Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid in second place
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey (8): Richard Westbrock, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans Guido Riegel – Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (9): Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Stuttgart. The Porsche teams have made a good start to the Nürburgring 24 hour race.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrock, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans Guido Riegel
After just over two hours and 17 laps on the legendary Eifel circuit, the innovative Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid fielded by the Porsche Team Manthey lies in second place.
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
Start driver was Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), who shares the cockpit with his Porsche works driver colleagues Richard Lietz (Österreich), Marco Holzer (Lochau) und Patrick Long (USA). The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Manthey Racing with Porsche factory pilots Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) as well as Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) follow directly behind in third place.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Pinta Racing (27): Michael Illbruck, Manuel Lauck, Jörg van Ommen, Altfrid Heger – Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S, H&R Spezialfedern (31): Jürgen Alzen, Artur Deutgen, Klaus Ludwig, Sascha Bert
Sitting 12th is the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the Haribo Team Manthey with Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), Christian Menzel (Germany), Mike Stursberg (Germany) and Hans Guido Riegel (Germany).
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
The Porsche 911 GT3 R of Falken Motorsports, manned by Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) as well as Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany) currently ranks 15th.
Quotes from the drivers
Marc Lieb (No. 18, 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing):
“In the first lap it was rather difficult on slicks, but from the second lap onwards it has proved to be the right choice. Unfortunately I lost a lot of time behind a competitor who was zig-zagging over the track to prevent me from passing although I was faster. Otherwise, the car’s running well.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey):
“The first two laps with slicks on the wet surface were a little critical. But then the ideal line dried and from then on the driving was superb. We obviously had a little luck with our decision not to start on wet tyres, because it could have started to rain again.”
Wolf Henzler (No. 44, 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports):
“We decided to start on intermediate tyres and that was good in the beginning, I made up some places. But on lap two my right front tyres began to scrape and there was a little smoke. To be on the cautious side I drove into the pits. But basically everything was okay, we changed to slicks and I rejoined the race. It drizzled for a short spell and the track became slippery again. The traffic is heavy, above all it’s hard to anticipate what the many slower drivers are going to do. It was agreed that they should blink to show the faster ones what their intentions are. But that happens seldomly.”
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Source/photos: Porsche AG database
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Nürburgring 24 hour race
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Stuttgart. As the best-placed Porsche team, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) take up the 24 hour race on Saturday with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) from the fourth grid row. At the wheel of Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, they concluded the final qualifying for the long distance classic in the Eifel on eighth place.
Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife, Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife, 18, Manthey Racing GmbH III, Porsche – 911 GT3 R, Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
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 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Marco Holzer |
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Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife,9, Porsche Team Manthey, Porsche – 911 GT3 R, E1-XP Hybrid, Joerg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
The further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Version 2.0) with drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) posted the eleventh quickest time. The Porsche works drivers were able to improve on their first qualifying session by three places, but the gap to the top was just over seven seconds.
Motorsports / 24h-Rennen Nuerburgring Nordschleife, 11 Manthey Racing GmbH III, Porsche – 911 GT3 R, Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
On the 16th grid spot are Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR that the Manthey Racing team fields parallel to the 911 GT3 R.
Directly behind them is Porsche factory pilot Wolf Henzler (Germany) as well as Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany) in the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Falken Motorsports on position 17.
Comments from the drivers
Marc Lieb (No. 11/18, Manthey Racing):
“I drove the GT3 today but didn’t manage to find an optimal lap because I had to wait too long at the pit lane exit and was therefore too late. All in all I have to say that I couldn’t do much more. But we now have 24 hours ahead of us.”
Timo Bernhard (No. 11/18 Manthey Racing):
“I only conducted function tests after changing crucial components like the engine and gearbox. It was all good. The car feels great.”
Romain Dumas (No. 11/18, Manthey Racing):
“Our timing wasn’t perfect. When we wanted to push, it started to rain. But we’ve made huge progress in our set-up and that was our main goal for today. It’ll be a long race and anything can happen.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
“We obviously made the right decision and went for top times when it was dry right from the start. It worked and I got in a clear lap. Our car is handling very well.”
Richard Lietz (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
“Overnight we changed the engine and gearbox and ran in the new parts. The conditions were quite difficult out there because sections of the track were either dry, damp or wet.”
Wolf Henzler (No. 44, Falken Motorsports):
“First we had to run in all the new parts for the race, the engine, gearbox, brake pads and so on. When I wanted to go out for my fast lap it began to rain. At the entrance to the Nordschleife I began to slide on all four wheels and had to abandon my lap. When we tried again towards the end of the session the track was still partly wet and then I encountered a car sideways in front of me and had to brake hard. It’s a shame, I could have done better.”
The 24 hour race takes off on Saturday at 16.00 hours. TV station Sport1 intermittently broadcasts more than 13 hours of the race live on Saturday (from 15.45 hours) and Sunday (17.00 hours). A one-hour highlight programme is televised on Sunday at 22.30 hours.
Result Qualifying
1. Farnbacher/Simonsen/Seefried/Melo (D/MC/D/I), Ferrari F 458, 8:23.764 minutes
2. Mamerow/Hahne/Kaffer (D/D/CH), Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 1.897 seconds
3. Heyer/Jäger/Bleekemolen/Seyffarth (D/D/NL/D), Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 3.016
4. Müller/Werner/Adorf/Lamy (D/D/D/P), BMW M3 GT, + 3.666
5. Müller/Farfus/Alzen/Lamy (D/BRA/D/P), BMW M3 GT, +4.151
6. Arnold/Margaritis/Brück/Frankenhout (D/D/D/NL), Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 4.503
8. Lieb/Luhr/Bernhard/Dumas (D/CH/D/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 5.027
11. Bergmeister/Lietz/Holzer/Long (D/A/D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, + 7.087
16. Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr (D/D/F/CH), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 8.315
17. Henzler/Dumbreck/Ragginger/Asch (D/GB/A/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 8.485
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Stuttgart. The Porsche teams are in a good position for Friday’s final qualifying for the 24 hour race.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
With the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Manthey Racing, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) together with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) posted sixth place. The quartet won the 24 hour race four times straight from 2006 to 2009.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing: Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Lucas Luhr
The seventh quickest time was claimed by Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany), Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Sebastian Asch (Germany) in the 911 GT3 R of Falken Motorsport.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Wolf Henzler, Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger, Sebastian Asch
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Wolf Henzler, Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger, Sebastian Asch
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Wolf Henzler, Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger, Sebastian Asch
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Falken Motorsports: Sebastian Asch, Martin Ragginger
Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), Christian Menzel (Germany), Mike Stursberg (Germany) and Hans Guido Riegel (Germany) planted their Haribo Team Manthey 911 GT3 R on the tenth grid spot.
