Porsche Motorsports Weekly Event Notes: Tuesday, July 17, 2018
This Week.
• Lime Rock Revisited. Porsche Aims for Repeat of Historic 911 RSR and GT3 R Wins.
• Porsche Portland Podiums. Alegra and Pfaff Earn Top-3 to Push Points.
• Supercup Americans. Team MOMO Megatron Lechner Racing Competitive in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Series.
Next Porsche Event.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Event: Northeast Grand Prix, Lime Rock Park
Dateline: Lakeville, Connecticut
Date: Friday – Saturday, July 20 – July 21, 2018
Track Length: 1.50-miles, 7-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours, 40-minutes
Class: GTLM (Porsche 911 RSR)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTLM. 7 of 11
GTD. 7 of 11
Next Round: Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 3 – 5, 2018
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Event: Northeast Grand Prix, Lime Rock Park
Dateline: Lakeville, Connecticut
Date: Friday – Sunday, July 6 – July 8, 2018
Track Length: 1.50-miles, 7-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours
Class: GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: GS. 6 of 10
Next Round: Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 3 - 5, 2018
Porsche Profile.
Event Story Lines.
Lime Rock Revisited. Porsche Aims for Repeat of Historic 911 RSR and GT3 R Wins.
Lime Rock Park was the historic site of the first class and overall victory worldwide for the current generation Porsche 911 RSR in 2017. Not only did the German marque score that maiden title, but a customer-focused 911 GT3 R also won the GTD class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the same race one year ago. The Porsche GT Team returns to tackle Round Seven of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTLM class at the Lakeville, Connecticut-area track on July 21 with two factory 911 RSR. Meanwhile, the Porsche customer team of Wright Motorsports fields two 911 GT3 R racers on the 1.5-mile, seven-turn track. With 18 victories at Lime Rock Park, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in the history of this race.
The race in the idyllic setting of rural Connecticut offers three unique features. First, at 1.5-miles, the track is the shortest on the IMSA schedule making for nearly non-stop action around the hills and through the woods. Second, Lime Rock is one of only two tracks, VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) the other – to play host to only the GT classes (GTLM and GTD). This ensures Porsche an opportunity to challenge for a second consecutive overall victory at Lime Rock. Third, the tree-lined, park-like track was the site of the first Rennsport Reunion in July 2001. Rennsport Reunion VI will take place September 27 – 30 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) share the cockpit of the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR. The pair won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring earlier this season. The winners at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Earl Bamber (New Zealand), share driving duties in the second 911 RSR (No. 912) fielded by the Porsche GT Team in the GTLM class.
In the GTD class, Wright Motorsports returns its two 911 GT3 R. Sharing driving duties in the No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital entry are the works driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) and Porsche Selected Driver Christina Nielsen (Denmark). Wolf Henzler (Germany) and Michael Schein (New York City, New York) pilot the No. 16 Wright-prepared 911 GT3 R.
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars.
“We celebrated our maiden win with the new 911 RSR at Lime Rock last year. We are keen to repeat this success. After the strong performances at Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, we are now heading to Lime Rock fully prepared and feeling very optimistic. We’ll do our utmost to secure a top result and further improve our promising position in the fight for the championship.”
Pascal Zurlinden, Director GT Factory Motorsport.
“Overtaking is difficult at Lime Rock, hence it’s important to start from as far up the grid as possible. A good qualifying result is half the battle on this narrow circuit – as we saw last year with our win.”
Sebastian Golz, Project Manager GT Customer Sport.
“It’s important on such a short and twisty track to carefully maintain the grip level of the tire. If you’re too tough on them there is no time to recover – and then things get difficult.”
Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“I’m expecting a gripping race at Lime Rock. The course is narrow and twisty and it sometimes reminds me of a go-kart track. The cars bunch close together, which makes it interesting for the fans. We did very well last year with our 911 RSR and I have no reason to think we can’t do it again this year.”
Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Lime Rock is great turf for Porsche. We have always performed very well on this racetrack. We look forward to this unique race all year. Because the track is so short, the traffic is always heavy. Our team has to implement the right race strategy so that we get as many free runs as possible.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Our victory last year underlined that the racetrack suits us. However, Lime Rock is no easy race. The laps are very short and you have to be extremely careful to maneuver through the heavy traffic unscathed. Lime Rock marks the start of the critical phase of the championship. That makes it all the more important to earn decent points.”
Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Lime Rock is a great track for Porsche. We have always performed well there in recent years. The entire team is excited to tackle this race. The fact that we claimed overall victory with the 911 RSR at Lime Rock last year gives us additional motivation.”
Patrick Long, Driver, No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Lime Rock is constant cornering, there’s very little chance to relax. The racetrack offers everything that makes racing fun – it has very fast corners and some slow bends, where we can use the good traction of our 911 GT3 R.”
Porsche Portland Podiums. Alegra and Pfaff Earn Top-3 to Push Points.
