Road Atlanta II: Alex Job Racing race report

Alex Job Racing wins at Petit Le Mans, GT team championship and GT driver championship.

BRASELTON, Ga. -- Oct. 18, 2003 -- Alex Job Racing concluded a truly successful ALMS season which ended on a high note tonight at the season-ending Petit Le Mans. Drivers Jorg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard of the No. 24 McKenna Porsche/mail2web.com™ Porsche GT3 RS reversed their string of bad luck to finish first in GT class. Frenchman Romain Dumas joined the two German drivers to help complete 360 laps around the 2.54-mile road course during the 1,000-mile endurance race. No. 23 drivers Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen finished next to their teammates on the podium scoring a second in GT class.

The GT victory didn't come easily for Bergmeister, Bernhard and Dumas; drama developed approximately 25 minutes into the race when a GTS Ferrari made contact with the Porsche while Bernhard was driving. The incident caused Bernhard to lose his passenger side door. Fortunately, during a full course yellow, the experienced 24 crew was able to replace the door and send Bernhard back onto the track. The trio lost time and laps and went back out in 11th position in class. The drivers battled with their sister car as well as the Ferrari during the first half of the race and was able to end at the top of the GT field.

"After we were hit by the Ferrari and lost the door, I really didn't think that we could come back and drive back through the field, but we did. The crew was great, they really worked hard today, especially getting that door on. They used ties, straps, tape, anything they could get their hands on to get it back on. It's been good fun to race against Lucas and Sascha this year. We've had some bad luck and tonight is really a happy ending to an unlucky year for us," Timo Bernhard said.

Tonight is the third ALMS victory for Bergmeister and Bernhard during the 2003 season. The German duo won here at Road Atlanta in June and again at Mosport International Raceway. Due to tonight's triumph, the two will share second place in the ALMS GT drivers point standings. Prior to this win, Bergmeister and Bernhard were only one point ahead of two GT Ferrari drivers. This is Dumas's first ALMS win and his first time driving at Road Atlanta.

Alex Job Racing has competed at the Petit Le Mans since its inception in 1998 and the GT champion team has finished on the podium here consistently since 1999. The 2003 season is the most successful to date for the GT team with eight class wins and a victory at the team's debut at the world famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"Today was a great day for the AJR team at Road Atlanta. We finished one-two with the 24 finishing first and 23 second. It was a strong race by the 35 Ferrari, they gave us a really hard run all day. It didn't look like things were going our way early in the day when the 24 car got nailed by a GTS Ferrari and ripped the door off and did a lot of damage on the side of the car while Timo was leading. It put us all the way to the back of the grid. I have to take my hat off to the three 24 drivers, Timo, Jorg and Romain. They did an incredible job, they just kept digging deeper and deeper and they kept coming back from the back to win. It really was a great run for Timo and Jorg after having so much bad luck this year. It's a fantastic way to finish out a great season," team owner Alex Job said.

Based in Tavares, Fla., Alex Job Racing serves as a race prep, chassis-building and tuning facility. On a day-to-day basis, team owners Alex and Holly Job are involved in the growth and administrative functions of the team and business.

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