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It takes fans on an interactive journey through 60 years of Porsche Motorsport history showcasing previously unreleased films, photo galleries and stories. Phase one of the three-stage Web Special highlights the legendary venues of Porsche’s racing history and brings the greatest moments of motorsport back to life.
Each week, new content is added, outlining why Porsche and motorsport are inseparably connected. In addition to historical film documentaries, interviews with drivers, engineers and former race directors allow a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes.
Stuttgart. In the qualifying for the six hour race of Spa-Francorchamps, round two of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) for sports cars on the storied circuit in the Ardennes,
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey: Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
Porsche works pilots Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France) planted their Porsche 911 RSR on the sixth grid spot in the GTE-Pro class. For Saturday’s race, they share the cockpit of the number 91 car with Timo Bernhard (Germany).
Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas, Richard Lietz, Porsche AG Team Manthey
Their works driver colleagues Marc Lieb (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) take up the race one position behind them. The third driver in the 470 hp # 92 GT racer is Richard Lietz (Austria). Porsche AG Team Manthey field both Porsche 911 RSR.
From this season on, the qualifying in the WEC is conducted following a new format: For the first time, two drivers must qualify one car. The grid positions for the race are determined by the average of the two fastest timed laps of each of these drivers.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey: Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Patrick Pilet
Joerg Bergmeister (#91)
“I made a small mistake in my second lap. Otherwise I could have gone a little faster. But I still pitted so that I didn’t wear the tyres too much for Patrick.”
Patrick Pilet (#91):
“The car ran very steadily and that’s good for the race. We’re not too far back and I hope that we can do even better tomorrow.”
Romain Dumas (#92):
“That qualifying wasn’t perfect. But I’m sure we’ll look better in the race.”
Marc Lieb (#92):
“Our car performed better than in practice so that’s a small step in the right direction. Let’s see what tomorrow’s race brings.”
Porsche AG Team Manthey
Qualifying result GTE-Pro class
1. Makowiecki/Bell/Senna (F/GB/BRA), Aston Martin Vantage, 2:19.811 minutes
2. Bruni/Fisichella (I/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.042 seconds
3. Kobayashi/Vilander (J/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.278
4. Turner/Mücke/Dumbreck (GB/D/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, + 0.296
5. DallaLana/Stanaway/Lamy (CAN/NZ/P), Aston Martin Vantage, + 0.430
6. Bergmeister/Pilet/Bernhard (D/F/D), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.432
7. Lieb/Lietz/Dumas (D/A/F), Porsche 911 RSR, + 1.049
GTE-Am class
1. Nygaard/Poulsen/Simonsen (DK/DK/DK), Aston Martin Vantage, 2:21.265 minutes
2. Potolicchio/Aguas/Malucelli (I/P/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.030 seconds
3. Goethe/Hall/Campbell-Walter (D/GB/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, + 0.284
4. Bornhauser/Canal/Rees (F/F/BRA), Chevrolet Corvette, + 0.480
5. Ried/Roda/Ruberti (D/I/I), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 1.425
7. Narac/Vernay (F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.156
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The World Endurance Championship
In the World Endurance Championship, sports prototypes and GT vehicles start in four classes: LMGTE-Pro, LMGTE-Am, LMP1 and LMP2. They all compete together in one race but are classified separately.
Stuttgart. The first two drivers to contest the top class of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Le Mans 24 hour race are confirmed.
Le Mans overall winners Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) will take the wheel of the new LMP1 vehicle from Weissach in the 2014 season.
Already this year the two Porsche works drivers Bernhard and Dumas will commence testing the new Le Mans racer.
Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas
“Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas are regarded as some of the fastest and most experienced sports car pilots in the world. I’m very pleased that we have these two men contesting the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours for us from 2014”, says Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board – Research and Development at Porsche AG.
“I particularly appreciate about the two is their competence as test drivers. For this reason the pair is already closely integrated in the development program of our new car and will embark on an intensive test schedule from the middle of this year”, says Fritz Enzinger, director LMP1-project.
Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas in Silverstone
Timo Bernhard comes from Porsche’s own junior development programme. In 1999, Porsche recognised the talent of the then 18-year-old and coached him in the Porsche Junior Team to become a professional race driver.
In 2002, Bernhard was signed on as a works driver and since then has notched up victories and championship titles all over the world. In 2010 he was voted “Race Driver of the Year” by Germany’s automobile club ADAC for his outstanding achievements. Bernhard is the only race driver to have clinched overall victory at all four of the most famous sports car classics.
He won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2010, in 2003 the Daytona 24 Hours, the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2004, and a total of five times at the 24 hour race on the Nürburgring – another record.
Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas in Silverstone
Romain Dumas joined the circle of Porsche factory drivers in 2004. Previously he attracted attention in the Formula 3, Formula 3000, at international GT races as well as the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
He is one of the most experienced pilots at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All together, Dumas has contested his favourite race at La Sarthe twelve times. With Timo Bernhard, he scored overall victory there in 2010 at the wheel of an Audi. Together, the pair also celebrated huge successes in the U.S. in the RS Spyder sports prototype.
In 2007 and 2008, the two Porsche works drivers convincingly clinched the title in the American Le Mans Series. Bernhard shared the cockpit with Dumas at four of his five wins at the Nürburgring 24 hour race. Moreover, in 2010 Dumas celebrated overall victory in Spa at the wheel of a Porsche 911.
Stuttgart. The new Porsche 911 RSR narrowly missed out on a podium spot at its first race outing.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
At the six hour race in Silverstone, the season-opener of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC), Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Romain Dumas (France) occupied fourth in the GTE-Pro class with the 470 hp race car from Weissach.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
At the wheel of the second 911 RSR, also fielded by the newly-formed Porsche AG Team Manthey, their works driver colleagues Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Pilet (France) and Timo Bernhard (Germany) took the flag in sixth.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Patrick Pilet
On the storied British race track, the Porsche 911 RSR, based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, took up the race after a good qualifying result from the second row of the grid and could match the pace of its strongest opponents for some time.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Patrick Pilet
At times, Patrick Pilet was running third with the #91 car, before an unscheduled pit stop cost him more than two laps and pushed him down the field.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
Halfway through the race, Romain Dumas was also on track for a podium place in third with the #92 car. Later, his teammate Richard Lietz even moved into second place – but at the end of the day it was not enough for a top three placing.
Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board – Research and Development:
Wolfgang Hatz, Vorstand Forschung und Entwicklung Porsche AG, Porsche 911 RSR
“That was the first race for the new car and the new team. The organization of the squad worked well. Of course, there are areas where we have room for improvement, but it’s like a football team, we first have to get everything running smoothly.Technically, everything worked on the 911 RSR apart from a one small thing which we will have fixed by the next race.
As far as the performance is concerned, we still have room for improvement. Naturally we also have to work on the car, it has a little too much oversteer.
But all in all I regard it as a positive weekend. It wouldn’t have been good if the car had experienced lots of problems, but that was not the case. We saw that the 911 RSR can turn consistently quick lap times over the race distance. Now if we do our homework, I think we’ll finish further up the field at the next races.”
