar. Opened in 1957, the race track is located near Alton in the US state of Virginia, close to the border of North Carolina.

The Porsche drivers

At the wheel of Falken Tire's Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) and his American teammate Bryan Sellers contest the immensely competitive GT class. Manning the cockpit of the Flying Lizard Porsche are Porsche factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA), the winners of the race in Lime Rock. Sharing driving duties in the second Flying Lizard 911 is Porsche works driver Marco Holzer (Germany) and team owner Seth Neiman (USA). Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Bryce Miller (USA) compete in a Paul Miller Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

The vehicle
The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is the top model of Porsche Motorsport's customer racing vehicles. For the 2012 racing season, the vehicle received extensive modifications and was fitted with a new front splitter and an adapted rear wing since Laguna Seca.

The schedule
The race in Alton starts on Saturday, 15 September, at 14.30 hrs local time (20.30 hrs CEST) and is broadcast live on www.americanlemans.com/live. The GT qualifying is aired on www.porsche.com/alms-live on Friday from 21.50 hrs CEST.

Quotes before the race

Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport: "The Virginia International Raceway is new territory for most of the GT teams. In the very short practice session they have to work out a suitable set-up for the four hour race distance. Victory in Baltimore for the Falken Tire team with the 911 GT3 RSR is certain to give the other Porsche customer teams an added boost."

Joerg Bergmeister: "The track is interesting and demanding. I've already raced there with a Grand-Am prototype. You can take the fast passages, like the Esses, virtually flat out and it's great fun. There are a couple of overtaking possibilities. This will definitely be a very interesting race."

Patrick Long: "The race in Virginia is over four hours. So it's even more crucial that our pit stops are fast and perfect. With an experienced team like our Flying squad we have a major advantage."

Wolf Henzler: "I contested a Grand-Am race here on this track in 2007 and I still have good memories of it. After winning in Baltimore the entire team is totally motivated and now we're hoping for another top result in Virginia."

Marco Holzer: "The Virginia International Raceway is the fourth new US circuit for me this season after Long Beach, Mid-Ohio and Baltimore. I'm certainly looking forward to another very exciting race."

The American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The field is divided into five classes: GT, GTC, LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC. All classes start together but are classified separately.