Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid saves narrow advantage
The
closing phase of this year’s 24 hour race offers high drama – and
it’s all about the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. Since the early morning hours, the
911 featuring the innovative drive concept has gradually extended its
lead through the high efficiency of its hybrid technology. Thanks to its fuel consumption advantage, the car was running almost two laps ahead when a broken exhaust manifold forced an unscheduled pit stop after almost 20 hours. Thanks to the slick work of the Manthey crew and Porsche’s personnel, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid was back out and racing again after less than twelve minutes – and managed to maintain the front-running position with a gap of 1:45 minutes over second place.
“Up until the broken manifold our brand-new 911 GT3 R Hybrid had not let us down once. The hybrid system works like a dream,” summed up works driver Richard Lietz (Austria), one of the four pilots driving for Porsche Team Manthey. “But we also realise that many things can happen in the final hours of an endurance race. So we will now concentrate totally on overcoming the final hurdles until the flag drops.” At the 24 hour race in the “Green Hell’, the vehicle serves as a rolling test lab under the toughest race conditions to provide Porsche with crucial results for the further development of hybrid technology.
Lap after lap, the production 911 GT3 RS is underlining the reliability and power of the vehicles from Zuffenhausen. With four hours left to the flag, the street-legal 911 is running a sensational 15th.
