Porsche Motorsports Weekly Event Notes: Tuesday, June 26, 2018
This Week.
• Porsche On Point. German Factory Team Enters Second Half of IMSA Season.
• Christensen Continues. Le Mans Winner Scores World Challenge Victory at Road America.
• Porsche Conquers the Peak. Porsche Cayman Class and Porsche Entries Finish Well at Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
Next Porsche Event.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Event: Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Watkins Glen International
Dateline: Watkins Glen, New York
Date: Thursday – Sunday, June 28 – July 1, 2018
Track Length: 3.4-miles, 11-turn
Race Duration: 6-Hours
Class: GTLM (Porsche 911 RSR)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTLM. 5 of 11
GTD. 5 of 11
Next Round: Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, July 8, 2018
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Event: Continental Tire 240 at The Glen, Watkins Glen International
Dateline: Watkins Glen, New York
Date: Saturday, June 30, 2018
Track Length: 3.4-miles, 11-turn
Race Duration: 4-Hours
Class: GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: GS. 4 of 10
Next Round: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, July 7, 2018
IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.
Event: Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Watkins Glen International
Dateline: Watkins Glen, New York
Date: Thursday – Saturday, June 28 – 30, 2018
Track Length: 3.4-miles, 11-turn
Race Duration: 2, 45-Minute Races
Class: Platinum (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, MY 2017 - 2018)
Gold (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, MY 2015 – 2016)
Round: 7 – 8 of 15
Next Round: Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 5 – 6, 2018
Porsche Profile.
Event Story Lines.
Porsche On Point. German Factory Team Enters Second Half of IMSA Season.
After winning the 24-hour classic in Le Mans, France, Porsche takes on the next challenge: the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 1. The race at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York heralds the start of the second half of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Returning from its first race at Le Mans, the North American-arm of the Porsche GT Team fields two Porsche 911 RSR in the strongly represented GTLM class. After scoring victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the most recent all-classes round at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Porsche leads the manufacturers’ classification of America’s premier endurance sports car series.
In addition to the long-distance races at Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans, Watkins Glen counts towards the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup (TPNAEC). The championship-within a championship awards performance in the four endurance races – events of six-hours (Watkins Glen), ten-hours (Petit Le Mans), 12-hours (Sebring) and 24-hours (Daytona). Porsche enters the third-round of the TPNAEC leading the manufacturer’s standings in GTLM.
The 3.4-miles, 11-turn Watkins Glen International racetrack was built around a forested hilltop and opened in 1956. Porsche holds the record for most class wins at Watkins Glen with 53 trips to the top step of the podium. The German brand’s first win came in a 300km race in 1963 when Bob Holbert drove a 718 RS61 to an overall title. Porsche’s first Six-Hour win came in 1969 with Jo Siffert and Brian Redman sharing a 908/02 to the overall victory while Hurley Haywood (St. Augustine, Florida) made his professional racing debut co-driving a Porsche 911S with Peter Gregg in the event. Haywood won his class (Grand Touring 2000) in his debut in the No. 58 Brumos Racing machine. It would start a legendary career with nine class wins at The Glen and six overall titles in The Six-Hour – a record. Porsche enters round five of the WeatherTech championship with its most recent victory in The Six-Hour coming in 2015 when Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers took the IMSA GTLM class with a Porsche 911 RSR. The customer RSR was just ahead of the factory-entered Porsche GT Team 911 RSR shared by Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Jörg Bergmeister (Germany).
The cockpit of the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR is shared by Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring class winners, Patrick Pilet (France) and Tandy. The newly-crowned Le Mans winner Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) joins forces with Bamber to drive the second 911 RSR (No. 912) fielded by the Porsche GT Team. The No. 912 won the Mid-Ohio round of the IMSA Championship.
Porsche customer teams will also contest the GTD class this weekend. Porsche factory driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) and Porsche Selected Driver Christina Nielsen (Denmark) share the lone Wright Motorsports No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Long earned a fourth-place finish at Le Mans while Nielsen took sixth-place in another Porsche 911 RSR in France. Sharing the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R at Watkins Glen will be Porsche works driver Bergmeister and Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California). The pairing is contesting the IMSA TPNAEC and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) together. They finished in seventh-place in the LMGTE-Am class at Le Mans.