Hartmut Kristen, Porsche Head of Motorsport:
“Both new 911 RSR reached the flag at their race debut, and there were no major technical problems. With a new team, of course there is still some fine-tuning to be done, that’s normal. We are looking forward to the next race and hope that the car will make another step forward there.”
Marc Lieb (#92):
Marc Lieb, Porsche AG Team Manthey
“We gained many important insights in the race. The car underlined its potential. Now we just need to work a little more on that.”
Richard Lietz (#92):
Richard Lietz, Porsche AG Team Manthey
“We were looking good in the fast corners, but we need to sort out the oversteer exiting the slow corners. But our engineers should be able to correct this by the next race. If so, the podium is within reach.”
Romain Dumas (#92):
“An interesting race. We learned a lot. On the straights we are a little slower than our opponents which makes overtaking very difficult. Still, there are many positives things we can take from this race.”
Joerg Bergmeister (#91):
Joerg Bergmeister, Porsche AG Team Manthey
“That wasn’t our dream result. But we’ve learned a lot this weekend. The conditions were not the easiest, because we had no time to practice on the dry track for setting up the car.”
Patrick Pilet, Porsche AG Team Manthey
“It’s bad luck that we lost more than two laps, but the mechanics did a good job. In any case, we’ve found a good basis to work on and we are optimistic for the rest of the season.”
Timo Bernhard (#91):
“Heading towards Le Mans that was a very valuable race for us. Our performance wasn’t too bad. Without the front axle problem a podium place would have been within reach.”
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Proton Competition, Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda, Paolo Ruberti
In the GTE-Am class, Christian Ried (Germany) and his Italian teammates Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti scored fifth place in last year’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by the customer team Felbermayr-Proton.
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Round two of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) takes place on 4 May in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium).
Race result GTE-Pro class
1. Turner/Mücke/Senna (GB/D/BRA), Aston Martin Vantage, 171 laps
2. Kobayashi/Vilander (J/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, 170
3. Dalla Lana/Macowiecki/Lamy (CAN/F/P), Aston Martin Vantage, 170
4. Lieb/Lietz/Dumas (D/A/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 170
5. Bruni/Fisichella (I/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, 170
6. Bergmeister/Pilet/Bernhard (D/F/D), Porsche 911 RSR, 168
GTE-Am class
1. Nygaard/Poulsen/Simonsen (DEN/DEN/DEN), Aston Martin Vantage, 169 laps
2. Bornhauser/Canal/Rees (FRA/FRA/BRA), Chevrolet Corvette, 166
3. Potolicchio/Aguas/Peter (I/VEN/A), Ferrari F458 Italia, 165
4. Goethe/Hall/Campbell-Walter (D/GB/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 165
5. Ried/Roda/Ruberti (D/I/I), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 165
7. Narac/Bourret/Tandy (F/F/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 163
The World Endurance Championship
In the World Endurance Championship, sports prototypes and GT vehicles start in four classes: LMGTE-Pro, LMGTE-Am, LMP1 and LMP2. They all compete together in one race but are classified separately.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Patrick Pilet
Stuttgart. The new Porsche 911 RSR heads into its race debut from the second grid row of the GTE-Pro class.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey: Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Patrick Pilet
In qualifying for the six hour race on the tradition-steeped British race circuit, on which the World Endurance Championship (WEC) kicks off the new season on Sunday, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France) posted the third quickest average time.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Patrick Pilet
Sharing the number 91 cockpit for the race is their works driver colleague Timo Bernhard (Germany). The 470 hp 911 RSR is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car and is fielded by the Porsche AG Team Manthey squad.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
From this season on, the qualifying in the WEC is conducted following a new format: For the first time, two drivers must qualify one car.
The grid positions for the race are determined by the average of the two fastest timed laps of each of these drivers.
Joerg Bergmeister, Porsche AG Team Manthey
“As far as the set-up is concerned we have found some potential because prior to this qualifying we had very little time in the dry,” said Joerg Bergmeister.
“So we had to take a bit of a risk and almost found the right point. I think we’ll get it under control in time for the race.” Patrick Pilet commented: “In a six hour race, the qualifying times are not everything. I’m looking forward to Sunday and can’t wait for the first race with the new 911 RSR.”
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
In the second Porsche 911 RSR with the starting number 92, the factory pilots Richard Lietz (Austria) and Romain Dumas (France) achieved the fourth quickest average time. For the race, the pair receives support from Marc Lieb (Germany).
Romain Dumas, Porsche AG Team Manthey
“That was the first time that I drove the car on the dry track this weekend,” stated Richard Lietz. “We knew it would be difficult. But much more important than the result was that I got a good feel for dry conditions with new slicks. I was very happy with my laps.”
Romain Dumas, Porsche AG Team Manthey
His teammate Romain Dumas said: “That was an interesting qualifying. We are going well with our new car, but we’re still certain to learn a great deal over the season.”
Romain Dumas, Porsche AG Team Manthey
“The qualifying went quite well so far. We were lucky that it stayed dry,” said Porsche’s Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. “The whole team is now raring to tackle the first race with the 911 RSR.”
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey- Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
Qualifying result
GTE-Pro class
1. Turner/Mücke/Senna (GB/D/BRA), Aston Martin Vantage, 2:00.556 minutes
2. DallaLana/Macowiecki/Lamy (CAN/F/P), Aston Martin Vantage, + 0.216 seconds
3. Bergmeister/Pilet/Bernhard (D/F/D), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.742
4. Lieb/Lietz/Dumas (D/A/F), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.886
5. Bruni/Fisichella (I/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.946
6. Kobayashi/Vilander (J/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 1.237
GTE-Am class
1. Goethe/Hall/Campbell-Walter (D/GB/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 2:01.158 minutes
2. Nygaard/Poulsen/Simonsen (DEN/DEN/DEN), Aston Martin V., + 0.382 seconds
3. Gerber/Griffin/Cioci (ZAF/IRL/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 1.238
6. Narac/Bourret/Tandy (F/F/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 1.860
The World Endurance Championship
In the World Endurance Championship, sports prototypes and GT vehicles start in four classes: LMGTE-Pro, LMGTE-Am, LMP1 and LMP2. They all compete together in one race but are classified separately.
World Endurance Championship, round 1 in Silverstone, Great Britain
Joerg Bergmeister, Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey
Stuttgart. At the six hour race on the Silverstone Circuit, which signals the start of the 2013 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season on 14th April, the Porsche 911 RSR celebrates its race debut. Running the campaign on the storied 5.981 kilometre circuit in the British Midlands is the Porsche AG Team Manthey works team with Olaf Manthey at the helm.
Joerg Bergmeister, Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey
The Porsche drivers
Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Pilet (France) and Timo Bernhard (Germany) take up the GTE-Pro class in the 911 RSR with starting number 91.
Porsche 911 RSR , Porsche AG Team Manthey: Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Patrick Pilet
Sharing driving duties in the cockpit of the number 92 vehicle are their factory driver colleagues Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Romain Dumas (France).
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey: Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
Two customer teams tackle the GTE-Am class with last year’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR: Driving the Proton Competition entry is Christian Ried (Germany) and his Italian teammates Paolo Ruberti and Gianluca Roda, with an all-French line-up of Raymond Narac, Christophe Bourret and Jean-Karl Vernay competing for IMSA Performance Matmut.
