2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships

File:Laguna Seca.svg

Track map of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

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.

Pos	Class	Team	Qualifying Driver	Time
1	LMP2	#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing	David Brabham	1:10.103
2	LMP2	#15 Lowe's Fernández Racing	Luis Díaz	1:10.202
3	LMP2	#7 Penske Racing	Timo Bernhard	1:10.351
4	LMP2	#66 de Ferran Motorsports	Gil de Ferran	1:10.451
5	LMP2	#26 Andretti Green Racing	Tony Kanaan	1:10.567
6	LMP2	#6 Penske Racing	Sascha Maassen	1:10.586
7	LMP2	#5 Penske Motorsports, Inc.	Ryan Briscoe	1:10.606
8	LMP2	#16 Dyson Racing	Guy Smith	1:11.010
9	LMP1	#1 Audi Sport North America	Emanuele Pirro	1:11.264
10	LMP1	#2 Audi Sport North America	Lucas Luhr	1:11.825
11	LMP2	#20 Dyson Racing	Butch Leitzinger	1:12.089
12	LMP1	#48 Corsa Motorsports	Johnny Mowlem	1:12.819
13	LMP2	#8 B-K Motorsports	Ben Devlin	1:13.321
14	LMP1	#37 Intersport Racing	Jon Field	1:13.379
15	LMP1	#88 Creation Autosportif	Stephen Simpson	1:13.481
16	LMP1	#12 Autocon Motorsports	Chris McMurry	1:14.549
17	GT1	#3 Corvette Racing	Jan Magnussen	1:19.291
18	GT1	#4 Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin	1:19.790
19	GT2	#87 Farnbacher-Loles Motorsport	Dirk Werner	1:22.060
20	GT2	#45 Flying Lizard Motorsports	Jörg Bergmeister	1:22.380
21	GT2	#71 Tafel Racing	Dominik Farnbacher	1:22.701
22	GT2	#46 Flying Lizard Motorsports	Patrick Pilet	1:22.869
23	GT2	#62 Risi Competizione	Mika Salo	1:22.962
24	GT2	#99 JMB Racing	Pierre Kaffer	1:23.243
25	GT2	#61 Risi Competizione	Niclas Jönsson	1:23.928
26	GT2	#21 Panoz Team PTG	Joey Hand	1:24.084
27	GT2	#18 VICI Racing	Nicky Pastorelli	1:24.111
28	GT2	#007 Drayson-Barwell	Jonny Cocker	1:24.626
29	GT2	#54 Black Swan Racing	Anthony Lazzaro	1:24.711
30	GT2	#40 Robertson Racing	David Murry	1:24.727
31	GT2	#73 Tafel Racing	Pierre Ehret	1:24.970
32	GT2	#11 Primetime Race Group	Chris Hall	1:26.124
33	GT2	#44 Flying Lizard Motorsports	Seth Neiman	1:26.704
34	LMP1	#10 ECO Racing	Did Not Participate	No 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 (NC).

