It's all about Porsche…if you're an owner of a Porsche,or a big enthusiast of Porsche Cars, Porsche Motorsports, Porsche Design, Porsche History, or a member of a Porsche Club….join me on focusing just about PORSCHE!!
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.
Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus” thrilled fans at the Nurburgring
Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus”, Porsche factory drivers Richard Lietz, Jörg Bergmeister, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long (l-r)
Click on photos for better viewing
Stuttgart. Two days before the start of the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring, Porsche turned back the clock. At exactly 111 years.
Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus”, Porsche factory drivers Richard Lietz, Jörg Bergmeister, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long (l-r)
The motor sport fans in the Eifel region were presented with the Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus”, developed in 1900 by Ferdinand Porsche, as the first functional vehicle with full hybrid propulsion.
Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus”, Porsche factory drivers Richard Lietz, Jörg Bergmeister (rear from left), Marco Holzer, Patrick Long (front from left))
With the faithfully reconstructed ancestor of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, the Porsche Factory Drivers Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Patrick Long and Marco Holzer drove the Hybrid among the 24-hour Nürburgring fans to the Porsche autograph session – almost silently, because the hybrid is all-electric.
Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus” with Porsche factory drivers
Ferdinand Porsche, the visionary of his time entered a new technical ground with the construction of “Semper Vivus”. The drive concept of the brilliant designer and pioneer, has been taken up by Porsche with the development of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, thus ushered in over a year ago as a new chapter in history of the Porsche 911.
Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus” with Porsche factory drivers
Porsche GT3 R Hybrid’s first race in the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring in 2010 made worldwide headlines: eight hours into the race at the forefront of the field on victory course, was an impressive example of the ” Porsche Intelligent Performance ” More power on less fuel, more efficiency and lower CO2 emissions – on the racetrack and on the road.
Lohner Porsche “Semper Vivus”
Despite the much lower speed to drive the first hybrid car, is no less strenuous than full throttle on the Nürburgring Nordschleife with the 911 GT3 R hybrid. With a front axle weight of 1,060 kilograms – 830 kilograms – and the steering without power assistance is hard work. But the Porsche drivers are well trained – and met with much applause by fans during the demonstration drive.
Stuttgart. The Porsche teams are in a good position for Friday’s final qualifying for the 24 hour race.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
With the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Manthey Racing, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) together with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) posted sixth place. The quartet won the 24 hour race four times straight from 2006 to 2009.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
The seventh quickest time was claimed by Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany), Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany) in the 911 GT3 R of Falken Motorsport.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Wolf Henzler, Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger, Sebastian Asch
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Wolf Henzler, Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger, Sebastian Asch
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Wolf Henzler, Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger, Sebastian Asch
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Sebastian Asch, Martin Ragginger
Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), Christian Menzel (Germany), Mike Stursberg (Germany) and Hans Guido Riegel (Germany) planted their Haribo Team Manthey 911 GT3 R on the tenth grid spot.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Fielded by Porsche Team Manthey, the further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Version 2.0) with its innovative hybrid drive was not able to match the pace of the fastest vehicles after its performance was capped recently by the organizers.
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Moreover, Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) had to contend with heavy traffic during his fastest lap and only managed 18th. He shares the cockpit of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid with his factory pilot colleagues Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA).
The second and final qualifying takes place on Friday from 16.55 to 18.55 hours.
The 24 hour race gets underway on Saturday at 16.00 hours. Television station Sport1 intermittently broadcasts more than 13 hours of the race live on Saturday (from 15.45 hours) and Sunday (from 07.00 hrs). A one-hour highlight program of the race is televised on Sunday at 22.30 hours.
Quotes from the drivers
Marc Lieb (No. 18, Manthey Racing):
Marc Lieb
“We changed the set-up of our car during the qualifying and turned the fastest lap 40 minutes before the end. Now we’re happy with everything. If it stays dry for tomorrow’s final qualifying session we’ll attack again.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Joerg Bergmeister
“We didn’t really expect to actually do well. We could have been a bit faster but the heavy traffic prevented a better time.”
Wolf Henzler (No. 44, Falken Motorsports):
Wolf Henzler
“We’re satisfied with our set-up. The track conditions were very good with loads of grip. Martin Ragginger went out first and set our best time. Still, we’re more than eight seconds shy of the quickest vehicle.”
Richard Lietz (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Richard Lietz
“The lengthy qualifying today was a good chance to familiarize myself with the car and to get a good feeling for driving at the limit. The character of our rolling race lab is somewhat different to the 911 GT3 RSR that I drove in Le Mans two weeks ago.”
(Marco Holzer No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Marco Holzer
“I got four yellow flags while I was out on the track. It’s not easy to get a free lap. We worked some more on our race set-up and tried to bring the tyres up to the optimal temperature. Driving on the Nordschleife at night is exhausting, you first have to get back the feeling for it.”