The Porsche 911 RSR
The Porsche 911 RSR delivers 460 hp and is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car.
Timo Bernhard, Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey
As the successor to the winning 911 GT3 RSR, with which Porsche customers scored many victories and title wins since 2004, it is characterized by consequent lightweight design and sophisticated aerodynamics.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey: Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas
Joerg Bergmeister, Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey
The look of the new 911 RSR is dominated by the flared mudguards and the deep cooling air intakes at the front. The exceptional vehicle styling honours the anniversary “50 years of the 911”.
Timo Bernhard, Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche AG Team Manthey
The schedule
The six hour race takes off on Sunday, 14 April, at midday local time (13.00 hrs CET). Eurosport 2 televises the start of the race live at 13.00 hours (30 minutes) and returns to a live broadcast at 15.00 hours (30 minutes). The final hour is aired live from 18.00 hours on Eurosport 1. The race can be viewed live on the internet under http://www.fiawec.com.
Comments before the race
Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “The whole team is ready and raring to tackle the first race with the 911 RSR. Our squad has worked extremely hard over the last months to make our new car competitive right from the start.”
Jörg Bergmeister
Joerg Bergmeister (# 91): “I’m looking forward to my premiere in the WEC – in the most beautiful and spectacular 911 ever.”
Patrick Pilet
Patrick Pilet (# 91): “To share the cockpit with such successful Porsche pilots like Joerg and Timo is a great and exciting challenge.”
Timo Bernhard
Timo Bernhard (# 91): “I felt great at the tests in the 911 RSR. We have a good chance to win our class with this car.”
Marc Lieb
Marc Lieb (# 92): “The new 911 RSR is a significant step forward. I hope that the good test results can be confirmed at the first race.”
Richard Lietz
Richard Lietz (# 92): “We face very strong opposition from the works teams from Ferrari and Aston Martin. In Silverstone we’ll see where we stand.”
Romain Dumas
Romain Dumas (# 92): “I’m looking forward to racing the new 911 RSR with Marc and Richard and I’m confident that we’ll make a good start into the season.”
In the World Endurance Championship, sports prototypes and GT vehicles start in four different classes: LMGTE-Pro, LMGTE-Am, LMP1 and LMP2. They all compete together in one race but are classified separately.
Stuttgart. Porsche has developed a new GT race car for the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Le Mans 24 Hours. The new 911 RSR is characterised by consequent lightweight design and sophisticated aerodynamics. The exceptional vehicle styling honours a very special anniversary:
Porsche 911 RSR
From a bird’s eye perspective, the numbers 50 and 911 are visible. These stand for 50 years of the Porsche 911. The Porsche AG Team Manthey works squad exclusively fields two Porsche 911 RSR in the 2013 season.
Porsche 911 RSR
The new 911 RSR, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, follows in the footsteps of its successful predecessor, the 911 GT3 RSR. As with the production vehicle, the wheelbase grew by about ten centimetres. A new wishbone front suspension replaces the previously used McPherson struts. Another new development from Porsche Motorsport is the particularly lightweight racing gearbox. The six gears are selected via paddles on the steering wheel. The 460 hp, 4.0-litre six-cylinder boxer engine was taken from the predecessor and optimised in detail.
Porsche 911 RSR
One of the priorities in the development of the new 911 RSR was the more evenly balanced weight distribution. The centre of gravity is also significantly lower than that of its predecessor. Carbon fibre played a crucial role in the new design. The front and rear mudguards, front and rear lids, doors, underbody, wheel arches, rear wing, dashboard and centre console are constructed from the very light and strong material. Moreover, all windows are made of particularly thin and light polycarbonate. Also contributing to the weight reduction is the lithium-ion battery known from the GT road-legal models.
Porsche 911 RSR
The look of the new 911 RSR is dominated by the flared mudguards and the deep cooling air intakes at the front. With the new air ducting, the radiator is now centrally-located in the front and even more effective than in the previous model. At the same time, the cockpit air conditioning became more efficient. The quick-change concept of the body parts was specially adapted for endurance racing, allowing for easier maintenance and shorter repair times. The front end, front lid and rear panel are fitted with quick release systems and can be replaced within seconds.
Porsche 911 RSR
Competing in the Porsche 911 RSR with starting number 92 are Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria), who already shared a cockpit in the 2012 WEC. At the first two races of the season in Silverstone (14.4) and Spa (4.5) as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (22.6), they receive support from their works driver colleague Romain Dumas (France).
Richard Leitz
Marc Lieb
Romain Dumas
Factory pilots also drive the #91 sister car, with Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (FR) making up a team. In Silverstone, Spa and Le Mans, the duo is joined by Timo Bernhard (Germany).
Stuttgart. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is the most successful race car in the world. Since 1998, 2,395 units of the near standard vehicle for customer sport were produced.
The new edition of the 911 GT3 Cup is the motorsports version of the future 911 GT3 and as such is the first race car that is based on the seventh generation of the sports car icon from Zuffenhausen.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
The 911 GT3 Cup will be run exclusively in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in 2013.
The car for one-make racing made its debut on the occasion of the end of motorsport season “Night of Champions” celebration at the R&D Centre in Weissach.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
The new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is powered by a 3.8-litre six-cylinder flat engine. It generates 460 hp (338 kW) at 7,500 revs, surpassing the predecessor by 10 hp.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
A six-speed dog-type gearbox developed by Porsche Motorsport which is operated via shift paddles at the steering wheel for the first time in a Porsche brand trophy race car transmits the power to the rear axle.
The single piece race wheels with centre mount were also newly designed by Porsche Motorsport.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
The width of the Michelin race slicks was increased by two centimetres to 27 centimetres at the front and by ten millimetres at the rear axle to now measure 31 centimetres.
A newly developed race braking system further improves the excellent endurance qualities compared to its successful predecessor. The 380 millimetre slotted and inner-vented steel brake rotors at the front axle are decelerated by six-piston aluminium fixed callipers. The rear axle features a four-piston version.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
During the development of the new car a particular emphasis was put on the driver safety. A newly designed safety cage protects the pilot in case of a roll or a collision as does a newly developed race seat which is distinctively shaped around the head and shoulders and can be adjusted individually with the help of padding. A rescue hatch in the roof provides easy access for primary medical attention and for the extrication of the driver.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
“The new 911 GT3 Cup is much easier to drive at the limit,” says Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard, who was significantly involved in the development of the new vehicle.
“The car is excellently balanced. The new axle geometry is enormously positive for the handling. Apart from that the new Cup 911 is great fun to drive.”
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Like its predecessor the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is produced in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen on the same assembly line as the road legal models.
At the Motorsport Centre in Weissach it receives a general set-up for the circuit and is tested by a professional race driver before delivery to the customers. The basic price for the vehicle, which is available exclusively in white, is 181,200 Euro plus the country-specific value added tax.
Dennis van de Laar, Connor de Phillippi, Levin Amweg, Alex Riberas Bou, Jeffrey Schmidt, Pieter Schotthorst (l. – r.), Porsche Junior Programme, Vallelunga
Press Release29/10/2012
Porsche Junior Programme …… Stay tuned for more updates from this post.