The return of Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) to Portland International Raceway – June 13 – 15 – saw a fierce on-track battle come down to a heavily contested checkered flag.… and beyond. When the flag fell on the second of the two 60-minute features, Pfaff Motorsports made a statement that the Canadian team was not letting go of their championship aspirations for Scott Hargrove (Canada). He and Wolf Henzler (Germany) took the win on track, but were ultimately penalized, falling to third-place in the No. 96 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Porsche factory driver Michael Christensen (Denmark), co-driving with Spencer Pumpelly (Atlanta, Georgia), earned the pole position on the Portland, Oregon-area track for Saturday’s feature in the No. 24 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Tampa, Florida-based team finished in second-place on Saturday and fourth-place, just behind the Pfaff machine, on Sunday.
Various penalties in pit lane and on-track led to multiple changes in the finishing order for Sunday’s 60-minute race, with final penalties assessed well after the checkered flag fell. The results were Pfaff finishing in third-place and the Alegra car, behind in fourth-place.
The results of the penultimate rounds of the SprintX Championship leave a lasting impression on the point title chase for drivers, teams and manufacturers in the GT class. Hargrove entered Rounds 7 and 8 of 10 in a heated battle with championship contender Toni Vilander for the Overall PWC GT Drivers’ Championship. While the two-time IMSA Ultra Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama Champion still benefited at Portland more than Vilander, the penalty was an opportunity lost. After a string of recent successes, Christensen has also placed himself in the title mix entering the final races.
The Pirelli World Challenge travels to Utah Motorsports Campus on August 10 – 12. The Tooele, Utah track will play host to the two final races of the 2018 PWC SprintX Championship. While SprintX will crown a champion at the 3.048-mile, 24-turn course near Salt Lake City, the overall titlist will not be determined until the two final races of the Sprint Championship – 50-minute, single-driver events – at Watkins Glen International, August 31 – September 2.
Supercup Americans. Team MOMO Megatron Lechner Racing Competitive in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Series.
The only American racing team in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, MOMO Megatron Lechner Racing is experiencing a respectable season in the highly competitive series. Identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars allow each driver to display their racing talent, as battles are often side-by-side in thrilling competition from start to finish.
The Miami, Florida-based MOMO Megatron Lechner Racing features drivers Dylan Periera (Luxembourg) and Josh Webster (England) this season. Walter Lechner serves as Team Principal and manages the team from their Faisenau, Austria base. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, now in its seventh generation, sports a newly developed engine and improved aerodynamics for a faster, more efficient race car, utilized in 20 one-make racing series worldwide including the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Ultra 94 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama.
The MOMO Megatron Lechner Racing team results include a season-opening podium in Barcelona for Pereira and ninth for Webster. At the second round in Monaco, Pereira collected another third-place finish, with John placing a season high eighth. At Silverstone, a tire puncture sidelined Pereira, who was second in the championship after the first three rounds. Webster finished ninth at his hometown race.
The series moves into Round 5 of 10 races this weekend for the Grand Prix of Hockenheim, July 20-22, 2018 at the 2.84 mile, 13-turn Hockenheimring circuit.
Henrique Cisneros, Chairman of MOMO Automotive Group.
“MOMO Megatron was very excited to partner with Lechner Racing for this year’s Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series. Their racing heritage and superior performance in Porsche Supercup was what MOMO Megatron needed to take our team to next level. Under the excellent leadership of Walter (Lechner), we’ve already achieved some success with two podiums by Dylan Pereira and a great job by Josh Webster this year as well.”
“This year we partnered with Walter Lechner to join forces to create the MOMO Megatron Lechner Racing and continue our Supercup program. We have put together a talented combination of drivers, management and racing knowledge and Dylan is currently third in the points and Josh just outside the Top 10 in a very competitive series this year. We’re headed to round 5 of 10 and have a lot of competition ahead still but are happy the results we’ve achieved so far. Walter Lechner has been doing an amazing job leading the team this season. We’re also happy to have Popular Bank as a partner this season.”
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.
Northeast Grand Prix #NorthEastGP
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: Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, Road America
Dateline: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Date: Friday – Sunday, August 3 – August 5, 2018
Track Length: 4.048-miles, 14-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours, 40-minutes
Class: GTLM (Porsche 911 RSR)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTLM. 8 of 11
GTD. 8 of 11
Next Round: Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, VIRginia International Raceway , August 17 – 19, 2018
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Event: Road America 120
Dateline: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Date: Friday – Sunday, August 3 – August 5, 2018
Track Length: 4.048-miles, 14-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours
Class: GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: GS. 6 of 10
Next Round: Biscuitville Grand Prix, VIRginia International Raceway , August 17 – 18, 2018
Pirelli World Challenge.
Event: SprintX Championship Finale: Grand Prix of Utah, Utah Motorsports Campus
Dateline: Tooele, Utah
Date: Friday – Sunday, August 10 - 12, 2018
Track Length: 3.048-miles, 24-turn
Race Duration: 2, 60-minutes
Class: GT-X (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
GTS-X (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: GT-X. 9 and 10 of 10
GTS-X. 9 and 10 of 10
Next Round: Sprint Championship Finale: GP of Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York, August 31 – September 1, 2018
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