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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
Popular Porsche Series in 2011 has been a success and a tight battle at Barbagallo Raceway. Despite being off the Australian scene for two years, the Porsche Cars Australia Carrera Cup has already re-established itself as a key category in Australian motor sport. The opening round of the series was held at the Australian Grand Prix meeting and it was established star Craig Baird who took the honours.
The world’s most successful Porsche Cup driver in VIP car at Porsche Carrera World Cup
Craig Baird – the man of 109 victories
Stuttgart. A great honour for Craig Baird: Porsche AG has invited the world’s most successful Porsche Cup pilot to contest the Porsche Carrera World Cup on 25 June on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife at the wheel of the VIP car with starting number 200.
Over the course of his career, the 40-year-old New Zealander has already notched up 109 victories in Porsche one-make race series. With the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, built by Porsche Motorsport in Weissach, Baird takes up the greatest Porsche race in history against more than 100 competitors from 25 nations.
“With his skill and experience, he is the ideal person to drive our VIP car,” says Uwe Brettel, Head of Motorsport Sales at Porsche AG. “More than any other driver, he embodies the customer sports philosophy of Porsche.”
Craig Baird, who lives with his wife and two children on the Gold Coast of Australia, has clinched the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title twice and the GT3 Cup Challenge New Zealand six times since 2004.
At the Dubai 24 Hours of 2008 he won with a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Baird knows the Nürburgring-Nordschleife from contesting the 24 hour race there in 2006 and 2007.
On his list of successes are 23 national championship titles. For his services to motorsport, he was awarded the “New Zealand Order of Merit” in 2010.
“It’s a huge honour for me to be given the chance to contest this race against the world’s best Porsche Cup pilots at the wheel of a Porsche AG VIP-911,” says Craig Baird.
“To bring the Porsche Carrera World Cup to the Nordschleife is a fantastic idea and will most certainly be an unforgettable experience for drivers and fans.”
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His #200 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup will also leave a lasting impression on spectators at the ‘Ring. The winning racer not only impresses with his 450 hp engine output, but is also a feast for the eyes.
Its design is an artistic interpretation of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife as the ‘green hell’ with licking flames as well as a stylised world map signalising the 25 nations from which the international grid comes to contest the greatest Porsche race on earth.
PCNA Team to Report the Sights and Sounds from Germany’s Nurburgring
ATLANTA, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Porsche Cars North America is entering a 911 GT3 Cup racecar and dispatching six employees to the inaugural Porsche Carrera World Cup race, which is held during the same weekend as the 39th ADAC 24 Hours of Nurburgring Race in Germany, June 25, 2011. The team will document and share all the off and on-track excitement on the “The Hub”, Porsche Cars North America’s new social media press site.
PORSCHE CARS NORTH AMERICA, INC. 911 GT3 R HYBRID Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the Nurburgring. (PRNewsFoto/Porsche Cars North America, Inc., Jan Brucke) ATLANTA, GA UNITED STATES (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110609/CL17259-a )
Held prior to the start of the 39th ADAC 24 Hour Race, the Porsche Carrera World Cup will pit up to 200 competitors and their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers against each other and the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
When American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GTC Champion Melanie Snow joins the other Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers on the starting grid at 10:30 am local time, at Germany’s legendary Nurburgring on June 25, she’ll not only have a unique ground support crew; she is slated to be the only female racer to compete in the Carrera World Cup.
The Porsche employee team, selected from submitted video and written essays detailing their motorsports passion, will be on hand to capture and share the insider’s view on what it takes to compete internationally, what it feels – and sounds – like from the driver’s seat and who’s who in the world of Porsche motorsports.
PCNA employees were also involved in selecting the racing livery, with the winning design designed in-house. The 70.2-mile race is six complete laps of 15.5 miles each with nearly 200,000 spectators expected.
The Porsche Carrera World Cup includes drivers from Porsche’s 18 brand trophy and challenge series worldwide and this race also counts as a competition round towards several other championships, including the Porsche Carrera Cups in Germany, Scandinavia, France and Italy.
911 GT3 R Hybrid “2.0”
Following the Porsche Carrera World Cup race, Porsche takes on the Nurburgring 24-hour race with the latest-generation 911 GT3 R Hybrid. ‘Version 2.0’ features a flywheel accumulator hybrid system that is 20 percent lighter than last year; a weight saving that targets the same lap times as its predecessor, but with even less fuel consumption, resulting in fewer pit stops for fuel. The general layout of the hybrid engine remains the same; however, the output of the electric motors increases from 60 to 75 kilowatts each, or from approximately 80 to 100 horsepower per motor.
Driving the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0, will be
Patrick Long (USA),
Richard Lietz (AUS)
and Marco Holzer (GER).