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey: Richard Westbrook, Christian Menzel, Mike Stursberg, Hans-Guido Riegel
Fielded by Porsche Team Manthey, the further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Version 2.0) with its innovative hybrid drive was not able to match the pace of the fastest vehicles after its performance was capped recently by the organizers.
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
Moreover, Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) had to contend with heavy traffic during his fastest lap and only managed 18th. He shares the cockpit of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid with his factory pilot colleagues Richard Lietz (Austria), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA).
The second and final qualifying takes place on Friday from 16.55 to 18.55 hours.
The 24 hour race gets underway on Saturday at 16.00 hours. Television station Sport1 intermittently broadcasts more than 13 hours of the race live on Saturday (from 15.45 hours) and Sunday (from 07.00 hrs). A one-hour highlight program of the race is televised on Sunday at 22.30 hours.
Quotes from the drivers
Marc Lieb (No. 18, Manthey Racing):
Marc Lieb
“We changed the set-up of our car during the qualifying and turned the fastest lap 40 minutes before the end. Now we’re happy with everything. If it stays dry for tomorrow’s final qualifying session we’ll attack again.”
Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Joerg Bergmeister
“We didn’t really expect to actually do well. We could have been a bit faster but the heavy traffic prevented a better time.”
Wolf Henzler (No. 44, Falken Motorsports):
Wolf Henzler
“We’re satisfied with our set-up. The track conditions were very good with loads of grip. Martin Ragginger went out first and set our best time. Still, we’re more than eight seconds shy of the quickest vehicle.”
Richard Lietz (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Richard Lietz
“The lengthy qualifying today was a good chance to familiarize myself with the car and to get a good feeling for driving at the limit. The character of our rolling race lab is somewhat different to the 911 GT3 RSR that I drove in Le Mans two weeks ago.”
(Marco Holzer No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Marco Holzer
“I got four yellow flags while I was out on the track. It’s not easy to get a free lap. We worked some more on our race set-up and tried to bring the tyres up to the optimal temperature. Driving on the Nordschleife at night is exhausting, you first have to get back the feeling for it.”
Patrick Long (No. 9, Porsche Team Manthey):
Patrick Long
“Yesterday I drove in the rain for the first time on the Nordschleife and that is something quite special. Our car is well balanced and I’m very happy about that. Regardless of whether it rains during the race or stays dry, I’m feeling well prepared.”
Result 1st Qualifying
1. Farnbacher/Simonsen/Seefried/Melo (D/MC/D/I, Ferrari F 458, 8:23.764 minutes
2. Heyer/Jäger/Bleekemolen/Seyffarth (D/D/NL/D), Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 6.617 seconds
3. Mamerow/Hahne/Kaffer (D/D/CH), Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 7,193
4. Ekström/Scheider/Werner/Abt (S/D/D/D), Audi R8 LMS, + 7,772
5. Roloff/Rehfeld/Haupt/Schelp (D/D/D/D), Mercedes-Benz SLS, + 7,780
6. Lieb/Luhr/Bernhard/Dumas (D/CH/D/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 8,315
7. Henzler/Dumbreck/Ragginger/Asch (D/GB/A/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 8,485
10. Westbrook/Menzel/Stursberg/Riegel (GB/D/D/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 11,097
13. Lieb/Bernhard/Dumas/Luhr (D/D/F/CH), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 11,918
14. Bergmeister/Lietz/Holzer/Long (D/A/D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, + 12,090
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Nürburgring 24 hour race
33 Porsche tackle the long distance classic in the Eifel
Stuttgart. A strong contingent of Porsche teams takes up the 24 hour race on the Nürburgring.
Like last year, Porsche AG as well as various customer teams field 33 vehicles featuring the characteristic six-cylinder boxer engine at the 39th running of the long distance classic in Germany’s Eifel region on 25/26 June.
Eight Porsche works drivers contest Germany’s greatest motorsport event at which Porsche has celebrated four overall victories in the last five years.
After an impressive 24 hour debut last year where it held the lead for eight hours witnessed by over 200,000 ardent spectators and grabbed headlines worldwide, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid returns to the Nordschleife this year with the starting number 9.
The vehicle, however, has been substantially reined in by the organizers.
After the latest reclassification, the combustion engine now delivers only 448 hp. Calculated over one lap, the further-developed 911 GT3 R Hybrid (Version 2.0) now delivers a lower system output than last year’s vehicle with a combustion engine.
“This further reduction in performance by the organisers is incomprehensible to us,” says Porsche Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. “There are no data from the two test races as part of the 2011 Nürburgring Long Distance Championship that would provide the basis for such a grading. Our goal was and is to achieve similar lap times to other GT3 vehicles, but with better efficiency. We feel this goal is the right one long term and very much regret that some officials in motorsport can’t or won’t yet come on board with this approach.”
Sharing the cockpit of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 are Porsche factory pilots
Joerg Bergmeister (Germany)
Richard Lietz (Austria)
Patrick Long (USA)
and Marco Holzer (Germany)
who were all deeply involved in the vehicle development. The efficiency of the innovative race car from Weissach was improved through targeted optimisation of the hybrid components. The general hybrid layout of the Version 2.0 was adopted from its predecessor. The output of both electric motors in the portal axle increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. They supplement the four-litre six-cylinder boxer engine which now only delivers 448 hp after the repeated power reduction.
For seconds at a time, pilots now have about 200 hp more at their disposal, which is equivalent to ca. 32 hp of additional conventional power per Nordschleife lap. Depending on the programming, this electrical power is automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal.
Moreover, hybrid pilots can manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking.
“We’ll go all out to continue on from last year’s strong performance with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. It won’t be easy against the strong opposition who have taken major steps forward, particularly since our car has been disproportionately handicapped,” says Joerg Bergmeister. The Porsche works driver is looking forward to the Nordschleife: “It’s one of the world’s most beautiful race tracks. It’s incredibly demanding but it’s incredible fun as well. Every lap is a challenge.”
This year, the winning Manthey Racing squad fields two Porsche 911 – a GT3 R and a GT3 RSR – sporting a prominent yellow-green design. Manning both vehicles is the winning Porsche works driver quartet, Timo Bernhard (Germany),
Romain Dumas (France)
Marc Lieb (Germany)
as well as Manthey pilot Lucas Luhr (Switzerland)
who have notched up over 50 major international titles between them.
