Porsche 911 RSR take up six-hour race from third grid row
Stuttgart. The two Porsche 911 RSR head into the six-hour Watkins Glen race in the US state of New York from the third grid row. In the 15-minute qualifying for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Earl Bamber set the fifth quickest time in the GTLM class with a time of 1:42.507 minutes. Patrick Pilet planted the #911 car directly behind. Shortly before the end of the qualifying session, which took place in sunshine and a temperature of 30-degree Celsius, both ca. 510 hp vehicles had locked out the second grid row, only to be out-qualified by the competition in the final seconds.The Porsche GT Team tackles round five of North America’s premier race series on Sunday on the tradition-steeped 5.472 kilometre racetrack. For the long-distance race over six hours, New Zealander Bamber and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor share the cockpit of the #912 car, with Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) driving the sister car. In the strongly represented GTLM class, in which four automobile manufacturers fight for honours, Porsche currently ranks first in the manufacturers’ category after four races and two victories.
Qualifying quotes
Steffen Höllwarth, Porsche Programme Manager IMSA SportsCar Championship: “Until 20 minutes before the end of the session we’d counted on the second grid row. Then the situation in the qualifying changed. Still, we’re not worried about the race. We performed well in the race simulation during practice. It’ll be tougher in the race compared to the qualifying. But we’re heading into the race well prepared.”
Earl Bamber (Porsche 911 RSR #912): “Positions five and six are not what we’d hoped for, but we’ll have a good car for the race. I’m confident of this. We’re expecting a temperature of 30-degrees Celsius for the race and it’ll get pretty hot in the car for us drivers. The heat puts stress on the tyres, too, but let’s see how things go.”
Patrick Pilet (Porsche 911 RSR #911): “That was a difficult qualifying. We were a tiny bit off with our tyre choice, but I think we’re well sorted for the race. I like this track and we’ll do everything possible to climb the podium at the end. We have six hours to achieve this. The main thing here is to have a consistently fast car. That’s our forte.”
The six-hour race takes off on Sunday, 1 July, at 9.45 hrs local time (15.45 hrs CEST). Outside the USA, the race is broadcast live on www.imsa.com.
Qualifying result
GTLM class
1. Briscoe/Westbrook (AUS/GB), Ford GT, 1:41.948 minutes
2. Hand/Müller (USA/D), Ford GT, + 0.111 seconds
3. Gavin/Milner (GB/USA), Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, + 0.417 seconds
4. Magnussen/Garcia (DK/E), Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, + 0.549 seconds
5. Vanthoor/Bamber (B/NZ), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.559 seconds
6. Tandy/Pilet (GB/F), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.667 seconds
7. Krohn/Edwards/Blomqvist (FIN/USA/S), BMW M8 GTE, + 1.329 seconds
8. Sims/De Phillippi/Auberlen (GB/USA/USA), BMW M8 GTE, + 1.591 seconds
GTD class
1. Hawksworth/Heinemeier Hansson/Farnbacher (GB/DK/D), Lexus RC F GT3, 1:44.499 minutes
2. Mies/van der Line (D/SA), Audi R8 LMS, + 0.112 seconds
3. Marcelli/Baumann (CAN/A), Lexus RC F GT3, + 0.213 seconds
8. Long/Nielsen/Renauer (USA/DK/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 0.930 seconds
18. Lindsey/Bergmeister (USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, did not take part in the qualifying
All results are available at: http://results.imsa.com
Please note: Press releases, photos and videos are available to download on http://presse.porsche.de. The Twitter channel @PorscheRaces provides live updates with the latest information and photos from race tracks around the world. Porsche Communication provides more content with an innovative service for journalists, bloggers and online multipliers under www.newsroom.porsche.com.
Oliver Hilger
Communications, Sustainability and Politics
Spokesperson 911 and 718
+49 (0)170 911 3915
oliver.hilger@porsche.de文本
英語 (Porsche AG)
已归档
M18_2690
2018-06-30
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- 赛车运动
- 2018赛季
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
- 最新消息
- USA \ Watkins Glen
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- 赛车
- 911 GT3 R
- 911 RSR, Gen. 991
Qualifying, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, round 5, Watkins Glen/USA: Porsche 911 RSR take up six-hour race from third grid row