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Nick Tandy claims championship title, Sean Edwards wins finale
René Rast (D), Sean Edwards (GB), Nick Tandy (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Stuttgart. It was a thriller for the championship title that couldn’t have been more gripping. In the end, third place was enough for Nick Tandy to win the prestigious trophy in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
Nick Tandy (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
This marks the greatest motorsport success in the career of the 26-year-old Konrad Motorsport pilot from Britain.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said the clearly emotional new champion. “This is for sure the best thing that has happened in my life to now.”
His toughest rival in the title bid, compatriot Sean Edwards, crowned his second season in Germany’s fastest one-make cup with a victory at the final round.
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
With this, he secured vice championship honours and helped his Deutsche Post by tolimit team to win the team championship.
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
The inaugural special classification for guest starters went to Raffi Bader (MRS Team PZ Aschaffenburg) from Switzerland.
Bill Barazetti (D), Raffi Bader (CH), Heinz-Bert Wolters (D) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Taking up the race from pole position, the initially cautious Nick Tandy let his rival Edwards and Förch Racing pilot René Rast (Germany) pass in the first race laps – after all, he had a twelve-point advantage in the standings over his closest pursuer Edwards.
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
While Edwards could pull away after several laps, Tandy stuck to the bumper of Rast’s 911 with his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. In the tenth lap, the Briton overtook the German and set out to chase the leading Edwards – which obviously made his team boss Franz Konrad nervous.
The shock for the Konrad Motorsport squad hit home about four laps before the flag: Tandy’s pace slowed, Rast held tight to second. What was happening to Tandy? Sensing their chance to snatch a podium spot, three Carrera Cup specialists closed in from behind.
Nick Tandy (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Finally, despite a problem with the front left wheel, Tandy was able to bring home third place – and the championship title for the three-time race winner. Claiming second place at the final, René Rast moved one position up the points’ table to conclude the season in fifth place overall.
The old champion of 2010, Nicolas Armindo, saw the flag in fourth. Driving for Hermes Attempto Racing, the Frenchman concluded an extremely difficult season without any podium spots with a conciliatory result.
Fifth position for Zandvoort winner Jeroen Bleekemolen was reason to celebrate for the Dutchman, who turned 30 today.
As the second pilot of the Deutsche Post by tolimit team he secured third place overall in the German makes cup, which was characterised by an incredibly high level of competition this year. This position is all the more impressive by the fact that the double Supercup champion Bleekemolen had missed two Carrera Cup races due to his commitments in the American Le Mans Series.
For Christian Engelhart (Germany) the main priority as a guest starter for Konrad Motorsport was to assist the team in collecting points. And this worked. Engelhart came sixth, and Franz Konrad was rewarded with second place in the team classification.
Lausitzring winner Nicki Thiim (Denmark, Hermes Attempto Racing) was somewhat disappointed about his seventh place at the final round. At the penultimate round in Oschersleben, the son of the former DTM champion Kurt Thiim was still ranking third overall, but was shunted into fourth by Bleekemolen.
Eighth place out of the 30 competitors went to Austria’s Martin Ragginger.
Having taken up the 18-lap race from fourth, the Schnabl-Engineering pilot lost many places in the first lap. He winds up the season as seventh overall in the standings.
Positions nine and ten are occupied by Uwe Alzen (Germany, PZ Aschaffenburg Uwe Alzen Automotive) and his compatriot Jan Seyffarth (SMS Seyffarth Motorsport).
Sean Edwards (winner):
“I’m very pleased with my second Carrera Cup win and the vice-championship. Of course I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t win the title; my bad luck at the Nürburgring was the reason. But this weekend we showed that we have a winning car. I’m very happy with the result, and I’m particularly pleased that my Deutsche Post crew has won the team championship, they are over the moon. And congratulations to Nick – after all a Briton has won the title.”
René Rast (second):
“I’m really very happy to conclude the season with second place. Sean was too fast at the front, I didn’t have a chance. It’s also wonderful that we earned fourth place in the team classification for our Förch Racing team.”
Nick Tandy (third):
“We’ve been working for this for the last two years and now we’ve done it. I couldn’t be happier. This is the best time of my life. I’m so unbelievably thankful to all those in my team who contributed to this success. The race was obviously incredible. I didn’t have to win to claim the title, but my car was so good by midway through the race that I could have done it. After all, that’s what we are here for – to win races! Several laps before the end there was something wrong with my right front wheel, I don’t know what it was. But my heart fell into my boots. I’m so relieved and happy that it was enough to bring home the trophy.”
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On 28 October, TV station Sport1 televises the race review, interviews and reports of the finale from 17.30 to 18.00 hours in the “Carrera Cup Magazin” and broadcasts a one hour programme of season highlights of the Carrera Cup Deutschland on 29 October from 13.45 hrs.
Race result Hockenheim
1. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, 31:04.035 minutes (159.007 km/h)
2. René Rast (D), Förch Racing, + 1.426 seconds
3. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, + 3.769
4. Nicolas Armindo (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 4.674
5. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, + 5.094
6. Christian Engelhart (D), Konrad Motorsport, + 5.567
7. Nicki Thiim (DK), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 9.042
8. Martin Ragginger (A), Schnabl Engineering, + 9.241
9. Uwe Alzen (D), PZ Aschaffenburg Uwe Alzen Automotive, + 10.102
10. Jan Seyffarth (D), SMS Seyffarth Motorsport, + 10.618
Drivers’ classification after 9 of 9 races
1. Nick Tandy (GB), 138 points
2. Sean Edwards (GB), 130
3. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 96
4. Nicki Thiim (DK), 94
5. René Rast (D), 93
6. Jaap van Lagen (NL), 86
7. Martin Ragginger (A), 75
Team classification after 9 of 9 races
1. Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, 209 points
2. Konrad Motorsport, 173
3. Hermes Attempto Racing, 135
4. Förch Racing, 116
Stuttgart. That was close. Just 0.183 seconds separated Porsche’s works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) in the 911 GT3 RSR from their first win of the season.
Patrick Pilet (l), Wolf Henzler (r)
At the final round of the Le Mans Series, the title defenders celebrated their best result of the year clinching second at Estoril in the GTE Pro sports car category. Factory pilots Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France) were delighted with their best result of the season in third place. And there was wild elation in the GTE Am class in which just one professional driver may compete per vehicle.
Raymond Narac (l), Franck Rava (m), Nicolas Armindo (r)
Frenchmen Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac crowned their season with another victory with the 2010-spec 911 GT3 RSR, and took home the drivers’ championship title.
Marc Lieb (r)
“It was a really great race,” said Marc Lieb. “As expected, there was a very close fight between us and Ferrari. Our 911 remained consistent over the entire six hours. Richard, the team and I gave our very best. We fought to the flag. During the last pit stop, Richard experienced a bit of bad luck when he encountered traffic. That cost us the decisive seconds and handed the lead to the Ferrari.”
Taking up the race from fourth, Richard Lietz managed to move into second position after almost an hour.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz
Lap for lap, Lieb and Lietz then reeled in the front-runner. It was Lietz who finally closed the gap during his second stint – and the Felbermayr-Proton pit crew played their hand in the success: Their eight-second faster pit stop catapulted Lieb into the lead with the 911 GT3 RSR. Trying to defend this, however, was no easy task. Lieb could fend off his pursuers, but not really shake them. The Felbermayr-Proton squad’s last pit stop also worked perfectly, but back on the track Lietz hit traffic – and the Ferrari snatched back the lead. Although Lietz stuck like glue to the bumper of the leader he wasn’t able to overtake on the narrow circuit.
“The last phase was sensational,” Richard Lietz said. “In the last lap we were panel to panel twice and touched several times. But there was no way I could pass without crossing the line of fairness. When you have victory in sight and are beaten by such a close margin, well, your joy over second place is somewhat overshadowed.”
After winning the drivers’ championship in the last two years, the pair finished the season in third.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz
For works drivers Wolf Henzler and Patrick Pilet, who contest the GTE-Pro class for the IMSA Performance Matmut team, the race was no less exciting. Start driver Pilet took an early lead before having to relinquish it after five laps. Suffering problems with the nut gun at two pit stops, the German/French duo fell back to third place. “Holding on to third took a huge effort,” said both Henzler and Pilet.
“We tried out all variations of set-up possibilities,” explained Henzler. “But we simply didn’t manage to find a decent balance. With fresh tyres we could easily hold the pace, but after a couple of laps the 911 become difficult to drive. And we lost a lot of time in the pits. This is something we have to work on.” Pilet added: “But this makes it all the more wonderful that, despite everything, we claimed out first podium result. We’re happy.”
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, IMSA Performance Matmut, Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo
For IMSA Performance Matmut, there were two reasons to celebrate at the finale. Aside from third place for the GTE Pro pilots, there were joyous celebrations over the race victory and win of the championship title in the GTE Am class. This marks the first international title for the team based in the northern French town of Rouen. The reigning champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, Nicolas Armindo, and team owner and amateur racer Raymond Narac, yielded the brilliant balance of four wins from five races. As stipulated by the regulations, the pair competed with the 2010 version of the 911 GT3 RSR. The squad also secured the team championship title which serves as an entrance ticket to the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2012.