Six finalists at evaluation drive in Vallelunga
Porsche Motorsport International Scholarship
Latest video from the shootout on the Porsche press database
Stuttgart. A video from the Porsche Motorsport International Scholarship on the Autodromo di Vallelunga, which is contested today
Porsche Junior Programme
Fifth video from the final of the process on the Porsche press database
A further video from the final of the Porsche Junior process on the Autodromo di Vallelunga, which is contested on Monday and Tuesday
Porsche Junior Programme
Fourth video from the final of the process on the Porsche press database
A further video from the final of the Porsche Junior process on the Autodromo di Vallelunga, which is contested on Monday and Tuesday (10/29 & 10/30)
Stuttgart. Six young pilots aged from 18 to 20 years will front each other to determine who receives intensive support in the 2013 season as a Porsche Junior in the Carrera Cup Deutschland.
Dennis van de Laar, Pieter Schothorst, Jeffrey Schmidt, Alex Riberas Bou, Levin Amweg, Connor de Phillippi, Porsche Junior Programme, Vallelunga
Porsche Junior Programme
Third video from the final of the process on the Porsche press database
Stuttgart. A further video from the final of the Porsche Junior process on the Autodromo di Vallelunga, which is contested on Monday and Tuesday
At the finale of the international youth selection process, two Swiss drivers Levin Amweg (18) and Jeffrey Schmidt (18), two Dutchmen Dennis van de Laar (18) and Pieter Schothorst (20), a Spaniard Alex Riberas Bou (18) as well as American Connor de Philippi (19) will undertake a comprehensive test programme this Monday and Tuesday in Vallelunga (Italy) with the 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Porsche Junior Programme – 6 Finalisten – 6 Finalists
Stuttgart. A video from the final of the Porsche Junior process on the Autodromo di Vallelunga, which is contested on Monday and Tuesday,
In the lead-up, the six finalists had come out on top in an extensive selection process against young talents from around the world. Factors taken into account were fitness, mental strength, demeanour and technical understanding.
Pieter Schothorst, Dennis van de Laar, Levin Amweg, Connor de Phillippi, Alex Riberas Bou, Jeffrey Schmidt, Porsche Junior Programme, Vallelunga
Now working alongside engineers on the track, the junior drivers, all of whom were successful in various national and international formula race series, will be tested for consistent times over a race distance as well as in simulated qualifying laps. Moreover, candidates must demonstrate their skill in handling the media with television interviews and photo shoots.
Porsche Junior Programme 2013 – Second video from the final of the process
Stuttgart. A further video from the final of the Porsche Junior process on the Autodromo di Vallelunga, which is contested on Monday and Tuesday.
In the weeks following the selection process, two pilots will be chosen after careful analysis of all data and given support in their 2013 Carrera Cup Deutschland campaign as Porsche juniors. Porsche provides a large part of the season’s budget. The junior pilots choose their own race team based on a defined set of criteria from Porsche Motorsport
Dennis van de Laar, Levin Amweg, Pieter Schothorst, Connor de Phillippi, Jeffrey Schmidt, Alex Riberas Bou, PorscheJunior Programme, Vallelunga
Aside from financial funding as well as support from an experienced coach who accompanies the two drivers on and off the race track, the Porsche juniors receive assistance similar to the internationally successful Porsche factory pilots.
Fitness tests with constantly adapted training plans as well as media coaching, technical seminars and sponsor obligations are also part of the programme. In the 2012 season, both Porsche juniors Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Klaus Bachler (Austria) started the programme which initially runs for four years.
Porsche has intensively supported talented youngsters in motorsport since 1997. T
“The six finalists have had very little opportunity to get experience at the wheel of a GT race car. They have far exceeded our expectations,” praises Maassen.
“All of the pilots very quickly grasped how you have to drive the 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in order to be fast.”
Aside from financial support, the drivers receive assistance similar to the
Stuttgart. The Motorsport Newsletter regularly provides information on Porsche Motorsport around the world.
Development of an LMP1 sports prototype: Porsche returns to Le Mans Porsche returns to Le Mans with a works-run LMP1 sports prototype. The first outing of the race car developed from scratch is planned for 2014.
With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans. The last overall victory went to the Porsche 911 GT1 in the year 1998.
Porsche 911 GT1
Nürburgring 24 Hours: Porsche triumphs and sets new distance record Dramatic 24 hour sprint:
At the 39th running of the classic on the Nuerburgring-Nordschleife (25/26 June), works drivers Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas as well as Lucas Luhr took the lead with a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR after 7:25 hours ahead of strong competition from Audi, BMW und Mercedes.
(l. – r.): Timo Bernhard, Lucas Luhr, Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas
P1, 24h Nürburgring
Timo Bernhard, Lucas Luhr, Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas
P1, 24h Nürburgring
The quartet fended off rivals to the flag and set a distance record of 3,958.968 kilometres. For Porsche and the Manthey Racing squad, this marked the fifth victory at the “Ring” in the last six years – the same for Timo Bernhard.
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
For the innovative Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid the weekend ran less smoothly. Works drivers Joerg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer and Patrick Long led the field after four hours in front of 220,000 spectators, but spent a lot of time in the pits with a broken flange on the differential to finish 23rd.
Le Mans Series/Intercontinental Le Mans Cup: Fourth after tough struggle Works drivers Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz brought the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton home in fourth as the best Porsche at the third round of the LMS (3 July, 4th ILMC race) in Imola.
Team Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR , Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz
After being the innocent victims of two accidents in the first two races, this result was the best for the title defenders in the GTE Pro category.
Nicolas Armindo (l), Raymond Narac (r)
P1, GTE-Am, Le Mans Series Imola
Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac were delighted with victory number two in the GTE Am class with their 911 GT3 RSR fielded by IMSA Performance Matmut.
IMSA Performance Matmut, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo
Porsche Carrera World Cup: René Rast wins the greatest Porsche race of all time Rain, the world’s most difficult circuit and a field hailing from 25 countries: The Porsche Carrera World Cup on the Nordschleife, contested prior to the 24 hour race, was not for the faint-hearted.
René Rast (D)
Porsche Carrera World Cup – Nürburgring 2011
After six hours and about 150 kilometres, René Rast celebrated overall victory at the greatest Porsche race in history. In the class for 911 GT3 Cup vehicles from 2007 to 2009, Timo Rumpfkeil won.
For the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup and many national Carrera Cups the race counted towards their respective championships. René Rast took home maximum points for the Supercup.
Former champion Tim Harvey was the quickest in the Carrera Cup Great Britain (13th overall). Kévin Estre won the Carrera Cup France (6th overall), Alessandro Balzan was the best Italian (12th overall) and Johan Kristoffersson the best driver from the Carrera Cup Scandinavia (25th overall).
Grand-Am: Andrew Davis and Leh Keen at the front at half-way mark After the seventh of twelve Grand-Am races, Andrew Davis and Leh Keen rank second in the GT driver’s classification. At the six hour race in Watkins Glen (4 June) the duo won their class in a Brumos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with none other than racing legend Hurley Haywood calling the tactical shots. On the last June weekend (27 June), Davis and Keen clinched sixth in Road America.
