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FIA WEC – Porsche Team Manthey and Richard Lietz arrive as series leaders

Porsche 911 RSR (92), Porsche Team Manthey: Patrick Pilet, Frederic MakowieckiSuspense is growing in the fight for the Sports Car World Championship WEC (World Endurance Championship) title. On November 1, the Shanghai International Circuit hosts the seventh and penultimate round of the season. After scoring two double victories on the Nürburgring and in Austin as well as second place at Fuji, the Porsche Manthey squad now tackles the six-hour race in the People’s Republic of China as the points’ leader of the GTE-Pro team classification with two Porsche 911 RSR. Porsche factory pilot Richard Lietz (Austria) heads to China with the 470 hp winning racer from Weissach as the leader of the fiercely-competitive World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers.

The Porsche drivers Sharing the cockpit of the #91 Porsche 911 RSR on the 5.541-kilometre race track on the outskirts of China’s financial capital are this season’s two-time winners Richard Lietz (Austria) and Michael Christensen (Denmark). The second 911 RSR (#92) is occupied by their French teammates Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet. Two customer teams contest the GTE-Am class with the 911 RSR: Representing Dempsey Proton Racing, which celebrated its maiden WEC victory recently at Fuji, the American actor and race driver Patrick Dempsey joins forces with his compatriot Patrick Long as well as German Marco Seefried. The 911 fielded by Abu Dhabi Proton Racing is crewed by Christian Ried (Germany), Klaus Bachler (Austria) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi).

The Porsche 911 RSR The 470 hp Porsche 911 RSR is the racing version of the iconic 911 sportscar, the best-selling road-going sports car worldwide, and crowned its maiden 2013 season with a double GTE-Pro class victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours. In the United SportsCar Championship run in the USA and Canada, Porsche netted all championship titles in the GTLM class this season. The winning racer mounted with a flat-six engine in the rear 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. In 2014, 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 Shanghai International Circuit gets underway on Sunday, 1 November, at 11.00 hrs local time (04.00 hrs CEST). Eurosport broadcasts the entire race and the podium ceremony live.

Comments before the race Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “At the last races, especially at the Nürburgring and in Austin, we managed to take the strengths of the 911 RSR and convert them into a good performance. These experiences have also been used in our preparation for Shanghai. In the bid for championship honours, we will very likely see a preliminary decision. So with a view to the season finale at Bahrain, the main priority for us is to try and extend our lead in the driver and team classifications as well as safeguard our title chance in the manufacturers’ championship by achieving a top result.” Marco Ujhasi, Overall Project Lead GT Works Motorsport: “In Shanghai, consistency will again be paramount, not just the one fast lap. The setup will reflect this. Our 911 RSR should handle the fast passages even better this year. That’s our focus. Our goal is to repeat the result from last year.” Porsche 911 RSR (91), Porsche Team Manthey:  Richard Lietz, Michael ChristensenMichael Christensen (911 RSR #91): “After Fuji, I’m looking forward to learning another new track. I’m actually very keen to see Shanghai. I’ve never been to China and my teammates tell me that the city is really impressive. Porsche’s victory here last year is exactly the right motivation. I hope we can continue our good performances from the last few weeks.” Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “The circuit features a really long straight and a couple of fast corners, so you have to find a good compromise when setting up the aerodynamics. That’s very difficult because the surface over the course of the weekend can change dramatically at times. At the start there is very little rubber on the track because not many races are held there, but from day to day the debris left by tyres increases. We learned a lot of good things here over the last years and therefore we’re feeling optimistic.” Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “We have great memories of Shanghai. Of course we’d like to repeat last year’s one-two result but the circuit is not easy on tyres. We need to find a good compromise with the setup of our 911 RSR. The second half of this year is going really well for Porsche. I’m confident that we can continue our winning streak in Shanghai.” Patrick Pilet (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “A beautiful race track but tough on the tyres. This makes it hard to find the right setup. But we’ve already shown in many races that we’re up to the challenge.” Patrick Long (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “I’ve only been to Shanghai once for the auto show, so I don’t yet know the circuit. But from what I’ve heard, it’s not easy. I’m looking forward to this challenge. We have a fast and reliable car. The win at Fuji underlined what we can do as a team.”

The Sports Car World Championship WEC Sports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the Sports Car World Championship 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.

Press release Porsche

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