Porsche started off the IMSA season strong with a win at the 24 Hours of Daytona, but could not repeat the result at the 12 Hours of Sebring this weekend. The hot and humid weekend in central Florida pushed everyone to the limits, but with just seven caution flags waved over the course of the once-around-the-clock race, it was an uncharacteristically calm race. The Pfaff Motorsports plaid Porsche 911 GT3 R of Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Felipe Nasr finished fifth in the GTD Pro category, representing the best placed Porsche, and that was enough for the team to retain its championship points lead. Nothing really went wrong for the Porsche crews, but the competition in both GTD classes [and unfavorable balance of performance] was ultimately too stiff to overcome.
“After the class victories at Daytona and last year’s win at Sebring, we’d expected more. Unfortunately, the performance of the Porsche 911 GT3 R wasn’t what we’d hoped for,” concludes Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “We’ll take a close look at reasons behind these disappointing performances. Facing fierce competition in the two GTD classes, our strong customer teams never gave up and they gave their utmost to the very last lap. That deserves our highest respect. I’m positive that our 911 GT3 R will be at the top again at the upcoming race in Long Beach.”
“We’re disappointed – obviously,” states Sebastian Golz. The Porsche 911 GT3 R Project Manager adds: “Once again, our customer teams did a great job. Unfortunately, in today’s race, our car wasn’t as competitive as usual. We’ll take a good look at whether this was due to the high temperatures or the grip conditions on the track. We’re not happy with this result, but we’re still confident about the upcoming races. And you mustn’t forget, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer at the Sebring race. We have 100 class wins to our credit – more than all other manufacturers combined.”
One of Porsche’s strongest contenders in the GTD category was unquestionably the Wright Motorsports team of Zacharie Robichon, Jan Heylen, and Ryan Hardwick. That blue #16 Porsche was on pole position in the GTD class, and the team came off a victory at Daytona, so it was already riding high. Just three laps into the race the car pulled into pit lane with a differential issue in the transmission. After 30 minutes of repairs the car was thrust 18 laps down, and well out of contention. Over the course of 12 hard and fast hours, the car made up three of those laps to finish just 15 laps in arrears, but it was a long way off from being enough.
Drivers’ comments on the race
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #9): “Fifth place was the most we could achieve today. It was already clear in qualifying that it wasn’t going to be easy. Unfortunately, it turned out to be even worse in the race. We just didn’t have the necessary pace. We need to carefully analyze this result and react accordingly. I’m certain that we’ll be fighting for the podium again at the upcoming Long Beach race.”Alessio Picariello (Porsche 911 GT3 R #79):“We never really got up to speed the whole weekend. Our race was flawless, without incidents, without mistakes and with really quick pit stops. Our team and drivers did everything possible. Unfortunately, we simply weren’t the fastest on the track today.”
Rob Ferriol (Porsche 911 GT3 R #99): “It wasn’t our best Sebring result, but 24 hours before the race we pretty much didn’t have a car. Our team built a replacement vehicle in practically no time at all and everything worked. That’s a huge compliment for Porsche. You take the parts that still work from a crashed car, put them on another chassis, start from the back of the grid and finish in the top ten in the toughest race of the season. That’s incredible. Hats off to our team, who demonstrated they can overcome even the greatest challenges.”
Zacharie Robichon (Porsche 911 GT3 R #16): “Lately, we’ve always been lucky and had a really great run. It was clear that this had to end at some point. Of course, it was a real shame that this happened only a few minutes into the Sebring race. The defect threw us back a long way, but we never gave up. Our team repaired the car quickly, we caught up and finished in the top ten. Not the desired result, but that’s what happens sometimes.”
Result GTD-Pro class
1. Garcia/Taylor/Catsburg (E/USA/NL), Corvette C8.R GTD #3, 323 laps
2. Bortolotti/Mapelli/Caldarelli (I/I/I), Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #63 , 323 laps
3. MacNeil/Engel/Gounon (USA/D/F), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #97, 322 laps
5. Campbell/Jaminet/Nasr (AUS/F/BR), Porsche 911 GT3 R #9, 322 laps
6. Andlauer/Picariello/MacNeil (F/B/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #79, 322 laps
Result GTD class
1. Lacorte/Sernagiotto/Fuoco (I/I/I), Ferrari 488 GT3 #47, 321 laps
2. Skeen/McAleer/Juncadella (USA/GB/E), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #32, 321 laps
3. Man/Perez Companc/Vilander (USA/ARG/FIN), Ferrari 488 GT3 #21, 321 laps
8. Ferriol/Legge/Wilson (USA/GB/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 R #88, 318 laps
10. Hardwick/Heylen/Robichon (USA/B/CDN), Porsche 911 GT3 R #16, 305 laps