French GT Championship: Dream weekend for Porsche teams With a double win for Patrick Bornhauser/Laurent Groppi in Larbre Compétition’s 911 GT3 R ahead of Anthony Beltoise/Laurent Pasquali in the GT3 R of Pro GT by Almeras, the fourth race weekend took off in Val de Vienne (25/26 June).
Porsche 911 GT3 R: Anthony Beltoise, Laurent Pasquali
GT Championship France, Val de Vienne
A one-two-three at race two with Beltoise/Pasquali in front of Bornhauser/Groppi and Laurent Cazenave/Jean-Claude Police in the sister Almeras-Porsche made the weekend perfect for Porsche.
Italian GT Championship: Autorlando pilot battles for points’ lead After a win and a second place at the third race weekend at the Autodromo dell Umbria near Magione (19 June), Autorlando pilot Ruberti lies a close second in the GT drivers’ classification. Ruberti shared the cockpit in Magione with his regular teammate Mario Cordoni.
Belcar Endurance Championship: Tactical brilliance yields win for Prospeed A courageous tyre choice and a perfect performance from drivers Marc Goossens and Maxime Soulet yielded the Prospeed Competition team their second win of the season at round three in Spa (18 June).
The squad sent the 911 GT3 R into the three-hour race on slicks, whilst the competition opted for rain tyres. With ten laps to go, Prospeed again made the right choice with slicks and won by more than a minute. Goossens/Soulet currently lead the driver’s classification.
British GT Championship: Victory for Trackspeed-Porsche at Brands Hatch Tim Bridgman and Gregor Fisken are the victors of the spectacular third race in Brands Hatch (19 June). A rain shower after the first half hour provided thrills and spills amongst the 30-strong field.
Bridgman and Fisken brought their Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Trackspeed home in first after two hours. Reigning champion David Ashburn was forced into retirement with a fire in the rear left wheel arch of his Porsche.
Pikes Peak Race to the Clouds: Jeff Zwart clocks record time in 911 GT2 RS At the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT2 RS, American Jeff Zwart set a record time for street homologated sports cars at the famous Pikes Peak Race to the Clouds in Colorado (26 June).
Porsche 911 GT2 RS: Jeff Zwart
Pikes Peak Race, Colorado
In the 620 hp 911, he broke the old record on the 20 kilometre track which leads over 156 corners from an altitude of 2,860 up to 4,600 metres, by 24 seconds.
Porsche 911 GT2 RS: Jeff Zwart
Pikes Peak Race, Colorado
Zwart had collected the 911 GT3 RS himself from Porsche Motorsport in California and drove the 1,770 kilometres to the start.
Carrera Cup Deutschland: Six races, six different winners Sean Edwards from Great Britain won the sixth round of the season on the rain-soaked, extremely difficult Norisring in Nuremberg (3 July) to extend his points’ lead ahead of Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Round five of the series run at the Porsche Carrera World Cup (25 June) went to Nicolas Armindo, with the Frenchman finishing fifth out of 98 starters.
Carrera Cup Japan: Hideto Yasuoka unstoppable At the fourth and fifth race of the Carrera Cup Japan on the extremely demanding Fuji International Speedway (11/12 June), Hideto Yasuoka again proved unbeatable in his class with two pole-to-flag wins.
(l.-r.): Akira Fujita, Hideto Yasuoka, Michael Green
Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, Fuji International Speedway
The talented youngster driving for the Garmin Porsche team has yet to be beaten in 2011. Akira Fujita secured second place twice.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama: Macneil and Cisneros win in Montreal Cooper Macneil (Alex Job Racing) celebrated his first victory in the Platinum Cup class after a rainy fifth round on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve run as support to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montreal (11 June), with points’ leader Henrique Cisneros retiring after a journey off the track. Gold Cup class honours went to Eduardo Cisneros after a hefty duel with the 15-year-old front-runner Madison Snow.
GT3 Cup Challenge Brasil: Rosset and Junior continue on-going duel With fading brakes, points’ leader Ricardo Rosset managed to salvage his victory at the first race in Interlagos (18 June), fending off an attack from second-placed Constantino Junior. Victory at the second race on the same day went to Junior, who had taken up the race from seventh on the grid as per the regulations. In the drivers’ classification, Rosset sits ten points ahead of Junior. The Challenge race for older 911 GT3 Cup was won by Fernando Barci.
Race notes: Pole-sitters Manuel Giao and Miguel Angel de Castro win round three of the Spanish GT Championship (19 June) on the Circuito de Albacete in the 911 GT3 RSR of the Drivex squad. +++ Gianluca Roda and Fabio Babini defend their GTS class lead at the fifth and sixth race of the International GT Open in Spa (25/26 June) with a Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Autorlando Sport.
Stuttgart. With a triumph for Porsche, the Nürburgring 24 hour race came to an end.
After 156 laps on the legendary Nordschleife, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) together with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) won with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Manthey Racing.
For Porsche and Manthey Racing, this marks the fifth victory together in the last six years at the long distance classic in Germany’s Eifel region and for Porsche the eleventh overall victory at this race.
Quotes after the race
Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Porsche AG:
“I’m overwhelmed. Such a success is only possible as a team. I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this. Today, I’m especially proud because we are small but great and successful.”
Matthias Müller, CEO of the Executive Board at Porsche AG:
“This is the first time I’ve been to a 24 hour race for Porsche and I certainly hadn’t anticipated it being so emotional. It was a very great weekend for the Porsche enterprise. All the employees at the track have proven what Porsche Intelligent Performance really stands for. Thank you to all the drivers – not only to the winning troupe, but particularly to the squad in the Hybrid-Porsche. All those drivers put in an excellent effort, as well. And thanks to all those people who worked behind the scenes.”
Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG:
Wolfgang Hatz, Vorstand Forschung und Entwicklung
“I’m proud to be part of such a troupe. What we saw this weekend was an immense team effort. The winning squad virtually just refuelled and changed tyres. I promise that we will continue keeping the revs high in motorsport. There are wonderful things ahead of us. I’m looking forward to the future.”
Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport:
Hartmut Kristen, Porsche-Sportchef
“Congratulations to the crew from Manthey Racing and our staff from Weissach. They did a brilliant job and contributed greatly to our success. I’m very pleased that, after all the wrangling in the run-up, there was a clean, sporting decision on the track. Also decisive for our win was that the 911 GT3 RSR was one hundred percent reliable and we had to put in one fuel stop less than the competition. You would expect this from a Porsche. Of course, our drivers also deserve a huge compliment. Once again, they all conducted themselves faultlessly. That also applies to the quartet in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid that wasn’t able to bring home the success it deserved because of two mechanical problems and an accident. As far as pure power is concerned and with its efficiency, the car has performed as we had expected with its innovative drive concept. It’s a great shame that the results don’t reflect this.”
Marc Lieb (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
Marc Lieb
“Winning this year is one of the most emotional moments of my career. We really didn’t expect to conquer here. After the difficult practices, we pulled ourselves together and said, ‘Let’s give our all’. We didn’t make any mistakes and the entire team put in a superb effort. It’s simply fantastic.”
Timo Bernhard (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
Timo Bernhard
“The fifth victory at this race is something very special, especially because this year was particularly difficult. We had no other choice than to attack from the first moment. At the end of the day, everything went perfectly. My special thanks goes to our team boss Olaf Manthey. He lives for this race like no other and puts his whole heart into it year after year.”
