Porsche Motorsports Weekly Event Notes: Monday, September 18, 2017
Upcoming Events.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Event: Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Dateline: Monterey, California
Date: Sunday, September 24
Track Length: 2.238-miles, 11-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours, 40-Minutes
Class: GTLM (Porsche 911 RSR)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTLM. 10 of 11
GTD. 11 of 12
Next Round: Motul Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, October 4 – 7, 2017
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
Event: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 240, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Dateline: Monterey, California
Date: Saturday, September 23
Track Length: 2.238-miles, 11-turn
Race Duration: 4-Hours
Class: GT4/GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR, Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport)
Round: GT4/GS. 9 of 10
Next Round: Road Atlanta 120, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, October 4 - 7, 2017
Porsche Profile.
Event Story Lines.
Long Secures Second PWC Championship. Porsche and Teams Take Titles with 911 GT3 R.
Porsche factory ace Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) secured his second career Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) Overall GT Driver Championship with a pair of podium finishes in the series’ finale at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. In addition, the 13-year “works” driver’s performance in the No. 58 Porsche Consulting Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R secured the Sprint Championship GT Driver title, the GT Team Championship for Wright Motorsports and Porsche the GT Manufacturer’s title.
In the GTA class, James Sofronas (Villa Park, California) leaves the 2017 PWC season with the SprintX, Sprint and Overall Driver titles. The No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 R was able to sweep the SprintX and Overall accolades at the SprintX finale at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The Sprint Championship came to Sofronas with his second-place result, behind Michael Schein (Glen Cove, New York) in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports 911 GT3 R, on Saturday at Sonoma. Sofronas put his final mark on 2017 by winning Round 10 of the GTA class at Sonoma.
The SprintX GT Cup AM/AM Driver Championship was awarded to Joe Toussaint (Houston, Texas) and Cory Friedman (Charleston, South Carolina) in their No. 90 Autometrics Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at COTA while the SprintX GTS PRO/AM Championship titlists are Adam Merzon (Greenwich, Connecticut) and Trent Hindman (West Long Branch, New Jersey) with the Case-It Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR.
Long, the 2011 Champion of North America’s premiere sprint format GT racing series, earned a third-place finish and set the race’s fastest lap in Round 9 of the ten-race Sprint championship. The result guaranteed the Overall Championship for the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans-winner and the Manufacturer title for Porsche. Starting from the pole position by virtue of Saturday’s fastest lap, Long fell into second-place and made several attempts for the lead in Sunday’s Round 10. However, he would finish the 50-minute race in second-place. The podium result locked the Sprint championships for Long, Wright and Porsche.
Patrick Long, Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“It’s been a magical weekend for Wright Motorsports and Porsche. The Overall and Manufacturer’s championship is what we set out to win and I wouldn’t have imagined being able to close it out with one round remaining. It’s been a long wait since the end of last year when we came so close. Everyone at Wright and Porsche put their heads down and came to the track prepared every single weekend this season.
To finish with a double podium on a high stakes, high-pressure weekend is a different type of test for a driver. We could’ve come into this and taken ‘intentional walks’ of mid-pack finishes to capitalize on the overall, but that is not us. The guys at Wright Motorsports put in tireless hours this year. During the race week, they’re here long after the drivers leave and long before we show up. These guys deserve to be up there on the stage to join in the celebration and closing the deal on the team championship was the best way to do that."
Porsche in Monterey. Porsche 911 RSR and 911 GT3 R IMSA Teams Head West.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship goes west with its penultimate round of the season at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway (MRLS) on September 24. The Porsche GT Team tackles the fiercely contested GTLM class on the 2.238-miles, 11-turn circuit through the hills of Monterey, California with two, 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR racecars. Four Porsche customer teams again campaign the 911 GT3 R in the Pro-Am style GTD class in the two-hour, 40-minute race.
Four Porsche factory drivers will campaign the official works entries. Patrick Pilet (France) and Dirk Werner (Germany), who gave the 911 RSR its first international victory at Lime Rock Park earlier this IMSA season, again share the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR in Monterey. Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Gianmaria Bruni (Italy) drive the second 911 RSR (No. 912).