The trio claimed the first win for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 at the VLN 4-hour Nurburgring Long Distance Championship on May 30.
To show their enthusiasm for Porsche motorsports, racing fans can order t-shirts, including a shirt with Melanie Snow’s motto “Some Girls Chase Boys, I Pass Them,” hats and a special edition limited run die-cast model of her 911 GT3 Cup car will be available at http://shop4.porsche.com/usa/ later this month.
In addition to featuring photos and videos posted by the on-site Porsche employee team, “The Hub” will also serve as a Porsche motorsports history destination, including historic racing images from Porsche archives and Porsche motorsports milestones.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga. is the exclusive U.S. importer of Porsche sports cars, the Cayenne SUV and Panamera Sedan. Established in 1984, it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, and employs approximately 220 people who provide parts, service, marketing and training for 195 dealers. They, in turn, work to provide Porsche customers with a best-in-class experience that is in keeping with the brand’s 63-year history and leadership in the advancement of vehicle performance, safety and efficiency. At the core of this success is Porsche’s proud racing heritage that boasts some 30,000 motorsport wins to date.
Porsche Hybrid GT3 R beim freien Training der VLN auf der Nordschleife 29.04.2011
Stuttgart. The development of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 is running at full revs.
This Saturday, April 30th, the further-developed version of the innovative Hybrid race car contests round two of the Nürburgring Long Distance Championship (VLN).
Another test under race conditions is planned at the fourth VLN round on 28 May.
At the race debut of the modified version of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid on 30th April, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany),
Porsche takes up the Nürburgring 24 hour race on 25 June with a further developed version of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid.
So, what’s been done with this latest Porsche 911 Hybrid race car?
Priority of the development was given to the improvement of efficiency through the targeted optimisation of hybrid components, which also resulted in a 20 percent weight reduction. Version 2.0 of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid is intended to achieve the same lap times as its predecessor but with less fuel consumption.
The general layout of the hybrid was adopted from the 2010 model. A portal axle with two electric motors drives the front wheels and supplements the four-litre, depending on the balance of performance classification approximately 470 hp, six-cylinder boxer engine at the rear. The output of both electric motors has increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. For seconds at a time, pilots now have almost an additional 200 hp at their disposal with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0.
Depending on the programming, this power is automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal. Moreover, pilots can manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking.
The electric flywheel accumulator, with its rotor spinning up to 40,000 rpm and stor-ing energy mechanically as rotational energy, is now housed with the other hybrid components in a carbon fibre safety cell on the passenger’s side.
At first glance, the new GT3 R Hybrid is clearly distinguishable from the 2010 model. Thanks to the optimisation of the hybrid system’s high voltage components, the large louvres in front of the rear fenders were no longer necessary. This reduces drag and also lowers fuel consumption. All in all, the weight of the vehicle decreased from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms. “We’ve collected a great deal of information from our races on the Nürburgring, at the ALMS race at Road Atlanta in the USA, as well as from the ILMC race on China’s Zhuhai circuit, which was an invaluable help for the further development of our racing laboratory,” says Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche motorsport.
“The emphasis of our work was on improving efficiency. That means we want to keep the lap times consis-tent with 2010 but use less energy, hence less fuel. In this way, we support future developments of road-going, sporting hybrid vehicles.”
The cockpit of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid has also been completely revised. Most of the displays and controls have moved to the steering wheel. Drivers can operate the rest of the functions via backlit buttons now situated on the centre console.
Priority was placed on the ergonomics and the clear layout for pilots – particularly in darkness.
The new 911 GT3 R Hybrid is a perfect example of the ‘Porsche Intelligent Performance’ philosophy, a principle found in every Porsche: More power on less fuel, more efficiency and lower CO2 emissions – on the race track and on the road.
The speed, the excitement, the competition, the danger, just everything. “Racing is Life”….
It is difficuilt to find good super slow motion footage from races, but when they are shown they’re awesome. Things are happening too fast in the motor racing world that sometimes you need to see the whole action in slow motion.
These slow motion video’s are Mattzel89‘s way to describe the awesomeness of racing, and I think every petrolhead on this planet will thank him for this great video. This video is the third of the Racing in Slow Motion series, you can see the first two parts below, they are worth your time too.
Slow Motion 3
Just know this is a long and slow video, if you’re not prepared to sit through 8 minutes of slow motion, move on. This is for the motorsports fans. A stunning collection of 3 video’s that captures racing in a way that we usually don’t get to see it in the fine details..
Slow Motion 2
Racing is often so fast paced that the human eye misses details…..
