Porsche to discontinue the 911?
10/17/2005
This is one wicked rumor!
There is a ton of speculation about what will happen to sales of the 911 once the Cayman is available.
Porsche swears less than three percent of 911 buyers will be swayed and purchase a Cayman instead.
But dealers we have been surveying aren't as confident.
Our sources tell us that they believe sales of the plain jane 911 will fall dramatically.
Experts say that the buyer who wants the 911 will step up and buy the Carerra S, putting the regular 911 out to pasture.
And who could blame them.
The 'S' is amazing.
And if you have enough to buy a 911, what's another 8k to get the best 911 in history?
Or a Carerra 4 or 4S?
So will the 911 be discontinued?
Not officially by Porsche.
But we predict sales will weaken substantially and Porsche will scale down building regular 911's accordingly.
In fact, dealers are telling us it is already beginning.
The bottom line is people who want the 911, want the 'S'.
And we have absolutely NO problem with that.
In fact, 001's 2006 'S' is just about ready for delivery.
---------------------------------------------
Super Porsche Cayenne coming early next year
10/17/2005
Dear 001,
Just got a line from my Porsche mole that they will be announcing a 'Super Cayenne Turbo' soon.
Dealers have just placed their first orders for this limited edition run and January is the build date for the first units.
That means they will be at dealers in late Feb/March.
And just to clarify, these will not be Cayenne's with the X50 kit added on.
These SUV's will have performance well above that...somewhere in the neighborhood of 570HP!!!!
WOW!
Keep rockin' 001!
---------------------------------------------
Porsche gears up for struggle over Piëch's position
By Richard Milnein Frankfurt
Published: October 17 2005 03:00 | Last updated: October 17 2005 03:00
Porsche is prepared to guarantee the position of Ferdinand Piëch, one of its largest shareholders, as supervisory board chairman of Volks-wagen as the corporate governance battle at Europe's largest carmaker turns increasingly bitter.
A total of 80 per cent of investors present at an annual or extraordinary shareholders' meeting at VW would be needed to vote out Mr Piëch, according to the carmaker's articles of association, and Porsche, the largest shareholder with 18.5 per cent, would be able to block any resolution as turnout is never 100 per cent. There is a sense at Porsche and VW that a boardroom struggle over Mr Piëch's role is in danger of getting out of control to the detriment of all sides.
---------------------------------------------
The battle begins at Porsche
10/17/2005
A report by JPMorgan, commissioned by VW and Mr Wulff, recommended not only that Mr Piëch should step down but also that no member of Porsche's management should be able to join VW's board. Porsche intends to nominate its chief executive and chief financial officer as non-executive directors, setting up a direct clash. A person close to Porsche said: "Porsche would back Piëch if need be."
Porsche and Lower Saxony have each considered calling an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to resolve the issue but it is seen as a last resort.
People close to Porsche called parts of the JPMorgan report as "laughable," "preposterous" and "nonsensical". In particular, they are upset with three recommendations that say VW should have the unilateral right to cancel any co-operation agreement if Porsche breaks any part of it; that Porsche should not be completely free to sell on its stake to whom it chooses; and that Porsche should not be able to block a capital increase at VW. "I cannot take any of these three points seriously," said a second person close to Porsche. "They are mixing Piëch's role into the overall transaction."
---------------------------------------------
BMW Z4 coupe green-lighted to go against Porsche Cayman
10/17/2005
Automotive news is reporting that the Z4 coupe shown in Frankfurt is officially approved and will be produced.
Selling price will be below the Z4 roadster.
Vaya como está el patio...!!!
Porsche sells record number of cars in Japan
October 19, 2005
German car maker Porsche said Wednesday it had sold a record number of vehicles in Japan during the 12 months to July, with the emblematic 911 sports car the most highly coveted model by Japanese drivers.
Porsche said sales in Japan had increased by 16 percent to more than 3 000 during the year to July compared with the same period of 2003-2004 and sales of the 911 had reached 1,235.
