Four races into the season and the Porsche 911 RSR has four podiums to show for it. One on the top stpe and the most recent on the third. At this past weekend’s race at Laguna Seca, outright Le Mans winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) scored third place on Sunday. Their sister car, driven by defending IMSA GT champion Patrick Pilet (France) and overall Le Mans winner Nick Tandy (Great Britain) came in ninth place. All told, Porsche is just three points behind the leader in the Manufacturer’s championship.
Porsche’s Race Report for GTLM
After a difficult qualifying, the two Porsche 911 RSR took off into the two-hour race on the demanding dune circuit near Monterey from the back of the field. The first impressive performance came from the pit crew of Porsche North America, who dispatched both 911 racers in record time after the first pit stop following a safety car phase. Patrick Pilet gained four positions as a result and returned to the track in third place with Frédéric Makowiecki directly behind him. After a good hour, Pilet had moved into second place only to have a Corvette shunt him from the track and down the field. His compatriot steadily picked up the pace toward the end of the race, benefiting from a sophisticated race strategy and another well-executed pit stop. This allowed him to overtake a Corvette and a Ferrari in the final laps to score third place for Porsche.
Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #911): “After winning at Long Beach we were obviously hoping for a better result. But today’s race proved rather difficult for us. Our mechanics helped us get ahead in the race with great pit stops. But after the Corvette nudged me off the track there was not a lot I could do. Overtaking was virtually impossible.”
GTLM class Race result
1. Briscoe/Westbrook (AUS/GB), Ford GT, 79 laps
2. Pier Guidi/Serra (I/BRA), Ferrari 488 GTE, 79
3. Bamber/Makowiecki (NZ/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 78
4. Garcia/Magnussen (E/DK) Chevrolet Corvette, 78
5. Hand/Müller (USA/D), Ford GT, 78
6. Fisichella/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari 488 GTE, 78
7. Gavin/Milner (GB/USA) Chevrolet Corvette, 78
8. Pilet/Tandy (F/GB), Porsche 911 RSR, 78
9. Edwards/Luhr (USA/D), BMW M6, 78
10. Auberlen/Werner (USA/D), BMW M6, 78
Points’ standings GTLM class after 4 of 11 races
Drivers
1. Millner, Gavin, Corvette, 130 points
2. Bamber, Makowiecki, Porsche, 118
3. Briscoe, Westbrook, Ford, 115
4. Serra, Ferrari, 113
5. Fisichella, Vilander, Ferrari, 112
6. Auberlen, Werner, BMW, 109
7. Garcia, Magnussen, Chevrolet, 108
8. Pilet, Tandy, Porsche, 106
9. Hand, Müller, Ford, 100
10. Edwards, Luhr, BMW, 92
Manufacturers
1. Chevrolet, 130 points
2. Porsche, 127
3. Ferrari, 120
4. Ford, 115
5. BMW, 108
Teams
1. #4 Corvette Racing, 130 points
2. #912 Porsche North America, 118
3. #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, 115
4. #68 Scuderia Corsa, 113
5. #62 Risi Competizione, 112
6. #25 BMW Team RLL, 109
7. #3 Corvette Racing, 108
8. #911 Porsche North America, 106
9. #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, 100
10. #100 BMW Team RLL, 92
Porsche’s Race Report For GTD
Alex Riberas celebrating pole position.
The new Porsche 911 GT3 R scored its first race win on Sunday in the IMSA SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca, California. Former Porsche Junior Alex Riberas (Spain) and Mario Farnbacher (Germany) clinched GTD-class victory for the Porsche customer squad, Seattle/Alex Job Racing. After posting the top time in qualifying, the pair took up the race from pole position and maintained their lead flag to flag.
Alex Riberas (911 GT3 R #23): “What a perfect weekend. We were already the fastest in all free practices and the qualifying, we won the race, and we turned the quickest lap – it doesn’t get better than that. The new 911 GT3 R is a fantastic car and Laguna Seca is a fantastic racetrack. I would never have even dared to dream of finishing my first race here as the winner, and to top it off with the new 911.”
Race result GTD class
1. Riberas/Farnbacher (E/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 79 laps
2. Nielsen/Balzan (DK/I), Ferrari 488 GT3, 79
3. Davis/Davison (USA/AUS), Aston Martin GT3, 79
8. MacNeil/Keen (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 79
11. Lindsey/Bergmeister (USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 79