Two other factory drivers will compete for Porsche customer squads in the GTD class. Last year’s MRLS-winning car, the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports 911 GT3 R, will be shared by Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California). The team won its first race of the year, the 911 GT3 R’s second victory of the season, at Lime Rock Park. North America’s only “works” driver, Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California), will join Daniel Morad (Canada) in the Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning No. 28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Illinois) and Gunnar Jeanette (Salt Lake City, Utah) bring the No. 50 WeatherTech Racing 911 GT3 R to the challenge and the fourth of the 500 horsepower GT3-spec machines is the No. 54 CORE autosport Porsche of Jon Bennett (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Colin Braun (Harrisburg, North Carolina).
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice-President Motorsport and GT Cars.
“The race at Laguna Seca is traditionally one of the season highlights. We want to build on the strong performance and successes of our new 911 RSR at Lime Rock and Road America. And a top result would give the whole team an additional boost heading to Petit Le Mans, the final race of the season at Road Atlanta. There, we want to win the North American Endurance Cup with our new 911 RSR. This is the prestigious long-distance competition of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.”
Marco Ujhasi, Director GT Factory Motorsports.
“We’ve typically contested the Laguna Seca round in May. In September, the temperatures will be a little cooler. We’ll adapt to the conditions. Laguna Seca is one of the racetracks where the slightest mistake costs a lot of time. The highlight is of course ‘The Corkscrew’ [turn]. You don’t find such a turn anywhere else in the world. Our drivers are looking forward to the challenge.”
Sebastian Golz, Project Manager GT Customer Motorsport.
“The circuit is characterized by one corner after the other. The drivers need to be extremely alert. We’re very curious to see how our customer teams use the strengths of the rear-engine concept when braking for the corners and the traction advantage when accelerating out. We already saw that Laguna Seca suits the 911 GT3 R racer in 2016, when it scored its first win in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.”
Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Laguna Seca is one of the most beautiful racetracks in the USA. We’ve secured a lot of great results there with Porsche, but we’ve not won as a factory program recently. We want to change that with the new 911 RSR, but it’ll be hard work. The rollercoaster track is very demanding. The key to success here are the tires and finding a good compromise with the vehicle setup.”
Dirk Werner, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Laguna Seca is worth the long trip to the west coast of the United States. It’s a fantastic racetrack with a great history and it’s located in a very charming area. It’s a lot of fun driving there. The circuit should suit our 911 RSR. I hope that we’ll be able to show our Porsche fans in California what our car is capable of.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“I’ve never actually raced at Laguna Seca before. I only know the circuit from computer games that I played as a kid. I’m now looking forward to competing there with the 911 RSR. It’ll definitely be a very interesting experience.”
Gianmaria Bruni, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Laguna Seca is one of the races I really look forward to. I like California and the atmosphere at this unique racetrack. The races there are almost always really thrilling. And I’m expecting another tough battle for victory there this time, too. I hope that we’ll be part of that fight with the 911 RSR.”
Patrick Long, Driver, No. 28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Laguna Seca has something magical about it. I live in California, so this is one of my home races. The racetrack through the dunes is fantastic, but it has its pitfalls. When the wind blows sand onto the track, the conditions can change from one lap to the next. That makes it difficult, but at the same time appealing.”
Jörg Bergmeister, Driver, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“When racing drivers talk about Laguna Seca, it’s always about the famous Corkscrew. It’s a tricky corner like Eau Rouge in Spa. You approach it in fifth gear at 130 miles per hour and suddenly you’re looking at the sky. When you turn in, you can’t see a thing and you don’t know what’s ahead. It’s a huge challenge every lap to negotiate this corner perfectly.”
COTA One-Two. Porsche 919 Hybrid Scores WEC One-Two Finish in Texas.