The four-wheel-drive Cayenne model was the second most popular, registering sales of 1,090, Porsche said in a statement before the opening of the Tokyo Motor Show here, which begins on Saturday.
Porsche said it was confident that a new coupe sports model of the Cayenne would prove popular with Japanese consumers when it is launched in December. Prices start at &Euro;50 300 euros (about R396 000 ).
In total, Porsche sold 88 379 vehicles in the 2004-2005 year, an increase of 15 percent compared with the equivalent period a year earlier, the company announced in September. - Sapa-AFP
October 19, 2005
German car maker Porsche said Wednesday it had sold a record number of vehicles in Japan during the 12 months to July, with the emblematic 911 sports car the most highly coveted model by Japanese drivers.
Porsche said sales in Japan had increased by 16 percent to more than 3 000 during the year to July compared with the same period of 2003-2004 and sales of the 911 had reached 1,235.
The four-wheel-drive Cayenne model was the second most popular, registering sales of 1,090, Porsche said in a statement before the opening of the Tokyo Motor Show here, which begins on Saturday.
Porsche said it was confident that a new coupe sports model of the Cayenne would prove popular with Japanese consumers when it is launched in December. Prices start at &Euro;50 300 euros (about R396 000 ).
In total, Porsche sold 88 379 vehicles in the 2004-2005 year, an increase of 15 percent compared with the equivalent period a year earlier, the company announced in September. - Sapa-AFP
Porsche aumenta ventas en Japón el 16 por ciento en 2004- 2005
El fabricante alemán de vehículos deportivos Porsche aumentó sus ventas en Japón un 16 por ciento, hasta los 3.045 automóviles, en su año fiscal 2004-2005, finalizado el 31 de julio.
Fecha: 19/10/2005
Efe
Según informó hoy Porsche, los modelos que más aceptación tuvieron fueron el 911, del que se entregaron 1.235 unidades, y el Porsche Cayenne, con 1.090 ventas.
El constructor superó las 3.000 entregas de deportivos en Japón por primera vez en un solo ejercicio, "a pesar de un entorno económico difícil", señaló su jefe de ventas, Hans Riedel.
A su juicio, el fabricante mejorará esa cifra de ventas en el país asiático en el presente ejercicio. EFE
mja/rs/cg
El fabricante alemán de vehículos deportivos Porsche aumentó sus ventas en Japón un 16 por ciento, hasta los 3.045 automóviles, en su año fiscal 2004-2005, finalizado el 31 de julio.
Fecha: 19/10/2005
Efe
Según informó hoy Porsche, los modelos que más aceptación tuvieron fueron el 911, del que se entregaron 1.235 unidades, y el Porsche Cayenne, con 1.090 ventas.
El constructor superó las 3.000 entregas de deportivos en Japón por primera vez en un solo ejercicio, "a pesar de un entorno económico difícil", señaló su jefe de ventas, Hans Riedel.
A su juicio, el fabricante mejorará esa cifra de ventas en el país asiático en el presente ejercicio. EFE
mja/rs/cg
Zytek, Porsche prototypes claim historic victories at Monterey sports car championships
by R Smith
SALINAS, Calif. -- In a historic finish to the American Le Mans Series season, the No. 15 Zytek 04S captured its first victory in the series while Penske Motorsports won its ALMS debut with its new Porsche RS Spyder on Saturday at the Monterey Sports Car Championships.
Hayanari Shimoda and Tom Chilton won from the pole position and cruised to victory in the four-hour event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The same can be said about Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr, who will go down in the record books as winning the first LMP2 race for Penske's No. 6 entry.
Shimoda passed James Weaver in the No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola near the 2:30 mark to give the lead to the Zytek team for good. Shimoda beat the No. 2 Champion Racing Audi of Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela, the reigning LMP1 drivers champions, by 1:15.064.
