Description
Added on the 21/11/2018 11:27:35 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
The Porsche GT Team was rewarded for a strong performance with a place on the podium at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Under difficult conditions on the Daytona International Speedway, the two Porsche 911 RSR racers achieved positions three and five. The sports cars from Weissach had clearly dominated the first half of the long-distance classic. However, heavy rain, numerous caution phases, interruptions and incidents threw the two factory cars in the legendary Brumos design into a rainy game of chance in the final hours. The new Porsche 911 GT3 R achieved eighth place at its race debut. Heading into the race on Saturday afternoon (local time) in dry conditions, Nick Tandy (Great Britain) made perfect use of his pole position, with the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR holding the lead over many laps. His French teammates Patrick Pilet and Frédéric Makowiecki retained the top spot into the night. Torrential rain early on Sunday morning proved to be a watershed moment in a perfect race. With deep water on the track, the 911 of the polesitter fell back into fifth place.
"The 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans won’t be remembered with any fondness by Ferrari crews in the GTE-Pro class. A large dose of bad luck, along with the impossibility of fighting on equal terms with other manufacturers due to an unhelpful Balance of Performance (BOP), kept the 488 GTEs of AF Corse off the podium. It was better in the GTE-Am class with two podium finishes thanks to Spirit of Race and Keating Motorsports-Risi Competizione. The race of the Ferrari crews in GTE-Pro class was immediately affected by incidents. A puncture during the third hour forced James Calado to limp from the Michelin chicane to the pits, losing practically a lap. The first Safety Car phase then split the group into three sections, with Porsche no. 92 out on its own behind Safety Car A, all the rest of the GT cars stuck behind Safety Car B car and no. 51 behind the third Safety Car. This cut world champions Calado and Pier Guidi along with Daniel Serra out of the leading group. During the following neutralisation, car no. 71 found itself with a damaged front splitter due to debris from another car and lost a few laps for repairs. The 488 GTE stayed in the race and crossed the finish line in tenth place, earning championship points. Antonio Giovinazzi, Pipo Derani and Toni Vilander in car no. 52 benefited from the Safety Car, moving up into second. During the night Calado, Pier Guidi and Serra lapped like metronomes rising to sixth position before dropping back to eighth due to a shock absorber problem. However, this finish was worth fifth place in terms of points, as only cars entered in the FIA World Endurance Championship are elegible for. Car no. 52, on the other hand, suffered three stops&go’s for speeding in the slow zone and the pits but finished in sixth. Victory went to Christensen-Estre-Vanthoor in the Porsche no. 92. As usual, Ferrari customer teams played a leading role in the GTE-Am. In this class too, Porsche made the most of the favourable configuration imposed by the regulations, but Spirit of Race, Keating Motorsport-Risi Competizione and JMW Motorsport teams, later delayed by a series of problems, were in the fight. Giancarlo Fisichella started out like a lion and even led for a time before having to content himself with a fight for a podium place when car no. 77 of Campbell-Ried-Andlauer took a decisive lead. After a difficult start the Keating Motorsports crew pulled off a perfect comeback thanks to solid stints from Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Lucas Stolz. In the final stage Keating’s mistake gave Flohr, Castellacci and Fisichella second position but a podium was never in doubt. The Ferrari of JMW Motorsport (MacNeil-Griffin-Segal) finished fifth while the car of Clearwater Racing (Griffin-Mok-Sawa) was eighth, ahead of the 488 GTE of MR Racing (Ishikawa-Beretta-Cheever III). The overall win went to the Toyota of Alonso-Nakajima-Buemi."
The Porsche GT Team was rewarded for a strong performance with a place on the podium at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Under difficult conditions on the Daytona International Speedway, the two Porsche 911 RSR racers achieved positions three and five. The sports cars from Weissach had clearly dominated the first half of the long-distance classic. However, heavy rain, numerous caution phases, interruptions and incidents threw the two factory cars in the legendary Brumos design into a rainy game of chance in the final hours. The new Porsche 911 GT3 R achieved eighth place at its race debut. Heading into the race on Saturday afternoon (local time) in dry conditions, Nick Tandy (Great Britain) made perfect use of his pole position, with the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR holding the lead over many laps. His French teammates Patrick Pilet and Frédéric Makowiecki retained the top spot into the night. Torrential rain early on Sunday morning proved to be a watershed moment in a perfect race. With deep water on the track, the 911 of the polesitter fell back into fifth place.
