Peterson/White Lightening complete lineup
Team owner Michael Petersen and entrant/team manager Dale White announced today that Tim Bergmeister and Tomas Enge will share the wheel of the No. 31 F430 GT. Bergmeister and Enge will race the Ferrari F430 GT together for the full, 12 race American Le Mans Series season beginning with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17.
"The level of drivers available to teams in the American Le Mans Series is staggering, entrant and team manager White said. "This year it seems that there is more top talent out there than I have ever seen in the past. I feel we got two of the very best available."
Both Bergmeister and Enge worked with team engineer Frank Funke prior to the trio joining again at Petersen/White Lightning. Those past relationships, along with the keen testing skills of both drivers, will accord Petersen/White Lightning the opportunity to bring the new-to-the-team F430 GT up to speed much quicker. That will prove to be a true asset in what promises to be the most intense class battle in American Le Mans Series history.
Bergmeister returns to the team after racing the 2006 season-opener at Sebring, and later testing and practicing at Mosport, for Petersen/White Lightning. He proved a strong fit for the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winning team which made him a popular choice for 2007. His experience in formula cars as well as sports car racing allows Bergmeister to bring a strong set of skills from multiple disciplines of the sport. While he has only one American Le Mans Series start, he has four 24 hour race starts and has won two formula car titles.
Enge is no stranger to American motorsports fans or to Ferrari's famous Tifosi. He won the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans in GT1, then GTS, driving a Ferrari 550 Maranello and two of his four American Le Mans Series victories came under the Prancing Horse banner. He has 26 career starts in the Series, all in GT1, three starts in Formula 1 driving for Prost and has 17 IndyCar Series starts. In 2006, Enge gave Aston Martin two wins in the GT1 class and had several A1GP starts representing his native Czech Republic.
In other team news, Petersen/White Lightning moved its team headquarters from the Las Vegas-area to nearby Pahrump, Nevada. The shop now sits on the property of Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch providing additional testing opportunities. The team has also made its first start in the daunting Euromilhoes Dakar 2007 where owner/driver Michael Petersen currently sits 21st in the overall car standings after six of 15 stages.
Bergmeister and Enge will get their first taste of the neon yellow, red and white F430 GT in a private "shakedown run" at Ferrari's famous Fiorano test track in Maranello. The test follows the mid-February delivery of the car at Ferrari Corse Clienti. The Petersen/White Lightning F430 GT, riding on Michelin tires for the fifth-straight season, will make its North American debut in a multi-day test at Sebring in the days leading up to the 12 hour classic. Petersen/White Lightning is the GT2 class winner of the 2005 12 Hours.