ALMS

Petersen/White Lightning "Lightning Bolts" 2006-05-01

Petersen/ White Lightning Lightning Bolts - News and Notes May Dates Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing will compete twice during the month of May before heading to France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans to be run on June 17-18. The first ...

Published: May 2, 2006, 4:25 PM

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Petersen/ White Lightning Lightning Bolts - News and Notes

May Dates

Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing will compete twice during the month of May before heading to France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans to be run on June 17-18. The first event will be the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) debut on the streets of Houston, Texas, Friday night, May 12. In 2003, at the last street course the team competed on in Miami, Fla., the Michael Petersen-owned team finished fourth in GT class (now GT2). The second event of the month will be at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday, May 21. The No. 31 MMPIE/ PAWS/ Michelin Porsche 911 GT3 RSR finished third at Mid-Ohio in 2005 earning the IMSA Cup, on the way to their first ALMS GT2 championship. These back-to-back weekends mark the second and third rounds of the ALMS season. The Dale-White managed team will then leave for Le Mans, France on May 30 to prepare for the June 4 Test Day at the famous circuit where they are two-time class winners.

Two Wheels

Team owner Michael Petersen recently took delivery of a custom-made "chopper" motorcycle and made the most of it and his time away from the track. The beautiful machine built by Bourgets Bike Works in Arizona is a unique single-sided belt driven bike with a massive 330 rear tire (larger than 12" tread) driven by a 121 cubic inch powerplant. Beyond the impressive mechanical aspects of it, the bike has a spectacular flame paint job that rivals any work of art. The paint job was hand-done by Deano's in Arizona. The bike made its debut at the 24th Annual Laughlin River Run in Laughlin, Nevada. The April 26-30 motorcycle rally is the West Coast's largest motorcycle event and includes a custom bike show, poker run and poker tournament. In the short time he has owned it, Petersen has already racked-up over 300 miles on the two-wheel masterpiece.

Four Wheels

Michael Petersen has also been spending quite a bit of time recently on four wheels. The native of Las Vegas, now splitting his time between Vegas and Southern California, has been assisting former Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing lead technician Kent Moore with some of Moore's Premier SportsCar Services clients. An accomplished racer and test driver, Petersen has been coaching several of Moore's clients. This weekend he will assist another Premier customer at the Ferrari Club of America at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday and with Porsches on Sunday.

Petersen will also return, briefly, to the off-road world where he got his start in motorsports. Petersen will test a desert rally vehicle in Mexico later this week.

Michael Petersen: "It's a way to supplement my income," joked Petersen who left the position of Vice President at the Westward Ho Casino upon its sale late last year. "Kent has been a good friend and a big part of the success at Petersen/ White Lightning. So, when he asked me to come down and coach some of his clients, I was happy to do it. Going to Miller Motorsports Park gives me a shot to see the course before most people. So, that will work to help our Porsche in the ALMS later this summer. Really, it's just a lot of fun."

Winning Ways

Petersen/ White Lightning crew chief Dennis Chizma (Las Vegas) and driver-side tire changer/ technician Drew Cushman (Las Vegas) continued their personal rally winning streak the weekend of April 28-30 at the Rim of the World Rally. Driving the No. 165 Team Deva Porsche 964-C4 on Michelin tires, a car they prepared personally, Chizma and Cushman dominated the event, one of the most prestigious rallies run in North America. They earned a Rally America (RA)-sanctioned PGT class and California Rally Series (CRS) regional event win on Saturday, finishing third overall. They also won the National event sanctioned by the United States Rally Championship (USRC), sixth overall, in the Super Stock class. It was the second consecutive Rim of the World title for Chizma and the second consecutive rally win for the Chizma-Cushman combination. Cushman, who has now won the only two rallies he has entered, joined Chizma last November in winning North America's other premier rally, the Laughlin Rally in Nevada.

-www.PetersenMotorsports.com.

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