Porsche Motorsport Weekly Event Notes: Monday, October 8, 2018
This Week.
• Legendary Livery at Petit Le Mans. Porsche GT Team Fields Pair of 911 RSR with 1998 Mobil 1 Artwork.
• Porsche Looks for 20. Four 911-based Racers Aim for 20th Petit Le Mans Class Win.
• Remembering Panoz and Maraj. Porsche Works Team to Wear Black Armbands.
• 20th Anniversary. Reflecting on First Porsche Petit Le Mans.
• Porsche Experience. Factory Drivers to PEC Atlanta for Employee Day.
• Petit Porsche. Porsche All-Time Leader in Petit Le Mans Titles.
Upcoming Events.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Event: 21st Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta
Dateline: Braselton, Georgia
Date: Thursday – Saturday, October 11 – 13, 2018
Track Length: 2.54-miles, 12-turn
Race Duration: 10-Hours
Class: GTLM (Porsche 911 RSR)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTLM. 11 of 11
GTD. 11 of 11
Next Round: Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore, Sebring International Raceway, November 9 – 11, 2018
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Event: FOX Factory 120, Road Atlanta
Dateline: Braselton, Georgia
Date: Thursday – Friday, October 11 – 12, 2018
Track Length: 2.54-miles, 12-turn
Race Duration: 2-Hours
Class: GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: GS. 10 of 10
Next Round: Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore, Sebring International Raceway, November 9 – 11, 2018
IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.
Event: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Road Atlanta
Dateline: Braselton, Georgia
Date: Thursday – Friday, October 11 - 12, 2018
Track Length: 2.54-miles, 12-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: 15 - 16 of 16
Next Round: Finale
FIA World Endurance Championship.
Event: Six Hours of Fuji, Fuji Speedway
Dateline: Fuji, Japan
Date: Friday – Sunday, October 12 – 14, 2018
Track Length: 2.84-miles, 16-turn
Race Duration: 6-Hours
Class: LMGTE-Pro (Porsche 911 RSR)
LMGTE-Am (Porsche 911 RSR)
Round: 4 of 8
Next Round: Six Hours of Shanghai, Shanghai, China, November 16 - 18, 2018
Porsche Profile.
Event Story Lines.
Legendary Livery at Petit Le Mans. Porsche GT Team Fields Pair of 911 RSR with 1998 Mobil 1 Artwork.
Porsche will tackle the final round of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in Braselton, Georgia (October 13) with its pair of factory cars carrying the legendary design of partner Mobil 1. Draped with blue, red and orange stripes over a white base, the two Porsche 911 RSR evoke memories of the 1998 911 GT1-98. Both the No. 911 – driven by Patrick Pilet (France), Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) – and the No. 912 – shared by Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Mathieu Jaminet (France) – of the Porsche GT Team will carry the livery, which includes gold racing wheels to callback the rims raced on the factory machines 20 years ago.
This was the last factory livery used in a North American championship until the official “works” team debuted in the IMSA GTLM class in 2014.
The 1998 Porsche 911 GT1-98 model, the third and final iteration of the famous 911 GT1 lineage, scored overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and captured the pole position at the inaugural Petit Le Mans the same year. The 2018 race cars will also carry a second reminder of that premiere Petit Le Mans, a special decal memorializing Dave Maraj. Maraj’s Champion Racing orchestrated a LMGT1 class win at the first “Petit” with a year-old 911 GT1 Evo after the “works” machines suffered on-track issues and were retired from the race.
An evolution of the 911 GT1 and GT1 Evo, the Porsche 911 GT1-98 was the first Porsche to utilize a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis. The new construction allowed for more aerodynamic bodywork, a design that echoed the iconic lines of the road-going 911 while pushing the form to its extreme. The now classic Mobil 1 livery accentuated the lower and sleeker design. The paintjob was the artistic interpretation of the Mobil 1 corporate colors being pulled apart by the speed of the 911 GT1-98. The Porsche 911 RSR being raced in 2018 shares the same extreme mechanical and aerodynamic extension of a road-going 911, allowing for a perfect coverage of the original art over the lines of the modern car.
The two entries will be individualized by the windshield banner and rear wing – white on the No. 911, black on the No. 912 – as well as unique spots on the nose. The No. 911 will carry orange while the No. 912 will have yellow. These alterations between the two otherwise identical liveries will help differentiate the two Porsche GT Team cars on track just as they did in 1998. To further call to mind the 1998 Petit Le Mans-winning Champion Racing entry – as well as to set the cars apart on-track – the distinctive lines will be reflective as the cars charge into the final hours of the ten-hour race. The Champion liveries are well-remembered for its reflective decals.
