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Added on the 26/08/2021 05:57:13 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
In the GTE-Am class, Porsche’s customer teams underlined their strong performance in the first qualifying with five 911 RSR cars in the top six. The No. 88 vehicle fielded by Dempsey Proton Racing takes up the Le Mans 24-hour race from pole position. Posting a time of 3:51.439 minutes, Porsche Young Professional Matteo Cairoli (Italy) sliced around a second off his top time from the previous day. Cairoli is joined in the cockpit of the 911 campaigned by the German customer squad by his compatriot Giorgio Roda and Satoshi Hoshino from Japan. Just 0.206 seconds behind, Matt Campbell (Australia) planted last year’s winning car with the starting number 77 on the second grid spot.
The Porsche GT Team will take up the 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from pole position in the GTE-Pro class. In today’s Hyperpole, the Italian Gianmaria Bruni turned the fastest lap at the wheel of the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR in 3:50.874 minutes. His brand colleague Michael Christensen from Denmark planted the No. 92 sister car on sixth place. In the GTE-Am category, works pilot Matt Campbell was the fastest Porsche driver. The Australian claimed the second grid spot in his class with the No. 77 Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Dempsey-Proton Racing. He was only 0.056 seconds off the top time.
"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."
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Porsche presents the special edition 911 Carrera GTS Le Mans Centenaire Edition, exclusively available on the French market. Pay homage to the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and commemorate the history of Porsche at the historic Circuit de la Sarthe.The 911 Carrera GTS Le Mans Centenaire Edition is inspired by two winning cars: the Porsche 356 SL and the Porsche 911 GT1 '98. By reinterpreting its design elements, the result is a modern sports car for the gentleman driver.The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) has also played an important role in the realization of this special edition. “The history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is closely linked to that of Porsche, a prestigious brand that is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. This special edition is a fantastic tribute to the most important endurance race in the world”, says Pierre Fillon, President of ACO. “We want to thank Porsche for their commitment to endurance racing and for continuing to give car enthusiasts something to dream about.”The special edition is based on the 480 horsepower (353 kW) 911 Carrera GTS. A turbocharged six-cylinder boxer engine, together with the standard sports chassis, offers characteristic Porsche performance. Customers can choose between a 7-speed manual transmission or the 8-speed PDK transmission.
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