The biggest key, it seemed, was making it through Turn 1 on the opening lap. Three cars, including the Zytek, were involved in a crash in the first turn at Petit Le Mans. Once through, Chilton and Shimoda clearly were the class of the field.
"We've come to America three times and two of those times, we didn't finish the race," Chilton said. "The Zytek was faultless. Other than a little problem with the pit stops, it was very good. The circuit changes from lap-to-lap here, and you have to have your wits about you. It was a pretty faultless race, and we are very happy."
Chilton, 20 and Shimoda, 21, became the youngest driver pairing to post an overall win in the history of the ALMS. All they needed to do down the stretch was keep the car on the track in the dark.
"It wasn't so bad from day to dark," Shimoda said. "I got used to the darkness, so it's fine. Tom won the pole and then brought the car back without any damage after his stint. It's nice we could finally win. This time it was hard to overtake cars because there are so many good drivers. But our car is much better, so I could overtake them."
A second-place finish by Pirro and Biela gave them podium finishes in all 10 ALMS events this season, the type of consistency that delivered each their second championship but first together.
"This race has been one tenth of a wonderful championship," Pirro said. "I am so happy we ended this season with such a great race. My target was not just to finish, but to be in the top three because a race car driver is not only quick, but reliable as well. Today we were very competitive, and finished the best we possibly could today. We asked a lot of the car today, and all season we have pushed it to its limits, and with a bit of luck, we've won this championship."
Biela said winning the championship with Champion Racing and Pirro made this year the most special of his racing career.
"We have been in cars together for a long time, and we always have a fantastic time,"
Biela said. "One special thing about this 2005 championship is that it is with Champion Audi. Champion has really made racing enjoyable again, and I'd like to thank Dave (Maraj) and all of the team because out of 24 years of racing, this was maybe the best."
Maassen, Luhr and their Porsche prototype lived up to the lofty expectations that accompanied the car to the Monterey Peninsula. The first race for Porsche's first factory-built prototype since 1998 couldn't have gone much better. Not only did it win in its first outing, but it also broke the track qualifying record for LMP2 cars in qualifying on Friday. The Penske Porsche was 1.2 seconds from the overall lead as deep as 2:15.
"Everything happened like we expected," Maassen said. "It was crowded out there, and the traffic was incredible. It wasn't very easy. I wanted to be conservative, and the pit stops were incredibly good. We almost made it to the end but needed a splash of fuel. The car was very reliable and almost perfect."
One of the questions coming into the day was how the car would respond to changing track conditions. Luhr found the answer firsthand when his stint started with a little more than an hour left.
"When I went out from the pits, I thought, 'My goodness what happened.' The track was dirty and had stones everywhere but I got used to it," Luhr said. "I really enjoyed the ride today. It was really great. We did such hard work with Penske and Porsche over the summer. It's a really nice, unique thing to do. All we wanted to do is race."
The No. 10 Miracle Motorsports Courage of Jeff Bucknum, Chris McMurry and James Gue finished second in class.
Although he finished fifth in class with Jon Field and Liz Halliday in the No. 37 Intersport Racing Lola, Clint Field won the class drivers championship, and Intersport claimed the team championship, firsts for both. Field finished the season with five victories, the most of any driver in the class.
"This is a good year to say the least," Field said. "I came close to the championship on the other ones, this was tough year for us with some gearbox problems, and a fire (at Road America). That's a very difficult thing to overcome with a small team like ours. We only have two full time employees and seven or eight total team members. For the race we really just did what we planned, which was just run laps. We wanted to compete with Penske, but after the first stint we knew we really couldn't, they were just too fast. I think this is the best fifth place finish we've ever had."
In GT1, Corvette Racing's No. 4 Corvette C6-R won its fifth straight race to wrap up the class drivers championship for Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin, their first as a duo. They beat their No. 3 sister car of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell to the finish by more than a lap.