Nicolas Armindo
“I simply can’t express how happy I am,” said Armindo with a wide grin. “At the beginning of the season everything was new for me. But thanks to my team I quickly found my feet in this new environment and it didn’t take me long at all to get familiar with the 911 GT3 RSR. It makes me proud that in my first year of LMS I can contribute to bringing home the championship trophy for this warm and wonderful team.”
Christian Ried
Felbermayr-Proton team owner Christian Ried (Germany) and Austria’s Horst Felbermayr Junior were also pleased. The winners of the season-opener in Le Castellet concluded the year with a podium result in the GTE Am class.
Marc Goossens
For the third Porsche team contesting the GTE-Pro class with works driver Marco Holzer (Germany) and Marc Goossens (Belgium), the race came to a premature end in lap one when an opponent crashed into the right front wheel of their ProSpeed Competition 911 – broke the steering gear and knocked them out of contention.
“It is such a shame that the season ends like this,” said Marco Holzer. “We’d qualified a decent fourth yesterday and thought our chances for second in the GTE Pro classification looked good. Unfortunately the overzealous move of a competitor robbed us of this chance. For our team, who had worked so incredibly hard, this was a particularly bitter conclusion to the year.”
Marco Holzer and Patrick Pilet
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Statistics: 5th of 5 rounds of the Le Mans Series in Estoril/Portugal
Result GTE Pro class
1. Bell/Walker (GB/GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, 209 laps
2. Lieb/Lietz (D/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 0.183 seconds behind
3. Henzler/Pilet (D/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 207
4. Melo/Vilander (BR/FIN), Ferrari F458 Italia, 206
5. Hancock/Dolan (GB/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 204
6. Rodrigues/Ballay/Ayari (P/F/F), Ferrari F458 Italia, 197
7. Farnbacher/Simonsen (D/DK), Ferrari F458 Italia, 99
Result GTE Am class
1. Armindo/Narac (F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 205 laps
2. Hummel/Christodoulou/Quaife (NL/GB/GB), Ferrari F430, 203
3. Ried/Felbermayr Jr. (D/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 202
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: 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 2010-vehicle specifications. Moreover, the regulations stipulate that each vehicle may have just one professional driver. LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kg. 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. With four title wins in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010,
Porsche works driver Marc Lieb is the most successful pilot in the series.
Stuttgart. The Porsche works drivers start the final race of the Le Mans Series season from promising positions.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz
Posting grid position three, title defender Richard Lietz (Austria) clinched the best result of the season with the 911 GT3 RSR in the GTE Pro sports car category.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz
On the fourth spot, Marco Holzer (Germany) takes up the six hour race alongside Lietz on the 4.182 kilometre former Grand Prix circuit of Estoril.
Marco Holzer (Germany)
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, ProSpeed Competition, Marco Holzer, Marc Goossens
Patrick Pilet (France) rounds off the good result with position six on the grid. In the GTE Am class, Frenchman Nicolas Armindo again set pole position with the 2010-version of the 911 GT3 RSR.
Patrick Pilet (France)
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, IMSA Performance Matmut, Wolf Henzler (l), Patrick Pilet (r)
Wolf Henzler (l)
Frenchman Nicolas Armindo
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, IMSA Performance Matmut, Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, IMSA Performance Matmut, Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo
“We gave our best and are really pleased with third on the grid,” said Lietz who last year secured the championship title in the sports car class with his Felbermayr-Proton teammate Marc Lieb (Germany). “My lap was good, third on the grid is the best result of the season by now. Above all, we’re thrilled that our times are so close to the leaders. Now let’s see what the race yields for us.”
After a difficult start to the season with two crashes that were not their fault, the luck of the title defenders finally turned recently in Silverstone with their first podium position.
After competing last year as a Porsche Junior, 23-year-old factory pilot Marco Holzer was delighted with his fourth grid spot.
“That was a great qualifying session,” commented Holzer, who joins forces for ProSpeed Competition with Belgium’s Marc Goossens.
“We missed out on the first free practice because we had to change something on our gearbox. Hence we were behind with our set-up work. But this makes our second row position even sweeter. In fact, we’ve never started so far up the front of the field this season. And we’re also hoping to further improve the handling of our 911 during the warm-up tomorrow and then the race should go well. The track is challenging but I really like it.”
The French factory pilot Patrick Pilet also seemed satisfied.
Patrick Pilet
“Sixth on the grid is okay,” stated Pilet, who shares driving duties for IMSA Performance Matmut with works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany).
“Our car was rather difficult to drive in the practice sessions, so we tried out something very new in the qualifying but that didn’t work. Now we have some things to sort out during the warm-up. And then comes the race that will undoubtedly be very exciting on this somewhat narrow circuit.”
Wolf Henzler
Nicolas Armindo secured another point in the fight for the championship with his fourth pole position of the season in the GTE Am class. In this category, only one professional driver is permitted per vehicle.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, IMSA Performance Matmut, Patrick Pilet, Wolf Henzler
The reigning champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland drives with the team owner IMSA Performance Matmut, amateur racer Raymond Narac. In compliance with the regulations, the two Frenchmen compete with a 2010-spec 911 GT3 RSR.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton, Horst Felbermayr Jr. (l), Christian Ried (r)
The pair takes up the final round with an eleven point lead over their closest rival. Felbermayr-Proton’s team owner Christian Ried (Germany) and Horst Felbermayr Junior (Austria) head into tomorrow’s race from fourth in the GTE Am class.
Christian Ried (Germany)
Horst Felbermayr Junior (Austria)
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Qualifying result GTE Pro class
1. Rob Bell (GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:39.176 minutes
2. Gianmaria Bruni (I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.057 seconds
3. Richard Lietz (A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.198
4. Marco Holzer (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.350
5. Dominik Farnbacher (D), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.573
6. Patrick Pilet (F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.788
7. Jamie Melo (BR), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 1.214
GTE Am class
1. Nicolas Armindo (F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:40.014 minutes
2. Marco Cioci (I), Ferrari F430, + 0.544 seconds
3. Phil Quaife (GB), Ferrari F430, + 0.763
4. Christian Ried (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.093
The six hour race starts on Sunday, 25 September, at 13.00 hours local time (CEST 14.00 hours).
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: 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 four titles in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010, Porsche works driver Marc Lieb is the most successful pilot in the series.
Stuttgart. With effect from October 2011, Jörg Kerner will be heading up the power train development division for Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart at the Weissach Development Centre. The 41-year-old succeeds Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neußer, who at the same time takes charge of power train development at the Volkswagen brand.
Jörg Kerner worked for Robert Bosch GmbH from 1986 to 2004 where his responsibilities included various Audi projects in the petrol engine control and application area. The engineering graduate joined Audi AG in 2004, where Jörg Kerner built up the engine and transmission electronics design, software and functional development division, managing it until 2009. The engine developer subsequently took over the power train electrification division at Audi.
Stuttgart. In a turbulent rain race, Kuba Giermaziak celebrated his maiden victory in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup on the Hungaroring near Budapest.
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
With his win, the Pole goes down in the successful history of the world’s fastest international one-make race series as the 50th winner out of 201 races contested so far.
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
At the wheel of his 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, which is based on the lightweight 911 GT3 RS street sports car, the VERVA Racing pilot put in a brilliant drive to outpace Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen (Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit) by 18.783 seconds.
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
Third place was enough for Bleekemolen’s British teammate Sean Edwards to snatch the championship lead.
Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Kuba Giermaziak (PL), Sean Edwards (GB) Porsche Mobil1 Supercup
Kuba Giermaziak claimed the maiden win for a Polish and East European driver by a huge margin, very rarely seen in this fiercely-contested championship. Many young pilots have used the one-make series run as support to the Formula 1 as a launching platform for extremely successful careers in international GT racing and attracted attention with performances similar to that of the youngest driver in the field at 21 years. Taking up the sprint from fifth on the grid, Giermaziak immediately shot past the first rivals and already after one lap had moved into third place. In lap four he had snatched the lead.
During the first laps on the wet Grand Prix circuit, positions changed almost by the second. Kévin Estre, the French Supercup newcomer driving for Hermes Attempto Racing, made the most of his pole position and initially defended his lead.
Kevin Estre (F) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
When he visited the gravel in the lap one, René Rast (Germany) took his place at the front. But under such difficult conditions the points’ leader from VELTINS Lechner Racing made several mistakes and fell back in the field. Over the course of the race, the title defender had to let more opponents past. With four laps to the flag, technical problems forced the German into retirement, which robbed him of his overall points’ lead.
Nick Tandy also came away from the seventh round with a disappointing result. Driving for Konrad Motorsport, the Briton spun in the second lap and lost touch with the front-runners. Crossing the finish line in ninth, last year’s vice-champion very likely has to bury his title aspirations completely.
Meanwhile at the front, Kuba Giermaziak continued to pull away from his pursuers. With his VERVA Racing team, he had previously tested in the rain on the Hungaroring. Team boss Timo Rumpfkeil could implement the insight gained from this almost 1:1 in the race.
Behind the leader, Sean Edwards and Kévin Estre managed to fend off any attacks for quite some time before the Frenchman made some errors and lost contact to the front-runners to finish in fifth. For the Briton, this didn’t bring much relief.
Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
His teammate Jeroen Bleekemolen put him under immense pressure from behind to finally pass him shortly before the finish in the final lap to snatch second. For the two-time Supercup winner, this marked his first podium result so far this season.
Behind the Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit duo, Norbert Siedler’s stunning chase through the field was rewarded with fourth place.
