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Porsche 911 RSR (91), Porsche GT Team

Interim report 2

Porsche 911 RSR (91), Porsche GT Team
FIA World Endurance Championship, Round 3, Le Mans 24 Hours/France - GT, Interim report 2
Fastest Porsche 911 RSR running third

Stuttgart. At the Le Mans 24-hour race, the new Porsche 911 RSR racers have completed a third of the race without any major problems. The only incident on the 13.629-kilometre Circuit des 24 Heures was a collision in the ultra-fast corner 1, in which the # 92 Porsche 911 RSR became entangled. This resulted in an additional pit stop to change tyres. Prior to this, the 911 RSR driven by Michael Christensen (Denmark), Kévin Estre (France) and Dirk Werner (Germany) had even reached second place in the GTE-Pro class. However, thanks to a perfect race strategy and fast pit stops, the time that was lost was virtually recovered. Nine hours into the 85th edition of the French long-distance classic, which took off in glorious summer weather with temperatures of almost 30 degrees Celsius, the 510 hp race car from Weissach is running in third place. The second 911 RSR fielded by the Porsche GT Team, shared by Richard Lietz (Austria) and his French teammates Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet, currently ranks ninth.

In the GTE-Am class, in which customer teams campaign the 2015-spec 911 RSR, Dempsey Proton Racing with the Porsche Young Professional, Matteo Cairoli, is in third place.

Comments on the first third of the race

Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars: “We started well into the race and managed to gain several positions. But then bad luck hit and we got caught up in another competitor’s spin and had to put in two unscheduled pit stops with both vehicles due to the tyre vibrations. The slow zones have also cost us a great deal of time, so that sometimes we were even running up to three minutes behind. However, we made the most of these slow zones by using a good pit stop strategy to close the gap to the leaders. Still, the race is long and we have to continue on flawlessly.”

Drivers 911 RSR #91
Richard Lietz: “We’re lacking top speed on the straights. The competition can overtake us there as they please. We’ll try to keep going at full speed. We can only hope that we have luck on our side.”
Patrick Pilet: “We’re having a tough time. It obvious we don’t have the speed on the straights. Other than that our 911 RSR is going well. Now we have to do everything not to lose too much ground so that we can be ready to pounce in case our opponents get into difficulties.”
Frédéric Makowiecki: “My first stint went really well and I managed to make up a few positions. But I can’t shake the feeling that some of our rivals haven’t yet revealed their full potential. There may still be the odd surprise over the course of the race. For my second stint we opted for a different tyre spec and that helped us gain some ground. Early on in the race, almost half of the racetrack was a slow zone, so I couldn’t attack. We have a good car. Let’s see if we can close the gap to the frontrunners during the night.”

Drivers 911 RSR #92
Michael Christensen: “It’s a tough fight out there on the track. We’re struggling and can hardly overtake. We have to take a lot of risks in our fight whereas our competitors simply just put their foot down for a short time and pass us.”
Kévin Estre: “My first stint went very well and I managed to gain a few positions. But it was difficult to keep up with the fastest cars on the straights. The chassis of our 911 RSR is good, and so is the aero-balance. That makes me optimistic. Perhaps we can improve our position during the night.”
Dirk Werner: “That was a difficult first stint. After just a few laps, the Corvette overtook me in corner 1 and hit my right front tyre. I spun at high speed and had to return to the pits because the spin had flat-spotted all four tyres. Luckily nothing else on the car was damaged. But the unscheduled pit stops have, of course, thrown us back quite a distance.”

Customer team drivers
Matteo Cairoli (911 RSR #77, Dempsey Proton Racing): “To line up on the grid at Le Mans and to be allowed to drive the first stint for my team is an unforgettable experience. I got goosebumps. The start of the race didn’t go particularly well for us. We had tyre damage shortly after our first pit stop. Things went well after changing the tyre and our grip was good. We’ll continue to keep up the pressure and see what happens.”
Patrick Long (911 RSR #93, Proton Competition): “The start wasn’t easy. We tried to drive double stints but in the end I had hardly any grip at the front. In the hectic early phase it’s important to keep cool and to safely finish your stint. But the race has really only just begun, still a lot can happen.”



All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.