A major motorsport appearance for Porsche in the USA: One week before the Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca/California – the world’s largest event showcasing historic Porsche race cars – the latest GT racers from Weissach will compete at Austin/USA on 19 September: On the Circuit of the Americas, the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC heads into the second half of the season, while the Tudor United SportsCar Championship runs its penultimate race of the 2015 season. In this hotly-contested North American sports car series, which concludes with the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta on 3 October, Porsche leads all championship classifications in the GTLM class. In the WEC, victory at the Nürburgring has put Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz in the lead of the World Endurance Cup for GT Pilots.
On the circuit southwest of the Texas capital near the Colorado River, race fans can look forward to experiencing the great fascination of Porsche GT sport and witness three of the successful GT racers from Weissach in action – the 911 RSR, the 911 GT America, as well as the 911 GT3 Cup in a double-header event as part of the GT3 Cup Challenge USA. A total of nine Porsche GT works drivers will tackle the WEC and the Tudor United SportsCar Championship for the Porsche Manthey and the Porsche North America squads. Moreover, another six factory pilots will contest the WEC in a third Porsche works team-entry campaigning two 919 Hybrids.
The Porsche GT drivers In the WEC, the Porsche Manthey outfit fields a pair of Porsche 911 RSR on the 5.513-kilometre Grand Prix circuit: Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Richard Lietz (Austria), the winners of the Nürburgring round, share driving duties in number 91 Porsche 911 RSR in the GTE-Pro class, with their French teammates Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet manning the nine-eleven with the starting number 92 in the same class. Two customer teams take on the GTE-Am class running the 911 RSR: Dempsey Proton Racing with the American actor and race driver Patrick Dempsey as well as Patrick Long (USA), and Abu Dhabi Proton Racing with New Zealander Earl Bamber, who recently supported the squad at the Nürburgring. The Le Mans outright winner joins forces with Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) in the number 912 Porsche 911 RSR to also tackle the Tudor United SportsCar Championship for Porsche North America. Patrick Pilet will contest two races, as well. The points’ leader in the GTLM drivers’ classification of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship shares the cockpit of Porsche North America’s second 911 RSR (#911) with Le Mans overall winner Nick Tandy (Great Britain). The duo has won the last three races at Bowmanville, Road America and Danville. Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Bryan Sellers (USA), the winners of the six-hour classic at Watkins Glen, again take up the challenge for the Falken Tire customer team.
The Porsche 911 RSR The Porsche 911 RSR, which is campaigned in both the WEC and the Tudor United SportsCar Championship featuring different aerodynamic configurations, is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car and crowned its maiden 2013 season with a double GTE-Pro class victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The winning racer from Weissach, mounted with a 3,996 cc flat-six engine in the rear developing 345 kW (470 hp), is characterised by a consequent lightweight design and sophisticated aerodynamics. The insights gained during the vehicle’s development and at race outings are directly incorporated into the design of future 911 generations. Last year the 911 RSR won three of America’s most prestigious long distance classics, the Daytona 24 Hours, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans.
The schedule The six-hour race on the Circuit of the Americas takes off on Saturday, 19 September, at 17.00 hours local time (Sunday 00.00 hrs CEST). TV station Eurosport broadcasts the entire race and the podium ceremony live. The Tudor United SportsCar Championship event gets underway on Saturday at 11.35 hours local time (18.35 CEST) and runs over 2:40 hours. The race can be seen live on www.imsa.com.
Quotes before the race
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “Porsche brings a large works contingent to Austin again this year. It’s a tremendous event with all three factory teams competing. This is perfect for us, because we’re all at the track together and it’ll be great for the many Porsche fans – they’re in for a real treat. Austin is a fantastic, very demanding circuit and therefore poses a real challenge for our drivers and teams. After a total of five straight wins in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship and the WEC we are well prepared and keen to once again give the best possible performance with our 911 RSR.”
