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| Michael Christensen, Richard Lietz win GTE Pro in Porsche 911 RSR at Nürburging |
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), LMP1, Round 4, Nürburgring
The Porsche Team claimed a one-two result in front of a great crowd at the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the Nürburgring, Germany, this weekend.
The trio of Timo Bernhard (Germany), Brendon Hartley (New Zealand) and Mark Webber (Australia) won the six-hour race in temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius. Right behind them the sister Porsche 919 Hybrid of Romain Dumas (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Marc Lieb (Germany) took second-place. Over the weekend, 62,000 people created a fantastic backdrop for the first German WEC race.
After the maiden victory of the Porsche 919 Hybrid at last year’s finale in Brazil and the recent one-two result at Le Mans in 2015, this is the third major success for the young team and the LMP1 race car with its ground-breaking hybrid technology. For the driver line-up, which includes former Formula One driver Mark Webber, it is the first and long hoped for WEC race win. With this dream result Porsche has extended its lead in the Manufacturers’ World Championship and is now lying 33 points ahead of Audi and 95 ahead of Toyota.
With the relatively short and twisty 5.137 kilometre long circuit and the numerous class categories going at different speeds, the race was action-packed with thrilling lapping and overtaking manoeuvres. The journey taken by the Dumas/Jani/Lieb car en route to second was full of stories. After starting from pole, they lost the lead in the first half of the race because of long ‘stop-and-go’ penalties after a technical problem. While the team usually changed drivers at every fuel stop at the Nürburgring, Neel Jani stayed in the car for 76 laps, which was two and a half ‘stints’ (a stint being typical distance between pit stops). It was also Jani who recorded the fastest race lap at the Nürburgring with a time of 1:37.955 minutes.
How the race went for car number 17:
Timo started from second on the grid behind the sister car. During a “Full Course Yellow” he lost around ten seconds because of slow lapped cars between him and the leading car. Later a damaged nose cone disturbed the air flow over the car, which is why the team decided to pit early. After 24 laps, Timo handed over to Mark, who continued with new front bodywork. Eventually having dropped back to sixth, Mark overtook the number 7 Audi on lap 40 to place second again behind the sister car.
After 56 laps Mark handed over to Brendon, who took the lead on lap 64 when car number 18 was penalised. After 89 laps Timo took over the leading car to hand it to Mark again after 123 laps. During a Full Course Yellow after 144 laps Brendon jumped in again. After 175 laps Mark took over for the final stint and brought the car home to take the victory.
How the race went for car number 18:
Neel defended pole position against the sister car. After 31 laps he handed over to Marc, when leading by over a minute. After 54 laps Marc received the first of, in the end, three so-called ‘stop-and-go’ penalties for the number 18 car. The first was five seconds. When he resumed in the race he battled hard against Mark in the sister car and defended the lead. After 63 laps Romain got behind the wheel, and re-joined in second place. But after 78 laps he was given a 30 second stop-and-go, followed by a 60 second stop-and-go after 82 laps. The reason was a problem with an engine sensor, which caused the car to use more fuel per lap than the regulations allowed.
After 96 laps Neel got back into the car in fourth place. He stayed in the car for a double stint, picking up fuel and tyres after 129 laps. When the next Full Course Yellow was instigated he drove even longer, because he pitted for fuel after only 144 laps. After he overtook the number 8 Audi he was lying third. From lap 167 onwards he was in a breath-taking battle with both Audis. After 172 laps, Neel pitted with the car lying third. Marc took over for the final 45 minutes and improved to second place.
Quotes after the race:
Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board Porsche AG: “After the successful Le Mans weekend we came here with huge expectations. The time since June 14 was obviously very well used and today we have shown what Porsche is able to do. Not only in LMP1, but also in the GTE Pro class. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member Research and Development: “One-two in qualifying yesterday, one-two in the race today with the 919 Hybrid as well as with two Porsche 911 RSR – you just can’t ask for more. Everyone was rewarded for hard work.”
Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1: “To achieve a one-two at the first WEC race on home soil is a dream come true. The new aerodynamic package works very well. This and today’s points brings us a little closer to our goal to win the Manufacturers’ Championship. I also want to thank the entire team back home in Weissach. We are looking forward to the next four six-hour races.”
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: “For us the race was a bit of a rollercoaster. With the number 17 car we had damage early on, but kept clean after that. The number 18 car had to come in three times for a stop-and-go penalty. Because of a technical problem we had exceeded the energy limit we are allowed. But the drivers never gave up and fought back. Our pit crew was, once again, the benchmark by doing the fastest stops. I also want to thank our tyre partner Michelin for a great co-operation, which played an important role in today’s achievement, especially in regard to the high temperatures.”
Drivers Porsche 919 Hybrid number 17
Timo Bernhard (34, Germany): “We have been close to victory a couple of times and now it has worked out. The start was okay, but during the Full Course Yellow I lost ground due to lapped cars between me and the leading sister car. At some point the car became difficult to drive because of front damage and we decided to pit early for a new nose cone after 24 laps. After a tricky beginning, we managed to fight our way back to the lead. Of course, we were benefitting from the sister car’s bad luck, but we were also doing a good job.”
Brendon Hartley (25, New Zealand): “I’m incredibly happy that we got our first win. After Timo was a bit unlucky in his first stint, everything went smoothly. With the new front nose the car’s performance was back where it should be, and I took the lead when our sister car was penalised. Later we kept our heads down and stayed focussed.“
Mark Webber (39, Australia): “Achieving the second one-two after Le Mans is great for our team. This is my first Porsche victory and, of course, it is a big day for Brendon, Timo and myself, and it is always a team effort. The two of them were awesome, we had no technical issues and took an important step by improving our performance on shorter tracks. Traffic was sometimes brutal today, but we made it.”
Drivers Porsche 919 Hybrid number 18
Romain Dumas (37, France): “The technical problem and the resulting penalties were a huge disappointment today. Finishing second is a great result under the circumstances, and it is certainly important for the Manufacturers’ Championship. We could only fight back in the race because we were strong this weekend, and this for sure goes for our pit crew as well, this has to be mentioned.”
Neel Jani (31, Switzerland): "My first stint still was a dream - pretty much the opposite to the early laps in Le Mans. But then we lost a race win because of the penalties. Battling with the Audis was again interesting. I was faster in the first part of the lap and was able to get past, but then I had to save fuel and they caught me again on the second part of the lap. In the end we managed to beat them.”
Marc Lieb (35, Germany): “It was such a shame we could not win the race because of the penalties. We had been very happy after the pole position yesterday, but today wasn’t our day. It is really frustrating when you are called into the pits to needlessly sit there. Regardless of how our race went, it made me proud to see this huge crowd here at the Nürburgring.”
Race result 6 hours of Nürburgring (DE):
1. Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (D/NZ/AUS), Porsche 919 Hybrid, 203 laps
2. Dumas/Jani/Lieb (F/CH/D), Porsche 919 Hybrid, 1 lap behind
3. Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (CH/D/F), Audi R18 e-tron quattro, 1 lap
4. Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (BRA/F/GB), Audi R18 e-tron quattro, 1 lap
5. Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima (GB/CH/J), Toyota TS040 Hybrid, 3 laps
6. Wurz/Sarrazin/Conway (A/F/GB), Toyota TS040 Hybrid, 4 laps
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), after 4 out of 8 rounds,
Drivers:
1. Lotterer/Tréluyer/Fässler (D/F/CH), Audi, 95
2. Bernhard/Hartley/Webber (D/NZ/AUS), Porsche 78
3. Dumas/Jani/Lieb (F/CH/D), Porsche, 76
4. Tandy (GB), Porsche & Oreca, 66
5. Bamber/Hülkenberg (NZ/D), Porsche, 58
6. Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (BRA/F/GB), Audi, 52
Manufacturers:
1. Porsche 184
2. Audi 151
3. Toyota, 89
Sports Car World Endurance Championship (WEC), Round 4, GT, Nürburgring/Germany
Porsche 911 RSR clinches one-two on WEC debut at the Nürburgring
After four straight wins in the USA and Canada, Porsche has now made the breakthrough in the Sports Car World Endurance Championship (WEC). At the premiere of the popular race series on the Nürburgring, the Porsche Manthey squad scored its first victory this season in the GTE-Pro class on Sunday. With the 470 hp 911 RSR, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, Richard Lietz (Austria) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) finished first ahead of their French team colleagues Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet. For Porsche, this marks the first one-two in the WEC since November 2014, when two 911 RSR finished at the front in Shanghai. Consequently, Richard Lietz is the new leader of the World Endurance Cup for GT drivers.
