2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships


The 2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón was the eleventh and final round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, California on 18 October 2008. It was the first time the event had a sponsor in its name since the 2004 season.

Report

Qualifying

The LMP2 category dominated qualifying, led by the four Acura teams who were able to qualify in the top five positions, led by David Brabham in the Highcroft Racing Acura on pole position. The Acura squads were broken up only by the #7 Penske Porsche which qualified third. In LMP1, the #1 Audi led that class but was only ninth overall in the standings. Among the Corvette teams, the #3 car once again earned pole over its teammate, while GT2 was led by Farnbacher-Loles' Porsche. Tafel Racing meanwhile led among Ferrari squads in third place within the class.

Qualifying result

Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.
PosClassTeamQualifying DriverTime
1LMP2#9 Patrón Highcroft RacingDavid Brabham1:10.103
2LMP2#15 Lowe's Fernández RacingLuis Díaz1:10.202
3LMP2#7 Penske RacingTimo Bernhard1:10.351
4LMP2#66 de Ferran MotorsportsGil de Ferran1:10.451
5LMP2#26 Andretti Green RacingTony Kanaan1:10.567
6LMP2#6 Penske RacingSascha Maassen1:10.586
7LMP2#5 Penske Motorsports, Inc.Ryan Briscoe1:10.606
8LMP2#16 Dyson RacingGuy Smith1:11.010
9LMP1#1 Audi Sport North AmericaEmanuele Pirro1:11.264
10LMP1#2 Audi Sport North AmericaLucas Luhr1:11.825
11LMP2#20 Dyson RacingButch Leitzinger1:12.089
12LMP1#48 Corsa MotorsportsJohnny Mowlem1:12.819
13LMP2#8 B-K MotorsportsBen Devlin1:13.321
14LMP1#37 Intersport RacingJon Field1:13.379
15LMP1#88 Creation AutosportifStephen Simpson1:13.481
16LMP1#12 Autocon MotorsportsChris McMurry1:14.549
17GT1#3 Corvette RacingJan Magnussen1:19.291
18GT1#4 Corvette RacingOliver Gavin1:19.790
19GT2#87 Farnbacher-Loles MotorsportDirk Werner1:22.060
20GT2#45 Flying Lizard MotorsportsJörg Bergmeister1:22.380
21GT2#71 Tafel RacingDominik Farnbacher1:22.701
22GT2#46 Flying Lizard MotorsportsPatrick Pilet1:22.869
23GT2#62 Risi CompetizioneMika Salo1:22.962
24GT2#99 JMB RacingPierre Kaffer1:23.243
25GT2#61 Risi CompetizioneNiclas Jönsson1:23.928
26GT2#21 Panoz Team PTGJoey Hand1:24.084
27GT2#18 VICI RacingNicky Pastorelli1:24.111
28GT2#007 Drayson-BarwellJonny Cocker1:24.626
29GT2#54 Black Swan RacingAnthony Lazzaro1:24.711
30GT2#40 Robertson RacingDavid Murry1:24.727
31GT2#73 Tafel RacingPierre Ehret1:24.970
32GT2#11 Primetime Race GroupChris Hall1:26.124
33GT2#44 Flying Lizard MotorsportsSeth Neiman1:26.704
34LMP1#10 ECO RacingDid Not ParticipateNo Time

Race

The final round of the ALMS season was slowed by a total of twelve caution periods over the four-hour race distance, including four within the first hour alone. This allowed for a variety of pit strategies to come into place as teams chose to make their first pit stops during different caution periods. The Acura teams led early, but Audi was eventually able to take the overall lead, eventually completing the race first and second, led by the #2 car of Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr. In LMP2, Acura's also finished first and second, but the #7 Penske Porsche's finish of third was able to secure Porsche the Manufacturers Championship within the class by a single point.
In GT1, the #4 Corvette of Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin earned their third win of the season over their teammates, while the #71 Tafel Racing Ferrari secured its fourth victory in GT2 in 2008. The Risi Competizione Ferrari and Farnbacher-Loles Porsche completed the GT2 podium, while the PTG Panoz had a strong fourth-place finish a lap behind.

Race result

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified.
PosClassNoTeamDriversChassisTireLaps
PosClassNoTeamDriversEngineTireLaps
1LMP12