By taking a one-two finish in Austin, Texas, the Porsche LMP Team further extended its world championship lead. Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Brendon Hartley (New Zealand), the championship leading 24 Hours of Le Mans winners, crossed the line first at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) was a hot six-hour race with up to 95 degree Fahrenheit ambient temperature and 104 F track temperatures. The reigning world champion Neel Jani (Switzerland), André Lotterer (Germany) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) finished second. This trio had started from pole position and led for most of the race before letting the sister car ahead in the closing stages, which is better placed in the championship. Jani achieved the fastest race lap in one-minute, 47.149-seconds on lap 9 of 192.
The result marked the Porsche 919 Hybrid’s 17th race win and the seventh one-two finish since its debut in 2014. Furthermore, it now has eleven fastest race laps to its tally. Porsche aims to complete the innovative prototype’s career in a perfect manner in its final season this year. Having won the Le Mans 24-Hours three years in a row, the team is aiming to achieve a third consecutive world championship title for manufacturers and drivers. Porsche has now scored 242 points in the manufacturers’ world championship with Toyota on 168.5 points. In the drivers’ rankings, Bamber/Bernhard/Hartley (159 points) have extended their lead over the best-placed Toyota drivers (108 points). Jani/Lotterer/Tandy lie fourth in the championship (90 points). Due to the excessive heat, the maximum consecutive time for a driver at the wheel was limited to 80 minutes per regulations. This made it clear before the start that no double stints would be possible. The 919 Hybrid could do 30 laps with one fuel fill, which lasted approximately 57 minutes.
The seventh of nine WEC rounds will take place on October 15 in Fuji, Japan.
Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1.
“Our fourth consecutive race win is the result of a hard fight as Toyota was a strong competitor. It was a difficult race in incredible heat. Thanks to Porsche, the LMP team at home and here at the race track as well as to our tremendous drivers. We have again moved closer to our target: to defend both championship titles.”
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal.
“After the pole position, the crew of the number 1 Porsche produced a superb race. There is no doubt they deserved the race win. Congratulations to the team of the 919 Hybrid number 2, they made the next step towards the title win. Today we experienced a very, very close race with Toyota. Thanks to an errorless and perfect performance of drivers and team, faultlessly working cars and the right decisions at the right time, we managed the day despite the high temperatures. Our joint hot weather test with tire partner Michelin in Barcelona paid off. For the entire weekend, we’ve had the better package. Now we are preparing for Fuji, where we expect another close battle with Toyota.”
Neel Jani, Driver, No. 1 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.
“I drove the start and had a good first stint with the tires we used in qualifying. It was pretty lonely at the front and I could extend the lead to more than ten seconds. To manage the traffic when lapping other cars was not easy and the heat stressed the tires. During my second stint, the safety car came out and our advantage melted away. I also could not maximize the potential of the new tires I had. But later I could open up a gap again and had lots of fun. We obviously knew before the race that we would step back for our colleagues in the sister car.”
André Lotterer, No. 1 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.
“It wasn’t an easy race today. We had made some changes to the car to adapt for the race. Unfortunately, this led to heavy understeer. We then tried to make up for it by changing some settings. On my first stint, the second one of the race, I had a pretty good fight with José María López in the Toyota for second position. He kept boosting to keep ahead. This way he made room for the other Toyota that was leading at that time. That was okay though. Shortly before the end of my second stint in the last two hours of the race, I was suddenly hit by Kamui Kobayashi. Luckily it happened very late in the corner when I was already accelerating, which in our case means I had four-wheel drive. I kept my foot on the throttle and the front wheels pulled me straight again. It was tough racing.“
Nick Tandy, No. 1 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.
“I was the third driver in our car and my first stint was on used tires and we didn’t know what to expect. But the pace stayed consistent and competitive so that we kept the lead. I have the feeling that my teammates had the more exciting stints and battles than I had. Congratulations to Porsche for a great result. On our side of the garage we once again did a perfect race. We were really fast and did everything right.”
Earl Bamber, No. 2 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.
“Our sister car number 1 had the edge on us today. They did a fantastic job with no mistakes and we also had a big challenge from Toyota. I’m sure they will be very strong in Fuji, so we have to keep working. Our car was good today, we had great stints and some battles to enjoy.”
Timo Bernhard, No. 2 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.