For its second racing season, the 911 RSR was optimized primarily in the setup. Depending on the size of the restrictor, the motor, which is positioned in front of the rear axle, puts out approximately 510 hp. The particularly large rear diffuser, combined with a top-mounted rear wing, provides strong downforce and aerodynamic efficiency. For 2018, Porsche provides its customer teams competing in the GTD class with an evo-kit for the 911 GT3 R. The 500 hp customer sport racer was designed for worldwide GT3 series on the basis of the 911 GT3 RS production sports car.
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars.
“After our triumph at Le Mans, Porsche is by no means returning to everyday life. The next big challenge awaits us at the Watkins Glen race, one of the great sports car classics in the USA. We are looking good in the race for the North American Endurance Cup, not least thanks to our win at the 12 Hours of Sebring. At this prestigious long-distance event, our 911 RSR shone in terms of performance and reliability. We want to bring home a top result from Watkins Glen, not only to extend our lead in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, but also to defend our chances to bring home the North American Endurance Cup title.”
Pascal Zurlinden, Director GT Factory Motorsport.
“After our phenomenal win at Le Mans we’re now turning our full attention to the six-hour Watkins Glen race. One of the big challenges at this classic is to find a perfect vehicle setup for this demanding track. The team and drivers have to make the most of the practice and qualifying sessions in order to line up on the grid with the best possible 911 RSR setup. If this is the case, our chances look good to secure our third win of the season in the USA after Sebring and Mid-Ohio.”
Sebastian Golz, Project Manager 911 GT3 R.
“The track suits our 911 GT3 R with the new evo-update. It’s a flowing circuit and is only driven using the third to sixth gear. The slightly banked Turn 1 allows early acceleration, and from there you pick up the pace to carry momentum through the ‘Esses’. Typical of Porsche, the weight [distribution] advantage makes it possible to brake very late into the chicanes in order to position the vehicle for the right-left-right combination. In Turn 11, you usually get slight lift. We’re curious to see if the curve can be taken at full speed with the evo-update.”
Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“We’ve had many great experiences at Watkins Glen. Okay, I haven’t won there yet, but maybe it’ll happen this time. It’s a fabulous racetrack and it suits our 911 RSR very well. We saw this last year when we were running in second-place over a long period of time. I’m very much looking forward to it.”
Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Watkins Glen is one of those classic racetracks – very fast and very demanding. Strategy plays an important role at a six-hour race. This’ll definitely play into our hands, as our team has a lot of experience. I’ve never climbed the podium at Watkins Glen, so it’s high time I changed that.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“It’s a tremendous feeling to race at Watkins Glen as the newly crowned Le Mans winner. This circuit is a favorite for many race drivers. Fans can look forward to an exciting and very competitive race. I hope we perform as strongly as we did in Mid-Ohio with our 911 RSR and that we manage to score our second win of the season in the USA.”
Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“I can hardly wait to return to Watkins Glen. This race on one of the fastest courses in the USA is a real highlight. I’m sure we’ll do well there with the 911 RSR, like in 2015 when Porsche celebrated a one-two victory. I finished second back then – this time I’d like to win.”
Patrick Long, Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Watkins Glen is the ultimate sports car classic. We should perform well with our 911 GT3 R on this very challenging racetrack. It’s a real highlight for me and my team.”
Jörg Bergmeister, Driver, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“After the great experience at Le Mans, I’m excited to compete again for Place Motorsports in the USA – especially at a classic as attractive as Watkins Glen.”
Christensen Continues. Le Mans Winner Scores World Challenge Victory at Road America.
Michael Christensen scored his second Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) GT victory of the season on Sunday at Road America. The Danish Porsche factory driver entered the weekend with four consecutive podium finishes in North America’s premier sprint format GT series driving the No. 24 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. He missed the podium in Race 1 on Saturday, but came back on Sunday to score the win in the 50-minute race at the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin track.