Every year, Timo Bernhard is thrilled anew by the unique atmosphere of the non-stop motorsport party.
Timo Bernhard
“Driving on the Nordschleife is always an experience,” says the Porsche works driver and Le Mans winner, who has contributed to all four Porsche overall victories here between 2006 and 2009. “Although you’re constantly challenged as a driver and there is no chance to catch your breath over the long laps, you still don’t want to climb out of the car.”
Another Porsche factory pilot, Wolf Henzler (Germany), competes for the Falken Motorsport team.
His teammates in the #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R are Martin Ragginger (Austria), Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain) and Sebastian Asch (Germany).
Also hoping for a top result is the Haribo Manthey Racing (No. 8) line-up of Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), Christian Menzel (Germany), Mike Stursberg (Germany) and Hans Guido Riegel (Germany).
With the all-German crew of Georg Weiss, Oliver Kainz, Michael Jacobs and Jochen Krumbach, the Wochenspiegel Team Manthey has proven Nordschleife specialists at the wheel of the #26 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R (No. 10) is manned by another strong squad with Marc Gindorf (Monaco), Wolfgang Kohler (Germany) and Peter Scharmach (New Zealand).
The 39th edition of the Nürburgring 24 hour race starts on Saturday 25 June at 16.00 hours. Television station Sport1 broadcasts a total of over 13 hours live on Saturday (from 15.45 hours) and Sunday (from 07.00 hours) intermittently. A one-hour highlight programme of the race will be televised on Sunday at 22.30 hours.
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Schedule Nürburgring 24 hour race
Thursday, 23 June
14.30 – 16.00 hrs, Free practice
19.30 – 23.30 hrs, 1st qualifying
Friday, 24 June
14.00 hrs, Porsche press conference
16.55 – 18.55 hrs, 2nd qualifying
Saturday, 25 June
13.30 – 15.10 hrs, Grid line-up
15.40 hrs, Formation lap
16.00 hrs, Start
Sunday, 26 June
16.00 hrs,Finish
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Le Mans 24 Hours
Four Porsche 911 GT3 RSR amongst the top eight
Stuttgart. Last year’s winners narrowly missed out on the podium at the 79th running of the long distance classic.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton: Richard Lietz, Marc Lieb, Wolf Henzler
After 24 hours, the Felbermayr-Proton team with Porsche works drivers
Marc Lieb (Germany),
Richard Lietz (Austria)
and Wolf Henzler (Germany) received the flag as fourth in the GTE Pro sports car class.
The French IMSA Performance Matmut squad clinched fifth place ahead of Flying Lizard Motorsports from the USA.
The 911 of the Belgian ProSpeed Competition team crossed the finish line
at the Le Mans 24 Hours in eighth.
In the GTE Am class, where only one professional race driver is permitted per vehicle and only last year’s vehicles are eligible to race, the French Larbre Competition team celebrated second place with the 911 GT3 RSR.
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Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Larbre Competition (l.-r.): Pascal Gibon, Jean-Philippe Belloc, Christophe Bourret
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Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport:
“All of our teams took off into the race well prepared. Under the most difficult circumstances, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR proved to be enormously durable and reliable. Unfortunately our teams had to cope with two accidents. You could clearly see the performance differences that are a direct result of the current Balance of Performance ratings. Unfortunately the fastest 911 GT3 RSR were affected by the phenomenon that they couldn’t turn the number of laps per set of tyres that were calculated which meant some extra pit stops for tyre changes. Under these conditions we can be satisfied with the results – especially in the GTE Am class where our team claimed a spot on the podium. I congratulate all the teams, drivers and partners who have contributed to this good result.”
Like in 2010, the best-placed Porsche crew put in a brilliant drive with high reliability in all areas. Drivers Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Wolf Henzler drove an immaculate race that was punctuated by many accidents and safety car phases. Only in the early stages of the race, the team lost more than one lap, first at the red light on the exit of the pitlane, then due to tyre damage which also required repairs to the car body.
Other than that, the blue 911 GT3 RSR only came into the pits for tyre changes and refuelling. Under the leadership of team boss Christian Ried, the pit crew of the Felbermayr-Proton team again shone with very fast pit stops.
Porsche works driver Patrick Pilet (France) also lost time in the jam at the red light of the pitlane exit. Shortly before midnight, Pilet and his driver colleagues, team owner Raymond Narac and his French compatriot Nicolas Armindo were ranking eighth in the GTE Pro class.
With consistent lap times and a perfectly-running 911, the trio with the two seasoned Le Mans campaigners Pilet and Narac and the 24 hour rookie Armindo fought their way up to fifth place.
The pilots of Flying Lizard Motorsports can look back on a lively marathon.
In the opening phase of the race, the set-up was not perfect, and they also had to contend with tyre damage. For a while, works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) as well as Lucas Luhr (Germany) held a promising fourth place, only to fall back to eighth with technical problems.
After a difficult race, the trio were satisfied to finally bring home sixth place.
Fight to the finish – that was also the motto of the Belgian squad.
Works driver Marco Holzer (Germany), Belgium’s Marc Goossens and Jaap van Lagen from the Netherlands had all but worked their way nearly into the lead after the first third of the race but finally finished in eighth place after losing time with two minor repair stops.
The untiring mechanics of ProSpeed Competition received a very special honour:
They won the “Prix ESCRA”, an award that has been endowed for the 36th time to the best pit crew of the entire race.
In the GTE Am category, Larbre Competition were thrilled with second place in a 2010-spec 911 manned by the all-French line up of Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon und Jean-Philippe Belloc.
Podium (l.-r.): Christophe Bourret, Jean-Philippe Belloc, Pascal Gibon
Two 911 GT3 RSR retired after accidents that were not their fault. One of those affected was the sister car of Felbermayr-Proton. Suffering tyre damage Abdulaziz Al Faisal (Saudi Arabia) flew from the track in the fast Indianapolis corner.
Al Faisal
Luckily, Al Faisal climbed out uninjured, but the Pro-911, which he shared with Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Bryce Miller (USA), was so badly damaged that the team was unable to repair it.
Horst Felbermayr Senior (Team Proton Competition)
Contesting the GTE Am class, Horst Felbermayr Senior (Team Proton Competition) fell victim to an opponent at 8.00 a.m. when his 911 GT3 RSR was hit hard on the driver’s side.The Austrian was transported to hospital for a medical examination.
