Porsche Motorsport Weekly Event Notes: Monday, November 19, 2018

This Week.

• Success in China. Porsche RSR Earn WEC Pro and Am Podiums in Shanghai. • Fourth In Final. Porsche Just off Macau FIA GT World Cup Podium.

• Lone Star Home. Park Place Motorsports Moves into New Texas Headquarters.

Porsche Profile.

Event Story Lines.

Success in China. Porsche RSR Earn WEC Pro and Am Podiums in Shanghai.

The pair of Porsche 911 RSR fielded by the Porsche GT Team both finished on the podium in the Six Hours of Shanghai, round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Heavy rain caused a turbulent race and led to multiple safety car phases and red flags, resulting in an ever-changing leader board. After six hours and a strong team effort, the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR shared by the Austrian Richard Lietz and Gianmaria Bruni from Italy crossed the finish line in second-place. The No. 92 sister car driven by Kévin Estre (France) and the Michael Christensen (Denmark) finished in third-place. A total of eleven of the world’s most advanced GT cars built by six manufacturers battled for LMGTE-Pro class victory on the 3.39-mile (5.451-kilometers) Shanghai International Circuit. As a result, Porsche has extended its lead in the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championship with three races remaining. The next round will take place in the United States at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway, March 13 – 15.

Porsche also had reason to celebrate in the LMGTE-Am class. The three Porsche 911 RSR campaigned by customer teams Dempsey-Proton Racing and Project 1 Motorsport swept the pro-am class podium. Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (Australia), Christian Ried (Germany) and Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (France) shared driving duties in the No. 77 Porsche 911 RSR. Porsche works driver Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), driving for Project 1 with Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California) and Egidio Perfetti (Netherlands), swept past the second Porsche 911 RSR fielded by the Dempsey-Proton Racing squad in the penultimate lap to take second-place behind the winning Aston Martin. The finish helps hold the drivers’ and teams’ LMGTE-Am point standing lead for Project 1. The No. 88 of Dempsey-Proton Racing with drivers Khaled Al Qubaisi (United Arab Emirates), Riccardo Pera (Italy) and Porsche Young Professional Matteo Cairoli (Italy) took the final step on the podium.

Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars.

“After the first three hours of the race we were very uncertain whether it was still a race. But it turned into a brilliant event. Our drivers with Nordschleife experience underlined their prowess. Finishing second and third earned important points towards the world championship, it also expanded our lead, and we’re heading home from Shanghai feeling very happy. We’re also extremely pleased to have extended our collaboration with the Manthey Racing team for the next two WEC seasons. In the GTE-Am class Porsche locked out the entire podium. I’m thrilled for all three. A fantastic job – it doesn’t get any better than that!”

Gianmaria Bruni, Driver, No. 91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“We finished on the podium with both vehicles. That’s fantastic and I’m proud of the great team performance, particularly with the pits stops. We managed to do here what we missed out on at Fuji. For me, that’s the Porsche spirit! Richard drove brilliantly and things went well for me especially at the end, although the rain and falling darkness made conditions very difficult.”

Richard Lietz, Driver, No. 91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“It was a hard-fought second place. A wonderful result for the team. I’m really thrilled about that because they all worked really hard. We can be proud. The conditions were difficult. We opted for the right tires at the right time. The start with all the spray was chaotic, but then it got better. I found the final 30-minutes, when dusk fell, especially tricky. Still, the No. 92 still managed to bring home P3.”

Kévin Estre, Driver, No. 92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“What a huge race! The water on the track and the light conditions at the end made it super difficult. We made the most of it and didn’t make any mistakes. Michael put in an inspired drive in the final lap to score third-place. The double podium is a wonderful achievement for Porsche.”

Michael Christensen, Driver, No. 92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“That was a crazy race for us. Over the six hours it went back and forth with the positions for us. Ultimately, everyone delivered an excellent performance, that’s the best way to describe it. The team, the car, Kevin and I – we all gave our utmost and that put us on the podium.”

Jörg Bergmeister, Driver, No. 56 Project 1 Motorsport Porsche 911 RSR.

“It was a great race. The boys did really good preparatory work, enabling me to attack Matteo Cairoli at the end and secure second-place. I’m all the happier that this means top of the points table.”