The win was more impressive given the depth of the class. The No. 4 car beat the pole-sitting ACEMCO Saleen, Aston Martin Racing's two DBR9s and Carsport America's Dodge Viper.
"This was an amazing race. Ollie was fantastic, the crew was perfect and the car was fast," Beretta said. "The race was incredible. We knew all we had to do was finish to win. So by the middle of the race it was becoming harder to keep pushing. I told myself I just needed to stay calm, be safe and keep your brain on."
Beretta joined Fellows as the only two drivers in ALMS history to win three class championships. Beretta won titles with Team ORECA in 1999 and 2000 as the chief rival of Corvette Racing in the early days of the ALMS.
The championship duo won for the fifth straight time and seventh in the last eight races, including a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"This was a phenomenal year for Olivier, myself and the team," Gavin said. "It took until Le Mans for the team to really gel. I'd like to think everyone at GM and Corvette, because the C6-R was quick right out of the blocks. We were the strongest car out there today, and I'm confident that we'll come back as strong next year."
The team of Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long also won in class, both the race and drivers championship. The No. 31 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche won when the No. 50 Panoz Esperante of Bill Auberlen and Robin Liddell pitted for a splash of fuel with seven minutes left.
The win also clinched the GT2 team championship for the privateer outfit, beating out Alex Job Racing.
"We were in this to keep a good clean nose but also to push for a team championship," Long said. "It was tough with the traffic and the safety cars. We came here to win a championship, and keeping our noses clean was a way to do that. To come out with more race victories than anyone else in the class is sweet. We always said we would go out and try to win races and championships."
Bergmeister and Long won for the fifth time this year (most in class) and for the fourth straight event.
"Once we finished the 70 percent, we started pushing and that paid off," Bergmeister said. "We didn't have the quickest car. But we set up the car for a championship. I was hoping we'd have a good season, but I knew it would be hard to beat the AJR guys. They are the factory guys to beat, and we did it."
The 2006 American Le Mans Series season begins with the 54th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 18 from Sebring International Raceway. That will kickoff a 10-race schedule for the ALMS.
RESULTS
Monterey Sports Car Championships
Monterey, Calif.
Saturday's race results
1. (1) Tom Chilton, Horely, UK; Hayanari Shimoda, Japan; Zytek 04S (1, P1), 164.
2. (4) Frank Biela, Germany; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Audi R8 (2, P1), 164.
3. (3) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Andy Wallace, England; Lola EX257 AER (3, P1), 163.
4. (6) Marco Werner, Germany; JJ Lehto, Finland; Audi R8 (4, P1), 163.
5. (5) Sascha Maassen, Belgium; Lucas Luhr, Monaco; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 163.
6. (2) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; James Weaver, England; Lola EX257 AER (6, P1), 162.
7. (11) Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Corvette C6-R (7, GT1), 158.
8. (10) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6-R (8, GT1), 157.
9. (12) Peter Kox, The Netherlands; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Aston Martin DB9 (9, GT1), 156.
10. (13) Darren Turner, England; David Brabham, Australia; Aston Martin DB9 (10, GT1), 155.
11. (7) Jeff Bucknum, Lake Havasu City, AZ; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; James Gue, Athens, GA; Courage C-65 (11, P2), 155.
12. (9) Jamie Bach, West Palm Beach, FL; Guy Cosmo, Long Island, NY; Courage Mazda (12, P2), 154.
13. (28) Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Michael Lewis, San Diego, CA; Riley & Scott MRK IIIC (13, P1), 152.
14. (17) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GT2), 151.
15. (20) Robin Liddell, Scotland; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (15, GT2), 151.
16. (18) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (16, GT2), 151.
17. (21) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Jon Fogarty, Palo Alto, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (17, GT2), 151.
18. (16) Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (18, GT2), 150.
19. (8) Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Johnny Mowlem, England; Saleen S7R (19, GT1), 148.