Result Le Mans 24 Hours
GTE Pro class
1. Garcia/Milner/Beretta (E/USA/MC), Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, 314 laps
2. Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander (I/I/FIN), Ferrari 458 Italia, 314
3. Priaulx/Müller/Hand (GB/D/USA), BMW M3 GT, 313
4. Lieb/Lietz/Henzler (D/A/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 312
5. Pilet/Narac/Armindo (F/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 311
6. Bergmeister/Long/Luhr (D/USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 310
8. Holzer/Goossens/van Lagen (D/B/NL), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 293
GTE Am class
1. Gardel/Canal/Bornhauser (CH/F/F), Chevrolet Corvette C6-ZR1, 302 laps
2. Bourret/Gibon/Belloc (F/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 301
Facts and figures
This is the Le Mans 24 Hours
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With grid line-up of 55 vehicles, the 24 Hours of Le Mans consists of two different sports car categories: sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical regulations of the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) correspond to those of the 24 hour race. All race cars start together in Le Mans; there is an overall classification and a classification for individual classes.
SOURCE: Porsche AG Media/Press Database
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Le Mans 24 Hours
Porsche teams fight for podium positions
Stuttgart. Porsche’s customer teams have an eventful night behind them. With five hours to go until the finish of one of the toughest Le Mans races in history, the teams in the GTE Pro class currently sit in positions three, four, seven and eight.
Piloting the best-placed 911 GT3 RSR are the winning trio from last year. Porsche’s factory pilots Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany) fought their way through the field to now rank third thanks to the reliability of their 911, the perfect work of the drivers and the swift pit stops of the Felbermayr-Proton crew.
“I can’t remember the last time I experienced so many accidents at a Le Mans race,” said Marc Lieb, the two-time GT class winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours. “I don’t find it okay that many of the drivers are so extremely aggressive. Luckily we had no problems in the night and we are hoping for a podium finish.”
The drivers of the French IMSA Performance Matmut 911 can thank their fourth place at 10 a.m. to the fact that the night hours ran smoothly. Works driver Patrick Pilet, team owner Raymond Narac and Carrera Cup champion Nicolas Armindo (all France) all put in double stints. As planned, the brake pads were changed once.
Le Mans newcomer Armindo was surprised at the harshness of the competitors in the more powerful classes.
“Sometimes it seems we are completely invisible to them when they are lapping us,” says Armindo. “They drive as if we weren’t even there.”
After leading for quite some time, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by the American Flying Lizard Motorsports team lost an excellent fourth place within striking distance of the podium six hours before the finish. Works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Long (USA) and seasoned racer Lucas Luhr (Germany) share driving duties in double stints and are doing a faultless job. However, due to a problem in the engine electrics, the 911 was forced to take an unscheduled pit stop and fell back from fourth to eighth position.
The Belgian ProSpeed Competition squad experienced a problem free start to the race only to suffer a sitback while lying in a promising fourth. A small leak in the water cooling system made repairs necessary in the early morning hours, which relegated works driver Marco Holzer (Germany), Marc Goossens (Belgium) and Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands) back down the field. Extreme bad luck plagued the second driver trio of Felbermayr-Proton. Suffering tyre damage Abdulaziz Al Faisal (Saudi Arabia) flew from the track in the fast Indianapolis corner. The Pro-911, which he shares with Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Bryce Miller (USA), was so badly damaged that the team was unable to repair it. Luckily, Al Faisal climbed out uninjured.
Contesting the GTE Am class, Horst Felbermayr Senior (Team Proton Competition) fell victim to an opponent at 8.00 a.m. when his 911 was hit hard on the driver’s side of the 911 GT3 RSR. The Austrian was transported to hospital for an examination. In the same class, a 2010-spec 911 GT3 RSR fielded by the French Larbre Competition team currently ranks second.
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Facts and figures
This is the Le Mans 24 Hours
With grid line-up of 55 vehicles, the 24 Hours of Le Mans consists of two different sports car categories: sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical regulations of the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) correspond to those of the 24 hour race. All race cars start together in Le Mans; there is an overall classification and a classification for individual classes.
The four classes in Le Mans:
GTE Pro class: The most popular class of car manufacturers (formerly run as the GT2 class) is traditionally the best supported: Modified 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 900 kilogram minimum weight.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes of around 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 900 kg minimum weight.
Source: Porsche AG Media/Press Database
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Tags: 24 Hours of Le Mans, 911 GT3 RS 4.0, Autos & Vehicles, Christian Ried, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORTS, Head of Porsche Motorsport, Horst Felbermayr Jr., Joerg Bergmeister, JOERG BERGMEISTER, Le Mans 24 Hours, Lucas Luhr, Marc Goossens, Marc Lieb, Marco Holzer, Motorsport in Germany, Motorsport News, Motorsports, Patrick Long, Patrick Pilet, Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche Motorsport, Porsche Motorsport around the world, Raymond Narac, Richard Lietz, Timo Bernhard, Wolf Henzler
(double click on images to enlarge/zoom in)
Stuttgart. The opening eight hours of the long distance classic brought mixed fortunes for the five Porsche customer teams.
The Belgian ProSpeed Competition squad made the best start to the race. After completing the first third of the distance, Porsche works driver Marco Holzer (Germany), Marc Goossens (Belgium) and Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands) rank third in the GTE Pro sports car class in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
Flying Lizard Motorsports (USA) follows with factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) as well as seasoned campaigner Lucas Luhr (Germany) sitting sixth in the strongest-supported class of the 24 hour race.
Driving for the Felbermayr-Proton squad, last year’s winners Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany) were thrown far back down the field with two mishaps and are now fighting their way through the pack.
An hour before midnight, the Porsche works drivers lie tenth in the GTE Pro class.
“After refuelling we waited for ages for the lights to turn green at the pit exit during the safety car phase,” explains Marc Lieb. “Once we rejoined the race the car suffered tyre damage – I must have picked something up. Unfortunately it happened in the first chicane, that’s about 10 kilometres from the pits.”
Lieb returned to the pits on his rim and lost more time when the crew found that part of the body had also been damaged.
The ProSpeed Competition team are feeling cautiously optimistic.
“The first eight hours ran smoothly,” reported Marco Holzer.
The 22-year-old was a Le Mans rookie last year and now has the role of team leader. For Jaap van Lagen this marks a premiere on the demanding 13.629 kilometre track.
“I know exactly how this feels,” says Holzer. “You need quite some time to find a rhythm and to trust the car and your own ability. Our 911 is running well, the team’s pit stops are super. Our goal is to keep out of any trouble.”
The American Flying Lizard Motorsports team also faced tyre problems. Early on in the race, Joerg Bergmeister fell victim to tyre damage.