Glorious summer weather in Germany’s Eifel region and 62,000 spectators over the race weekend – everything fitted perfectly at the first appearance of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship in Germany. The squad under team boss Olaf Manthey, who lives just a stone’s throw from the Nürburgring in Meuspath, notched up its long-awaited first victory of the season of all places at the team’s home race after scoring second place at both Silverstone and Spa. This has put the team in a good position for the second half of the season with four races abroad, the first of which is contested in Austin/USA on 19 September.
Just 23 minutes into the six-hour event on the historic race track, Michael Christensen had already moved up to take the lead after starting from fourth in the number 91 Porsche 911 RSR. From then on, the Dane and his Austrian team-mate led the field over the entire distance, with the exception of several pit stops.
For the number 92 Porsche 911 RSR, the race did not run quite as smoothly initially. Due to an alleged jump start, Frédéric Makowiecki received a stop-and-go penalty and was relegated to the back of the field. But with a spectacular pursuit through the field, he and Patrick Pilet made up ground. Midway through the race, the pair went head-to-head with the fastest Ferrari over many laps, with spectators in the grandstands giving them special applause for their gripping performance.
Almost halfway through the race the order was then one-two for Porsche. Richard Lietz in front of Patrick Pilet – with the rest of their rivals already one lap down at this stage. Despite another stop-and-go penalty for the number 92 vehicle, the Porsche triumph remained unchallenged for the rest of the race.
In the GTE-Am class, Hollywood actor and race driver Patrick Dempsey (USA) netted fourth place with team-mates Patrick Long (USA) and Marco Seefried (Austria). The 911 RSR campaigned by the Dempsey Proton Racing customer team – with which the trio celebrated their greatest success to date claiming second at this year’s Le Mans 24 hour race – was even running in the lead over long stretches. In the closing laps, however, it proved not quite enough for a podium finish.
Porsche works driver Earl Bamber (New Zealand) also held the top spot for a long time in the 911 RSR fielded by Abu Dhabi Proton Racing. The Le Mans winner at times turned faster laps than the higher GTE-Pro class contenders. Nevertheless, he and his team-mates Christian Ried (Germany) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi) had to settle for sixth place at the flag.
As a guest starter in the KCMG team from Hong Kong, Porsche works driver and Le Mans winner Nick Tandy (Great Britain) won the LMP2 class.
Comments on the race
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “We can’t have others beating us in our own backyard. But seriously; this is, of course, the perfect outcome. It wasn’t an easy race, especially as we had to come to terms with some penalties. But the drivers did an excellent job and the team’s strategy worked perfectly. The testing we conducted paid off. It’s a dream to achieve two double victories for Porsche with our LMP1 colleagues in front of a fantastic backdrop. This is as good as it gets.”
Richard Lietz (911 RSR number 91): “First and second - just perfect. We prepared very well for our home race with two productive test sessions and we didn’t let ourselves worry about the crazy weather conditions at the beginning of the week. Since testing, we changed almost nothing on the set-up of our 911 RSR and this paid off.”
Michael Christensen (911 RSR number 91): “My maiden win in the WEC – I’m over the moon. What a perfect weekend. Things didn’t go so well for us at Le Mans, but this was a fantastic comeback. It’s one of the greatest successes in my career. And we’re particularly thrilled that we could score victory for our team on their home track. Many of our mechanics had family and friends here and it must have been a wonderful day for them, too.”