The popular Dane is on a streak of success that is hard to match in international motorsports. One week ago, he teamed with Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Kévin Estre (France) to score his first 24 Hours of Le Mans victory piloting the Porsche GT Team 911 RSR to the LMGTE-Pro class win. In May, he had raced to his first PWC win at Lime Rock Park – a SprintX Championship win with co-driver Spencer Pumpelly (Atlanta, Georgia). He had piled-on a podium result in every PWC race dating back to early May at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) prior to that giving him one of the best finishing percentages in international racing to this point in the season. His success on Sunday came following an impressive start which jumped him into the lead from third-place on the starting grid.
The twin, 50-minute sprint races on the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit drew five Porsche Motorsport-built cars to contend for the PWC GT, GTA and GTS podiums. Scott Hargrove (Canada) entered with, and will leave with, the PWC GT Overall Championship points lead. The two-time IMSA Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama Champion earned a third-place finish in Race 1 on Saturday with the No. 96 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, just behind Toni Vilander who, along with Christensen, is Hargrove’s prime competition for the title. Starting second on the grid for Sunday’s race, Hargrove would hold-on to finish in fourth-place – one spot ahead of Vilander – maintaining his point lead.
The weekend was the debut for Anthony Imperato (Brooklyn, New York) in the PWC. In fact, it was the first time that the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama regular had ever competed in a non-one make series. Driving with the 2017 PWC Championship-winning Wright Motorsports team, Imperato showed himself well earning a third-place in the GT Amateur (GTA) class in Saturday’s race. Making their combined return to Porsche in the GTA class was Andy Wilzoch (Denver, Colorado) and Flying Lizard Motorsports with the No. 46 Porsche. Wilzoch was sixth on Saturday and in fifth-place at the checkered flag on Sunday in the GTA class 911 GT3 R. Rounding out the Porsche contingent at Road America was the No. 13 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR piloted by Canadian Orey Fidani. Fidani was a tenth-place GTS class finisher on Saturday and took eighth-place on Sunday.
The Pirelli World Challenge travels to Portland, Oregon, July 13 – 15. Rounds 7 and 8 of the SprintX Championship mark the return of professional sports car racing to the revitalized Portland International Raceway.
Porsche Conquers the Peak. Porsche Cayman Class and Porsche Entries Finish Well at Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
For the first time in the 96-year history of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), Porsche had an official class in the “Race to the Clouds”: the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Pikes Peak Hill Climb Trophy by Yokohama. In addition to the eight invited entries in the mid-engine Porsche Motorsport-built machines, eight more cars carrying the German marque’s familiar crest raced up the 12.42-mile, 156-turn Pikes Peak, Colorado course on Sunday, June 24. As it has since first coming to “America’s Mountain” in 1958, Porsche proved its hill climb heritage in four of the six PPIHC Divisions and Classes with victories in two classes.
In the official Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Pikes Peak Hill Climb Trophy by Yokohama class, to the surprise of few, it was three-time AMA Motocross and Supercross Champion, X-Game winner and stunt performer Travis Pastrana, driving the No. 199 Porsche Colorado Springs-entry, who set the best time for the class. The 10-minute, 33.897-second race up to the 14,145 foot high finish line was good for the 25th best time recorded on Sunday. The next quickest elapsed time was turned-in by IndyCar regular J.R. Hildebrand (Boulder, Colorado) in the No. 66 Porsche Colorado Springs-entered 385-horsepower machine. The 2011 Indianapolis 500 runner-up but Pikes Peak rookie’s time was 10:39.301. Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport regular Mike Skeen (Charlotte, North Carolina) was third in class and 30th overall – one spot behind Hildebrand in both categories – with a time of 10:40.659 in the No. 21 CRP Racing Cayman. Canadian Tom Collingwood drove the JF Racing of Area 27-entered No. 69 to 37th overall, fourth-place in class, with a run of 11:06.423. CJ Wilson of Fresno, California piloted the No. 982 prepared by Rearden Racing up the mountain in 11:23.853. The time by the principal of Porsche Fresno was good for fifth in class, 41st-place overall. Dr. Alexander Marmureanu (Los Angles, California) was the final finisher in the class driving the No. 10 entered by Rearden Racing to sixth-place in class, 53rd overall with a time of 13:11.856.
