Maassen leads ALMS warm-up

Penske Motorsports continued its strong showing at Belle Isle with Sascha Maassen posting the fastest time in Saturday’s warm-up for the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch. Penske cars have held strong to the top spot on the timing sheets all weekend at a venue and event spearheaded by team owner Roger Penske.

Maassen’s time of 1:16.270 was 0.08 seconds ahead of the lead diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI of Emanuele Pirro. Sunday’s warm-up is the closest the Audi LMP1 has been to the less powerful but more nimble P2 cars. Penske’s other Porsche of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas was third overall and second in class at 1:16.454.

The leading Acura of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz was fourth overall, third in P2, at 1:16.646. It was just ahead of the other Audi of Allan McNish and Dindo Capello.

Olivier Beretta went quickest in GT1 in the No. 4 Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R. His time of 1:22.208 in the car he will share with Oliver Gavin was 0.566 seconds ahead of the pole-sitting sister Corvette of Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen.

In GT2, Risi Competizione was fastest again with the No. 62 Ferrari F430 GT of Mika Salo turning a lap of 1:25.730. He was 0.436 seconds ahead of the rebuilt Tafel Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Robin Liddell and Wolf Henzler, which had been damaged in Friday morning’s practice. Third was the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche Patrick Long and Darren Law.