Slow Motion 1
“super slow motion” videos for an incredible look at the details the human eye can miss …
Save The Ring Sad news: new Nurburgring operator Mr Richter got granted an injunction by the county court against Mike Frison and his Nurburgring forum. Mike decided to close it down. However, he will now appeal, here are the details: http://20832.com/forum_e/
Target: Joaquin Almunia, Vice-President of EU-Commission.
Background (Preamble):
From 2007 – 2009 the German government built a huge Leisure Park at the Nürburgring. It is based on fake visitor numbers, over sized and badly executed. Most of the time it is an empty ghost town. Once promised as private investment, it is now based on a debt of 350+ million EUR public money.
Instead of pulling the plug they rented the park, including both race tracks to exactly the same privateers who were driving forces behind the Leisure Park’s initial private setup.
Without Racing experience they are since experimenting with events completely unrelated to Motor-sport all under the iconic “Nürburgring” brand name.
They now want Nordschleife to pay for the huge losses. Tourist drives are at a record high, plus a 5 times increase in rent for the automotive industry for their prototype testing sessions.
What Needs To Be Done?
Separate Nordschleife from ring°park.
Let Nürburgring be Motor-sport.
Value the great heritage and tradition, rather than Roller Coasters.
Let the Ring be run by Motor-sport experts.
Please show your support and sign the petition
Petition:
We, the undersigned, call for the EU-Commission to take action to Save The Nürburgring and Replace the owners with Motor-sport experts and don’t let the heritage of the Nürburgring be lost.
Here is the signature map for the petition Your Help is needed to “Save The Nürburgring”. Here you may browse various locations provided by signers and view where signers are geographically clustered. Please note that maps do NOT identify any particular signer, nor are they intended to. The maps are simply designed to give a geographical overview of supporter interest.
(Maps without signature markers indicate that no signature locations are available for public viewing. Please allow 30 seconds for the map to load.)
In 1927 one of the worlds greatest race tracks was opened to the public after two years of construction. The track created legends.
Facebook Page – Initiative to Save the Nordschleife
See Sabine’s Season’s Greetings and support Save The Ring!
Germany’s Nürburgring is the world’s automotive playground. A public park for gearheads. Sadly, it’s been handed over to privateers who’ve put the entire ‘Ring at risk. Michael Frison of 20832.com explains why we need to save the Nürburgring! —Ed. Blog: www.mikefrison.com (Mike’s Profile: www.facebook.com/renn.tv)
You might be surprised by reading this headline and I’m aware the subject has not gained much awareness abroad, but there’s currently a serious threat to the Nürburgring.
Since it’s opening in 1927, the Nurburgring has been under complete public ownership and administration, but in May of this year the complete Nurburgring race track and park was rented out to two privateers (Kai Richter, Jörg Lindner). They have no motorsports background whatsoever, but are the driving forces behind the makeover, which includes the addition of a theme park with a new roller coaster that doesn’t work, more hotel capacity than the area needs, a 3,000-seat event arena, and a shopping mall. Everything appears to be far too big and remains empty most of the time.
They promised private financing, but this soon turned out to be a fake. The Minister of Finance had to resign as a consequence. Despite lack of funding completion of the project continued.
(NOTE: Video is in German, if you go to the video on Youtube , check the recent comments. You will find English)
The heavy burden now sitting on Nordschleife’s shoulder is the debt of approximately 400 Million Euros, which seems completely unnecessary considering complete race tracks have been constructed for a fraction of this amount.
The issue is complex and has kept fans of the ‘Ring busy, but I want to share with you what just happend last week: Nürburgring officials always claim a total of two million visitors per year, but in true Wikileaks style we got ahold of an older internal document (PDF) telling a different story. Promoters always engage in number polishing, but this is of different quality. It appears there’s double bookkeeping for real vs. published visitors for all events held at the Ring. Have a look at the graph summarizing the figures:
Who would dare to claim two million spectators while only 370,000 actually turned up? The Nürburgring did and they based the business plan of the new leisure park on these numbers.
You don’t believe me? Ask Sabine next time you meet her. Several investigations have already been triggered by the Department of Public Prosecution, a governmental board of inquiry and the competition department of the European Commission.
And anyone who criticizes the current direction of the ‘Ring is answered with force. Wilhelm Hahne — the oldest of the racing Hahne brothers (his brother Armin finished 6th last weekend at the track) — had his house searched in June of last year and as recent as last week received again a warning letter from the Nürburgring lawyers for speaking the truth.
It really hurts to get sucked into politics and to witness how they treat the heritage we all love. The worst that could happen is enthusiasts be forced to pay the price of a privateer’s blunder in the form of higher prices or worse.
Please spread the word if you care about Nordschleife and its heritage. Follow ringumbau.de (the documentary community site accompanying the development) and question the information shared by officials.