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tire	Laps
					Engine
1	LMP1	2	Template:Flagicon Audi Sport North America	Template:Flagicon Marco Werner Template:Flagicon Lucas Luhr	Audi R10 TDI	M	145
					Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
2	LMP1	1	Template:Flagicon Audi Sport North America	Template:Flagicon Emanuele Pirro Template:Flagicon Christijan Albers	Audi R10 TDI	M	145
					Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)
3	LMP2	26	Template:Flagicon Andretti Green Racing	Template:Flagicon Franck Montagny Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan	Acura ARX-01B	M	145
					Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
4	LMP2	66	Template:Flagicon de Ferran Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran Template:Flagicon Simon Pagenaud	Acura ARX-01B	M	145
					Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
5	LMP2	7	Template:Flagicon Penske Racing	Template:Flagicon Timo Bernhard Template:Flagicon Romain Dumas	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	M	145
					Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
6	LMP2	5	Template:Flagicon Penske Motorsports, Inc.	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves Template:Flagicon Ryan Briscoe	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	M	145
					Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
7	LMP2	16	Template:Flagicon Dyson Racing	Template:Flagicon Chris Dyson Template:Flagicon Guy Smith	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	M	145
					Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
8	LMP2	20	Template:Flagicon Dyson Racing	Template:Flagicon Butch Leitzinger Template:Flagicon Marino Franchitti	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	M	144
					Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
9	LMP2	15	Template:Flagicon Lowe's Fernández Racing	Template:Flagicon Adrian Fernández Template:Flagicon Luis Díaz	Acura ARX-01B	M	144
					Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
10	LMP2	6	Template:Flagicon Penske Racing	Template:Flagicon Patrick Long Template:Flagicon Sascha Maassen	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	M	144
					Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8
11	LMP1	48	Template:Flagicon Corsa Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Gunnar Jeannette Template:Flagicon Johnny Mowlem Template:Flagicon Stefan Johansson	Ginetta-Zytek 07S	D	142
					Zytek 4.5 L V8
12	GT1	4	Template:Flagicon Corvette Racing	Template:Flagicon Oliver Gavin Template:Flagicon Olivier Beretta	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M	139
					Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0 L V8 (E85 ethanol)
13	GT1	3	Template:Flagicon Corvette Racing	Template:Flagicon Johnny O'Connell Template:Flagicon Jan Magnussen	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	M	139
					Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0 L V8 (E85 ethanol)
14	GT2	71	Template:Flagicon Tafel Racing	Template:Flagicon Dominik Farnbacher Template:Flagicon Dirk Müller	Ferrari F430GT	M	139
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
15	LMP2	9	Template:Flagicon Patrón Highcroft Racing	Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp Template:Flagicon David Brabham	Acura ARX-01B	M	139
					Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
16	GT2	62	Template:Flagicon Risi Competizione	Template:Flagicon Jaime Melo Template:Flagicon Mika Salo	Ferrari F430GT	M	139
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
17	GT2	87	Template:Flagicon Farnbacher-Loles Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Dirk Werner Template:Flagicon Bryce Miller	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M	138
					Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
18	LMP1	88	Template:Flagicon Creation Autosportif	Template:Flagicon Jamie Campbell-Walter Template:Flagicon Stephen Simpson Template:Flagicon Liz Halliday	Creation CA07	D	138
					AIM (Judd) YS5.5 5.5 L V10 (E85 ethanol)
19	GT2	21	Template:Flagicon Panoz Team PTG	Template:Flagicon Tommy Milner Template:Flagicon Joey Hand	Panoz Esperante GT-LM	Y	137
					Ford (Élan) 5.0 L V8
20	GT2	46	Template:Flagicon Flying Lizard Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Johannes van Overbeek Template:Flagicon Patrick Pilet	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M	137
					Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
21	GT2	44	Template:Flagicon Flying Lizard Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Darren Law Template:Flagicon Seth Neiman Template:Flagicon Lonnie Pechnik	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M	135
					Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
22	GT2	99	Template:Flagicon JMB Racing Template:Flagicon Aucott Racing	Template:Flagicon Ben Aucott Template:Flagicon Pierre Kaffer	Ferrari F430GT	D	134
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
23	GT2	007	Template:Flagicon Drayson-Barwell	Template:Flagicon Paul Drayson Template:Flagicon Jonny Cocker	Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2	D	134
					Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 (E85 ethanol)
24	GT2	54	Template:Flagicon Black Swan Racing	Template:Flagicon Tim Pappas Template:Flagicon Anthony Lazzaro Template:Flagicon Andy Pilgrim	Ford GT-R Mk.VII	F	133
					Ford 5.0 L V8
25	GT2	45	Template:Flagicon Flying Lizard Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Jörg Bergmeister Template:Flagicon Wolf Henzler	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	M	133
					Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
26	GT2	73	Template:Flagicon Tafel Racing	Template:Flagicon Harrison Brix Template:Flagicon Alex Figge Template:Flagicon Pierre Ehret	Ferrari F430GT	M	132
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
27	GT2	61	Template:Flagicon Risi Competizione Template:Flagicon Krohn Racing	Template:Flagicon Tracy Krohn Template:Flagicon Niclas Jönsson	Ferrari F430GT	M	129
					Ferrari 4.0 L V8
28	GT2	40	Template:Flagicon Robertson Racing	Template:Flagicon David Robertson Template:Flagicon Andrea Robertson Template:Flagicon David Murry	Ford GT-R Mk.VII	D	129
					Ford 5.0 L V8
29	GT2	11	Template:Flagicon Primetime Race Group	Template:Flagicon Joel Feinberg Template:Flagicon Chris Hall	Dodge Viper Competition Coupe	H	112
					Dodge 8.3 L V10
30	LMP2	8	Template:Flagicon B-K Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Gerardo Bonilla Template:Flagicon Ben Devlin Template:Flagicon Raphael Matos	Lola B08/86	D	106
					Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4 (E85 ethanol)
31 DNF	LMP1	37	Template:Flagicon Intersport Racing	Template:Flagicon Jon Field Template:Flagicon Ryan Lewis Template:Flagicon Richard Berry	Lola B06/10	D	102
					AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8 (E85 ethanol)
32 NC	LMP1	12	Template:Flagicon Autocon Motorsports	Template:Flagicon Chris McMurry Template:Flagicon Tony Burgess	Lola B06/10	D	87
					AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
33 DNF	LMP1	10	Template:Flagicon ECO Racing	Template:Flagicon Andrew Prendeville Template:Flagicon Hideki Noda	Radical SR10	D	46
					ECO (AER) 5.0 L Turbo V10 (Diesel)
34 DNF	GT2	18	Template:Flagicon VICI Racing	Template:Flagicon Nicky Pastorelli Template:Flagicon Francesco Pastorelli Template:Flagicon Marc Basseng	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	K	17
					Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6