“My first stint was difficult because the set-up wasn’t one hundred percent,” said Bergmeister. “We then made a few changes and now the balance is much better. We can’t quite match the pace of the front-runners but we’re looking ahead. We can build on sixth place.”
Heading into the night, the French IMSA Performance Matmut team was not particularly pleased with their eighth place.
Works driver Patrick Pilet was also held up long at the red lights of the pit exit.
“It was really dumb,” complained the Frenchman. “But I had to come in to refuel otherwise I would have been stranded out there. The traffic on the track is brutal and the prototype drivers are at times very aggressive. Nicolas Armindo is a newcomer in our team, but he’s a very controlled driver.” Third in the group is an experienced Le Mans contender, team owner Raymond Narac (France).
The second Felbermayr-911 ranks 13th in the GTE Pro class after eight hours. At the wheel are Le Mans debutant Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Abdulaziz Al Faisal (Saudi Arabia) as well as American Bryce Miller, who contested the endurance classic last year.
In the GTE Am sports car class, in which only one professional race driver is permitted per vehicle, Larbre Competition lies in a excellent first place with their 911 GT3 RSR in last year’s specification (as stipulated by the regulations for this class). The sister 911 of Flying Lizard Motorsports has settled in to fourth place, with the Proton Competition drivers currently sitting in sixth.
Facts and figures
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This is the Le Mans 24 Hours
With grid line-up of 55 vehicles, the 24 Hours of Le Mans consists of two different sports car categories: sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical regulations of the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) correspond to those of the 24 hour race. All race cars start together in Le Mans; there is an overall classification and a classification for individual classes.
The four classes in Le Mans:
GTE Pro class: The most popular class of car manufacturers (formerly run as the GT2 class) is traditionally the best supported: Modified 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 900 kilogram minimum weight.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes of around 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 900 kg minimum weight.
Source: Images of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
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“We made the most out of what was possible”
Stuttgart. The first step is taken with success. Porsche customer teams from all over Europe and the USA have secured good grid positions after the qualifying sessions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Flying Lizard Motorsports (l.-r.): Jörg Bergmeister, Lucas Luhr, Patrick Long, Seth Neiman, Spencer Pumpelly, Darren Law
The fastest Porsche driver, works pilot Marc Lieb (Germany), planted the Felbermayr 911 GT3 RSR on seventh in the GTE Pro class. Lieb competes for last year’s winning team with works drivers Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany). Four other 2011-spec 911 GT3 RSR take up the race in the GTE Pro category. In the GTE Am class, three 911 GT3 RSR from last year take off into the 79th edition of the long distance classic on Saturday at 15.00 hours from positions two, three and four.
(l.-r.): Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Wolf Henzler
“We’re satisfied with our preparations and are feeling confident for the race,” said two-time Le Mans winner Marc Lieb. “In the practice sessions, we managed to find a good set-up for our 911 for the challenges of this marathon and the very special, highly demanding race track.”
Richard Lietz, who has also notched up two wins at the world’s toughest automobile race, added:
“The handling of our 911 GT3 RSR is neutral and comfortable. This means that the car tends neither towards oversteer nor understeer. This works in favour of Marc, Wolf and I because our driving styles are similar.”
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton
The crew of the #75 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR also finished the qualifying without problems. Porsche factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany) clinched the ninth grid spot for the ProSpeed Competition squad.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Prospeed Competition (l.-r.): Marc Goossens, Jaap van Lagen, Marco Holzer
(l.-r.): Jaap van Lagen, Marco Holzer, Marc Goossens
“Today we worked on our race set-up,” said Holzer. “Yes, we were faster yesterday but our car was rather twitchy, and that wouldn’t have been optimal over the race distance. There are a couple of damn fast corners here in Le Mans so you need a car that you can trust. And now we have that car.”
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Prospeed Competition: Marc Goossens, Marco Holzer, Jaap van Lagen
Joining forces with the 22-year-old is Le Mans veteran Marc Goossens (Bel-gium) as well as Le Mans rookie Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands).
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Flying Lizard Motorsports: Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Lucas Luhr
A damaged damper and an accident threw the schedule of the Flying Lizard Motorsports into disarray.
“Because of the faulty shock absorber we worked in the wrong direction for a long time during yesterday’s practice session,” explained Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany). “Then we lost time when a competitor spun and I couldn’t avoid him. The repairs were extensive. We decided to forget about turning an extra qualifying lap and instead we concentrated totally on finding a set-up.”
(l.-r.): Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Lucas Luhr
Bergmeister takes up the marathon on Saturday with his works driver colleague Patrick Long (USA)
Lucas Luhr
and Germany’s Lucas Luhr from 12th position in the GTE Pro class.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Team Felbermayr-Proton: Nick Tandy, Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Bryce Miller
Grid position 14 went to Nick Tandy in the second 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton. The Briton currently leads the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup series as well as the German Carrera Cup, but this marks his first race in Le Mans. His teammates are Abdulaziz Al Faisal from Saudi Arabia and Bryce Miller from the USA.
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, IMSA Performance Matmut (l.-r.): Patrick Pilet, Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo
The French IMSA Performance Matmut squad had counted on a better grid position than 16th. Still, after team owner Raymond Narac’s accident during the first free practice, Porsche works driver Patrick Pilet, Narac and Le Mans newcomer Nicolas Armindo (all France) could only begin their set-up work this afternoon and therefore lag be-hind.
(l.-r.): Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo, Patrick Pilet
In the GTE Am sports car class, Austrian Horst Felbermayr Junior qualified the 911 GT3 RSR of Proton Competition on second place. His teammates are Horst Felber-mayr Senior and team owner Christian Ried (Germany).
(l.-r.): Horst Felbermayr Sr., Christian Ried, Horst Felbermayr Jr.
Position three was snatched by Larbre Competition’s
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Larbre Competition (l.-r.): Pascal Gibon, Jean-Philippe Belloc, Christophe Bourret
all French line-up of Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon and Jean-Philippe Belloc.
(l.-r.): Pascal Gibon, Jean-Philippe Belloc, Christophe Bourret
Grid spot four in the GTE Am class went to Americans Seth Neiman, Darren Law and Spencer Pumpelly from the Flying Lizard Motorsports team.
(l.-r.): Spencer Pumpelly, Seth Neiman, Darren Law
Porsche’s head of motorsport, Hartmut Kristen, praised the teams’ professional preparations for the race.
“They all worked hard to find an optimal set-up. Taking the Balance of Performance into account, the teams made the most out of what was possible.”
The race gets the green light at 15.00 hours on Saturday, 11th June. Television stations Eurosport and Eurosport 2 broadcast the race alternately around the clock with 15 hours of live coverage shown on the main station, Eurosport.