“My fourth win at this race was the hardest. The competition this year was tougher than ever before. We all had to give one hundred percent. We took up the race from 18th on the grid and made the most out of it. I got a fright at one point during the night when a BMW and I touched. I was really afraid that the car was damaged, because right at that point I had no radio contact and I couldn’t ask if I should come in to the pits. So I listened to the car and noticed that everything was okay. Now it’s time to celebrate.”
Lucas Luhr (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
Lucas Luhr
“Our plan was to go all out during the night to get ahead. That worked. We simply had to keep the pressure on from the first to the last moment, because the competition was fierce. During one of my stints there was a slight shunt on the front left, but we taped it up and kept driving. I feel we deserved this win.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Joerg Bergmeister
“It was certainly one of the most difficult races of my career. The power performance and above all the efficiency of the car were great, even better than last year. It’s also so much fun to drive thanks to the Hybrid-boost. I hope we can continue working like this. And one day luck will be on our side.”
Richard Lietz (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Richard Lietz
“The performance of our car was super, all the drivers did a great job and our mechanics put in a mammoth effort. It’s a shame that these efforts weren’t rewarded. But I’m very pleased that our squad decided to pull out all stops and get to the finish line. We owed this to our mechanics and the Porsche fans on the ‘Ring.”
Marco Holzer (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Marco Holzer
“I reckon I was driving one of the best cars in the entire field. We always clocked good lap times. We lost the chance to win through the mechanical problems and an accident. The effort our mechanics made is something I’ve never seen before. And that’s why our goal was to never give up as long as the wheels kept turning. In this regard it’s a small consolation that we crossed the finish line after 24 hours and that we showed the Porsche fans at the track that we never give up.”
Patrick Long (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Patrick Long
“After the flange broke we were out of the top 100 contenders but worked our way up to 28th. For me, not giving up fits in with the Porsche philosophy. I wholeheartedly congratulate our colleagues in the 911 GT3 RSR. Reliability and faultless driving was the key.”
Stuttgart. It was one of the most exciting and dramatic 24 hour races at the Nürburgring.
And it finished with a triumph for Porsche: In front of 220,000 spectators lining the legendary Nordschleife, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany), Romain Dumas (France) as well as Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) won the 39th running of the long distance classic in the Eifel with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and relegated their strong opponents from BMW, Mercedes and Audi to finish down the field.
For Porsche and the Porsche Team Manthey, this marked the fifth victory at the traditional race in the last six years – likewise for Timo Bernhard.
With the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – the world’s most successful GT race car of the last years – the Porsche quartet snatched the lead on Saturday at 23.25 hours and held on to it to the flag.
What followed were 16 hours and 35 minutes at the head of the field, 108 consistently fast and faultless laps under immense pressure on one of the toughest race tracks on earth – this speaks volumes about the reliability of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and for the skill of the pilots. The new distance record set with a total of 156 laps and 3,958.968 kilometres underlines the superb effort of the winners and their team.
“We already knew before the start that we could only win if we worked together as a team, from the drivers through to the mechanics. And this worked very well for the entire time,” Timo Bernhard said. Indeed, aside from the usual tensions on the track, there was just one truly critical situation – strangely enough in the pits.
Lucas Luhr: “During a pit stop the petrol pump didn’t work. Fuel simply didn’t come out. So we had to push our car back to another pump and in doing so lost almost a minute.”
The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid also gave an impressive performance, even though its second start at the 24 hour classic did not yield the anticipated top result.
Fielded by Porsche Team Manthey with Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA), the innovative race car with its ground-breaking drive concept finished an impressive 28th after a breathtaking chase through the field, 17 laps behind the winner.
Showing its true potential, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid moved into the lead on Saturday about four hours after the start. But a broken flange in the differential sent it into the pits for repairs, which cost six laps to the leader. But the trouble wasn’t to stop there: After a good seven hours, the same problem struck again necessitating a second unplanned pit stop. This time repairs took 40 minutes. With a ten-lap gap to the front-runners, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid rejoined the race in position 105. Clocking lap times which were sometimes faster than those at the front, it ploughed through the field to rank 23rd.
However, on Sunday morning the vehicle’s charge was interrupted yet again: While lapping a slower competitor, Patrick Long was nudged and spun at high speed in the Flugplatz passage. In the pits, however, no damages to the vehicle were found.
Manned by Porsche factory pilot Wolf Henzler (Germany) as well as Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany), the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Falken Motorsports took up the race on intermediate tyres. This proved to be a good decision. Wolf Henzler made up several places before pitting after two laps once the rain had stopped to change to slicks. An engine change in the first quarter of the race robbed the team of all chances for a better result. At the flag, the Falken quartet occupied 49th. The swift lap times that the 911 GT3 R yielded after the long repair phase were, in this case, a poor consolation.
“It was somewhat frustrating to drive such great times and yet be so far down the field,” said Wolf Henzler. “Still, considering these times, the mood in the team is good. It gives us a lot of motivation. Despite everything, we’re taking home a wealth of experience from the Nürburgring.”
After a trouble-free early phase under difficult conditions, the Porsche 911 GT3 R, which Manthey Racing ran parallel to the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, was taken out of the race after a good two hours. The team wanted to concentrate on just one car. A perfect strategy that was rewarded with victory. And as Timo Bernhard crossed the finish line with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, the Eifel at last showed its true sunny colours.
Porsche is second best – problems for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Stuttgart. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR by Manthey Racing runs in the 24-hour Nürburgring race continues at the forefront.
After six hours between the Porsche works driver Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) together with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) in second place. Previously they had to not quite five hours to the forefront of the field and up to their pit stop four laps claimed the lead.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid rendered the endurance classic in the Eifel also been leadership. After just over four hours of the Porsche Manthey used innovative racing car was the Porsche factory drivers Jörg Bergmeister (Langenfeld), Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Lochau) and Patrick Long (USA) two laps ahead, before the give guidance for a scheduled pit stops needed.
After presumably at a contact with a competitor, a flange of the differential was broken, had the 911 GT3 R Hybrid to the pits for repairs and lost by six laps on the top.
At the Porsche 911 GT3 R, the shares Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Peter Dumbreck (UK), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany), the engine was replaced. Parallel to the Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 911 GT3 R was used for a smooth start-up phase after two hours taken out of the race as scheduled, so the team can concentrate on one car.
Voices of the driver
Martin Ragginger (No. 44 Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports):
“We were really good at racing and have in the initial phase is not too much risk. Too bad that we have now lost so much time. But we go further and see how far we can still come forward. “
Timo Bernhard (No. 18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
“My stint was no problem. It was mainly in the central part of the route many places where yellow flags were waved and I had to drive slowly in order to not risk a fine sport. “
Lucas Luhr (# 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
“At the pit stop the fuel pump did not work the Nurburgring. There simply was no gasoline. So we had to push the car to another column and have thus lost almost a minute. “
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey (8): Richard Westbrock, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans Guido Riegel – Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (9): Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Stuttgart. The Porsche teams have made a good start to the Nürburgring 24 hour race.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrock, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans Guido Riegel
After just over two hours and 17 laps on the legendary Eifel circuit, the innovative Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid fielded by the Porsche Team Manthey lies in second place.