20. (23) Tim Sudgen, England; Justin Jackson, Buford, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (20, GT2), 148.
21. (26) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (21, GT2), 147.
22. (22) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (22, GT2), 147.
23. (19) Ben Devlin, England; Gunnar Van der Steur, Chesapeake City, MD; Lola B2K/40 AER (23, P2), 139.
24. (15) Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Michele Rugulo, Italy; Dodge Viper (24, GT1), 137.
25. (25) Marco Petrini, Italy; Maurizio Fabris, Italy; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (25, GT2), 129.
26. (27) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B05/40/AER (26, P2), 125.
27. (14) Andrea Bertolini, Italy; Fabrizio de Simone, Italy; Maserati MC12 (27, GT1), 94.
28. (24) Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Ian Baas, Noblesville, IN; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (28, GT2), 33, Engine.
Unofficial points
LMP1
Emanuele Pirro 182
Frank Biela 182
Chris Dyson 154
Marco Werner 148
JJ Lehto 148
Andy Wallace 135
James Weaver 124
Butch Leitzinger 124
Michael Lewis 45
Bryan Willman 45
Guy Smith 38
Tom Chilton 33
Hayanari Shimoda 33
Tom Kristensen 26
Allan McNish 22
LMP2
Clint Field 133
Jeff Bucknum 117
Chris McMurry 117
Jamie Bach 116
Guy Cosmo 116
Liz Halliday 77
Jon Field 73
Ben Devlin 58
Gunnar van der Steur 45
Ian James 26
Sascha Maassen 23
Lucas Luhr 23
E. Forbes-Robinson 22
Gregor Fisken 20
Mike Johnson 19
James Gue 19
Bob Woodman 19
Georges Forgeois 19
Erik van der Steur 13
GT1
Olivier Beretta 196
Oliver Gavin 196
Ron Fellows 177
Johnny O`Connell 177
Johnny Mowlem 114
Terry Borcheller 114
Michele Rugolo 75
Tom Weickardt 75
Alex Figge 65
Ryan Dalziel 65
Darren Turner 61
David Brabham 61
Jan Magnussen 45
Pedro Lamy 39
Peter Kox 39
Ralf Kelleners 35
Max Papis 34
Jean-Philippe Belloc 28
Stephane Ortelli 26
Johnny Kane 22
Tomas Enge 14
David Empringham 12
Stephane Sarrazin 9
Fabrizio de Simone 0
Andrea Bertolini 0
GT2
Patrick Long 179
Jorg Bergmeister 179
Romain Dumas 145
Timo Bernhard 145
Jon Fogarty 114
Johannes van Overbeek 114
Wolf Henzler 84
Robin Liddell 81
Tim Sugden 80
Mike Rockenfeller 76
Justin Jackson 70
Ian Baas 67
Darren Law 62
Bill Auberlen 61
Seth Neiman 40
Lonnie Pechnik 40
Nic Jonsson 40
Marino Franchitti 39
Bryan Sellers 36
Martin Jensen 30
Lucas Luhr 26
Marcel Tiemann 22
Emmanuel Collard 22
Randy Pobst 21
Michael Cawley 17
Marc Sluszny 16
Tracy Krohn 16
Andrew Thompson 14
Michael Vergers 14
Juan Barazi 14
Spencer Pumpelly 12
Steve Ivankovich 12
Andy Lally 12
Tony Burgess 12
Christophe Tinseau 8
Michael Galati 6
Maurizo Fabris 5
Marco Petrinni 5
Scott Maxwell 5
Sascha Maassen 4
Rick Skelton 1
by R Smith
SALINAS, Calif. -- In a historic finish to the American Le Mans Series season, the No. 15 Zytek 04S captured its first victory in the series while Penske Motorsports won its ALMS debut with its new Porsche RS Spyder on Saturday at the Monterey Sports Car Championships.
