Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing Wins In Le Mans Debut

LE MANS, France, June 15, 2003 � Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing, in collaboration with American Le Mans Series (ALMS) rival Alex Job Racing (AJR), has won the 71st running of the 24 Heures Du Mans in the team's Le Mans debut. The number 93 Westward Ho Casino/ MMPIE/ PAWS/ mail2web.com Porsche 911 GT3 RS, owned by Michael Petersen and prepared jointly by Alex Job Racing and Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning, overcame a variety of obstacles during the French classic including nighttime repairs to the Porsche's radiator and alternator to take the LM GT class victory. Extreme heat also challenged drivers Emmanuel Collard, of France, Lucas Luhr (Monaco) and Sascha Maassen (Belgium) throughout the world's most famous sports car event. Despite the challenges the Dale White and Alex Job-managed effort added a 17th Le Mans victory for Porsche. “It is still soaking in that we have actually won the biggest sports car race in the world,” said program manager Dale White shortly after the victory. “The whole team worked so hard to make this happen. We came here with what I have been calling the �super team' and I think we proved that it is. To put two fierce competitors like AJR and Petersen/ White Lightning together on one team to face the best the world has to offer was an experiment that paid off. I want to thank Porsche and Michelin for giving us such incredible equipment to work with. I also have to thank Alex for all he brought to the table, all the crew and Lucas, Sascha and Emmanuel for doing such a great job. Also, I can't thank Mike (Petersen), Westward Ho Casino, MMPIE, PAWS and mail2web.com enough for making this all possible. I just can't explain what this means to me. This will take awhile to sink in.”The joint effort completed all 24 hours of the event turning 320 laps of the famous Circuit Des 24 Heures Du Mans. Starting from the LM GT class pole position, the No. 93 AJR-Petersen/ White Lightning Porsche finished 14th overall in the field of 45. Despite having fallen as many as four laps down to the class leader during repairs, the team's strategy, teamwork and driver skill brought the familiar red, white and yellow Porsche back into the lead and six laps ahead of second-place Orbit Racing at the conclusion of the 24th hour.The distinctive alliance of Alex Job Racing with Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing is a cooperative effort with members of both Alex Job Racing and Petersen /White Lighting preparing and crewing the car. While rivals in the GT class of the ALMS, the two have joined to create a formidable team to compete at this prestigious endurance race. Neither team had competed at Le Mans before. Michael Petersen is the car owner while Alex Job acts as entrant and team manager. Dale White is the program manager for the operation.Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing began operation in the late 1980s competing in off-road endurance events. Major successes have included championships in SODA, SCORE and SNORE and more than 50 wins and 80 podiums. The team has competed in ALMS, Grand Am and World Challenge races with many impressive victories and podiums including a class win, second overall, at the grueling Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Las Vegas-based effort has regularly ranked as the ALMS' highest-placing, non-factory GT team including a second-place finish at the 2003 12 Hours of Sebring and runner-up at the prestigious 2002 Petit Le Mans. Formed in 1988, Alex Job Racing is considered one of the top sports car competitors in the American Le Mans Series. The team has continued its success in the ALMS with numerous podiums, wins and track records including five 2002 championships in the ALMS GT class, IMSA Cup championships, Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen shared the driver championship and crew chief Jeff Gamroth won the GT technician-of-the-year award. 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. For more about Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning, please visit www.PetersenMotorsports.com. For more on Alex Job Racing see www.alexjobracing.com. For more on Le Mans visit the official race site at www.LeMans.org.Alex Job Racing Public Relations and Porsche Motorsports Public Relations contributed to this release. ###