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
Start driver was Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), who shares the cockpit with his Porsche works driver colleagues Richard Lietz (Österreich), Marco Holzer (Lochau) und Patrick Long (USA). The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Manthey Racing with Porsche factory pilots Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) as well as Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) follow directly behind in third place.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Pinta Racing (27): Michael Illbruck, Manuel Lauck, Jörg van Ommen, Altfrid Heger – Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S, H&R Spezialfedern (31): Jürgen Alzen, Artur Deutgen, Klaus Ludwig, Sascha Bert
Sitting 12th is the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the Haribo Team Manthey with Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), Christian Menzel (Germany), Mike Stursberg (Germany) and Hans Guido Riegel (Germany).
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
The Porsche 911 GT3 R of Falken Motorsports, manned by Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) as well as Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany) currently ranks 15th.
Quotes from the drivers
Marc Lieb (No. 18, 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
“In the first lap it was rather difficult on slicks, but from the second lap onwards it has proved to be the right choice. Unfortunately I lost a lot of time behind a competitor who was zig-zagging over the track to prevent me from passing although I was faster. Otherwise, the car’s running well.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
“The first two laps with slicks on the wet surface were a little critical. But then the ideal line dried and from then on the driving was superb. We obviously had a little luck with our decision not to start on wet tyres, because it could have started to rain again.”
Wolf Henzler (No. 44, 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports):
“We decided to start on intermediate tyres and that was good in the beginning, I made up some places. But on lap two my right front tyres began to scrape and there was a little smoke. To be on the cautious side I drove into the pits. But basically everything was okay, we changed to slicks and I rejoined the race. It drizzled for a short spell and the track became slippery again. The traffic is heavy, above all it’s hard to anticipate what the many slower drivers are going to do. It was agreed that they should blink to show the faster ones what their intentions are. But that happens seldomly.”
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Stuttgart. As the best-placed Porsche team, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) take up the 24 hour race on Saturday with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) from the fourth grid row. At the wheel of Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, they concluded the final qualifying for the long distance classic in the Eifel on eighth place.
Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife, Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife, 18, Manthey Racing GmbH III, Porsche – 911 GT3 R, Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Marco Holzer
Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife,9, Porsche Team Manthey, Porsche – 911 GT3 R, E1-XP Hybrid, Joerg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
The further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Version 2.0) with drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) posted the eleventh quickest time. The Porsche works drivers were able to improve on their first qualifying session by three places, but the gap to the top was just over seven seconds. Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife, 11 Manthey Racing GmbH III, Porsche – 911 GT3 R, Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
On the 16th grid spot are Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR that the Manthey Racing team fields parallel to the 911 GT3 R.
Directly behind them is Porsche factory pilot Wolf Henzler (Germany) as well as Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Falken Motorsports on position 17.
Comments from the drivers
Marc Lieb (No. 11/18, Manthey Racing):
“I drove the GT3 today but didn’t manage to find an optimal lap because I had to wait too long at the pit lane exit and was therefore too late. All in all I have to say that I couldn’t do much more. But we now have 24 hours ahead of us.”
Timo Bernhard (No. 11/18 Manthey Racing):
“I only conducted function tests after changing crucial components like the engine and gearbox. It was all good. The car feels great.”
Romain Dumas (No. 11/18, Manthey Racing):
“Our timing wasn’t perfect. When we wanted to push, it started to rain. But we’ve made huge progress in our set-up and that was our main goal for today. It’ll be a long race and anything can happen.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
“We obviously made the right decision and went for top times when it was dry right from the start. It worked and I got in a clear lap. Our car is handling very well.”
Richard Lietz (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
“Overnight we changed the engine and gearbox and ran in the new parts. The conditions were quite difficult out there because sections of the track were either dry, damp or wet.”
Wolf Henzler (No. 44, Falken Motorsports):
“First we had to run in all the new parts for the race, the engine, gearbox, brake pads and so on. When I wanted to go out for my fast lap it began to rain. At the entrance to the Nordschleife I began to slide on all four wheels and had to abandon my lap. When we tried again towards the end of the session the track was still partly wet and then I encountered a car sideways in front of me and had to brake hard. It’s a shame, I could have done better.”
The 24 hour race takes off on Saturday at 16.00 hours. TV station Sport1 intermittently broadcasts more than 13 hours of the race live on Saturday (from 15.45 hours) and Sunday (17.00 hours). A one-hour highlight programme is televised on Sunday at 22.30 hours.
33 Porsche tackle the long distance classic in the Eifel
Stuttgart. A strong contingent of Porsche teams takes up the 24 hour race on the Nürburgring.
Like last year, Porsche AG as well as various customer teams field 33 vehicles featuring the characteristic six-cylinder boxer engine at the 39th running of the long distance classic in Germany’s Eifel region on 25/26 June.
Eight Porsche works drivers contest Germany’s greatest motorsport event at which Porsche has celebrated four overall victories in the last five years.
After an impressive 24 hour debut last year where it held the lead for eight hours witnessed by over 200,000 ardent spectators and grabbed headlines worldwide, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid returns to the Nordschleife this year with the starting number 9.
The vehicle, however, has been substantially reined in by the organizers.
After the latest reclassification, the combustion engine now delivers only 448 hp. Calculated over one lap, the further-developed 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Version 2.0) now delivers a lower system output than last year’s vehicle with a combustion engine.
“This further reduction in performance by the organisers is incomprehensible to us,” says Porsche Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. “There are no data from the two test races as part of the 2011 Nürburgring Long Distance Championship that would provide the basis for such a grading. Our goal was and is to achieve similar lap times to other GT3 vehicles, but with better efficiency. We feel this goal is the right one long term and very much regret that some officials in motorsport can’t or won’t yet come on board with this approach.”
Sharing the cockpit of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 are Porsche factory pilots
Joerg Bergmeister (Germany)
Richard Lietz (Austria)
Patrick Long (USA)
and Marco Holzer (Germany)
who were all deeply involved in the vehicle development. The efficiency of the innovative race car from Weissach was improved through targeted optimisation of the hybrid components. The general hybrid layout of the Version 2.0 was adopted from its predecessor. The output of both electric motors in the portal axle increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. They supplement the four-litre six-cylinder boxer engine which now only delivers 448 hp after the repeated power reduction.
For seconds at a time, pilots now have about 200 hp more at their disposal, which is equivalent to ca. 32 hp of additional conventional power per Nordschleife lap. Depending on the programming, this electrical power is automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal.
Moreover, hybrid pilots can manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking.
“We’ll go all out to continue on from last year’s strong performance with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. It won’t be easy against the strong opposition who have taken major steps forward, particularly since our car has been disproportionately handicapped,” says Joerg Bergmeister. The Porsche works driver is looking forward to the Nordschleife: “It’s one of the world’s most beautiful race tracks. It’s incredibly demanding but it’s incredible fun as well. Every lap is a challenge.”