Taking up the race from tenth place after a poor qualifying, VELTINS Lechner Racing sent the Austrian as well as René Rast into the race on brand new rain tyres. With sixth, Robert Lukas yielded his best result this season behind his teammate Kévin Estre.
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
Kuba Giermaziak (winner):
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP Ungarn 2011
“I’m absolutely delighted with my first victory in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, and my biggest thanks go to my team. It’s incredible how hard the boys work to put a perfect car on the track for us at every race. We tested here in Budapest, luckily in rain, and that paid off. We knew we’d do very well on the wet circuit, but we hadn’t anticipated that we’d do it with such a huge advantage. Despite the awful weather conditions I didn’t make any mistakes. I’m particularly pleased for the many Polish fans who came so far this weekend to support us. Thank you all very much.”
Jeroen Bleekemolen (second):
“What a great race. I started from seventh, struggled with grip at the start and lost two places. But I crawled my way up lap by lap with a couple of good overtaking manoeuvres – huge fun! I tried to be cautious with my tyres over the whole distance, even during the formation lap, and it proved very helpful at the end when the track dried up, particularly for overtaking Sean.”
Sean Edwards (third):
“Now that was one crazy race. I had a lot of fun. The grip wasn’t really great over the distance and I had to fight hard to defend my position. But there was nothing I could do about Jeroen. Still, I’m totally happy. Both cars from Abu Dhabi by tolimit on the podium, the first time this season – that’s a great result. I’m hoping we can continue like this at the next race in Spa. The championship is really exciting now.”
Race result
1. Kuba Giermaziak (PL) VERVA Racing Team, 30:12.507 minutes
2. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 18.783 seconds
3. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 19.449
4. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 21.931
5. Kévin Estre (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 23.112
6. Robert Lukas (PL), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 24.539
Drivers’ classification after 7 of 11 races
1. Sean Edwards (GB), 106 points
2. René Rast (D), 105
3. Norbert Siedler (A), 97
4. Kuba Giermaziak (PL), 90
5. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 86
6. Nick Tandy (GB), 79
Round 8 of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup takes place on 28 August as support to the Formula 1 race in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium.
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
René Rast wins 200th Supercup race
Kuba Giermaziak (PL), René Rast (D), Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Stuttgart. The hero of the day in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup is René Rast.
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by VELTINS Lechner Racing, the title defender from Frankfurt in Germany won the 200th race of the world’s fastest international one-make series on the Nuerburgring.
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
This marks his fourth win so far this season.
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
In a gripping race under typical Eifel weather conditions, he relegated Poland’s Kuba Giermaziak (VERVA Racing Team) to second place and further extended his championship lead.
Start zum 200. Rennen – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
The anniversary race of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, which has run as support to the Formula 1 worldwide since 1993, started with a worried glance at the low-hanging clouds.
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
When the rain stopped shortly before the start, the majority of drivers opted for slicks – with Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (Team Bleekemolen) in position 12 on the grid selecting rain tyres.
Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
On the partly wet track, the Dutchman fought his way through half the field in the first lap to promptly move into first place. But his blaze of glory was short-lived: The slowly drying circuit foiled any further plans.
Sharing this fate were Britain’s Nick Tandy and Frenchman Kévin Estre. The title aspirant from Konrad Motorsport and the Supercup newcomer driving for Hermes Attempto Racing had such a lively encounter in the second corner that they were thrown remorselessly to the back of the field and went home without any championship points.
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
This was particularly bitter for Nick Tandy, who as reigning vice-champion has yet to notch up a victory this season and for whom this setback is possibly decisive in his bid for the title.
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
At the head of the pack René Rast and the first-time pole-sitter Kuba Giermaziak delivered a tough fight for victory right to the flag. Still, the Pole drove a cautious race to clinch his best Supercup result so far.
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Britain’s Sean Edwards, who eventually brought home third in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup run by Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, posed no threat from behind.
Norbert Siedler (A) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Trailing the Barcelona winner, Austria’s Norbert Siedler (VELTINS Lechner Racing) secured fourth, but not before fending off a strong attack from Stefan Rosina.
Stefan Rosina (SK) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Driving for VERVA Racing, the Slovakian secured his best result to date with fifth ahead of Jeroen Bleekemolen (Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit), two-time Supercup champion from the Netherlands.
Kuba Giermaziak (PL), René Rast (D), Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Putting in their personal best Porsche Mobil1 Supercup performance to now at the anniversary race in the Eifel were William Langhorne and Mathias Lauda. The American, who races for SANITEC Aquiles MRS Racing, finished tenth with the Konrad Motorsport pilot from Austria and son of racing legend Niki Lauda in eleventh.
René Rast (winner):
“That was a perfect race. The conditions were unbelievably tough. First it was totally wet, then dry again. When you’re at the front it’s very difficult to predict what’s going to happen. You never know what to expect in the next second. It’s a lot easier for the guys behind me. They can just wait to see what I do. Towards the end I slowed the pace a little to bring my victory home safely. With an eye on the championship, this was a great weekend for us.”
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Kuba Giermaziak (second):
“Congratulations to René. He drove a strong race under the most difficult conditions. As the track dried up I was quicker, in fact I could have won today. At least we had the speed. But René is not one to make silly mistakes when he’s under pressure. And I wasn’t prepared to risk anything. So now we just have to keep waiting for our first win, but I’m quite sure it’ll happen this season.”
Kuba Giermaziak (PL), René Rast (D), Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Sean Edwards (third):
“A great race. I started from seventh on the grid and finished in third – that’s not bad under such tough conditions. In the dry we simply didn’t have the speed to attack.”
Kuba Giermaziak (PL), René Rast (D), Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Race result
1. René Rast (D), VELTINS Lechner Racing, 30:00.552 minutes
2. Kuba Giermaziak (PL) VERVA Racing Team, + 1.001 seconds
3. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 5.288
4. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 8.042
5. Stefan Rosina (SK), VERVA Racing Team, + 8.628
6. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 9.964
Drivers’ standings after 6 of 9 races*
1. René Rast (D), 105 points
2. Sean Edwards (GB), 90
3. Norbert Siedler A), 83
4. Nick Tandy (GB), 72
5. Kuba Giermaziak (PL), 70
6. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 68
* It has yet to be decided if and when there will be a replacement for the cancelled Formula 1 race in Bahrain with two rounds of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup.
Round 7 of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup takes place on 31 July as support to the Formula 1 race in Budapest/Hungary.
First pole position for Kuba Giermaziak at 200th anniversary race
Stuttgart. At the 200th race in the successful history of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, Kuba Giermaziak from Poland starts from pole position on the Nürburgring on Sunday.
Kuba Giermaziak (PL) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Spanien 2011
Kuba Giermaziak (pole-sitter):
“It couldn’t have been better. I’m so thrilled with my first pole position. But we already noticed in free practice that we had the speed. The entire team prepared everything brilliantly. The Nürburgring is my absolute favourite, in fact I’m always fast here. Achieving pole position is of course a fantastic effort. Now we will try everything to turn it into a fantastic race result.”
At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by the VERVA Racing team, he turned the fastest qualifying lap for the first time. At 21, Giermaziak is the youngest driver in the series and currently sits seventh overall in the championship.
Stefan Rosina (SK) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Türkei 2011
Stefan Rosina (2nd in qualifying):
“A huge compliment to my team. With two of us on the first two grid spots, it shows just how well we prepared. The race will certainly not be easy, after all we have a couple of hot-shots breathing hard down our necks. But first we’re going to enjoy this wonderful result and tomorrow we’ll be ready to fight for a top place.”
His teammate from Slovakia, Stefan Rosina, secured the second grid spot with a gap of 0.295 seconds for the anniversary race of the world’s fastest international one-make series and rounded off a strong team performance.
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
René Rast (3rd in qualifying):
“I’m satisfied with third place. More important is that Nick and Sean are behind me. If I manage to beat them in the race then I can extend my points’ lead. But it looks like rain tomorrow, so in that case anything can happen.”
Behind the VERVA Racing team pilots, title defender René Rast from Germany had to settle with the third quickest time.
Nick Tandy (GB) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
Driving for VELTINS Lechner Racing, the current points’ leader and winner of three race this season tackles the anniversary event on the circuit in Germany’s Eifel region alongside his British opponent and title rival Nick Tandy (Konrad Motorsport).
Norbert Siedler (A) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Spanien 2011
Notching up the fifth fastest time, Austria’s Norbert Siedler (VELTINS Lechner Racing) secured a good starting position for Sunday, just like Patrick Huisman (Team Bleekemolen), the Supercup record winner from the Netherlands with sixth.
Patrick Huisman (NL) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Türkei 2011
Sean Edwards from Great Britain had to settle for the seventh grid position. Driving for Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, the current number two in the championship faces a tough task in his bid to make a dent in the points’ difference between him and front-runner René Rast.
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
This also applies to his teammate Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Deutschland 2011
The double Supercup champion from the Netherlands occupies the eighth spot ahead of Supercup newcomer Kévin Estre (France) and Robert Lukas (Poland), the Hermes Attempto Racing duo.
