Porsche celebrates 98th class win in Le Mans
The success story of the
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR continues: After winning the 24 hour race in Dubai
and holding the championship lead of the Le Mans Series and the
American Le Mans Series, the most successful GT racer of 2009 has now
won the GT2 class of the Le Mans 24 hour race. This victory at the 78th
running of the 24 hour race in Le Mans marks the 98th success for
Porsche at the prestigious long distance classic. For the ninth time, a
race car based on the street legal 911 GT3 prevailed over its rivals.
Positions three, five, seven and eight also went to drivers of the 450
hp Porsche. Moreover, the winning 911 also clinched the environmental
“Michelin Green X Challenge” award as the GT car with the best
efficiency.
The basis of Porsche’s success was this year again the reliability of
the 911 GT3 RSR. Refuelling, new tyres, driver changes – the mechanics
of the winning German Felbermayr-Proton had nothing more to do from
start to finish. With consistent lap times, works drivers Marc Lieb
(Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany) held a
two-lap advantage over the second-placed Ferrari. “Pivotal for victory
was that we had no technical problems and spent the least amount of
time in the pits. This win was a team effort,” said Marc Lieb, who
celebrated his second Porsche GT2 win in Le Mans after 2005. Richard
Lietz took home the coveted winners’ trophy for the second time after
2007.
Porsche’s success is all the more remarkable due to the fact that the
78th edition of the 24 hour race was one of the toughest in the history
of the classic. The GT3 class in particular was excellently supported
and fiercely contested with seven manufacturers and 18 race vehicles.
With this victory, Porsche relegated its strong opponents Ferrari, BMW,
Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar and Spyker to spots further down the field.
Celebrations were also in full
swing in the Porsche camp with the overall victory of Porsche works
drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France), who manned
the cockpit of an Audi R15 TDI with the former Porsche Junior and
ex-Porsche works driver Mike Rockenfeller (Germany). At the flag, they
held a one-lap advantage over the second-placed Audi.
Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, commented: “We experienced
an incredibly exciting race this weekend, especially in the GT2 class.
I’m delighted that the Felbermayr-Proton squad won both the GT2 class
as well as the “Michelin Green X Challenge”. This shows that we’re on
the right path with our philosophy of Porsche Intelligent Performance.
I’m also thrilled with the results of the other Porsche customer teams.
They put up a great fight and earned their good positions. I’m proud as
well of the three drivers in the winning Audi. Congratulations to them
and the entire Audi team.”
Porsche Junior Marco Holzer
(Germany) and his teammates in the BMS Scuderia Italia team, Richard
Westbrook (Great Britain) and Timo Scheider (Germany), were also over
the moon with their third in class. All three drivers contested the Le
Mans 24 Hours for the first time. For the double DTM champion Scheider,
this was his first outing with a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. “For us, it’s a
dream come true,” said 21-year-old Holzer. “Le Mans is the most
important long distance race in the world – and we climbed the podium
at our debut. That’s sensational.”
The crew of the French IMSA Performance Matmut team had mixed feelings
about their fifth position. Works drivers Patrick Pilet (France) and
Patrick Long (USA) with teammate Raymond Narac (France) had kept up
with the winning Porsche trio until the morning hours only to be held
up by a clutch problem. “Today is a great day for Porsche and I’m
pleased about that,” said Pilet. “But of course we’re a little
disappointed not to celebrate a podium result at our home race.”
Elation amongst the driver
squads of both 911 GT3 RSR that finished seventh and eighth as well:
Both 911 were manned by gentlemen drivers. Finishing seventh were
Dutchmen Paul van Splunteren and Niek Hommerson as well as Belgian
Louis Machiels for the ProSpeed Competition team, followed by the
second Felbermayr 911 with drivers Horst Felbermayr Senior and Junior
(both Austria) and Slovakia’ s Miroslav Konopka in eighth.
Only one of the six 911 GT3 RSR to contest the race didn’t manage to
reach the flag: The 911 of the American Flying Lizard Motorsport squad
with drivers Darren Law, Seth Neiman (both USA) and works driver Joerg
Bergmeister (Germany) retired after an accident.
Result
of the 24 hour race GT2 class
1. Lieb/Lietz/Henzler (D/A/D),
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 338 laps
2. Farnbacher/Simonsen/Keen
(D/AUS/USA), Ferrari F430 GT, 336
3. Holzer/Westbrook/Scheider
(D/GB/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 327
4. Alesi/Fisichella/Vilander
(F/I/FIN), Ferrari F430 GT, 323
5. Pilet/Long/Narac (F/USA/F),
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 321
6. J.Müller/Farfus/Alzen
(D/BR/D), BMW M3 GT2, 320
7. Van
Splunteren/Hommerson/Machiels (NL/NL/BE), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 317
8. Felbermayr Sen./Felbermayr
Jun./Konopka (A/A/SK), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 304
Facts
and figures
This
is the Le Mans 24 hour race
The 55-strong grid line-up for
the Le Mans 24 Hours is made up of two different sports car categories:
Sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical
regulations of the long distance classic are the basis for the European
Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). All race
cars take off at the same time in Le Mans. There is an overall
classification and classifications for each class.
The four classes in Le Mans:
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes
with up to 700 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms. Power to
weight ratio: ca. 1.3 kg/hp.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes
with around 440 hp (with normally aspirated engines) and an 825
kilogram minimum weight. Power to weight ratio: ca. 1.8 kg/hp.
GT1 class: Heavily modified
standard sports car with up to 650 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 –
1,325 kilograms.
GT2 class: Slightly modified
standard sports cars with 450 to 460 hp and a minimum weight of 1,145 –
1,345 kilograms. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR competes in this class.
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Porsche in GT2
Less
modified than the LM GT1s, they are also less powerful (between 450 and
500bhp). The 2010 season displays a wonderful diversity in this
category, which should delight both novices and motorsport lovers
alikes, thanks to the duels between the Porsche 997s, the Ferrari
F430s, the BMW M3s, the Ferraris F430 or again the powerful Spyker C8s
and the Aston Martins Vantage V8s.
There have been no technical changes made to this fiercely
competitive category for 2010.
- Minimum
weight: 1,145kg
- Maximum
width: 200cm
- Maximum
engine capacity identical to the LM GT1 category
- Carbon
brakes forbidden (exclusively iron based)
- Tank
capacity: 90 litres
- Maximum
6
speed gearbox
- Headlight
beam: Yellow
- Race
numbers: 75-99
- LM GT2 category stickers: Orange
(Above) ACO Press Room
staff prepare for the next 24 Hours
(Above) Marshal's at the Le Mans 24 Hour are among the best in
World...without them the race would not take place...well done again
all of you
1st...Number
77 Team
Felbermayer-Proton (Deu) Pilots
Marcc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Wolf Henzler
3rd...Number
97 BMS
Scoderia Pilots Marco Holzer, Richard Westbrook, Timo Scheider
5th...Number
76 IMSA
Performance Matmut (Fra) Pilots
Raymond Narac, Patrick Long, Patrick Pilet
7th...Number
75 Prospeed
Cometition (Bel)
Pilots
Paul Van Splunteren, Niek Hommerson, Louis Machiels
8th...Number
88 Team Felbermayer-Proton (Deu) Piolots Felbermayer Senior
Felbermayer Junior, Konopka
DNF....RETIRED ON 4TH HOUR...Number 80 Flying
Lizard Motorsport (USA) Pilots
Seth Neiman, Darren Law, Joerg Bermeister
On 14 June 1970,
Porsche
claimed the first of what would become 16 overall victories in the
world’s most prestigious endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours
Click on image below for full report
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