Result Qualifying GTE Pro
1. Farfus/Müller/Werner (BR/D/D), BMW M3 GT, 3:57.592 minutes
2. Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander (I/I/FIN), Ferrari 458 Italia, + 0.448 seconds
3. Priaulx/Müller/Hand (GB/D/USA), BMW M3 GT, + 0.834
4. Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook (GB/DK/GB), Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, + 1,927
7. Lieb/Lietz/Henzler (D/A/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.070
9. Holzer/Goossens/van Lagen (D/B/NL), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.370
12. Bergmeister/Long/Luhr (D/USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 3.432
14. Tandy/Al Faisal/Miller (GB/SAU/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR + 4.160
16. Pilet/Narac/Armindo (F/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 4.956
Result Qualifying GTE Am
1. Perazzini/Cioci/Breslin (I/I/D), Ferrari F430, 4:21.015 minutes
2. Ried/Felbermayr Jr./Felbermayr Sen. (D/A/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.250 seconds
3. Bourret/Gibon/Belloc (F/F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.366
4. Neiman/Law/Pumpelly (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.636
Facts and figures
This is the Le Mans 24 Hours
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With a grid line-up of 55 vehicles, the 24 Hours of Le Mans consists of two different sports car categories: sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical regulations of the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) correspond to those of the 24 hour race. All race cars start to-gether in Le Mans; there is an overall classification and a classification for individual classes.
The four classes in Le Mans:
GTE Pro class: The most popular class of car manufacturers (formerly run as the GT2 class) is traditionally the best supported: Modified 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. More-over, 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 900 kilogram minimum weight.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes of around 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 900 kg minimum weight.
Photo Credits: Porsche AG and from Flying Lizards Motorsports Photographer Bob Chapman, Autosport Image
Porsche AG – Public Relations and Media
Porsche AG – Motor and Sports Press
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Strong contingent of Porsche customer teams with eight 911 GT3 RSR
Stuttgart. Five teams, eight vehicles, 24 pilots: Porsche customer teams from Europe and the USA are particularly well represented at the 79th running of the long distance classic in Le Mans on 11/12 June.
At the toughest automobile race in the world they field a total of eight Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the two sports car classes: GTE Pro and GTE Am. All Porsche works drivers compete – including last year’s winning trio, Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany). With 16 overall and 98 class victories, Porsche is by far the most successful make in Le Mans.
The race
Run for the first time in 1923, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has become a legend. It is considered the toughest automobile race in the world. With 55 sports cars, the start alone guarantees goose bumps. Tens of thousands of fans flock to the town square of Le Mans to see the technical scrutineering. And for the traditional drivers’ parade which leads from the track to the city centre in the Sarthe region on Friday afternoon, enthusiastic fans line the streets.
The circuit
The 13.629 kilometre “Circuit des 24 Heures” is one of the world’s oldest and fastest race tracks. With around 75 percent of a lap taken at full throttle, the circuit is regarded as a serious test for the reliability of man and machine.
The world fame of the track is thanks not least to the legendary Hunaudières straight, where top speeds of up to 400 kph were reached before it was tamed by two chicanes in 1990. Also the ultra-swift passage with the Porsche curves demands everything from race drivers.
Porsche’s successes
Exactly 60 years ago, the maiden outing of a race car from Zuffenhausen marked the beginning of the unprecedented success story of Porsche in Le Mans. Even in the early years, typical Porsche virtues – like lightweight construction, aerodynamics and reliability – played a prominent role in the many class wins. However, the path to the first overall win was rocky. In 1969, in the closest Le Mans finish in history, Porsche missed out on victory by a mere 75 metres or a good one second.
But the breakthrough in 1970 was all the more convincing. On 14 June, drivers Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood celebrated the first overall victory with the legendary Porsche 917 short-tail, with two other Porsche teams making the triumph perfect with second and third place. Fifteen further overall wins followed – and last year,
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(l.-r.): Wolf Henzler, Michael Ried, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz |
Porsche factory pilots Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Wolf Henzler clinched the 98th class win in the 911 GT3 RSR.
The Porsche drivers
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With the same line-up, last year’s winners return to the site of their success. For Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz, 2010 yielded their second class wins in Le Mans (after 2005 and 2007 respectively). Wolf Henzler climbed to the top of the podium for the first time. Title defender Felbermayr-Proton fields the 2011-version of the 911 GT3 RSR in the GTE Pro class.
The American Flying Lizard Motorsports team competes with the punchy works driver pairing Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) at the wheel of a 911 in the Pro-category. Together, they claimed a Le Mans class win in 2004, with Patrick Long also achieving success in 2007. The multiple champions of the American Le Mans Series receive support from Lucas Luhr (Switzerland), who celebrated GT wins in Le Mans with Porsche in 2002 and 2003.
The French Porsche works driver Patrick Pilet shares driving duties with his compatriots Raymond Narac and Nicolas Armindo in the 911 GT3 RSR of IMSA Performance Matmut. Whilst team owner Narac has extensive experience in Le Mans, Armindo, as reigning champion of the Carrera Cup Deutschland, gives his debut at the endurance classic.
The youngest Porsche works driver, Marco Holzer (Germany), drives for the Belgian ProSpeed Competition team. The 22-year-old celebrated his Le Mans premiere in 2010 with a podium result. He shares the cockpit of the GTE Pro 911 with Marc Goossens (Belgium) and Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands).
At the wheel of the fifth 911 GT3 RSR in the GTE Pro class, also fielded by Felbermayr-Proton, are Britain’s Nick Tandy – the current leader of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup and the Carrera Cup Deutschland – as well as Bryce Miller (USA) and Abdulaziz Faisal (Saudi Arabia).
Racing in the GTE Am sports car category, in which only one professional race driver per vehicle is permitted, are three further 2010-spec 911 GT3 RSR. Taking up the challenge for Flying Lizard Motorsports are Americans Seth Neiman, Darren Law and Spencer Pumpelly, for Proton Competition are team boss Christian Ried (Germany) as well as Austrians Horst Felbermayr Senior and Junior. And Frenchmen Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon and Jean-Philippe Belloc race for Larbre Competition.
Two further Porsche works drivers again compete for Audi in the more powerful LMP1 class: Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) join forces with Audi works driver Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) and are eager to repeat their overall victory from last year.
Quotes before the race
Marc Lieb: “When you think of Le Mans you get goose bumps. It’s great to be racing with Richard and Wolf for our Felbermayr-Team again. Victory last year took a huge effort. Now the competition is even stronger. In our class alone, 18 cars from six well known manufacturers are fighting for victory. Even if the full throttle passage suits our car, the race will be a damn hard nut to crack.”