Just a short summary: Once upon a time there was a famous race track owned by the German state Rheinland Pfalz. Prime minister was Beck, financial minister was Deubel. As Schumania was going down the business went down, too, at the race tra…ck. Of course there was no business at all in the cold season of? the year. So the plan was make the Ring more attractive. The politicians installed Kaffitz as head of the Ring Ltd.
They were planning to go big with some all season entertainment stuff and so on. Looking for an investor they found Richter as an entertainment park inventor – not investor as he states, they must have missed that point! However the? plans look nice with value of 94 mio €. Before of course some other mios had been spent on consultants and money greedy folks. So construction started in 2007. When politica discovered that there was no money behind Richter they supported him with some special financial tricks. Tax payers money went through hidden channels to the Ring all managed by financial minister Deubel. When the buildings where finished (@18:30) the expected visitiors from 150miles away still? stayed away. Nobody’s traveling that far for that bullshit. Same with that SpacePark in Bremen earlier before. Oh wonder: the concept was from nearly the same managers! Early sceptism and critic from natives like Mrs. Schmitz and Mr. Kragl where kept down. Mr. Hahne is a famous and critical journalist, same with him. If this was taking place in southern Italy he would be found under a layer of tarmac I guess.
So it go built and when finished still no private investor was found. Deubel was in contact with that Barandun (@24:20) a Swiss? credit broker. He promised to find investors. The politicians believed in the miracle and even provided 180 mio € for unknown reasons to Swizz guy. He kept them waiting and showed up with some guy DuPont and 67mio €.
Politicians published “Everything solved, private investor found!”. However there was no money. And DuPont ist not from the rich famous chemical dynasty but just a check blackleg. Dumb looking faces of dumb politicians @34:30. Who’s gonna pay for up to now 330mio € for a non working roller coaster, an expensive shopping are and a non visited artificial village that no one wants? Everyone = the tax payer. Welcome to the real life in? Germany. The state took it all over and Richter is head of
The state took it all over, Richter was “rewarded” as becoming new general manager of the Ring. Kaffitz was fired and is now gen.man. of AbuDhabi race track. At? least prosecution department has startes investigations against Kaffitz, Richter and Deubel because of betrayal of confidence and/or beguilement.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid has passed its most unusual task by now with flying colours in preparation for the Nürburgring 24 hour race on 15/16 May. AT&T Williams Formula 1 pilot Nico Hülkenberg tested the orange and white liveried racing 911 on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in the lead up to the third round of the VLN Long Distance Championship Hulkenberg was enthusiastic with many aspects of the experience: “Great car, fascinating technology and an incomparable track,” concluded Hülkenberg.
The Formula 1 driver completed three laps at his Nordschleife debut in a race car and was able to get an idea of the perfect interplay of all the hybrid system components. “This test was great fun. I’m impressed with how well the hybrid system works in the Porsche,” said Hülkenberg. One of the components of the hybrid system, the flywheel generator installed inside the cockpit, was designed and manufactured by Williams Hybrid Power following Porsche’s specifications.
“This circuit is unique, you can’t compare it to any other track in the world. This is certainly not the last time I’ll drive here,” said Hülkenberg, who has driven only single seaters on the race circuit. “Surprisingly, in the slow corners, the 911 is not far off a Formula 1 car. The mechanical grip is impressive.” In the 911 GT3 Hybrid, two electric motors at the front axle developing 60 kW (82 hp) each supplement the 353 kilowatt (480 hp) four litre flat six at the rear. Instead of the batteries used in hybrid road cars, an electrical flywheel power generator fitted in the cockpit beside the driver delivers energy to the electric motors.
Compared to a battery, the flywheel generator has the advantage of storing and delivering high amounts of energy considerably quicker. Thanks to its sophisticated electronic control, the innovative hybrid drive of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid automatically provides optimal efficiency at racing speed. The combination of the combustion engine and electric motors fulfils a simple objective: Less fuel consumption without compromising performance. When overtaking or accelerating out of a bend, the driver can manually override the controls by pressing the boost paddle on the steering wheel and sending energy from the charged flywheel generator to the front axle.
This additional power of 120 kilowatts is available to the driver after each charge process for approximately six to eight seconds.
Nürburgring 24 hour race
The vehicle, however, has been substantially reined in by the organizers.
Joerg Bergmeister (Germany)
Richard Lietz (Austria)
Patrick Long (USA)
and Marco Holzer (Germany)
Romain Dumas (France)
Marc Lieb (Germany)
as well as Manthey pilot Lucas Luhr (Switzerland)
Timo Bernhard
Another Porsche factory pilot, Wolf Henzler (Germany), competes for the Falken Motorsport team.
Porsche Everyday Dedeporsches Blog 