Hayanari Shimoda and Tom Chilton won from the pole position and cruised to victory in the four-hour event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The same can be said about Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr, who will go down in the record books as winning the first LMP2 race for Penske's No. 6 entry.
Shimoda passed James Weaver in the No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola near the 2:30 mark to give the lead to the Zytek team for good. Shimoda beat the No. 2 Champion Racing Audi of Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela, the reigning LMP1 drivers champions, by 1:15.064.
The biggest key, it seemed, was making it through Turn 1 on the opening lap. Three cars, including the Zytek, were involved in a crash in the first turn at Petit Le Mans. Once through, Chilton and Shimoda clearly were the class of the field.
"We've come to America three times and two of those times, we didn't finish the race," Chilton said. "The Zytek was faultless. Other than a little problem with the pit stops, it was very good. The circuit changes from lap-to-lap here, and you have to have your wits about you. It was a pretty faultless race, and we are very happy."
Chilton, 20 and Shimoda, 21, became the youngest driver pairing to post an overall win in the history of the ALMS. All they needed to do down the stretch was keep the car on the track in the dark.
"It wasn't so bad from day to dark," Shimoda said. "I got used to the darkness, so it's fine. Tom won the pole and then brought the car back without any damage after his stint. It's nice we could finally win. This time it was hard to overtake cars because there are so many good drivers. But our car is much better, so I could overtake them."
A second-place finish by Pirro and Biela gave them podium finishes in all 10 ALMS events this season, the type of consistency that delivered each their second championship but first together.
"This race has been one tenth of a wonderful championship," Pirro said. "I am so happy we ended this season with such a great race. My target was not just to finish, but to be in the top three because a race car driver is not only quick, but reliable as well. Today we were very competitive, and finished the best we possibly could today. We asked a lot of the car today, and all season we have pushed it to its limits, and with a bit of luck, we've won this championship."
Biela said winning the championship with Champion Racing and Pirro made this year the most special of his racing career.
"We have been in cars together for a long time, and we always have a fantastic time,"
Biela said. "One special thing about this 2005 championship is that it is with Champion Audi. Champion has really made racing enjoyable again, and I'd like to thank Dave (Maraj) and all of the team because out of 24 years of racing, this was maybe the best."
Maassen, Luhr and their Porsche prototype lived up to the lofty expectations that accompanied the car to the Monterey Peninsula. The first race for Porsche's first factory-built prototype since 1998 couldn't have gone much better. Not only did it win in its first outing, but it also broke the track qualifying record for LMP2 cars in qualifying on Friday. The Penske Porsche was 1.2 seconds from the overall lead as deep as 2:15.
"Everything happened like we expected," Maassen said. "It was crowded out there, and the traffic was incredible. It wasn't very easy. I wanted to be conservative, and the pit stops were incredibly good. We almost made it to the end but needed a splash of fuel. The car was very reliable and almost perfect."
One of the questions coming into the day was how the car would respond to changing track conditions. Luhr found the answer firsthand when his stint started with a little more than an hour left.
"When I went out from the pits, I thought, 'My goodness what happened.' The track was dirty and had stones everywhere but I got used to it," Luhr said. "I really enjoyed the ride today. It was really great. We did such hard work with Penske and Porsche over the summer. It's a really nice, unique thing to do. All we wanted to do is race."
The No. 10 Miracle Motorsports Courage of Jeff Bucknum, Chris McMurry and James Gue finished second in class.
Although he finished fifth in class with Jon Field and Liz Halliday in the No. 37 Intersport Racing Lola, Clint Field won the class drivers championship, and Intersport claimed the team championship, firsts for both. Field finished the season with five victories, the most of any driver in the class.
"This is a good year to say the least," Field said. "I came close to the championship on the other ones, this was tough year for us with some gearbox problems, and a fire (at Road America). That's a very difficult thing to overcome with a small team like ours. We only have two full time employees and seven or eight total team members. For the race we really just did what we planned, which was just run laps. We wanted to compete with Penske, but after the first stint we knew we really couldn't, they were just too fast. I think this is the best fifth place finish we've ever had."