Richard Lietz: “With two Le Mans class wins under your belt of course you don’t mind travelling to the Sarthe. Le Mans for me is something special because you get action all week long. As a driver you can get really close to fans, you’re signing autographs practically non-stop.”
Joerg Bergmeister: “When you take a look at the names on the starter list you first have swallow hard. It’s going to be tough! We’re really well sorted this year with Flying Lizard. Last year we experienced bad luck in Le Mans. A podium place would be a great reward for the team.”
Patrick Long: “I love the challenges of this circuit, especially the fast, flowing corners. Now that’s great fun in a well set-up 911. I’m particularly looking forward to racing with Joerg this year. And Lucas Luhr fits in well with us. We’re a strong combination.”
Patrick Pilet: “We’ll be going all out, but we also want to enjoy the event. The circuit and the atmosphere are unique. For my driver colleagues and the team, our home race in Le Mans is of course the highlight of the season.”
Marco Holzer: “To stand on the top of the podium in Le Mans is incomparable. Below you thousands of people are swarming around the race track and cheering. It’s something you never forget. And it was even better that I did it as a rookie in 2010. My goal this year is to repeat this success.”
Hartmut Kristen, Porsche Head of Motorsport: “Our customer teams and we face even bigger challenges through the division into the two sports car classes GTE Pro and GTE Am because different vehicles are fielded: in the Pro class we have the 2011 version of the 911 GT3 RSR, in the Am class we have 911 race cars in the previous year’s spec. That the event organizer ACO has issued many special dispensations specific to models and that there is now the ‘balance of performance’ in Le Mans means for our customers in the GTE Pro category that there is no real equality of arms. Regardless of this, we and our teams will prepare ourselves well and we’ll turn to all the factors that we can influence.”
The schedule
Free practice is on Wednesday, 8 June, from 16.00 to 20.00 hours. Following on from that is the first qualifying session for the best grid spots from 22.00 hrs to midnight. The second and third qualifying sessions are scheduled for Thursday, 19.00 to 21.00 hrs and from 22.00 to 24.00 hrs. On Saturday, 11 June, the lights turn green at 15.00 hours signalling the start of the 24 hour chase.
TV tip
Eurosport broadcasts extensive coverage from Le Mans on its free-to-view station and the Pay-TV channel Eurosport 2. From Monday, 6 June, the latest preliminary reports and background stories will be televised daily on Eurosport under the title of “24 minutes before Le Mans”. The free practice, the final qualifying and the warm-up will also be shown. Around 15 hours of the race can be seen live on the main station.
Facts and figures
This is the Le Mans 24 Hours
With grid line-up of 55 vehicles, the 24 Hours of Le Mans consists of two different sports car categories: sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical regulations of the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) correspond to those of the 24 hour race. All race cars start together in Le Mans; there is an overall classification and a classification for individual classes.
The four classes in Le Mans:
GTE Pro class: The most popular class of car manufacturers (formerly run as the GT2 class) is traditionally the best supported: Modified 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 900 kilogram minimum weight.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes of around 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 900 kg minimum weight.
SOURCE: Porsche AG
Public Relations and Media
Motor and Sports Press
Oliver Hilger
Tags: 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Abdulaziz Faisal, Allan Simonsen (DK), Aston Martin Vantage, Austria’s Horst, Belgian ProSpeed Competition, Bryce Miller, Christian Ried, Christophe Bourret, Circuit des 24 Heures, circuit Paul Ricard, Darren Law, Eau Rouge corner, Felbermayr, Felbermayr Junior, Felbermayr-Proton team, ferrari f430, Ferrari F458 Italia, Gianmaria Bruni (I), GTE Pro class, GTE-Am, GTE-Am sports car class, Hans Herrmann, Horst Felbermayr Jr., Horst Felbermayr Senior, IMSA Performance Matmut, Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, Jaap van Lagen, Jean-Philippe Belloc, Le Castellet, Le Mans, Le Mans 24 Hours, Le Mans Series, Marc Goossens, Marc Lieb, Marco Cioci (I), Marco Holzer, Marco Holzer (D), Motorsport News, Motorsport Newsletter, Nicolas Armindo, Nurburgring Nordschleife, Pascal Gibon, Patrick Pilet, Patrick Pilet (F), Philipp Peter (A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, Porsche Motorsport, Porsche Motorsport around the world, Porsche RS Spyder, Porsche works driver, Raymond Narac, Richard Attwood, Richard Lietz, Richard Lietz (A), Robert Bell (GB), Seth Neiman, Spa-Francorchamps, Spencer Pumpelly, Tomas Enge (CZ), Toni Vilander (FIN), Wolf Henzler
Le Mans Series / Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, round 2 in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Second grid row for Marc Lieb
Marc Lieb (Germany)
Stuttgart. In qualifying for the second round of the Le Mans Series in Spa-Francorchamps, Marc Lieb (Germany) secured the fourth grid spot in the GTE Pro sports car category.
Richard Lietz (Austria)
With this, last year’s winners Lieb and Richard Lietz (Austria) have clinched a good starting position for the 1,000 kilometre race on the challenging circuit in Belgium’s Ardennes region with the 2011 version of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
In the GTE Am category, in which just one professional race driver may compete per vehicle, Frenchman Nicolas Armindo again clinched pole position in the 2010-spec 911 GT3 RSR.
Marc Lieb (Germany)
“My lap was quite okay and, after the free practice, fourth on the grid is what we had expected,” said Lieb. “A half second gap to the pole-sitter is not a lot on a seven kilometre circuit. Tomorrow’s race will be tough. The opposition is strong and many. But we’ll go flat out and would like to finish on the podium.”
Teammate Lietz commented: “Compared to last year’s car, we didn’t manage to find the perfect set-up for the new 911. We simply don’t have the experience from the first round where through no fault of our own we retired due to the flawed start.”
Taking up tomorrow’s six-hour race from eighth on the grid are the two Porsche works drivers Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France).
Wolf Henzler (Germany)
The professionals from the French IMSA Performance Matmut team were also not particularly satisfied with the set-up of their 911 GT3 RSR. “We tried several things but they turned out to be in the wrong direction,” Henzler concluded. “We feel the same as Marc and Richard, the experience with the 2011 car is missing because of our retirement in Le Castellet. We’re hoping to make up some positions through a good strategy and consistent driving performance.”
