That was not just any GT2 driver, that was Patrick Long! He's one of the six Porsche factory drivers. That in itself makes him a super stud in my book, but here's the kicker: at the age of 22 (he'll be 25 later this month) he became a Porsche factory driver and he's from the good 'ol U.S. of A.! He won the GT2 driver's championship last year and drove in the RS Spyders at Sebring. He'll be back in them for the Petit Le Mans later in the year.

Patrick Long, our American Porsche star!

 

Yeah I remember seeing an interview with him a few years ago, he looked 15 but you could see greatness in his eyes. Apparently it was obvious to others too!

 

Patrick is nice guy but all the members of the Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning racing team are as nice.
I'm really happy with the result of this race. The bad luck seems to be over at last.

More information about this team's race here.

I enjoy working for this team every year in Le Mans. I only do the panelling and time keeping but I spend a nice week every time.

Samuel

 

I heard the announcers talking about their new car:

The No. 31 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3 RSR has four races under its belt in Porsche Cup competition. The team purchased the car and took delivery Monday when the crew began to diligently change parts.

Was it really a stock GT3 cup before Monday, and they made it into an RSR??? Who's cup car was it? (I have not seen mine in a few weeks so a little worried)

 

Dr - great pics!!
What kind of equipment are you using, and what kind of lens? Looks like you used a polarized filter in your shots? For un-photoshopped, I am extremely impressed...wow!

 

If memory serves correct, the announcers said the car was purchased from a California racer named Randy West. Porsche NA convinced him to sell the car and he agreed if they paid him "fair market value". Bergmeister is leading the driver's points in GT2, so it was important to Porsche to find him a car. I believe they said there were something like 3 original parts on the car...

 

Canon 20D with Canon 70-200 f2.8/L IS lens. No polarizing filter. The only "Aperturing" (www.apple.com/aperture, no Photoshop) that was done in the 2nd set of pics was cropping on the Panoz and the Aston v. Corvette shots.

Thanks for the kind words on the pics. Taking pictures has become my hobby within a hobby.

Here's the White Lightning car that dmw44 is referring to:

 

Gorgeous RSR!! They really made it look great in such a short time. I see quite a few original parts on it still, of course the tub is the main thing and I think they got the freshest tub available. That will be one of the last 996 RSRs ever made, the end of a very successful era.