Qualifying result
1. Kuba Giermaziak (PL), VERVA Racing Team, 2:01.791 minutes
2. Stefan Rosina (SK), VERVA Racing Team, + 0.295 seconds
3. René Rast (D), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 0.376
4. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, + 0.433
5. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 0.568
6. Patrick Huisman (NL), Team Bleekemolen, + 0.801
Stuttgart. The Porsche Mobil1 Supercup has reason to celebrate:
On 24 July,the 200th race of the world’s fastest international one-make series takes off at the Nürburgring. The series has run as support to the Formula 1 races since 1993. Some interesting facts and figures of a success story:
The first race was run on 25 April 1993 as support to the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola. Victory went to Uwe Alzen, who was eventually beaten in the fight for the title by Altfrid Heger.
Uwe Alzen (GER) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 04 Norisring 2010
The closest title decision came in 1997. Patrick Huisman and Oliver Mathai both had 128 points to their credit. The title went to Huisman who had won three races, whilst Mathai triumphed just once.
Two records were set by Wolf Henzler, the champion of the 2004 season: His nine wins and ten fastest race laps are unrivalled.
Wolf Henzler
He posted pole position eight times, matching Joerg Bergmeister’s record from the 2001 season.
Joerg Bergmeister
The most successful VIP driver was Mika Häkkinen. The eventual two-time Formula 1 World Champion won the Supercup races in Monaco and Budapest in 1993.
The most victories were claimed by Patrick Huisman. To date, the Dutchman has won 24 races – the first in 1996 at the Hockenheim round, the most recent in 2007 at Spa. In 18 races he started from pole-position – more than any other driver. A total of 48 drivers have joined the list of winners from the 199 Supercup races contested so far.
The most titles were also secured by Patrick Huisman. From 1997 to 2000 he was crowned champion four times straight.
Richard Westbrook (Champion 2006, 2007)
Two championships have been clinched by Richard Westbrook (2006, 2007) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (2008, 2009).
Jeroen Bleekemolen (NDL) – Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Abu Dhabi 2009
As the sole drivers, Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen (2009/13 races) and Frenchman Emmanuel Collard (1996/9) climbed the podium at every race of a season. They both took five wins.
The most successful Supercup countries are Germany and the Netherlands, each with six championship titles. Next comes France with three outright wins.
The youngest overall winner was René Rast who was 23 years old when he secured the title in 2010. The oldest was Frenchman Jean-Pierre Malcher: He was 45 when he took home the championship in 1995.
René Rast (Champion 2010)
The most Supercup races were held in Monaco. The Principality hosted the series 19 times, followed by Budapest and Silverstone (18 each) as well as Hockenheim (17). All in all, the Supercup has been contested on 19 race tracks around the world.
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP England 2011
Stuttgart. After a successful guest appearance at the Porsche Carrera World Cup, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup now returns for the second time this season to the Nürburgring on 24th July.
It’s the 200th race in it’s successful history and rather than on the Nordschleife it takes place on the Grand Prix circuit.
But the change of track doesn’t at all faze René Rast.
“We’re doing well at the moment,” grins the points’ leader driving for the VELTINS Lechner Racing squad. “I don’t really mind where I win.”
The title defender from Germany, who celebrated the greatest success of his career with the World Cup victory, is the man to beat in the world’s fastest international one-make race series.
Start, René Rast (D) vorne – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP England 2011
His start to the season was somewhat bumpy until he turned the corner with his victory in Monaco. Recently on the storied Silverstone circuit, the home track of his arch rival Nick Tandy (Konrad Motorsport), he celebrated his third straight win.
This success saw his old self-confidence return:
“Earlier on we had a couple of hiccups, but now we’re back in force.”
Despite Rast’s winning streak, the fight for the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup title is still wide open before the anniversary race on the Nürburgring.
René Rast (D) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP England 2011
Competing for the Abu Dhabi by tolimit team, Britain’s Sean Edwards secured his place amongst the hot favorites with his win in Barcelona. Although he lost the points’ lead at Silverstone, he hasn’t lost his faith in claiming the title.
“Despite this little misfiring we’re still looking good,” he says. “Now we just have to stick at it.”
Germany’s Christian Engelhart (Konrad Motorsport), winner of the season-opener in Istanbul, also has new hopes. After a lengthy lean spell he finally yielded a good result with fifth in Silverstone.
Christian Engelhart (D) – Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – GP England 2011
Fighting to keep up with the front-runners are two drivers that started into the season as keen title aspirants: Nick Tandy and Jeroen Bleekemolen. The Briton fell from the top of the points’ table after retiring from the Porsche Carrera World Cup. He finished four of the five rounds contested by now in second place, but is still waiting for his first win.
Ranking third overall, he needs every point to maintain his bid for the title, as does Jeroen Bleekemolen of Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, who lies behind Austria’s Norbert Siedler (VELTINS Lechner Racing) in fifth. Bleekemolen, the two-time Supercup winner from the Netherlands, experienced a slow start to the season.
With fourth place in Monaco as his best result to now he knows only too well that he has to pull out all stops if he doesn’t want to miss the championship boat.
“On the Nürburgring,” he says, “only a podium result can help. Obviously a win would be the best. But with the competition at the top so close it’s going to be tough.”
In light of the strong competition, the performance of Supercup newcomer Kévin Estre is even more remarkable. The French Hermes Attempto Racing pilot raised eyebrows in Silverstone with third in qualifying, which he turned into his best race result of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup season with fourth place.
His next goal?
“The podium,” he says confidently, “preferably on the Nürburgring.”
Team classification
1. VELTINS Lechner Racing, 148 points
2. Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, 130
3. Konrad Motorsport, 124
* It has yet to be decided if and when there will be a replacement for the cancelled Formula 1 race in Bahrain with two rounds of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup.
Porsche Consulting establishes subsidiary in the USA
Stuttgart/Atlanta. Porsche Consulting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG in Stuttgart, is setting up a subsidiary in the USA.
Porsche Consulting Inc. headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, will commence operations in October with ten consultants. It will be the third foreign subsidiary after Milan in Italy and Sao Paulo in Brazil.
“In the past five years we have generated income of approximately 20 million US dollars with local customers in the USA. That is positively crying out for a local presence. We are pleased to be able to announce this step”, says Norman Firchau, President and CEO of the new subsidiary Porsche Consulting Inc. in the USA.
Porsche Consulting is also growing in Germany. Approximately 50 new consultants are to be taken on in the current year. The recruitment focus is on (industrial) engineers having majored in vehicle and automotive technology, mechanical engineering, manufacturing industry or aerospace but also economists having majored in production, logistics, procurement and purchasing, development or sales.
Porsche Consulting is a leading consulting company in Germany. Working on behalf of their customers – ranging from the global business group to the SME – consultants optimise processes from production to supplier management, in research and development, marketing, in sales and in administration.
Customers hail from the most diverse sectors such as the automotive industry, mechanical and electrical engineering, the construction industry, the aerospace industry, the consumer goods industry, commerce, banking and insurance, the health sector, traffic and transport.
In addition to Lean Management, namely the reduction of activities that do not add value, the elimination of waste and the rise of value creation, the US subsidiary will focus on Supply Chain Management and on optimising research and development processes. In the process, Porsche Consulting Inc. aims to generate 20 per cent of its revenue with Porsche and Volkswagen and 80 per cent with existing and new customers in the USA.
Previously, management consultancy in the USA catered first and foremost for customers from the automotive industry, aviation, electrical engineering and tourism sectors.
Porsche factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) finished second in the GT class at the Northeast Grand Prix in Lime Rock to improve their championship position.
Porsche factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA)
Stuttgart. In the American Le Mans Series, the title defenders clinched their first podium result of the season at their third attempt.
Patrick Long
With the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) finished second in the GT class at the Northeast Grand Prix in Lime Rock to improve their championship position.
The race on the short 2.478 kilometre circuit in the US state of Connecticut was thrilling from start to finish.
And it began well for Porsche:
Patrick Long snatched second place right at the start and defended his position to the first pit stop and driver change.
His teammate Joerg Bergmeister, who tops the winners’ list with five victories from the last five years on this circuit, fell back just once to third place after another pit stop behind his works driver colleague Wolf Henzler, but was quickly able to regain his position.
Bergmeister went on to deliver a spirited fight for the lead, at times only two seconds adrift of the front-runner. But with three laps to go, his result looked in jeopardy when tyre damage forced him into the pits.
As always, the Flying Lizard crew worked swiftly on his number 45 Porsche so that he was able to defend his second place. At the flag only 20.387 seconds separated Bergmeister and Long from their first win of the season.
“That was a lively race,” said Joerg Bergmeister. “Today we were able to fight for victory and I’ve tried everything to continue my winning streak after five straight Lime Rock victories. Unfortunately, a puncture prevented this. Still, it was our best result so far this season. Our entire team has worked extremely hard for this.”
Patrick Long said: “I’m very satisfied. Today we have earned plenty of championship points. Because all of our direct competitors had problems, these points are especially valuable. Our car was perfectly set-up over the entire weekend. It’s a shame that we were just a few seconds off clinching victory.
Bryan Sellers drove the first stint for the Falken Tire squad.
Cleverly, he kept out of any trouble on the tight circuit, and his teammate Wolf Henzler did the rest. With an early refuelling pit stop 1:15 hours before the flag, they took their opponents by surprise and turned up in second place when the rest of the field pitted for fuel.
Wolf Henzler too had his big moments: 30 minutes before the finish he brought the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR into the pits with suspected tyre damage. Luckily, he had only picked up rubber from the track. And in the final laps, problems with the fuel pressure cost him a safe third place. He took the flag in fifth.