“Another one-two is certainly great but it wasn’t easy today with lots of difficult situations in traffic. I was not happy with my opening stint. The car behaved differently than I’d expected causing me to lose ground. When I was in the car for the second time, I had some good fights with the two Toyotas and could overtake Mike Conway. Of course we are pleased about the maximum points for the drivers’ championship, but our sister car would definitely have deserved the race win.”
Brendon Hartley, No. 2 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.
“The result is an awesome team effort. Both our cars were always close together and Toyota kept us honest for the entire race. It was interesting to see the different tire strategies today. I was second and fifth in the car and had good, clean stints.”
Texas Podium Chase. Porsche 911 RSR Earns WEC Podium at COTA.
At the six-hour race in Austin, the newly developed Porsche 911 RSR put in a spectacular chase through the field. At Saturday’s race on the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Kévin Estre (France) worked their way from the last grid spot to finish second in the fiercely contested LMGTE-Pro class of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). They were a narrow five seconds shy of clinching the first WEC victory of the season. For the pair, this marked the best result of the season so far. In a gripping race with temperatures reaching 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 C), their teammates Richard Lietz (Austria) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) were thrown back by two drive-through penalties. Racing the second 911 RSR fielded by the Porsche GT Team, the two finished in sixth-place.
The 911 RSR put in a brilliant start on the 3.43-mile (5.513-kilometer) Grand Prix circuit. Estre, who started Round Six of this year’s WEC from the back of the LMGTE-Pro field following a difficult qualifying session, immediately overtook four competitors and finished the first lap running in fourth-place. Starting from the seventh grid spot, Makowiecki stayed glued to his bumper and gained two positions. After the first safety car phase in the third hour of racing, Estre swept into the lead with a spectacular overtaking maneuver.
Despite having to relinquish the lead, the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR remained on course for a podium result over the rest of the race. Delivering a strong performance and a swift pit stop in the closing phase of the race, Christensen moved into second-place. However, an Austin victory remained just out of reach. After 167 laps, the vehicle was just a little over five seconds off winning in the heat of Texas. Nevertheless, the completely new 911 RSR designed by Porsche Motorsport for this season based of the high-performance 911 GT3 RS sports car, still notched up its fifth podium result at the sixth round of this year’s WEC.
The team colleagues Lietz and Makowiecki could not be a part of the fight for podium spots. Despite all their efforts, two drive-through penalties – for a breach of the circuit boundary line and due to a wheelspin while leaving the pits – cost time that they could not regain with the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR. Regardless, sixth-place was enough for them to defend their second rank in the GT Drivers’ World Championship.
Round Seven of the WEC will be contested in Fuji, Japan on October 15.
Marco Ujhasi, Director GT Factory Motorsports.
“This is a sensational result. Our number 92 racer took up the race as a backmarker and missed out on winning by a few seconds. That showed a strong team effort. Our systematic preparations for the race paid off. We’ve still obviously got a lot to do. We’ll keep up the hard work and we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Michael Christensen, Driver, No. 92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“That’s our best result of the season so far and I’m really thrilled about it. Everything came together perfectly today – the car, the strategy, and neither driver nor team made a single mistake. That gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.”
Kévin Estre, Driver, No. 92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“What a crazy race. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to finish on second after such a difficult qualifying. We did our utmost today and didn’t make the slightest error. With a little luck, we could have won. Still, I’m happy with this result and proud of the team. Once again, the crew gave us great support.”
Richard Lietz, Driver, No. 91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Congratulations to my teammates in the number 92 racer. They went their own way with the setup, and that proved to be the right choice. I take my hat off to them! For us the race was very tough with a lot of setbacks. Still, we’ll learn from this and we’ll be back in the game at Fuji.”
Frédéric Makowiecki, Driver, No. 91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“That was a really difficult race. I feel sorry for the team, because I was handed two drive-through penalties. The conditions today were very difficult. I tried to conserve the tires as much as possible, but it didn’t help much. Somehow things didn’t run smoothly today.”
Porsche Entries in Monterey.