Porsche Looks for 20. Four 911-based Racers Aim for 20th Petit Le Mans Class Win.
Entering the 21st running of the Petit Le Mans on October 13, Porsche is looking to capture its 20th class title in the 10-hour endurance-racing classic. Since the first “Petit” at Road Atlanta in 1998, Porsche has scored 19 class victories including one overall victory (2015) at the Braselton, Georgia-area track. In 2018, Porsche has the opportunity to add its 20th and 21st titles between the two Porsche 911 RSR factory cars in the GTLM class and two customer 911 GT3 Rs in the GTD class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-finale.
Three drivers will pilot each of the two Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSRs. Sharing the cockpit of the No. 911 Porsche are regulars Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) with Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki joining the car for the weekend. In March, the three factory aces won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. After securing second-place at the most recent round of the GTLM championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Earl Bamber (New Zealand) will share the No. 912 cockpit with Porsche Young Professional Mathieu Jaminet (France).
Customer team Wright Motorsports fields the No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Porsche 911 GT3 R with works driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California), Porsche Selected Driver Christina Nielsen (Denmark) and Robert Renauer (Austria). The John Wright-owned team has one GTD class victory (Road America) to its credit thus far in 2018. Sharing driving duties for the second customer team entry, the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports 911 GT3 R, for the weekend is longtime Porsche champion and former Petit Le Mans winner Wolf Henzler (Germany), Atlanta, Georgia’s Spencer Pumpelly and Timothy Pappas (Boston, Massachusetts). This is the first time the trio will race together in the Park Place machine. Regular drivers Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California) will miss the event to compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) race in Fuji, Japan.
At the 20 Petit Le Mans races contested here so far, Porsche has scored a total of 19 class wins (24 if the one-make GTC class of the American Le Mans Series, which exclusively used the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, are included). In 2015, the works team with drivers Richard Lietz (Austria), Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain), scored an unprecedented overall victory with a GTLM-class Porsche 911 RSR, bettering the prototypes and other GT cars in a rain-soaked event.
Petit Le Mans is also the final race of the North American Endurance Cup (NAEC). The endurance championship within the overall championship rewards strong runs at the series’ most iconic and longest events: the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Six Hours of The Glen and the Petit Le Mans. The Porsche GT Team currently ranks second in the GTLM standings entering the final round.
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars.
“For us, the 2018 season in North America has had its highs and lows. Our two Porsche 911 RSR racers always had the speed to compete amongst the frontrunners in the tough GTLM competition. In many cases, luck just wasn’t on our side. At Road Atlanta, we again have the chance to demonstrate our true potential and turn it into a great result. Our Sebring victory underlined that races over longer distances suit us best. On top of this, there’s additional motivation at Petit Le Mans. In addition to Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen, the season finale counts towards the North American Endurance Cup. We currently rank second in this classification. Let’s see if we can do more in the overall standings.”
Pascal Zurlinden, Director GT Factory Motorsport.
“We experienced two real highlights with our victories at Sebring and Mid-Ohio. Now it’s time for the third one. Petit Le Mans marks the end of the season and it’s our last chance to once again emphasize the great potential of cars, team and drivers. We’re well prepared to tackle the tough competition in our class. The name of the game over the ten-hour distance is to be tactically clever and stay out of trouble, even if the conditions get difficult. We’re ready for the final race of the year.”
Sebastian Golz, Project Manager 911 GT3 R.
“The circuit throws big challenges at us, for example the first corner and the fast ‘Esses’. The car has to be set up with extremely low ground clearance to maximize the aerodynamics. At the same time, you have to find a compromise, because the underbody takes some big hits, especially in Turn 3. Over the ten-hour race, the components have to withstand extreme loads. But, as the previous races have shown, we’re well prepared. After securing second-place last year, we now want to fight for victory with our teams.”
Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“I hope the race at Road Atlanta will be a successful end of the season for us. I have fond memories of the event – particularly our win three years ago. Our vehicle has always been well setup and fast there, and that’ll certainly be the case this year. Plus, Frédéric’s in the car again. The winning trio from Sebring is back together. These are the best prerequisites for another success.”
Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“This race has always been one of the toughest on the calendar. The race track puts huge stresses on the material, especially the tires. For us drivers it’s often exhausting and even more so for the team. Many pit stops and countless strategic decisions have to be made during the ten-hours of racing. We’ve always had great races at Road Atlanta in the past and it shouldn’t be any different this time.”