In the second Flying Lizard Motorsports-run Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, works driver Marc Holzer (Germany) clinched seventh at his Lime Rock premiere together with American Seth Neiman.
Marco Holzer
He was clearly pleased with this result.
“When I took over the car we were running last,” he said. “The chase was huge fun. I was able to put in very competitive times on this unfamiliar track.”
Sascha Maassen (Germany)
Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Bryce Miller (USA)
brought the Paul Miller Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR home in sixth place.
Bryce Miller (USA)
Victory in the GTC class went to Americans Dion von Moltke and Mike Pierce with a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Round 4 of the American Le Mans Series is held on 24th July in Mosport/Canada.
Statistics: 3rd race Lime Rock, CT
Result GT class
1. Müller/Hand (D/USA), BMW M3 GT, 176 laps
2. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 176
3. Murry/Lazzaro (USA/USA), Doran Ford GT, 174
4. Sharp/van Overbeek (USA/USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, 174
5. Henzler/Sellers (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 174
6. Maassen/Miller (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 172
7. Holzer/Neiman (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 165
Result GTC class
1. von Moltke/Pierce (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 164 laps
2. Pumpelly/Ende (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 164
3. Leitzinger/Sweedler (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 164
Points’ standings GT class Drivers
1. Dirk Müller, Joey Hand, BMW, 70 points
2. Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Chevrolet, 37
3. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Porsche, 34
4. Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner, Chevrolet, 33
Dirk Werner, Bill Auberlen, BMW, 33
6. Augusto Farfus, BMW, 26
7. Jaime Melo, Toni Vilander, Ferrari, 25
8. Seth Neiman, Porsche, 23
Teams
1. BMW Team RLL, BMW, 70 points
2. Corvette Racing, Chevrolet, 41
3. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 37
Facts and figures
This is the American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations correspond to those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. All classes start together but are classified separately:
GT class: This most popular class amongst car manufacturers is traditionally extremely well supported: Slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR). GTC class: This class is reserved for vehicles from one-make race series (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 Cup). LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms. LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp and an 825 kg minimum weight. LMPC class: Prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.
All race cars start together but are classified separately. This ensures exciting and diverse racing with many overtaking manoeuvres. Points are only awarded for placings in each class.
Stuttgart. The Motorsport Newsletter regularly provides information on Porsche Motorsport around the world.
Development of an LMP1 sports prototype: Porsche returns to Le Mans Porsche returns to Le Mans with a works-run LMP1 sports prototype. The first outing of the race car developed from scratch is planned for 2014.
With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans. The last overall victory went to the Porsche 911 GT1 in the year 1998.
Porsche 911 GT1
Nürburgring 24 Hours: Porsche triumphs and sets new distance record Dramatic 24 hour sprint:
At the 39th running of the classic on the Nuerburgring-Nordschleife (25/26 June), works drivers Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas as well as Lucas Luhr took the lead with a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR after 7:25 hours ahead of strong competition from Audi, BMW und Mercedes.
(l. – r.): Timo Bernhard, Lucas Luhr, Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas
P1, 24h Nürburgring
Timo Bernhard, Lucas Luhr, Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas
P1, 24h Nürburgring
The quartet fended off rivals to the flag and set a distance record of 3,958.968 kilometres. For Porsche and the Manthey Racing squad, this marked the fifth victory at the “Ring” in the last six years – the same for Timo Bernhard.
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
For the innovative Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid the weekend ran less smoothly. Works drivers Joerg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer and Patrick Long led the field after four hours in front of 220,000 spectators, but spent a lot of time in the pits with a broken flange on the differential to finish 23rd.
Le Mans Series/Intercontinental Le Mans Cup: Fourth after tough struggle Works drivers Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz brought the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton home in fourth as the best Porsche at the third round of the LMS (3 July, 4th ILMC race) in Imola.
Team Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR , Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz
After being the innocent victims of two accidents in the first two races, this result was the best for the title defenders in the GTE Pro category.
Nicolas Armindo (l), Raymond Narac (r)
P1, GTE-Am, Le Mans Series Imola
Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac were delighted with victory number two in the GTE Am class with their 911 GT3 RSR fielded by IMSA Performance Matmut.
IMSA Performance Matmut, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo
Porsche Carrera World Cup: René Rast wins the greatest Porsche race of all time Rain, the world’s most difficult circuit and a field hailing from 25 countries: The Porsche Carrera World Cup on the Nordschleife, contested prior to the 24 hour race, was not for the faint-hearted.
René Rast (D)
Porsche Carrera World Cup – Nürburgring 2011
After six hours and about 150 kilometres, René Rast celebrated overall victory at the greatest Porsche race in history. In the class for 911 GT3 Cup vehicles from 2007 to 2009, Timo Rumpfkeil won.
For the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup and many national Carrera Cups the race counted towards their respective championships. René Rast took home maximum points for the Supercup.
Former champion Tim Harvey was the quickest in the Carrera Cup Great Britain (13th overall). Kévin Estre won the Carrera Cup France (6th overall), Alessandro Balzan was the best Italian (12th overall) and Johan Kristoffersson the best driver from the Carrera Cup Scandinavia (25th overall).
Grand-Am: Andrew Davis and Leh Keen at the front at half-way mark After the seventh of twelve Grand-Am races, Andrew Davis and Leh Keen rank second in the GT driver’s classification. At the six hour race in Watkins Glen (4 June) the duo won their class in a Brumos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with none other than racing legend Hurley Haywood calling the tactical shots. On the last June weekend (27 June), Davis and Keen clinched sixth in Road America.
French GT Championship: Dream weekend for Porsche teams With a double win for Patrick Bornhauser/Laurent Groppi in Larbre Compétition’s 911 GT3 R ahead of Anthony Beltoise/Laurent Pasquali in the GT3 R of Pro GT by Almeras, the fourth race weekend took off in Val de Vienne (25/26 June).
Porsche 911 GT3 R: Anthony Beltoise, Laurent Pasquali
GT Championship France, Val de Vienne
A one-two-three at race two with Beltoise/Pasquali in front of Bornhauser/Groppi and Laurent Cazenave/Jean-Claude Police in the sister Almeras-Porsche made the weekend perfect for Porsche.
Italian GT Championship: Autorlando pilot battles for points’ lead After a win and a second place at the third race weekend at the Autodromo dell Umbria near Magione (19 June), Autorlando pilot Ruberti lies a close second in the GT drivers’ classification. Ruberti shared the cockpit in Magione with his regular teammate Mario Cordoni.
Belcar Endurance Championship: Tactical brilliance yields win for Prospeed A courageous tyre choice and a perfect performance from drivers Marc Goossens and Maxime Soulet yielded the Prospeed Competition team their second win of the season at round three in Spa (18 June).
The squad sent the 911 GT3 R into the three-hour race on slicks, whilst the competition opted for rain tyres. With ten laps to go, Prospeed again made the right choice with slicks and won by more than a minute. Goossens/Soulet currently lead the driver’s classification.
British GT Championship: Victory for Trackspeed-Porsche at Brands Hatch Tim Bridgman and Gregor Fisken are the victors of the spectacular third race in Brands Hatch (19 June). A rain shower after the first half hour provided thrills and spills amongst the 30-strong field.
Bridgman and Fisken brought their Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Trackspeed home in first after two hours. Reigning champion David Ashburn was forced into retirement with a fire in the rear left wheel arch of his Porsche.
Pikes Peak Race to the Clouds: Jeff Zwart clocks record time in 911 GT2 RS At the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT2 RS, American Jeff Zwart set a record time for street homologated sports cars at the famous Pikes Peak Race to the Clouds in Colorado (26 June).
Porsche 911 GT2 RS: Jeff Zwart
Pikes Peak Race, Colorado
In the 620 hp 911, he broke the old record on the 20 kilometre track which leads over 156 corners from an altitude of 2,860 up to 4,600 metres, by 24 seconds.
Porsche 911 GT2 RS: Jeff Zwart
Pikes Peak Race, Colorado
Zwart had collected the 911 GT3 RS himself from Porsche Motorsport in California and drove the 1,770 kilometres to the start.
Carrera Cup Deutschland: Six races, six different winners Sean Edwards from Great Britain won the sixth round of the season on the rain-soaked, extremely difficult Norisring in Nuremberg (3 July) to extend his points’ lead ahead of Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Round five of the series run at the Porsche Carrera World Cup (25 June) went to Nicolas Armindo, with the Frenchman finishing fifth out of 98 starters.
Carrera Cup Japan: Hideto Yasuoka unstoppable At the fourth and fifth race of the Carrera Cup Japan on the extremely demanding Fuji International Speedway (11/12 June), Hideto Yasuoka again proved unbeatable in his class with two pole-to-flag wins.
(l.-r.): Akira Fujita, Hideto Yasuoka, Michael Green
Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, Fuji International Speedway
The talented youngster driving for the Garmin Porsche team has yet to be beaten in 2011. Akira Fujita secured second place twice.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama: Macneil and Cisneros win in Montreal Cooper Macneil (Alex Job Racing) celebrated his first victory in the Platinum Cup class after a rainy fifth round on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve run as support to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montreal (11 June), with points’ leader Henrique Cisneros retiring after a journey off the track. Gold Cup class honours went to Eduardo Cisneros after a hefty duel with the 15-year-old front-runner Madison Snow.
