Porsche’s 911 RSR and customer focused 911 GT3 R made their North American debut in Daytona this past week at “The Roar before the Rolex 24”. Both the factory and customer teams used the event to work on set-up and test for the season opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona taking place at the end of this month.
In 2016, Porsche’s sole full factory GT factory program worldwide will be campaigned here in the North America. For the third consecutive season, Porsche North America will operate the two-car “works” Porsche 911 RSR in the newly renamed WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. However, this will be the first time since 2014 there will not be a matching international program racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), giving the Rock Hill, South Carolina-based team the full focus of the German company’s much prized sports car racing experience.
Porsche 911 RSR Updated
The Porsche 911 RSR in its new factory finish underwent updates for the 2016 season, particularly to the aerodynamics. The position of the rear wing was moved further to the back, and the rear diffuser is now considerably larger. Moreover, the 470 hp 911 RSR, which has been developed on the basis of the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, received a modified front spoiler lip as well as wider side sills.
The new racecar was run at Daytona for the first time with the new 4.0 flat-six engine with direct fuel injection. Porsche built the 500 hp racing car, based on the production 911 GT3 RS sports car, for FIA homologated GT3 race series worldwide. In developing the vehicle, the engineers at Weissach paid special attention to lightweight design, better aerodynamic efficiency, reducing fuel consumption as well as improved handling. In addition, safety features underwent further optimization and the costs of servicing and spare parts are now said to be lower for competing teams.
911 GT3 R
The latest 911 GT3 R, also based on the latest 911 chassis, will be campaigned by traditional Porsche customer teams. The new GT3 R was chosen by 27-year Porsche veteran team Alex Job Racing for use by its customer teams of WeatherTech Racing and Team Seattle. Following suit was the Park Place Motorsports entry and, returning to the Porsche fold, Black Swan Racing. In addition, German specialist Frikadelli Racing has also entered a GT3 R in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Factory driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) will drive for Black Swan, Wolf Henzler (Germany) with Team Seattle and Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) with Park Place for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Porsche Junior driver Sven Müller (Germany) and recent Porsche Junior, Connor De Phillippi (San Clemente, California) will share the No. 30 Frikadelli car.