Frédéric Makowiecki, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Returning to the USA for the last race of the season is a highlight for me. I still feel good about our win at Sebring. Our team is well positioned and we’ll be able to fight amongst the frontrunners. Anything can happen at an endurance race in North America, and it often does – right up to the last race lap. We have to focus and knuckle-down to the job at hand. I would very much like to stand on the podium again with my teammates – preferably on the top step.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“The 2018 season seems to have flown by. Now we’re facing the big classic at Road Atlanta. We definitely want to conclude the season with a success. We’ll do everything we can to achieve this. Petit Le Mans is always exciting, exhausting and unpredictable. This makes it spectacular, not only for fans but also for the teams and all the drivers.”
Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Porsche has celebrated many great successes on this track. It shows that the team, driver and car can master this difficult race perfectly. We’re feeling totally motivated and, of course, we’re looking forward to this event. The competition at Road Atlanta is always something special. Everyone wants to end the season with a real bang – including my teammates and me of course. I’m eager to get going.”
Mathieu Jaminet, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“I’m very grateful to Porsche for this chance. It’ll be my first outing in the works team’s 911 RSR. During the tests, I got to know the car and the procedures, but it’s still a big step for me. I know very little about the characteristics of the tires and I know nothing about the race track. With this in mind, I’m facing a huge challenge. I’ll do my very best to help my teammates and the entire squad. Hopefully we can achieve a great success together.”
Patrick Long, Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“This is always one of the toughest races of the year. It runs over ten hours, nine of which you can call a sprint. The storied circuit is totally unforgiving of errors. It’s a relatively short track with a lot of cars. There’s always heavy traffic and often safety car phases. Ten vehicles in our GTD category are capable of winning. But we’re well prepared and we want to conclude the season with a podium result. For that, we have to drive a flawless race.”
Christina Nielsen, Driver, No. 58 Porsche Consulting/Porsche Digital Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Road Atlanta is one of my all-time favorite tracks. I drove my first race in the USA here and I immediately fell in love with American motor racing. We’ve had a strong second half of the season and we’d like to continue this trend. Now we have to switch from sprint to endurance mode. A lot can happen in a ten-hour race, but we’re well prepared. We’re aiming for another win!”
Patrick Lindsey, Team Principal, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“I’m still upset that these two races conflict but I’m excited for our lineup in the 73. We want to win, and that is what this lineup will do. Wolf has a ridiculous amount of experience and is one of the best Porsche has to offer. Spencer is a solid driver. He’s someone I’ll always trust with my team. Tim has the competitive spirit and experience to get the job done. I expect to see a trophy when I get back from Japan if everything goes their way.”
Wolf Henzler, Driver, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“I’m very much looking forward to racing at Road Atlanta. We have a strong car, a great team and I have experienced teammates at my side. Still, we’ve never driven together. Initially, some things will need ironing out. I’ve contested Petit Le Mans often and I’ve experienced a lot there. On top of changing weather conditions, driving in the dark is something quite special. In the last two hours of racing, you have to be ready. That’s our big goal.”
Remembering Panoz and Maraj. Porsche Works Team to Wear Black Armbands.
In 1998, two men changed North American motorsports in such a significant way that Porsche will recognize the passing of each at the 21st Running of Petit Le Mans endurance classic. The Porsche GT Team, as well as Porsche customer teams, will honor Dr. Donald Panoz and Dave Maraj in various ways at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. Team members of the official Porsche factory team will wear black armbands to honor the memory of the two men who made such a dramatic impact on sports car racing. The factory program, as well as Porsche customer teams, will also carry special remembrance decals for the 10-hour race.
Panoz, who passed away on September 11, founded the Petit Le Mans event in 1998 and the American Le Mans Series in 1999 to align American sports car racing with the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After 21 years, both have flourished, as has Road Atlanta, because of the union. Maraj’s Champion Racing scored an upset victory in that first race taking a year-old Porsche 911 GT1 Evo to the LMGT1 class victory, third-place overall. It was the most significant race win by the Florida-based operation prior to their becoming an official Audi works effort in the Le Mans Prototype ranks.
The pair of Porsche 911 RSR – as well as all Porsche customer teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series – have carried “Dave Maraj – A Champion Remembered” decals since the untimely death of the founder and owner of Champion Racing on July 21. To acknowledge the significance of the first Petit Le Mans victory by Champion, those decals have received an update by noted motorsports/automotive artist and livery creator Andy Blackmore. For the WeatherTech Championship season-finale, the decals will read, “20th Anniversary… Dave Maraj, A Champion Remembered… Premiere Petit Le Mans Victory”. Dr. Panoz will also be memorialized on the two 911 RSR and two 911 GT3 R entered in the field.
