Since parting company with the 919 Hybrid, Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas, and Timo Bernhard have returned to their roots in GT racing, with each of them driving for Porsche’s customer teams at this year’s 24 Hours of Spa.
Recapping on nearly two decades of racing, much of which they shared as teammates, the three drivers have clearly lost none of the motivation which got them to the top step of sportscar racing.
Though battling in GT3 Rs didn’t quite match the sheer speed of the 919 Hybrid which he helped develop, the thrill of the GT cars are just as appealing as the prototypes, as Bernhard elaborates:
“There’s a lot more movement, obviously. But, to run Eau Rouge in a GT car, it’s—it’s less in speed, but it’s not less in excitement compared to an LMP1 car, because the car is moving quite a lot; you’re sliding, drifting a bit. It’s a bit more old-style, I would say.”
Though Dumas and Bernhard have continued racing full-time, Lieb made a major professional change recently. The former driver and engineer recently became Porsche’s newly-appointed Head of Customer Racing. Fifteen years racing for Porsche gave Lieb the intimate understanding of the sport and the business that will help him expand the marque’s already-sizable customer racing base.
(Left to right) Lieb, Dumas, and Jani pose on the podium after their victory at Le Mans in 2016.
It’s a pleasure to witness these three seasoned veterans’ ever-present smiles and hear them wax lyrical about their times with the marque—to see that their enthusiasm for motorsport, in all its forms, still flows out of every pore. Truly, to be become part of the Porsche family is an honor and a privilege, as these drivers demonstrate.