Patrick Long (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Patrick Long
“Yesterday I drove in the rain for the first time on the Nordschleife and that is something quite special. Our car is well balanced and I’m very happy about that. Regardless of whether it rains during the race or stays dry, I’m feeling well prepared.”
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.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
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
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
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.
Le Mans Series / Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, round 2 in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Second grid row for Marc Lieb
Marc Lieb (Germany)
Stuttgart. In qualifying for the second round of the Le Mans Series in Spa-Francorchamps, Marc Lieb (Germany) secured the fourth grid spot in the GTE Pro sports car category.
Richard Lietz (Austria)
With this, last year’s winners Lieb and Richard Lietz (Austria) have clinched a good starting position for the 1,000 kilometre race on the challenging circuit in Belgium’s Ardennes region with the 2011 version of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
In the GTE Am category, in which just one professional race driver may compete per vehicle, Frenchman Nicolas Armindo again clinched pole position in the 2010-spec 911 GT3 RSR.
Marc Lieb (Germany)
“My lap was quite okay and, after the free practice, fourth on the grid is what we had expected,” said Lieb. “A half second gap to the pole-sitter is not a lot on a seven kilometre circuit. Tomorrow’s race will be tough. The opposition is strong and many. But we’ll go flat out and would like to finish on the podium.”
Teammate Lietz commented: “Compared to last year’s car, we didn’t manage to find the perfect set-up for the new 911. We simply don’t have the experience from the first round where through no fault of our own we retired due to the flawed start.”
Taking up tomorrow’s six-hour race from eighth on the grid are the two Porsche works drivers Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France).
Wolf Henzler (Germany)
The professionals from the French IMSA Performance Matmut team were also not particularly satisfied with the set-up of their 911 GT3 RSR. “We tried several things but they turned out to be in the wrong direction,” Henzler concluded. “We feel the same as Marc and Richard, the experience with the 2011 car is missing because of our retirement in Le Castellet. We’re hoping to make up some positions through a good strategy and consistent driving performance.”
Belgium’s race professional Marc Goossens qualified the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by ProSpeed Competition on the tenth grid spot. His teammate, Porsche factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany), was pleased. “With 60 vehicles on this demanding circuit, the race is going to be challenging.”
Like in Le Castellet, Nicolas Armindo was delighted with his pole position in the GTE Am category. The reigning champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland shares the cockpit of the 911 GT3 RSR – on the technical basis of 2010 – with his compatriot, IMSA Performance team owner, Raymond Narac.
Austria’s Horst Felbermayr Junior posted the sixth fastest time in the GTE Am-911 run by Felbermayr-Proton. He joins forces with Bryce Miller from America. Team owner Christian Ried (Germany) takes up the race from ninth in the class with Nick Hommerson from the Netherlands.
Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard (Germany) was the fastest of the entire field at the wheel of the Audi R18 TDI. Bernhard shares driving duties in the sports prototype with Porsche factory pilot Romain Dumas (France) and former Porsche Junior Mike Rockenfeller.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The six hour race starts on Saturday, 7 May, at 14.05 hours. Eurosport broadcasts the entire race live. Eurosport 2 televises the Spa round from 14.00 to 17.30 hours, with the free-to-view station showing the last two and a half hours live from 17.30 hrs.
Qualifying result GTE Pro class
1. Jaime Melo (BR), Ferrari F458 Italia, 2:20.743 minutes
2. Robert Bell (GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.172 seconds
3. Giancarlo Fisichella (I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.343
4. Marc Lieb (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.548
5. Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW M3, + 0.717
8. Wolf Henzler (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.212
10. Marc Goossens (B), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.896
GTE Am class
1. Nicolas Armindo (F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:23.007 minutes
2. Marco Cioci (I), Ferrari F430, + 0.262 seconds
3. Phil Quaife (GB), Ferrari F430, + 0.478
6. Horst Felbermayr Jr. (A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 1.592
9. Christian Ried (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 3.790
The Le Mans Series
Contested for the first time in 2004, the Le Mans Series (LMS) is open for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations are based on those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. Five six-hour races are contested this season throughout Europe.
GTE-Pro class: This most popular class amongst car manufacturers (previously known as the GT2 class) is traditionally the best supported: Slightly modified standard sports cars with up to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,245 kilograms.
GTE-Am class: Like the GTE-Pro, but with the 2010-vehicle specifications. Moreover, the regulations stipulate that each vehicle must have one professional driver at the most.
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 900 kg minimum weight.
FLM class: Prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.
All race cars start together but are classified separately according to the class. Points are only allocated for placings in each class. Championship titles are awarded for drivers, manufacturers and teams in all five classes. Claiming the title in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010, Porsche works driver Marc Lieb is the most successful pilot in the series.
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.
Porsche Everyday Dedeporsches Blog 