GT3 Cup Challenge Brasil: Rosset and Junior continue on-going duel With fading brakes, points’ leader Ricardo Rosset managed to salvage his victory at the first race in Interlagos (18 June), fending off an attack from second-placed Constantino Junior. Victory at the second race on the same day went to Junior, who had taken up the race from seventh on the grid as per the regulations. In the drivers’ classification, Rosset sits ten points ahead of Junior. The Challenge race for older 911 GT3 Cup was won by Fernando Barci.
Race notes: Pole-sitters Manuel Giao and Miguel Angel de Castro win round three of the Spanish GT Championship (19 June) on the Circuito de Albacete in the 911 GT3 RSR of the Drivex squad. +++ Gianluca Roda and Fabio Babini defend their GTS class lead at the fifth and sixth race of the International GT Open in Spa (25/26 June) with a Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Autorlando Sport.
Title defender takes up six hour race from third grid row
Stuttgart. At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) start from the third grid row of the GTE Pro class to tackle the six hour race in Imola on Sunday.
In qualifying for the third race of the Le Mans Series season at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Richard Lietz posted the sixth fastest time.
“The car handled perfectly for that one fast lap,” he said. “I´m happy with the time, nothing else was possible today. Now let´s hope for a good race. We´re facing six hours of tough work so our motto can only be get a good start and then charge to the front.”
His works driver colleague Patrick Pilet (France) set the ninth fastest time in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of IMSA Performance Matmut, which he shares with Wolf Henzler (Germany).
“It wasn´t easy today. You can only turn two really fast laps in qualifying here,” he said. “My first lap was great, but in the second I encountered a lot of traffic and couldn´t improve. The car oversteered a lot, we´ll have to sort this out before the race.”
Directly behind him, Porsche works driver Marco Holzer (Germany) starts from tenth on the grid. His teammate in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by ProSpeed Competition is Marc Goossens from Belgium.
“The qualifying began quite well,” said Marco Holzer. “But of all places in the very quick Turn 5 I encountered a slower car which held me up. Our car felt very good, the lap times were much quicker than during the free practice and that makes me feel more confident for the race.”
In the GTE Am class, in which only one professional driver is permitted to compete per car, Porsche works driver Patrick Long (USA) secured the third pole position for Porsche at the third race. Proton Competition´s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, which he shares with Porsche Cup winner Gianluca Roda (Italy), is at last year´s technical specification as per the regulations.
Result Qualifying GTE Pro class
1. Jörg Müller (D), BMW M3, 1:44.468 minutes
2. Dirk Werner (D), BMW M3, + 0.215 seconds behind
3. Jaime Melo (BR), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.223
4. Frédéric Makowiecki (F), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.257
5. Robert Bell (GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.262
6. Richard Lietz (A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.427
9. Patrick Pilet (F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.999
10. Marco Holzer (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 1.299
GTE Am class
1. Patrick Long (USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:45.650 minutes
2. Marco Cioci (I), Ferrari F430, + 0.256 seconds behind
3. Michele Rugolo (I), Ferrari F 430, + 0.569
4. Nicolas Armindo (F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.633
The six hour race takes off at midday on Sunday, 3 July. TV station Eurosport 2 broadcasts the opening phase from 12.00 to 13.00 hours and then the last two hours of the race from 16.00 to 18.00 hours live.
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 750 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms. LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 825 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.
Nicki Thiim (DK), Sean Edwards (GB), René Rast (D) Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Stuttgart. First Nick Tandy, then Jeroen Bleekemolen, Jaap van Lagen, Nicki Thiim, René Rast and now Sean Edwards.
Sean Edwards (GB)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
At round six on the Norisring, the Carrera Cup Deutschland celebrated its sixth winner.
Right now, the competition in Germany’s fastest one-make race series is unrivaled. Under the most difficult track conditions, Edwards celebrated his first victory in the German championship on the Nuremberg street circuit with his 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Sean Edwards (GB)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
By winning the rain race, the Briton driving for the Team Deutsche Post by tolimit squad further extended his points’ lead.
Nicki Thiim (DK), Sean Edwards (GB)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Second at the thrilling racepacked with overtaking manoeuvres on a wet and extremely slippery track went to Lausitzring winner Nicki Thiim (Denmark, Hermes Attempto Racing).
Nicki Thiim (DK)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
After a rocket start, second qualifier Martin Ragginger (Austria, Schnabl Engineering) led the field into the Grundigkehre.
Ploughing through from sixth on the grid came Nicki Thiim, with Edwards in third.
In contrast, pole-sitter Nick Tandy (Great Britain, Konrad Motorsport) didn’t get away as well and by the first corner found himself lying fourth.
In the fifth lap, Sean Edwards in his yellow Post-911, got around the Grundigkehre-hairpin better than Ragginger to snatch the front position. The Briton, who had taken up the sprint from fifth on the grid, held tight to lead and never looked back.
René Rast (D)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
In the following laps, the Austrian fell victim to another opponent. This time it was René Rast (Germany, Förch Racing) to overtake Ragginger in the same spot. The winner of the Porsche Carrera World Cup initially thought he was in a secure second place, but towards the end of the race Nicki Thiim moved closer with consistent and slightly faster lap times. In the 31st lap of the race, the Dane finally nabbed the German and clinched his second best result of the season.
Jan Seyffarth (D)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Jan Seyffarth (Germany, SMS Seyffarth Motorsport) also experienced an eventful race that yielded fourth and his best result of the season. Taking up the sprint from third on the grid, the Carrera Cup vice-champion of 2008 at times fell back as far as eighth place, but worked his way up the field as the track dried. Far behind Seyffarth came Nick Tandy in fifth. The Briton, who secured five phenomenal victories in his debut 2010 season, had to fight to keep his 911 on the track.
With fifth place in Nuremberg, Tandy, who had led the points for the first four rounds this season, now sits 16 points shy of his compatriot Edwards.
Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
And two points off Zandvoort winner Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands, Team Deutsche Post by tolimit) who saw the flag in Nuremberg in sixth place. Seventh, despite a damaged radiator, went to the Spielberg winner Jaap van Lagen. Shortly before the flag, the Land Motorsport pilot touched the rear of Norbert Siedler’s 911.
Driving for Aust Motorsport, the Austrian secured eighth ahead of his compatriot Martin Ragginger.
At his first race in the German one-make series, Supercup pilot Kévin Estre (France, Hermes Attempto Racing) crossed the finish line in tenth.
TV station Sport1 broadcasts race highlights, interviews and reports on 8 July from 23.30 hours until midnight in the Carrera Cup Magazin.
A one-hour report on the Porsche Carrera World Cup, the greatest Porsche race in history on the Nürburgring, is televised by Sport1 this coming Monday, 4th July, at 17.30 hours.
Sean Edwards (winner):
“I got too much wheelspin at the start so I didn’t get away well. But my teammate from last year, Sascha Maassen, shared a couple of tricks with me for the first corner and I profited from them. Martin Ragginger experienced traction problems, so it wasn’t hard getting past him. For a while I feared that Réne was closing in. But he became caught up in a duel with Nicki Thiim and that gave me room to breath. With three races left on the calendar we’re on top of the driver and team classifications – it doesn’t get better than that.”
Nicki Thiim (second):
“The race was great fun, what a highlight. I fought with many drivers, that’s the sort of racing I love. It proved difficult to get past René, but I did it in the end. If the race were only a couple of laps longer I might have overtaken Sean, too, but I didn’t want to take that risk. Second place is tremendous.”
René Rast (third):
“My start was average and I lost a couple of positions, but I made them up again. Sean took off at the front and managed to distance himself a bit. Towards the end of the race, Nicki Thiim came shooting up from behind. We fought each other for some time but then I had to let him pass, he was simply too fast. Third place was the maximum I could manage today, so I’m okay with that.”
Race result
1. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, 33:49.075 minutes (142.824 km/h)
2. Nicki Thiim (DK), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 1.507 seconds
3. René Rast (D), Förch Racing, + 3.370
4. Jan Seyffarth (D), SMS Seyffarth Motorsport, + 7.837
5. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, + 13.255
6. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, + 14.876
7. Norbert Siedler (A), Aust Motorsport, + 18.132
8. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Land Motorsport, + 20.327
Driver classification after 6 of 9 races
1. Sean Edwards (GB), 98 points
2. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 84
3. Nick Tandy (GB), 82
4. Nicki Thiim (DK), 59
5. Martin Ragginger (A), 59
5. Jaap van Lagen (NL), 56
7. René Rast (D), 54
Team classification after 6 of 9 races
1. Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, 154 points
2. Konrad Motorsport, 104
3. Hermes Attempto Racing, 64
Round 7 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes place on 7 August on the Grand Prix circuit of the Nürburgring.
Stuttgart. It doesn´t get much closer than this: With a mere 0.003-second advantage, Nick Tandy snatched his first pole position this season by a hair´s breadth.
Nick Tandy (GB)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 01 Hockenheimring 2011
The Briton driving for Konrad Motorsport lapped the 2.3 kilometre Norisring in 51.682 seconds and with this set a new record on the street circuit in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Tandy is the sixth different pole-sitter at the sixth race of the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
Nick Tandy (GB)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
During the ten-minute final qualifying session to determine the top ten, the fastest times changed by the second on the shortest circuit on the race calendar. At the end, the six quickest drivers were separated by an incredible 0.021 seconds.