Marco Ujhasi, Overall Project Leader GT Works Motorsport: “The Circuit of the Americas is a wonderful track. It has everything: slow corners, fast corners. The challenge is to find the right mechanical setup for the slow corners and the perfect aerodynamic balance for the fast bends. High temperatures could be another decisive factor. Whoever gauges it right and opts for the correct tyres at the start has an advantage. We’re going testing in Austin beforehand. If we make the most of the tests then I’ll feel confident for the race.”
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #91): “I’m looking forward to Austin. I enjoy driving in the USA and I hope we can continue our success streak in the WEC on this great circuit. The weather plays a major role here. Last year it was hot and humid at first and then torrential rain hit. They even had to interrupt the race.”
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to compete at Austin last year. This makes me all the more pleased to return to the USA. We head into the second half of the season feeling very good. We’ve spent a long time working hard and very focussed on our 911 RSR and we’ve made great progress. Like at the Nürburgring, I hope all this effort pays off again in Austin.
Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “It’s great to be back driving in the USA. I like the Austin circuit. It’s a modern Grand Prix track but still demanding and lots of fun. Things went well for us here last year and I finished second. It would be fantastic if we could improve that result by one place. In any case, we’ll be working hard towards achieving this.”
Patrick Pilet (Porsche 911 RSR #92/#911): “It’ll definitely be tough. I raced at Austin twice last year. Switching the 911 RSR cars with their very different aero kits is an interesting challenge. The fact that I’m contesting the Tudor United SportsCar Championship as the points’ leader doesn’t put me under any additional pressure. We’re continuing to work as we’ve always done over the entire season and we only look ahead to the next race. I’m hoping for a perfect weekend. Let’s see where we eventually end up.”
Earl Bamber (Porsche 911 RSR #88/#912): “I have fond memories of Austin. Last year I secured the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup title there. This time I’m facing two interesting challenges: In the Tudor United SportsCar Championship we’ve scored three second places and so now it’s time for a victory, and in the WEC I’m teaming up with the guys from Abu Dhabi Proton Racing. Two races in one day will definitely be tough, but at least I won’t be bored.”
Jörg Bergmeister (Porsche 911 RSR #912): “The Tudor United SportsCar Championship and the WEC in one event – sports car fans can’t wish for more than that. I’m looking forward to seeing my WEC teammates again and also to returning to the Austin race track. It’s interesting and above all really demanding, particularly because of several exceptional corner combinations. Precisely what I like.”
Nick Tandy (Porsche 911 RSR #911): “When you win three races in a row like Patrick and I have, then everyone expects the next victory. That is our aim, of course, but it’s not easy. The level of competition in the GTLM class is really high, every race is fiercely contested. The most important thing is to earn as many championship points as possible and extend Porsche’s lead in the manufacturers’ classification as we head to the final round at Road Atlanta.”
Patrick Dempsey (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “It’s always something very special to race in the USA. Austin is a fantastic city with great flair and outgoing people, almost like a little world of its own within the United States. I’m looking forward to seeing the many fans who will witness some gripping motorsport – and to a great race on a very beautiful track.”
Patrick Long (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “I’m particularly looking forward to this race. Not least because of Austin. It’s a great city that represents a lot of what the United States stands for – cultural heritage, but also progress. Add to this the modern yet very selective race track. I can’t imagine a better venue for a WEC race in the United States.”
The Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC Sports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the WEC (World Endurance Championship) in four classes: LMP1 (eg. Porsche 919 Hybrid), LMP2, LMGTE-Pro (eg. 911 RSR) and LMGTE-Am (eg. 911 RSR, 2014 homologation). They all compete together in one race but are classified separately.
The Tudor United SportsCar Championship The Tudor United SportsCar Championship is a sports car race series contested in the USA and Canada which was run in 2014 for the first time. The series was formed from the merger of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Series. Sports prototypes and sports cars start in four different classes: GTLM (e.g. Porsche 911 RSR), GTD (e.g. Porsche 911 GT America), P and PC.
Press release Porsche
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