Patrick Long Lausitz race notes

German Carrera Cup at EuroSpeedway: Long Starts 11th, Finishes 8th

MÖNSHEIM, Germany - American Patrick Long made the best of a frustrating weekend at the EuroSpeedway-Lausitz, Germany, when he finished a solid eighth in Round 4 of the German Carrera Cup

Long and his UPS Porsche Junior Team teammate, Mike Rockenfeller, did not have the advantage of Friday's full practice day used by the other teams, leaving only the official practice and qualifying sessions to learn the new circuit. The unfamiliarity with the track and a tire-conservation strategy - a hot race day was expected - left Long a disappointing 11th on the grid.

In the race, Long again methodically moved through the field, only to be pushed off circuit into a gravel trap by a competitor that suffered a cut tire. Undeterred, Long aggressively continued his pursuit, eventually moving up to eighth place - his fourth consecutive Top Ten finish, a suprisingly strong result for a Carrera Cup rookie. Long currently resides sixth in championship points.

This weekend Long will be at LeMans with officials of the UPS Porsche team, observing the 24-hour classic. Long is very familiar with the town of LeMans, having lived there when he raced in the Elf Campus formula car series at age 17.

The next German Carrera Cup will be held at the Norisring on June 21st. As a member of the UPS Porsche Junior team, Long is contesting the entire German Porsche Carrera Cup season and select Porsche Michelin Supercup events. He made his Supercup debut two weeks ago at Monaco, finishing on the podium in third position.

This is Long's sixth year of living and racing in Europe, where he has won international events in karting, Formula Ford and Formula Renault. For more information on Patrick Long visit his website at: www.patricklong.com. Information on the Porsche Carrera Cup can be found on the German language website: www.racecam.de.

<pre> Result: Round 4, German Carrera Cup, EuroSpeedway, Germany Distance: 80km Weather/Track: Sunny/dry

Pos/Driver                   Entrant
1. Romain Dumas              EMC Carsport Racing
2. Frank Stippler            Team Farnbacher
3. Sandy Grau                Team Farnbacher
4. Roland Asch               Land Motorsport
5. Wolf Henzler              EMC Carsport Racing
8. Patrick Long              UPS Porsche Junior Team

2003 German Carrera Cup Championship Frank Stippler 76 Wolf Henzler 60 Romain Dumas 52 Mike Rockenfeller 52 Alex Davison 42 Patrick Long 34

-pl/gm-