A total of 11 Porsche Motorsport-built racecars across two series will compete at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship has six Porsche 911-based entries while the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge has five Porsche Cayman-based entries.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Total Car Count: Six (6) Porsche entries will be competing in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship at the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix.
GTLM Class – Two (2) Porsche 911 RSR.
No. 911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet (France)/Dirk Werner (Germany)
No. 912 Porsche GT Team Gianmaria Bruni (Italy)/Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium)
GTD Class – Four (4) Porsche 911 GT3 R.
No. 28 Alegra Motorsports Daniel Morad (Canada)/ Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California)
No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Illinois)/ Gunnar Jeanette (Salt Lake City, Utah)
No. 54 CORE autosport Jon Bennett (Charlotte, North Carolina)/ Colin Braun (Harrisburg, North Carolina)
No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister (Germany)/ Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California)
IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.
Total Car Count: Five (5) Porsche Motorsport-produced entries will be competing in the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 240.
All – Five (5)
GT4 Spec – Two (2) Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR
Grandfathered GS Spec – Three (3) Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport
No. 4 Team TGM
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR Guy Cosmo (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida)/ Hugh Plumb (Unionville, Pennsylvania)
No. 12 Bodymotion Racing
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Cameron Cassels (Canada)/ Trent Hindman (Wayside, New Jersey)
No. 28 RS1
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR Dillon Machavern (Burlington, Vermont)/ Dylan Murcott (Ancram, New York)
No. 33 CJ Wilson Racing
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Till Bechtolsheimer (New York City, New York)/ Marc Miller (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
No. 35 CJ Wilson Racing
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Russell Ward (Seabrook, Texas)/ Damien Faulkner (Ireland)
Where to Watch:
All IMSA Series information, audio and live timing and scoring for each on-track session is additionally available on the IMSA App
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Channel/Web Address
Qualifying Broadcast
Saturday. September 23
2:20 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. ET IMSA.tv and IMSA App
Race Broadcast. Live
Sunday, September 24
4:55 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. ET
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
IMSA.tv and IMSA App
FS1
Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.
Live Qualifying Streaming
Friday, September 22
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET IMSA.tv and IMSA App
Live Race Video Streaming
Saturday, September 23
4:50 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET IMSA.tv and IMSA App
Television Broadcast
Sunday, October 1
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET FS1
Audio Streaming IMSA.tv and IMSA App
Live Timing and Scoring IMSA.tv and IMSA App
Social Media.
Porsche Cars North America. @Porsche
Porsche GT Team (North America) @PorscheNARacing
Porsche Motorsport – GT Cars. @PorscheRaces
Porsche Racing – 919 Hybrid. @Porsche_Team
Model Hashtags.
Porsche 911 RSR. #911RSR
Porsche 911 GT3 R. #911GT3R
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup #911Cup
Porsche 919 Hybrid. #919hybrid
Event Hashtag.
Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix #MontereyGP
Series Hashtags and Handles.
GT3 Cup Challenge USA. #GT3USA
GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. #GT3CAN
PCA Club Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East @CaymanGT4CSEast #GT4CSE
Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA @PirelliCupUSA
Future Porsche Events.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Event: 20th Running of the Motul Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta
Dateline: Braselton, Georgia
Date: Saturday, October 7
Track Length: 2.54-miles, 12-turn
Race Duration: 10-Hours
Class: GTLM (Porsche 911 RSR)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTLM. 11 of 11
GTD. 12 of 12
Next Round: Season Finale
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
Event: Fox Factory 120, Road Atlanta
Dateline: Braselton, Georgia
Date: Friday, October 6
Track Length: 2.54-mile, 12-Turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours
Class: GT4/GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR, Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport)
Round: GT4/GS. 10 of 10
Next Round: Season Finale
IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama
Event: Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta
Dateline: Braselton, Georgia
Date: Race 1. Thursday, October 5
Race 2. Friday, October 6
Track Length: 3.27-miles, 17-turn
Race Duration: Two, 45-minute races
Class: Platinum (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, MY 2017)
Gold (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, MY 2014-2016)
Round: USA. 15 and 16 of 16
Next Round: Season Finale