Belgium’s race professional Marc Goossens qualified the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by ProSpeed Competition on the tenth grid spot. His teammate, Porsche factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany), was pleased. “With 60 vehicles on this demanding circuit, the race is going to be challenging.”
Like in Le Castellet, Nicolas Armindo was delighted with his pole position in the GTE Am category. The reigning champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland shares the cockpit of the 911 GT3 RSR – on the technical basis of 2010 – with his compatriot, IMSA Performance team owner, Raymond Narac.
Austria’s Horst Felbermayr Junior posted the sixth fastest time in the GTE Am-911 run by Felbermayr-Proton. He joins forces with Bryce Miller from America. Team owner Christian Ried (Germany) takes up the race from ninth in the class with Nick Hommerson from the Netherlands.
Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard (Germany) was the fastest of the entire field at the wheel of the Audi R18 TDI. Bernhard shares driving duties in the sports prototype with Porsche factory pilot Romain Dumas (France) and former Porsche Junior Mike Rockenfeller.
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The six hour race starts on Saturday, 7 May, at 14.05 hours. Eurosport broadcasts the entire race live. Eurosport 2 televises the Spa round from 14.00 to 17.30 hours, with the free-to-view station showing the last two and a half hours live from 17.30 hrs.
Qualifying result
GTE Pro class
1. Jaime Melo (BR), Ferrari F458 Italia, 2:20.743 minutes
2. Robert Bell (GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.172 seconds
3. Giancarlo Fisichella (I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.343
4. Marc Lieb (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.548
5. Augusto Farfus (BR), BMW M3, + 0.717
8. Wolf Henzler (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.212
10. Marc Goossens (B), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.896
GTE Am class
1. Nicolas Armindo (F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:23.007 minutes
2. Marco Cioci (I), Ferrari F430, + 0.262 seconds
3. Phil Quaife (GB), Ferrari F430, + 0.478
6. Horst Felbermayr Jr. (A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 1.592
9. Christian Ried (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 3.790
The Le Mans Series
Contested for the first time in 2004, the Le Mans Series (LMS) is open for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations are based on those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. Five six-hour races are contested this season throughout Europe.
GTE-Pro class: This most popular class amongst car manufacturers (previously known as the GT2 class) is traditionally the best supported: Slightly modified standard sports cars with up to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,245 kilograms.
GTE-Am class: Like the GTE-Pro, but with the 2010-vehicle specifications. Moreover, the regulations stipulate that each vehicle must have one professional driver at the most.
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp, GT-class homologated engines and a 900 kg minimum weight.
FLM class: Prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.
All race cars start together but are classified separately according to the class. Points are only allocated for placings in each class. Championship titles are awarded for drivers, manufacturers and teams in all five classes. Claiming the title in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010, Porsche works driver Marc Lieb is the most successful pilot in the series.
IMAGES FROM: Porsche Press Database
SOURCE: PORSCHE AG
Tags: Augusto Farfus, BMW M3, Christian Ried, Ferrari F458 Italia, French IMSA Performance Matmut team, Frenchman Nicolas Armindo, Giancarlo Fisichella, GTE Pro class, Horst Felbermayr Jr., IMSA Performance team owner Raymond Narac, Jaime Melo, Le Mans Series / Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, Le Mans Series in Spa-Francorchamps, Marc Goossens, Marc Lieb, Marco Cioci, Marco Holzer, Mike Rockenfeller, Nicolas Armindo, Patrick Pilet, Phil Quaife, Porsche, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche Motorsport, Porsche Performance Intelligence, Raymond Narac, Richard Lietz, Robert Bell, Romain Dumas, Spa-Francorchamps Belgium, The Le Mans Series, Timo Bernhard, Wolf Henzler
Marco Holzer Becomes Porsche Factory Works Driver
Porsche Junior star graduates to works driver for 2011. After his three year training stint as a Porsche Junior, Marco Holzer has now been signed on as a factory pilot.
Stuttgart. Porsche Motorsport heads into the 2011 racing season in strong form. The works driver squad grows from eight to nine pilots. After his three year training stint as a Porsche Junior, Marco Holzer has now been signed on as a factory pilot. Established pilots Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Wolf Henzler, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Patrick Long and Patrick Pilet continue their contracts in 2011.
Porsche Factory Works Drivers 2011: Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Marc Lieb, Patrick Pilet and Wolf Henzler
As part of the “Night of Champions” season-closing celebration in the R&D Centre at Weissach, Wolfgang Dürheimer, Board Member for Research and Development, praised the excellent performance of the Porsche works drivers: “Aside from the technology of the vehicles and the performance of the teams, our pilots contributed significantly to the huge success that we achieved in 2010. They are the ones who had to make the right decisions within fractions of seconds and deliver their best performances in our cars over many hours.”
Two Porsche factory pilots received special distinctions in the 2010 season. Timo Bernhard, the first to win the world’s four major long distance races and hence the Motorsport Grand Slam, was selected by a jury of experts as the ADAC Race Driver of the Year. Richard Lietz, who won the GT2 classification at the Le Mans 24 Hours as well as the championship title of the Le Mans Series, received the Austrian Race Driver of the Year award by the Austrian Motorsport Association committee (OSK).
In his speech, Dürheimer stressed the special role of motorsport for the future of the automobile: “Right now, motor racing has the historic chance to take the lead in important technological advances. Fielding the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, we have shown how you put crucial ground-breaking technology to the test with success on the race circuit. We will continue to determinedly blaze a trail and we believe that sooner or later other manufacturers will follow suit. But to do this you need courageous and visionary rule-makers who recognise this opportunity and, in conjunction with manufacturers, implement the new challenges in a clear, stable and long term system of regulations.”
Furthermore, Dürheimer applauded the impressive career of the RS Spyder sports prototype. After a total of 12 championship titles, 13 overall and 35 class victories in the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series and at Le Mans, the RS Spyder programme was concluded as planned.
Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, accentuated the special position in international customer sport: “30,000 racing victories, more than 500 teams throughout the world and over 2,000 units of the 911 GT3 Cup produced – such numbers are unparalleled anywhere on earth. Every Porsche carries racing genes. And these genes will also be present in the Porsche models that we develop in the future. Because these vehicles are the basis for the race cars that will bring home victories in the future in the hands of our customer teams worldwide.”
Source: Porsche AG
Tags: Joerg Bergmeister, Marc Lieb, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long, Patrick Pilet, Porsche, Porsche Factory Drivers, Porsche Motorsport, Richard Lietz, Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Uncategorized, Wolf Henzler
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid: Jörg Bergmeister, Richard Lietz, Marco Holzer, Patrick Long
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
24-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring
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