20th Anniversary. Reflecting on First Porsche Petit Le Mans.
2018 marks the 20th Anniversary of the first Petit Le Mans Porsche win in the premiere of the event at Road Atlanta. In the 1998 race, the Porsche factory team – which had already won the 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier in the year – earned the LMGT1 class pole position with the new 911 GT1-98. While factory drivers Allan McNish, Uwe Alzen and Yannick Dalmas led the class from the start, an accident removed the car from competition.
Racing with an older customer Porsche 911 GT1 Evo, Champion Racing fought to the end of the 1,000-mile distance (the race then was 10-Hours of 1,000-miles). Drivers Thierry Boutsen, Bob Wollek and Ralf Kelleners went on to take the LMGT1 class victory. Making the accomplishment more impressive, the Champion Porsche was the highest-ranking GT car and the only non-prototype in the top-six. The 911 GT1 Evo in the familiar color splashes on white livery finished just one position behind the factory Porsche LMP1 entry (a Porsche LMP1-98 open-cockpit prototype) giving Porsche two of the three overall podium spots.
Of the seven classes competing at the inaugural Petit Le Mans on October 11, 1998, Porsche won four. Including the Champion Porsche 911 GT1 Evo victory in the LMGT1 class, 911-based race cars also won in LMGT2 (No. 81 Freisinger Motorsports 911 GT2), GT3 (No. 76 Team A.R.E. 911 Carrera RSR) and GT2 (No. 04 CJ Motorsport 911 GT2).
Porsche Experience. Factory Drivers to PEC Atlanta for Employee Day.
Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) is welcoming the German marque’s factory drivers to its North American headquarters in Atlanta prior to the 21st running of Petit Le Mans. On October 10, the “works” drivers will visit the PEC Atlanta for an annual visit to promote Porsche racing DNA with the company’s employees. John Hindhaugh, the “Voice of the 24 Hours of Le Mans”, will be Master of Ceremonies for a Question and Answer opportunity and autograph session before the drivers take to the PEC-ATL test track for hot laps in road-going Porsche sports cars.
Petit Porsche. Porsche All-Time Leader in Petit Le Mans Titles.
Porsche is the only manufacturer to contest every one of the 20-previous Petit Le Mans endurance races. In that time, the German marque has captured a record-setting 19 class victories – 24 if wins in the one-make GTC class victories are counted. The first victory came in 1998, while the most recent class titles came in 2015.
An unprecedented overall victory by a GT car is the highlight of Porsche’s most recent “Petit” title. The No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR shared by Patrick Pilet (France), Nick Tandy (Great Britain) – both entered in the current iteration of the same car this year – and Richard Lietz (Austria) bettered a field of Daytona Prototypes (DP) and GT cars in a rained-soaked event. The win is among the most historic of any of the thousands of Porsche race victories in its 70-year history. Victory number 19 was counted the same year with the GTD class title going to the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by owner/driver Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California), Spencer Pumpelly (Atlanta, Georgia) and Madison Snow (Lehi, Utah).
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)
Model Hashtags.
Porsche 911 RSR. #911RSR
Porsche 911 GT3 R. #911GT3R
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. #911Cup
Event Hashtag.
Petit Le Mans #MotulPLM
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.
Intercontinental GT Challenge.
Event: California 8-Hours, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Dateline: Monterey, California
Date: Friday – Sunday, October 26 – 28, 2018
Track Length: 2.238-miles, 11-turn
Race Duration: 8-Hours
Class: GT (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
GTS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: GT. 4 of 4
GTS. 4 of 4
Next Round: Season Finale
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Event: Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore, Sebring International Raceway
Dateline: Sebring, Florida
Date: Friday – Sunday, November 9 – 11, 2018
Track Length: 3.74-miles, 17-turn
Race Duration: 4-Hours
Class: GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: Post-Season Special Event
Next Round: Season-Finale
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Event: Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore, Sebring International Raceway
Dateline: Sebring, Florida
Date: Friday – Sunday, November 9 – 11, 2018
Track Length: 3.74-miles, 17-turn
Race Duration: NA
Class: GS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: Post-Season Special Event
Next Round: Season Finale
FIA World Endurance Championship.
Event: Six Hours of Shanghai,
Dateline: Shanghai, China
Date: Friday – Sunday, November 16 - 18, 2018
Track Length: 3.39-miles, 16-turn
Race Duration: 6-Hours
Class: LMGTE-Pro (Porsche 911 RSR)
LMGTE-Am (Porsche 911 RSR)
Round: 5 of 8
Next Round: 1000-Miles of Sebring, Sebring International Raceway, March 13 – 15, 2019