The Porsche GT Team was rewarded for a strong performance with a place on the podium at the 24 Hours of Daytona.Under difficult conditions on the Daytona International Speedway (USA), the two Porsche 911 RSR racers achieved positions three and five. The ca. 510 hp sports cars from Weissach had clearly dominated the first half of the long-distance classic. However, heavy rain, numerous caution phases, interruptions and incidents threw the two factory cars in the legendary Brumos design into a rainy game of chance in the final hours. The new Porsche 911 GT3 R achieved eighth place at its race debut.
"The 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans won’t be remembered with any fondness by Ferrari crews in the GTE-Pro class. A large dose of bad luck, along with the impossibility of fighting on equal terms with other manufacturers due to an unhelpful Balance of Performance (BOP), kept the 488 GTEs of AF Corse off the podium. It was better in the GTE-Am class with two podium finishes thanks to Spirit of Race and Keating Motorsports-Risi Competizione. The race of the Ferrari crews in GTE-Pro class was immediately affected by incidents. A puncture during the third hour forced James Calado to limp from the Michelin chicane to the pits, losing practically a lap. The first Safety Car phase then split the group into three sections, with Porsche no. 92 out on its own behind Safety Car A, all the rest of the GT cars stuck behind Safety Car B car and no. 51 behind the third Safety Car. This cut world champions Calado and Pier Guidi along with Daniel Serra out of the leading group. During the following neutralisation, car no. 71 found itself with a damaged front splitter due to debris from another car and lost a few laps for repairs. The 488 GTE stayed in the race and crossed the finish line in tenth place, earning championship points. Antonio Giovinazzi, Pipo Derani and Toni Vilander in car no. 52 benefited from the Safety Car, moving up into second. During the night Calado, Pier Guidi and Serra lapped like metronomes rising to sixth position before dropping back to eighth due to a shock absorber problem. However, this finish was worth fifth place in terms of points, as only cars entered in the FIA World Endurance Championship are elegible for. Car no. 52, on the other hand, suffered three stops&go’s for speeding in the slow zone and the pits but finished in sixth. Victory went to Christensen-Estre-Vanthoor in the Porsche no. 92. As usual, Ferrari customer teams played a leading role in the GTE-Am. In this class too, Porsche made the most of the favourable configuration imposed by the regulations, but Spirit of Race, Keating Motorsport-Risi Competizione and JMW Motorsport teams, later delayed by a series of problems, were in the fight. Giancarlo Fisichella started out like a lion and even led for a time before having to content himself with a fight for a podium place when car no. 77 of Campbell-Ried-Andlauer took a decisive lead. After a difficult start the Keating Motorsports crew pulled off a perfect comeback thanks to solid stints from Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Lucas Stolz. In the final stage Keating’s mistake gave Flohr, Castellacci and Fisichella second position but a podium was never in doubt. The Ferrari of JMW Motorsport (MacNeil-Griffin-Segal) finished fifth while the car of Clearwater Racing (Griffin-Mok-Sawa) was eighth, ahead of the 488 GTE of MR Racing (Ishikawa-Beretta-Cheever III). The overall win went to the Toyota of Alonso-Nakajima-Buemi."
In a turbulent round three of the FIA World Sports Car Championship WEC at Silverstone in Great Britain, Kévin Estre from France and Michael Christensen from Denmark finished on third place at the wheel of the 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR with the number 92. The No. 91 sister car driven by Austria’s Richard Lietz and Gianmaria Bruni from Italy initially scored second, however was subsequently disqualified due to an irregularity in the ride height. Witnessed by 60,240 spectators, ten vehicles from five manufacturers fought for victory in the GTE-Pro class this weekend. Four additional Porsche 911 RSR race cars tackled the GTE-Am class in the UK. Victory went to Dempsey Proton Racing with Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (AUS), Christian Ried (Germany) and Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (F).
|
Support : Technical 
- Content 
- Editors 