In GT1, Corvette Racing's No. 4 Corvette C6-R won its fifth straight race to wrap up the class drivers championship for Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin, their first as a duo. They beat their No. 3 sister car of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell to the finish by more than a lap.
The win was more impressive given the depth of the class. The No. 4 car beat the pole-sitting ACEMCO Saleen, Aston Martin Racing's two DBR9s and Carsport America's Dodge Viper.
"This was an amazing race. Ollie was fantastic, the crew was perfect and the car was fast," Beretta said. "The race was incredible. We knew all we had to do was finish to win. So by the middle of the race it was becoming harder to keep pushing. I told myself I just needed to stay calm, be safe and keep your brain on."
Beretta joined Fellows as the only two drivers in ALMS history to win three class championships. Beretta won titles with Team ORECA in 1999 and 2000 as the chief rival of Corvette Racing in the early days of the ALMS.
The championship duo won for the fifth straight time and seventh in the last eight races, including a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"This was a phenomenal year for Olivier, myself and the team," Gavin said. "It took until Le Mans for the team to really gel. I'd like to think everyone at GM and Corvette, because the C6-R was quick right out of the blocks. We were the strongest car out there today, and I'm confident that we'll come back as strong next year."
The team of Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long also won in class, both the race and drivers championship. The No. 31 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche won when the No. 50 Panoz Esperante of Bill Auberlen and Robin Liddell pitted for a splash of fuel with seven minutes left.
The win also clinched the GT2 team championship for the privateer outfit, beating out Alex Job Racing.
"We were in this to keep a good clean nose but also to push for a team championship," Long said. "It was tough with the traffic and the safety cars. We came here to win a championship, and keeping our noses clean was a way to do that. To come out with more race victories than anyone else in the class is sweet. We always said we would go out and try to win races and championships."
Bergmeister and Long won for the fifth time this year (most in class) and for the fourth straight event.
"Once we finished the 70 percent, we started pushing and that paid off," Bergmeister said. "We didn't have the quickest car. But we set up the car for a championship. I was hoping we'd have a good season, but I knew it would be hard to beat the AJR guys. They are the factory guys to beat, and we did it."
The 2006 American Le Mans Series season begins with the 54th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 18 from Sebring International Raceway. That will kickoff a 10-race schedule for the ALMS.
RESULTS
Monterey Sports Car Championships
Monterey, Calif.
Saturday's race results
1. (1) Tom Chilton, Horely, UK; Hayanari Shimoda, Japan; Zytek 04S (1, P1), 164.
2. (4) Frank Biela, Germany; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Audi R8 (2, P1), 164.
3. (3) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Andy Wallace, England; Lola EX257 AER (3, P1), 163.
4. (6) Marco Werner, Germany; JJ Lehto, Finland; Audi R8 (4, P1), 163.
5. (5) Sascha Maassen, Belgium; Lucas Luhr, Monaco; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 163.
6. (2) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; James Weaver, England; Lola EX257 AER (6, P1), 162.
7. (11) Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Corvette C6-R (7, GT1), 158.
8. (10) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6-R (8, GT1), 157.
9. (12) Peter Kox, The Netherlands; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Aston Martin DB9 (9, GT1), 156.
10. (13) Darren Turner, England; David Brabham, Australia; Aston Martin DB9 (10, GT1), 155.
11. (7) Jeff Bucknum, Lake Havasu City, AZ; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; James Gue, Athens, GA; Courage C-65 (11, P2), 155.
12. (9) Jamie Bach, West Palm Beach, FL; Guy Cosmo, Long Island, NY; Courage Mazda (12, P2), 154.
13. (28) Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Michael Lewis, San Diego, CA; Riley & Scott MRK IIIC (13, P1), 152.
14. (17) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GT2), 151.