While the one-make class was Porsche Motorsport’s focus in Colorado, eight other machines carried the banner well for the brand. David Donohue (West Chester, Pennsylvania) won the Time Attack Division, Time Attack 1 class, sixth-quickest of all the entries up Pikes Peak on Sunday. Piloting a specially prepared Porsche 911 GT3 R, the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona overall winner turned in a time of 9:37.152. It was the second visit to Pikes Peak of the Client Relationship Manager for Porsche Cars North America.
Raphael Astier (France) made a run of 9:53.718, good for ninth-place overall, second in the Pikes Peak Challenge division/Pikes Peak Open class, driving a 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Finishing with the seventh-best run (11:01.060) in the Time Attack Division, Time Attack 1 class was Fred Veitch (Colorado Springs, Colorado) in a 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo.
While not an official Porsche Motorsport-manufactured machine, Porsche factory driver Roman Dumas (France) scored his fifth-overall – fourth consecutive – victory at Pikes Peak on Sunday in the Unlimited Division. The Frenchman shattered the existing all-time record for the charge to the top with a time of 7:57.148 in the No. 94 Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak. The all-electric VW found its beginnings in the Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 endurance racer with which Dumas earned both the World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans overall titles in 2016.
Dr. Daniel Armbruster, CEO/president, Porsche Motorsport North America.
“We can be very pleased with the results of this first Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Pikes Peak Hill Climb Trophy by Yokohama class. This was a substantial undertaking and to have Travis and J.R. both turn a sub 10-minute, 40-second time up the mountain is a benchmark that will be very difficult to better when we return in 2019. We have a number of people to thank for this success not the least is Jeff Zwart. Jeff put aside his own attempt for another victory at Pikes Peak to coach our drivers, most of which had never driven Pikes Peak before and some had never driven a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Yokohama, Mobil 1, Porsche Design and Porsche Colorado Springs were valuable partners in this as were all of our customer team partners.
I also want to give my compliments to David Donohue for winning his division in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. While our focus was on the Cayman GT4 Clubsport class, we all turned our eyes to the bright yellow Porsche Colorado Springs entry when David started his run.
Finally, but not least, congratulations to Romain [Dumas] and Volkswagen for their effort with the I.D R. Having pioneered early racing hybrid technology and with the new all electric Taycan soon reaching production, we at Porsche can appreciate the awesome task they undertook. The record-breaking time set by Romain, a Porsche factory driver, shows how exciting and promising this technology is.”
Social Media.
Porsche Cars North America. @Porsche
Porsche GT Team (North America). @PorscheNARacing
Porsche Motorsport – GT Cars. @PorscheRaces
Porsche Racing. @Porsche_Team
Porsche Motorsport North America @porschecustomerracingna (Instagram)
Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI. #PorscheRennsport
Model Hashtags.
Porsche 911 RSR. #911RSR
Porsche 911 GT3 R. #911GT3R
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. #911Cup
Event Hashtag.
Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen #Sahlens6Hrs
Series Hashtags and Handles.
GT3 Cup Challenge USA. #GT3USA
GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. #GT3CAN
Pirelli Trophy West USA. @PirelliTrophy (Twitter)
@PirelliTrophyWestUSA (Instagram)
Intercontinental GT Challenge. @IntercontGTC
Future Porsche Events.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Event: Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Dateline: Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Date: Friday – Sunday, July 6 – July 8, 2018
Track Length: 2.459-miles, 10-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours, 40-minutes
Class: GTLM (Porsche 911 RSR)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTLM. 6 of 11
GTD. 6 of 11
Next Round: Northeast Grand Prix, Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut, July 21, 2018
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Event: Continental Tire Motorsport Park 120, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Dateline: Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Date: Saturday, July 7, 2018
Track Length: 2.459-miles, 10-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours
Class: GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: GS. 5 of 10
Next Round: Lime Rock Park 120, Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut, July 20, 2018