At the season-opener of the Le Mans Series, four of the five Porsche 911 GT3 RSR were caught up in a start crash that was not their fault. For all three professional Porsche teams contesting the GTE-Pro class, this marked an early end in Le Castellet after their vehicles suffered too much damage. After the formation lap, the safety car stayed out on the track with lights off while the start lights for the race were turned to green. This led to an unfortunate chain reaction: The back-markers in the field were still accelerating while those at the front were braking hard. The starter field was pushed together over the entire width of the track, leading to a collision. Luckily, the Porsche drivers remained largely uninjured. Continue reading ‘LMS: Start crash causes early retirement for Porsche 911 GT3 RSR’s’
Starts are always hectic, usually at turn 1, but this mornings start to the 6 Hours of Castellet was terrible. Everything looks to be fine, pace car leading out, yellow flags, etc. GREEN-GREEN-GREEN, field jumps but out of sight, the pace car stays on track. It had never entered pit-road causing an accordion effect for the GTE class. Continue reading ‘LMS: All GTE-Pro Porsches taken out in Paul Ricard start’
A perfect start into the Le Mans Series for Nicolas Armindo: At the season-opener in Le Castellet, the Frenchman clinched the best time in qualifying in the newly created GTE-Am sports car class at the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. In this class, only one professional driver is permitted per vehicle. In the 911 fielded by the Felbermayr-Proton team, Austria’s Horst Felbermayr Junior rounded off Porsche’s success. In the GTE-Pro class, Porsche works driver Marco Holzer (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Patrick Pilet (France) secured positions six to eight respectively with 2011-versions of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Continue reading ‘LMS: Porsche qualifies 1-2 in GTE-Am for the 6 Hours of Castellet’
With last month’s testing out-of-the-way, Porsche teams head to the Paul Ricard in Le Castellet this weekend well prepared. Drivers we’re impressed with the new 911 GT3 RSR changes and will bring the fight to Ferrari and Aston Martin. Tomorrow will kick off practice sessions, with qualifying on Saturday and racing on Sunday. Continue reading ‘Porsche heads to Paul Ricard for the 6 Hours of Castellet’
Porsche Intelligent Performance: 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 ready for the Nürburgring
Porsche has revised the ground-breaking 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car in all key areas and competes with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 at the 24 hour race on 25 June. With hybrid components now approximately 20% lighter and improved aerodynamics, the GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 achieves comparable lap times with even better fuel efficiency. The output of the two electric motors at the front axle has increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each, with approximately 200 extra horsepower available to pilots for seconds at a time on top of the 470 hp of the six-cylinder rear engine, depending on the balance of performance classification. The total weight of the race car was reduced from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms. Continue reading ‘Porsche Motorsport breaks down their 2011 season’
After the victorious test race at the Le Mans Series season opener and a successful 30-hour test at Le Castellet (France) the Le Mans dress rehearsal is now on Audi Sport Team Joest’s agenda: on May 9, the three Audi R15 TDI cars will contest the 1000-kilometer race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium). (continue reading…)
An excellent start to the season for the Porsche pilots in the Le Mans Series. Title defenders Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) finished the gripping season-opener on the Circuit Paul Ricard (France) with a clear win. In the fiercely-contested GT2 class, the pair saw the flag in their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with a two-lap advantage. Their colleagues from the German Felbermayr-Proton squad made the success of the top duo perfect with a sensational second place at the first race with their new team configuration with Porsche works drivers Patrick Long (USA), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and team owner Christian Ried (Germany). (continue reading…)