Matt Campbell, Driver, No.77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR.

“I’m over the moon with our win. The race was anything but easy. Christian had a hard time, especially at the start. When Julien then climbed into the cockpit the situation eased up and the team did a super job strategically. The track conditions changed

Matteo Cairoli, Driver, No.88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR.

“We finished on the podium in Shanghai and that’s great. Today, the car proved difficult to drive towards the end. I did my best but ultimately the others were simply faster. We have to take a good look at the reasons for this. But I’m happy for my teammates with their victory. They deserve first place at this race.”

Fourth In Final. Porsche Just off Macau FIA GT World Cup Podium.

Porsche finished just off the podium at the FIA GT World Cup in Macau (China) with its 911 GT3 R. In a fiercely contested race on the Guia Circuit, works driver Earl Bamber (New Zealand) narrowly missed claiming a top-three result at the checkered flag on the Macau street circuit. Porsche Young Professional Mathieu Jaminet (France) concluded his maiden outing with a seventh-place in the race, while his Craft Bamboo teammate Darryl O’Young (China) crossed the finish line in 14th-position.

After being shunted out of contention by another competitor on Saturday, works driver Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) was unable to take part in the race. The 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans winner’s Porsche 911 GT3 R had been too badly damaged by the crash. Vanthoor was uninjured in the incident.

Shortly after the start, Bamber launched a pursuit of the leaders, but found insufficient space to overtake. Instead, the New Zealander safeguarded his tires in preparation for the final stage of the 68-mile (110-kilometer) race run over 18 laps. In the closing phase, Bamber was the fastest driver on the 3.8-mile (6.115-kilometer) track. However, the narrow street circuit left no room for a successful attack on the leading vehicles. At the flag, the two-time Le Mans winner was just 1.460-seconds from claiming a podium place with the No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“We had a strong weekend. In the practice sessions and the race we managed to maintain a pace that was in no way inferior to our competition. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite secure the qualifying positions we needed to achieve a better result. Earl drove a first-class race and was particularly strong in the last laps. Mathieu Jaminet did very well, too. He managed to pass two rivals, but more wasn’t possible.”

Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Manthey-Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“It was a really tough race. I managed to defend my position at the start, then the gaps varied occasionally. Towards the end, when the car became lighter with less fuel on board, we were really fast. The qualities of the Porsche 911 GT3 R came into their own, which allowed a consistently fast speed even on used tires. We’ve underlined that our car is without doubt one of the strongest GT3 vehicles. If we’d started further up the grid we could’ve done much better, but that’s just the way it is in Macau.”

Mathieu Jaminet, Driver, No. 991 Manthey-Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“I started from ninth on the grid and finished seventh – that’s not bad. I simply tried to bring the car home without any damage. It’s great fun to drive so close to the barriers. The circuit is a little like a shortened version of the Nordschleife with the guardrails right next to the track edges. I’m very pleased that Porsche gave me the chance to race in Macau. I hope to return to this special racetrack next year.”

Lone Star Home. Park Place Motorsports Moves into New Texas Headquarters.

After a five-year relationship with partner Park Place Porsche of Dallas, Team Principal Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California) is moving Patrick Lindsey Racing Inc., the asset of Park Place Motorsports, to Dallas, Texas. The new shop features 10,000 square feet of space and is located two minutes from Dallas Love Field Airport, equal distance to Park Place Porsche of Dallas.

The proximity to Park Place Porsche of Dallas and Porsche of Grapevine allows Park Place Motorsports to synchronize further efforts in gathering notoriety of Dallas area Porsche enthusiasts. The race team hopes that being closer to the dealership will serve both entities with customer growth and create new opportunities for the people of Dallas in the motorsport realm.

Patrick Lindsey, Team Principal, Park Place Motorsports.

“We’re happy to have finally found a space that places us so close to the Park Place dealerships. The move to Dallas gives us the ability to have fulltime shop personnel and service much more than just the professional level race team and cars. Being closer to most of the races will give us the benefit of having the cars back at the home shop more often and even allow us to showcase our hardware at the Dallas and Grapevine dealerships when we aren’t racing. We hope the relationship continues to grow and prosper between the race team and the Porsche dealership.”