Patrick Pilet (911 RSR number 92): “That was a tough race. Unfortunately we had to deal with two drive-through penalties which cost us a lot of time. It’s a shame, because we had a fast car, good pit stops and a perfect strategy. To score first and second is a great success. We’ll really celebrate today, but from tomorrow on we’ll be focussing on the next race in Austin.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR number 92): “The most important thing is that Porsche wins. It doesn’t matter which car is in the front. Winning before such a great backdrop was important for the championship. We mustn’t forget that the season is only halfway through. If we can maintain our focus and make the most of our chances, then we’ll still be a favourite in the fight for the championship.”
Patrick Dempsey (911 RSR number 77): “Naturally I’m a little disappointed. Only two seconds off a podium result after a fantastic race. It was incredibly close at the flag. Now we’re turning our attention to Austin. Eventually our team will be rewarded for all our hard work and the progress that we’ve made.”
Patrick Long (911 RSR number 77): “I really managed to enjoy my stints. They ran perfectly. The consistency and the balance of our 911 RSR were good and our strategy worked well. Unfortunately the extra pit stop put a spanner in the works. Still, despite our lead, it would have been difficult to win. However, a podium result would probably have been possible.”
Earl Bamber (911 RSR number 88): “Our start was great and we held the lead for quite some time. But then we experienced some bad luck and lost a lot of time. Our 911 ran without any problems and that makes us very confident for Austin. What we still need is a little luck.”
GTE-Pro class
1. Lietz/Christensen (A/DK), Porsche 911 RSR, 176 laps
2. Pilet/Makowiecki (F/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 175
3. Rigon/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, 175
4. Sörensen/Nygaard (DK/DK), Aston Martin, 175
5. MacDowall/Stanaway/Rees (GB/NZ/BRA), Aston Martin, 174
6. Turner/Mücke/Adam (GB/D/GB), Aston Martin, 173
7. Bruni/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, 168
GTE-Am class
1. Bertolini/Shaytar/Basov (I/RUS/RUS), Ferrari F458 Italia, 173 laps
2. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda (CDN/P/A), Aston Martin, 172
3. Perrodo/Collard/Aguas (F/F/P), Ferrari F458 Italia, 172
4. Dempsey/Long/Seefried (USA/USA/D), Porsche 911 RSR, 172
5. Roda/Ruberti/Poulsen (I/I/DK), Chevrolet Corvette, 171
6. Ried/Bamber/Al Qubaisi (D/NZ/UAE), Porsche 911 RSR, 170
7. Castellacci/Goethe/Hall (I/D/GB), Aston Martin, 169
Points standings GTE-Pro after 4 of 8 races
World Endurance Cup for GT manufacturers
1. Ferrari, 166 points
2. Porsche, 142
3. Aston Martin, 106
World Endurance Cup for GT drives
1. Richard Lietz, Porsche, 73 points
2. Davide Rigon, James Calado, Ferrari, 72
3. Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, Ferrari, 62,5
4. Alexey Basov, Andrea Bertolini, Victor Shaytar, Ferrari, 58
5. Michael Christensen, Porsche, 55
8. Frédéric Makowiecki, Porsche, 42
10. Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Long, Marco Seefried, Porsche, 32
14. Patrick Pilet, Porsche, 24
FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Pro teams
1. AF Corse, #71 Ferrari, 86 points
2. Porsche Team Manthey, #91 Porsche, 82
3. AF Corse, #51 Ferrari, 80
The fifth of eight races in the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC will be contested on 19 September at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin/USA.
This is the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC:
Sports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the WEC (World Endurance Championship) in four classes: LMP1 (eg. Porsche 919 Hybrid), LMP2, LMGTE-Pro (eg. 911 RSR) and LMGTE-Am (eg. 911 RSR, 2014 homologation). They all compete together in one race but are classified separately.
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