15. (20) Robin Liddell, Scotland; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (15, GT2), 151.
16. (18) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (16, GT2), 151.
17. (21) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Jon Fogarty, Palo Alto, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (17, GT2), 151.
18. (16) Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (18, GT2), 150.
19. (8) Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Johnny Mowlem, England; Saleen S7R (19, GT1), 148.
20. (23) Tim Sudgen, England; Justin Jackson, Buford, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (20, GT2), 148.
21. (26) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (21, GT2), 147.
22. (22) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (22, GT2), 147.
23. (19) Ben Devlin, England; Gunnar Van der Steur, Chesapeake City, MD; Lola B2K/40 AER (23, P2), 139.
24. (15) Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Michele Rugulo, Italy; Dodge Viper (24, GT1), 137.
25. (25) Marco Petrini, Italy; Maurizio Fabris, Italy; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (25, GT2), 129.
26. (27) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B05/40/AER (26, P2), 125.
27. (14) Andrea Bertolini, Italy; Fabrizio de Simone, Italy; Maserati MC12 (27, GT1), 94.
28. (24) Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Ian Baas, Noblesville, IN; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (28, GT2), 33, Engine.
Unofficial points
LMP1
Emanuele Pirro 182
Frank Biela 182
Chris Dyson 154
Marco Werner 148
JJ Lehto 148
Andy Wallace 135
James Weaver 124
Butch Leitzinger 124
Michael Lewis 45
Bryan Willman 45
Guy Smith 38
Tom Chilton 33
Hayanari Shimoda 33
Tom Kristensen 26
Allan McNish 22
LMP2
Clint Field 133
Jeff Bucknum 117
Chris McMurry 117
Jamie Bach 116
Guy Cosmo 116
Liz Halliday 77
Jon Field 73
Ben Devlin 58
Gunnar van der Steur 45
Ian James 26
Sascha Maassen 23
Lucas Luhr 23
E. Forbes-Robinson 22
Gregor Fisken 20
Mike Johnson 19
James Gue 19
Bob Woodman 19
Georges Forgeois 19
Erik van der Steur 13
GT1
Olivier Beretta 196
Oliver Gavin 196
Ron Fellows 177
Johnny O`Connell 177
Johnny Mowlem 114
Terry Borcheller 114
Michele Rugolo 75
Tom Weickardt 75
Alex Figge 65
Ryan Dalziel 65
Darren Turner 61
David Brabham 61
Jan Magnussen 45
Pedro Lamy 39
Peter Kox 39
Ralf Kelleners 35
Max Papis 34
Jean-Philippe Belloc 28
Stephane Ortelli 26
Johnny Kane 22
Tomas Enge 14
David Empringham 12
Stephane Sarrazin 9
Fabrizio de Simone 0
Andrea Bertolini 0
GT2
Patrick Long 179
Jorg Bergmeister 179
Romain Dumas 145
Timo Bernhard 145
Jon Fogarty 114
Johannes van Overbeek 114
Wolf Henzler 84
Robin Liddell 81
Tim Sugden 80
Mike Rockenfeller 76
Justin Jackson 70
Ian Baas 67
Darren Law 62
Bill Auberlen 61
Seth Neiman 40
Lonnie Pechnik 40
Nic Jonsson 40
Marino Franchitti 39
Bryan Sellers 36
Martin Jensen 30
Lucas Luhr 26
Marcel Tiemann 22
Emmanuel Collard 22
Randy Pobst 21
Michael Cawley 17
Marc Sluszny 16
Tracy Krohn 16
Andrew Thompson 14
Michael Vergers 14
Juan Barazi 14
Spencer Pumpelly 12
Steve Ivankovich 12
Andy Lally 12
Tony Burgess 12
Christophe Tinseau 8
Michael Galati 6
Maurizo Fabris 5
Marco Petrinni 5
Scott Maxwell 5
Sascha Maassen 4
Rick Skelton 1