This year, the winning Manthey Racing squad fields two Porsche 911 – a GT3 R and a GT3 RSR – sporting a prominent yellow-green design. Manning both vehicles is the winning Porsche works driver quartet, Timo Bernhard (Germany),
Romain Dumas (France)
Marc Lieb (Germany)
as well as Manthey pilot Lucas Luhr (Switzerland)
who have notched up over 50 major international titles between them.
Every year, Timo Bernhard is thrilled anew by the unique atmosphere of the non-stop motorsport party.
Timo Bernhard
“Driving on the Nordschleife is always an experience,” says the Porsche works driver and Le Mans winner, who has contributed to all four Porsche overall victories here between 2006 and 2009. “Although you’re constantly challenged as a driver and there is no chance to catch your breath over the long laps, you still don’t want to climb out of the car.”
Another Porsche factory pilot, Wolf Henzler (Germany), competes for the Falken Motorsport team.
His teammates in the #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R are Martin Ragginger (Austria), Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain) and Sebastian Asch (Germany).
Also hoping for a top result is the Haribo Manthey Racing (No. 8) line-up of Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), Christian Menzel (Germany), Mike Stursberg (Germany) and Hans Guido Riegel (Germany).
With the all-German crew of Georg Weiss, Oliver Kainz, Michael Jacobs and Jochen Krumbach, the Wochenspiegel Team Manthey has proven Nordschleife specialists at the wheel of the #26 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R (No. 10) is manned by another strong squad with Marc Gindorf (Monaco), Wolfgang Kohler (Germany) and Peter Scharmach (New Zealand).
The 39th edition of the Nürburgring 24 hour race starts on Saturday 25 June at 16.00 hours. Television station Sport1 broadcasts a total of over 13 hours live on Saturday (from 15.45 hours) and Sunday (from 07.00 hours) intermittently. A one-hour highlight programme of the race will be televised on Sunday at 22.30 hours.
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Schedule Nürburgring 24 hour race
Thursday, 23 June
14.30 – 16.00 hrs, Free practice
19.30 – 23.30 hrs, 1st qualifying
Friday, 24 June
14.00 hrs, Porsche press conference
16.55 – 18.55 hrs, 2nd qualifying
Saturday, 25 June
13.30 – 15.10 hrs, Grid line-up
15.40 hrs, Formation lap
16.00 hrs, Start
Stuttgart. Last year’s winners narrowly missed out on the podium at the 79th running of the long distance classic.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton: Richard Lietz, Marc Lieb, Wolf Henzler
After 24 hours, the Felbermayr-Proton team with Porsche works drivers
Marc Lieb (Germany),
Richard Lietz (Austria)
and Wolf Henzler (Germany) received the flag as fourth in the GTE Pro sports car class.
The French IMSA Performance Matmut squad clinched fifth place ahead of Flying Lizard Motorsports from the USA.
The 911 of the Belgian ProSpeed Competition team crossed the finish line
at the Le Mans 24 Hours in eighth.
In the GTE Am class, where only one professional race driver is permitted per vehicle and only last year’s vehicles are eligible to race, the French Larbre Competition team celebrated second place with the 911 GT3 RSR.
“All of our teams took off into the race well prepared. Under the most difficult circumstances, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR proved to be enormously durable and reliable. Unfortunately our teams had to cope with two accidents. You could clearly see the performance differences that are a direct result of the current Balance of Performance ratings. Unfortunately the fastest 911 GT3 RSR were affected by the phenomenon that they couldn’t turn the number of laps per set of tyres that were calculated which meant some extra pit stops for tyre changes. Under these conditions we can be satisfied with the results – especially in the GTE Am class where our team claimed a spot on the podium. I congratulate all the teams, drivers and partners who have contributed to this good result.”
Like in 2010, the best-placed Porsche crew put in a brilliant drive with high reliability in all areas. Drivers Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Wolf Henzler drove an immaculate race that was punctuated by many accidents and safety car phases. Only in the early stages of the race, the team lost more than one lap, first at the red light on the exit of the pitlane, then due to tyre damage which also required repairs to the car body.
Other than that, the blue 911 GT3 RSR only came into the pits for tyre changes and refuelling. Under the leadership of team boss Christian Ried, the pit crew of the Felbermayr-Proton team again shone with very fast pit stops.
Porsche works driver Patrick Pilet (France) also lost time in the jam at the red light of the pitlane exit. Shortly before midnight, Pilet and his driver colleagues, team owner Raymond Narac and his French compatriot Nicolas Armindo were ranking eighth in the GTE Pro class.
With consistent lap times and a perfectly-running 911, the trio with the two seasoned Le Mans campaigners Pilet and Narac and the 24 hour rookie Armindo fought their way up to fifth place.
The pilots of Flying Lizard Motorsports can look back on a lively marathon.
In the opening phase of the race, the set-up was not perfect, and they also had to contend with tyre damage. For a while, works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) as well as Lucas Luhr (Germany) held a promising fourth place, only to fall back to eighth with technical problems.
After a difficult race, the trio were satisfied to finally bring home sixth place.
Fight to the finish – that was also the motto of the Belgian squad.
Works driver Marco Holzer (Germany), Belgium’s Marc Goossens and Jaap van Lagen from the Netherlands had all but worked their way nearly into the lead after the first third of the race but finally finished in eighth place after losing time with two minor repair stops.
The untiring mechanics of ProSpeed Competition received a very special honour:
They won the “Prix ESCRA”, an award that has been endowed for the 36th time to the best pit crew of the entire race.
In the GTE Am category, Larbre Competition were thrilled with second place in a 2010-spec 911 manned by the all-French line up of Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon und Jean-Philippe Belloc.
Two 911 GT3 RSR retired after accidents that were not their fault. One of those affected was the sister car of Felbermayr-Proton. Suffering tyre damage Abdulaziz Al Faisal (Saudi Arabia) flew from the track in the fast Indianapolis corner.
Al Faisal
Luckily, Al Faisal climbed out uninjured, but the Pro-911, which he shared with Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Bryce Miller (USA), was so badly damaged that the team was unable to repair it.
Horst Felbermayr Senior (Team Proton Competition)
Contesting the GTE Am class, Horst Felbermayr Senior (Team Proton Competition) fell victim to an opponent at 8.00 a.m. when his 911 GT3 RSR was hit hard on the driver’s side.The Austrian was transported to hospital for a medical examination.
Result Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro class
1. Garcia/Milner/Beretta (E/USA/MC), Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, 314 laps
2. Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander (I/I/FIN), Ferrari 458 Italia, 314
3. Priaulx/Müller/Hand (GB/D/USA), BMW M3 GT, 313 4. Lieb/Lietz/Henzler (D/A/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 312 5. Pilet/Narac/Armindo (F/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 311 6. Bergmeister/Long/Luhr (D/USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 310 8. Holzer/Goossens/van Lagen (D/B/NL), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 293
GTE Am class
1. Gardel/Canal/Bornhauser (CH/F/F), Chevrolet Corvette C6-ZR1, 302 laps 2. Bourret/Gibon/Belloc (F/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 301
Facts and figures
This is the Le Mans 24 Hours
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With grid line-up of 55 vehicles, the 24 Hours of Le Mans consists of two different sports car categories: sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical regulations of the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) correspond to those of the 24 hour race. All race cars start together in Le Mans; there is an overall classification and a classification for individual classes.
