Pat Long to Penske
12-11-2007, 01:05 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Pat Long to Penske
As suspected, Pat Long will be a Penske driver in 2008 (RS Spyder) . Westbrook has been made an official Porsche driver and will be assigned to a customer in GT2
12-11-2007, 02:20 PM
#2
Racer
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LONG'S SHOT: PORSCHE CONFIRMS AMERICAN TO PENSKE IN 2008
Porsche's lone American factory driver is set to return to the American Le Mans Series in 2008. Patrick Long will be part of the Penske Racing roster for the coming season and will pilot one of the team's two Porsche RS Spyders in LMP2. Long, 26, teamed with fellow factory mates Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas for a class win and runner-up overall finish at Petit Le Mans in October.
Now living in Tampa, Fla., Long has scored nine Series victories in just 34 starts and has at least one win in each of the last three seasons. He won the 2005 GT2 championship with Jörg Bergmeister at Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing, and was instrumental in helping Bergmeister win a second title in 2006 while finishing third in the standings.
Aside from driving for Penske at Road Atlanta, he also drove three times in GT2 in 2007 and finished on the podium each time. He helped Tafel Racing finish third at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and drove to runner-up class finishes with Flying Lizard Motorsports and Darren Law at Long Beach and Detroit. All three came in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Long already has won the world's three premier sports car races: Sebring, Petit Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His win this year at Le Mans was the second of his young career having won in his La Sarthe debut in 2004.
A California native, Long was named a Porsche Junior factory driver in 2003. Porsche elevated him to full factory status in 2004.
The remainder of Penske's 2008 lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.
Porsche's lone American factory driver is set to return to the American Le Mans Series in 2008. Patrick Long will be part of the Penske Racing roster for the coming season and will pilot one of the team's two Porsche RS Spyders in LMP2. Long, 26, teamed with fellow factory mates Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas for a class win and runner-up overall finish at Petit Le Mans in October.
Now living in Tampa, Fla., Long has scored nine Series victories in just 34 starts and has at least one win in each of the last three seasons. He won the 2005 GT2 championship with Jörg Bergmeister at Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing, and was instrumental in helping Bergmeister win a second title in 2006 while finishing third in the standings.
Aside from driving for Penske at Road Atlanta, he also drove three times in GT2 in 2007 and finished on the podium each time. He helped Tafel Racing finish third at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and drove to runner-up class finishes with Flying Lizard Motorsports and Darren Law at Long Beach and Detroit. All three came in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Long already has won the world's three premier sports car races: Sebring, Petit Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His win this year at Le Mans was the second of his young career having won in his La Sarthe debut in 2004.
A California native, Long was named a Porsche Junior factory driver in 2003. Porsche elevated him to full factory status in 2004.
The remainder of Penske's 2008 lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.
12-11-2007, 09:23 PM
#5
step forward
Briscoe was not a works driver. He has a better job, Penske driver. Most young ambitious drivers head to open wheel as the standard road towards F1. Historically open wheel racing has been concidered a step up from sports car racing, and given the choice 9 out of ten young drivers would jump for it, and look for a F1 or even NASCAR ride to make the very big bucks.
12-11-2007, 11:41 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Talk about a "career move"...!!!
And as for F1, as a Penske driver, he is instantly recognized in F1 as a "man to be watched"....what more can a young driver ask for ???
12-12-2007, 11:56 AM
#7
King of Cool
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Briscoe was not a works driver. He has a better job, Penske driver. Most young ambitious drivers head to open wheel as the standard road towards F1. Historically open wheel racing has been concidered a step up from sports car racing, and given the choice 9 out of ten young drivers would jump for it, and look for a F1 or even NASCAR ride to make the very big bucks.
Everything is possible but GP2 definitely and I guess to a some degree, Champ Cars (since Seabass went) is the way to go if you want to end up in F1.
Great to hear Long will drive Spyders!