The second grid spot at the qualifying thriller is occupied by Martin Ragginger.
Martin Ragginger (A)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 02 Zandvoort 2011
For the Austrian competing for the Schnabl Engineering team, this marks his best qualifying result so far this season.
Martin Ragginger (A)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Jan Seyffarth also sees a light at the end of the tunnel with the third grid position.
Jan Seyffarth (D)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Driving for SMS Seyffarth Motorsport, the German was only 0.008 seconds adrift of the pole-setting time. After a rather mixed start to the season, the 2008 vice-champion only ranks eighth overall at the half-way point in the series.
Jan Seyffarth (D)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
René Rast (Germany) takes up tomorrow´s 35-lap sprint (start 15.10 hours) around the stone grandstands and along the Dutzendteich from the fourth grid spot.
René Rast (D)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
At one point the outstanding winner of the Porsche Carrera Cup on the Nürburgring also managed to clock the fastest time in his Förch Racing 911, but was unable to defend it.
René Rast (D)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
The same for Sean Edwards.
Sean Edwards (GB)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Driving for the Deutsche Post by tolimit squad, the Briton tackles the Norisring race from fifth place.
Sean Edwards (GB)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Recently Edwards shunted the former leader Nick Tandy from the top of the points´ table with his fourth place at the World Cup and now also leads the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. Whilst he has already secured one pole position and a race win in the Supercup this year, he has not yet managed this in Germany´s fastest one-make series.
Behind the Briton on the grid are three winners this season.
Sixth in qualifying went to Nicki Thiim (Denmark, Hermes Attempto Racing), the winner on the Lausitzring.
Nicki Thiim (DK)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Seventh was snatched by the Spielberg victor Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands, Land Motorsport),
Jaap van Lagen (NL)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
with eighth going to van Lagen´s compatriot Jeroen Bleekemolen (Team Deutsche Post by tolimit).
Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL)
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 06 Norisring 2011
Austria´s Norbert Siedler (Aust Motorsport) and Florian Scholze (Germany, Förch Racing) round of the top ten qualifiers.
TV station Sport1 broadcasts the Norisring race from 15.10 hours live and televises race highlights, interviews and reports in the Carrera Cup Magazin on the 8th July from 23.30 hours until midnight. Moreover, the street race is broadcast on the official website of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on www.porsche.de/carreracup. A one-hour report on the Porsche Carrera World Cup, the greatest Porsche race in history on the Nürburgring, is televised by Sport1 this coming Monday, 4th July, at 17.30 hours.
Nick Tandy (pole-sitter):
“The lap times are so close this year that it´s just crazy. At last I managed my first pole position of 2011 at the sixth race weekend. I can´t say how happy I am about this, especially after the huge disappointment of my retirement at the World Cup.”
Martin Ragginger (second in qualifying):
“We knew from last year that our car is well set-up for the Norisring, because we are very good under braking. And you need that here where you have to decelerate drastically for the hairpins twice per lap. For sure lady luck was with us today. The times are so tight that you can´t talk about skill alone, you have to have luck on your side as well.”
Jan Seyffarth (third in qualifying):
“That was my best qualifying result this season. For this reason I´m pleased with third on the grid, but at the same time I´m a little disappointed. Towards the end of the qualifying I was the quickest in the first sector, then I drove my personal best in the second sector but I messed up the third. If you look at the gaps I can only say we´ve never seen it so close. The people can look forward to an incredibly exciting race tomorrow.”
Qualifying result:
1. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 51.682 seconds
2. Martin Ragginger (A), Schnabl Engineering, + 0.003
3. Jan Seyffarth (D), SMS Seyffarth Motorsport, + 0.008
4. René Rast (D), Förch Racing, + 0.016
5. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, + 0.018
6. Nicki Thiim (DK), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 0.021
7. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Land Motorsport, + 0.129
8. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, + 0.156
9. Norbert Siedler (A), Aust Motorsport, + 0.866
10. Florian Scholze (D), Förch Racing, + 1.047
Stuttgart. The American Le Mans Series picks up the pace.
After a break for the Le Mans 24 Hours, round three of the race series with the world’s fastest sports cars now takes off on 9th July in Lime Rock in the US state of Connecticut.
Lining up on the grid is the five-time Lime Rock winner Joerg Bergmeister (Germany). At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Bergmeister and his Porsche works driver teammate Patrick Long (USA) are hoping for their first podium result of the season.
The race
The Northeast Grand Prix has been a permanent fixture on the American Le Mans Series calendar since 2004. Many fans are happy to travel the two and a half hours from New York City to witness the often very entertaining race. On one of the hills alongside the track stands a small church in which a service is held on Sundays. For this reason, races are traditionally contested on Saturdays.
The circuit
The 2.478 kilometre circuit in the picturesque countryside of Connecticut is the shortest in the American Le Mans Series.
The lap times are far under a minute. The surrounding grassy hills serve as grandstands, with most of the spectators bringing their own camping chairs and coolers to witness the race action.
The 911 GT3 RSR entered by Paul Miller Racing is manned by Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Bryce Miller (USA).
Quotes before the race
Hartmut Kristen, Porsche Head of Motorsport:
“The season really gets going now in USA. The last race was before the break for the Le Mans 24 Hours in April, so it’s almost like a second season-opener for the teams. If they want to look good for the crucial phase of the season, they’ll need to pull out all stops in Lime Rock.”
“Lime Rock seems to really suit our car. I’ve won on this track five times in a row – that’s not such a bad track record. With 30 cars on this narrow circuit you have to concentrate totally over the whole distance, you have to use your head if you want to reach the flag in such heavy traffic without bruises. It’s always worked out well in the past. Still, a little bit of luck is always part of it.”
Patrick Long (No. 45, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Flying Lizard Motorsports):
“There are normally loads of safety car phases in Lime Rock. And no wonder with all the traffic. This is a huge challenge for our strategists. The pit stops have to be carried out quickly, the right timing can mean the difference between victory or defeat. But our boys at Flying Lizard Motorsports know how to do pit stops – they’ve proven that often enough.”
Wolf Henzler (No. 17, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Faken Tire):
“The track is very short, and hence the traffic is heavy. You’re constantly overtaking slower cars and you being overtaken by the faster sports prototypes. Lime Rock is not exactly a favorite of mine. But I have good memories of last year when we qualified in second in the rain. Hopefully, it’ll rain again this year. We used the Le Mans break well and tested at Road America and in Mid-Ohio. The team has invested a great deal into tyre development. That makes me optimistic for the rest of the season.”
“This is my first race in Lime Rock and I’m looking forward to getting to know another race track in the USA. The team sent me a DVD of on board footage and loads of data – so at least I can prepare myself a bit.”
The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
The most successful GT race car of the last years takes off into the season with a raft of improvements. The output of the four-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine has increased to 455 hp (335 kW). Priority in the further development of the car was given to the newly designed aerodynamics at the front and rear. In 2010, the 911 GT3 RSR again won the environmental “Michelin Green X Challenge” classification as the GT vehicle with the best overall efficiency in the American Le Mans Series.
Porsche’s successes
In the history of the American Le Mans Series, Joerg Bergmeister is the most successful driver at Lime Rock. At the last five races he claimed victory every time for Porsche in the GT and later the GT2 class.
Patrick Long was his teammate for three of these wins, Wolf Henzler once. With the RS Spyder sports prototype, Porsche celebrated three class wins on this track as well as an overall victory in 2007.
The schedule
The race in Lime Rock starts on Saturday, 9 July, at 14.05 hrs local time (20.05 hrs CEST). The GT qualifying on Friday will be broadcast on the internet on Friday from 21.45 hours CEST on www.porsche.com/alms-live.
The American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations correspond to those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. All classes start together but are classified separately:
GT class: This most popular class amongst car manufacturers is traditionally extremely well supported: Slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR). GTC class: This class is reserved for vehicles from one-make race series (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 Cup). LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms. LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp and an 825 kg minimum weight. LMPC class: Prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.
Porsche returns to Le Mans with a works-run LMP1 sports prototype. The first outing of the completely new developed race car is planned for the year 2014. With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans
Porsche 911 GT1
With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans. The most recent win was in 1998 with the Porsche 911 GT1.
Porsche 911 GT1
“Motorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand,” emphasizes
Matthias Müller, President of the Executive Board at Porsche AG
Porsche 911 GT1
“So for us it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing. Porsche’s successes in Le Mans are unrivaled. We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory.”
Porsche 911 GT1
With the RS Spyder sports prototype that was run with great success from 2006 to 2008 by the factory-backed Penske Racing team in the USA and to 2010 by several customer teams worldwide, Porsche has set the benchmark recently in the LMP2 category.
Porsche RS Spyder
“With the RS Spyder we proved that our motorsport engineers in Weissach are at the forefront,” says Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG.
Porsche RS Spyder, 24h Le Mans 2009
Porsche RS Spyder, 24h Le Mans 2009
Porsche RS Spyder, 24h Le Mans 2009
Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG
Porsche RS Spyder
“For instance, we were the first to run a high-revving race engine with direct fuel injection, DFI, setting new standards in performance and efficiency. Recently, with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, we adopted a completely new drive technology for racing purposes and achieved a considerable reduction in consumption.”
Porsche RS Spyder
Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, is already prepared for one of the most challenging development programmes in the company’s history.
Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport
“We’re looking forward to the task of developing new technologies and to continue on with the success of the Porsche RS Spyder. After the conclusion of our works-supported sports prototype programme in the American Le Mans Series we have kept up with the latest technological advances. Now we will begin with detailed research in order to evaluate the various concept alternatives for our new car. These obviously depend on how the regulations for the year 2014 look in detail. In principle, these regulations are interesting for us because the integration of our hybrid technology in the vehicle concept is one possible option.”
Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood claimed the first overall victory for Porsche in 1970 with the legendary 917 short-tail.
The 16th and by now last overall win was secured by Laurent Aiello, Stéphane Ortelli and Allan McNish in 1998 with the 911 GT1. In the years 2008 and 2009, the Porsche RS Spyder sports prototype won the title in the LMP2 category.
As one of the six Porsche teams contesting the GTE Pro sports car class, title defenders Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) are determined to climb to the top of the podium.
Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria)
The Porsche factory pilots contest the race, which is also classified as a round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by the Felbermayr-Proton team.
The race
The six hour race in Imola is new on the calendar of the Le Mans Series and the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is situated between Bologna and Ravenna and is mostly known by race fans for its famous corners like Tamburello, Rivazza and Acque Minerali. On the 4.933 kilometre Formula 1 circuit, the Grand Prix of San Marino was contested until 2006.
The Porsche drivers
Aside from the title defenders Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz, three other Porsche works drivers contest the GTE Pro class with the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Wolf Henzler (Germany) shares driving duties with Patrick Pilet (France) for the IMSA Performance Matmut team,
Patrick Pilet (France) and Wolf Henzler (Germany)
with Marco Holzer (Germany) driving for ProSpeed Competition. His team mate is Belgian Marc Goossens.
Marco Holzer (Germany) and Marc Goossens.
Three Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the 2010 specification start in the GTE Am class, where only one professional race driver is permitted per car.
In the Proton Competition cockpit is Porsche works driver Patrick Long (USA),
Patrick Long (USA)
as well as Porsche Cup winner Gianluca Roda (Italy)
Gianluca Roda (Italy)
and team owner Christian Ried (Germany).
Christian Ried (Germany)
The 911 GT3 RSR fielded by IMSA Performance Matmut is manned by Frenchmen Raymond Narac and Nicolas Armindo, the overall winner of the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
At the wheel of the sister 911 GT3 RSR of Felbermayr-Proton, Horst Felbermayr Junioris confirmed as a driver.
Quotes before the race
Hartmut Kristen, Porsche Head of Motorsport:
“It’s no secret that we’re very unhappy about the imbalance through the Balance of Performance. Particularly for the Proton team, preparing for the Imola race was very tough because they had to get two cars running after they were virtually destroyed in Le Mans. You can only have the greatest respect for the team’s efforts and the will to fight.”
Marc Lieb:
“We haven’t started the season as we had imagined. So that makes us even more determined to try to make the most of our chances in Imola. We are eager to show that we are in a position to fight at the top. With a good set-up and the right strategy we should manage this.”
Richard Lietz:
“With 50 competitors it’ll be very tight, but maybe we can use that to our advantage. In any case, we’re going to attack and try to get ahead. It’ll certainly be six very interesting hours.”
Wolf Henzler:
“After the first two races didn’t go so well for us we’re hoping to finally make a breakthrough in Imola and bring home a good result. We’re aiming for the podium. The team is incredibly motivated and working hard. It’s time that these efforts were rewarded with a good result.”
Marco Holzer:
“I can’t wait for the Imola race. I’ve never driven there before, only tested. Imola is a gorgeous circuit. For us the focus is on doing our best, bringing home points and improving our position in the championship.”
Patrick Pilet:
“I know this track and it’s not easy. The long straights make it necessary to find a good set-up compromise between high speed and decent handling.”
Patrick Long:
“To drive in Imola straight after the 24 hour race on the Nürburgring is an extremely interesting challenge. I’m looking forward to it and hope to assist my team mates to secure a good result and as many points as possible.”
The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
The most successful GT race car of 2010 competes this season with some improvements. The output of the four-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine has increased to 455 hp (335 kW). Priority in the further developments was given predominantly to the newly-designed aerodynamics at the front and rear.
The schedule
The six hour race takes off on Sunday, 3 July, at midday. The qualifying session for the GTE classes takes place on Saturday from 13.55 to 14.15 hours.
TV tip
Eurosport 2 broadcasts the beginning of the race on Sunday from 12.00 to 13.00 hours and the final two hours live.
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 750 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 825 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.
Stuttgart. With a triumph for Porsche, the Nürburgring 24 hour race came to an end.
After 156 laps on the legendary Nordschleife, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) together with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) won with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Manthey Racing.
For Porsche and Manthey Racing, this marks the fifth victory together in the last six years at the long distance classic in Germany’s Eifel region and for Porsche the eleventh overall victory at this race.
Quotes after the race
Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Porsche AG:
“I’m overwhelmed. Such a success is only possible as a team. I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this. Today, I’m especially proud because we are small but great and successful.”
Matthias Müller, CEO of the Executive Board at Porsche AG:
“This is the first time I’ve been to a 24 hour race for Porsche and I certainly hadn’t anticipated it being so emotional. It was a very great weekend for the Porsche enterprise. All the employees at the track have proven what Porsche Intelligent Performance really stands for. Thank you to all the drivers – not only to the winning troupe, but particularly to the squad in the Hybrid-Porsche. All those drivers put in an excellent effort, as well. And thanks to all those people who worked behind the scenes.”
Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG:
Wolfgang Hatz, Vorstand Forschung und Entwicklung
“I’m proud to be part of such a troupe. What we saw this weekend was an immense team effort. The winning squad virtually just refuelled and changed tyres. I promise that we will continue keeping the revs high in motorsport. There are wonderful things ahead of us. I’m looking forward to the future.”
Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport:
Hartmut Kristen, Porsche-Sportchef
“Congratulations to the crew from Manthey Racing and our staff from Weissach. They did a brilliant job and contributed greatly to our success. I’m very pleased that, after all the wrangling in the run-up, there was a clean, sporting decision on the track. Also decisive for our win was that the 911 GT3 RSR was one hundred percent reliable and we had to put in one fuel stop less than the competition. You would expect this from a Porsche. Of course, our drivers also deserve a huge compliment. Once again, they all conducted themselves faultlessly. That also applies to the quartet in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid that wasn’t able to bring home the success it deserved because of two mechanical problems and an accident. As far as pure power is concerned and with its efficiency, the car has performed as we had expected with its innovative drive concept. It’s a great shame that the results don’t reflect this.”
Marc Lieb (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
Marc Lieb
“Winning this year is one of the most emotional moments of my career. We really didn’t expect to conquer here. After the difficult practices, we pulled ourselves together and said, ‘Let’s give our all’. We didn’t make any mistakes and the entire team put in a superb effort. It’s simply fantastic.”
Timo Bernhard (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
Timo Bernhard
“The fifth victory at this race is something very special, especially because this year was particularly difficult. We had no other choice than to attack from the first moment. At the end of the day, everything went perfectly. My special thanks goes to our team boss Olaf Manthey. He lives for this race like no other and puts his whole heart into it year after year.”
“My fourth win at this race was the hardest. The competition this year was tougher than ever before. We all had to give one hundred percent. We took up the race from 18th on the grid and made the most out of it. I got a fright at one point during the night when a BMW and I touched. I was really afraid that the car was damaged, because right at that point I had no radio contact and I couldn’t ask if I should come in to the pits. So I listened to the car and noticed that everything was okay. Now it’s time to celebrate.”
Lucas Luhr (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
Lucas Luhr
“Our plan was to go all out during the night to get ahead. That worked. We simply had to keep the pressure on from the first to the last moment, because the competition was fierce. During one of my stints there was a slight shunt on the front left, but we taped it up and kept driving. I feel we deserved this win.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Joerg Bergmeister
“It was certainly one of the most difficult races of my career. The power performance and above all the efficiency of the car were great, even better than last year. It’s also so much fun to drive thanks to the Hybrid-boost. I hope we can continue working like this. And one day luck will be on our side.”
Richard Lietz (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Richard Lietz
“The performance of our car was super, all the drivers did a great job and our mechanics put in a mammoth effort. It’s a shame that these efforts weren’t rewarded. But I’m very pleased that our squad decided to pull out all stops and get to the finish line. We owed this to our mechanics and the Porsche fans on the ‘Ring.”
Marco Holzer (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Marco Holzer
“I reckon I was driving one of the best cars in the entire field. We always clocked good lap times. We lost the chance to win through the mechanical problems and an accident. The effort our mechanics made is something I’ve never seen before. And that’s why our goal was to never give up as long as the wheels kept turning. In this regard it’s a small consolation that we crossed the finish line after 24 hours and that we showed the Porsche fans at the track that we never give up.”
Patrick Long (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
Patrick Long
“After the flange broke we were out of the top 100 contenders but worked our way up to 28th. For me, not giving up fits in with the Porsche philosophy. I wholeheartedly congratulate our colleagues in the 911 GT3 RSR. Reliability and faultless driving was the key.”
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.
René Rast (D), Sean Edwards (GB), Nick Tandy (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Nick Tandy (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Bill Barazetti (D), Raffi Bader (CH), Heinz-Bert Wolters (D) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Sean Edwards (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
Nick Tandy (GB) – Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – 09 Hockenheimring 2011
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