by John Glynn | Jun 23, 2013 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
The Porsche 991 RSR came good today, winning the GTE-Pro class at the 2013 Le Mans 24-Hours.
The victory came at Aston’s expense, when the number 97 car was held up by a pit lane red light in the final safety car period. 2013 had twelve safety cars: most safety car periods ever.
Aston and Porsche had been neck-and-neck up to that point, and Dumbreck, Turner and Stefan Mucke drove their hearts out, so to be robbed of their chance by something so petty was horrible. But, that’s racing.
Aston’s loss was Porsche’s gain and the Manthey/Porsche AG 991 RSRs took first and second in GTE-Pro. When the safety cars pulled in and Aston’s bad luck was fully revealed, 97 stood no chance of catching the Porsches. The pace settled into a groove to the flag, with only Sebastian Buemi’s move to unlap his P2 Toyota worth mentioning in the last fifteen minutes.
This result bodes well for 2014 and Porsche’s return to LMP. It was good work to run reliably and keep the 911 out of trouble but, were it not for that safety car break, things might not have worked out so well for Stuttgart.
Nevertheless, a win is a win and we should be delighted that the racing 911 is right back on form. On to the next one!
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by John Glynn | May 2, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Today was a good day, spent hanging out at Tuthills watching the finishing touches going on a brand new Safari car.
This 911 is destined for Kenya in November, but the Swedish owner will run the car at in the 2013 Morocco Historic from May 13-18 as an African ice breaker.
Tuthills have three cars in this year’s Moroccan event: all three will go on to race the Safari. They have all just been prepped for North Africa at the Wardington workshops, and this is the first to depart. Driver Phil trailered this one to Calais today, where the owner will take over moving it to Morocco.
We often think of 911s as soft little flowers: those slender side pillars and sculpted door handles imbuing a sense of finesse. Tuthill Safari cars retain those classic 911 motifs, but are the hardest Porsches I know.
Eight hundred hours or more goes into every Safari shell to ensure it’s stiff and strong. The suspension is bespoke – none of your revalved Bilsteins here. Engines are built from powerful, reliable components, most run MFI and are tuned to over 300 horsepower. Transmissions are custom built, with specially calculated ratios to suit the modified gearing and tall wheel/tyre combinations.
Inside is a workspace. Nothing surplus: all is function. Under the front is the oil cooler pipework, a custom fuel tank and a pair of full-size spare wheels, each ready to be changed in under a minute if you know what you’re doing.
Now costing £160,000 plus VAT a piece to build, Safari cars are easily my favourite 911s. I never get tired of looking at, listening to or riding in them. The ultimate do-anything Porsche!
by John Glynn | Apr 14, 2013 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Fourth place in GTE Pro was the best Porsche could manage in today’s 991 RSR debut at the Six Hours of Silverstone. Despite a subdued reaction to the RSR’s debut, the prototype racing was excellent, with McNish setting lap records towards the end, in pursuit of a win he eventually claimed.
Round 1 of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship was run in generally dry conditions. A short burst of rain at the halfway point handed Stuttgart some help, but when the circuit dried, the competition had no problem staying in front.
First GTE Pro home was the number 97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE of Turner, Mucke and Senna. Fourth Aston pedaller and friend of Ferdinand, Peter Dumbreck, skipped Silverstone to race the JRM Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in the opening round of Blancpain Endurance at Monza.
Nice as it must be to race alongside ex-Porsche driver and 2011 FIA GT1 champ, Lucas Luhr, on the epic Monza circuit, Peter would have savoured a trophy in the local Prodrive-built Aston, ahead of Kamui Kobayashi’s Ferrari 458 Corse, and the #99 Aston of Rob Bell, Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Frederic Makowiecki. No doubt Darren enjoyed his day, as did Kobayashi, who soared to second place in the final hour, when a pitstop taken earlier than the others paid off.
After the race, Porsche’s Patrick Pilet tweeted: “Just a little issue on the car, the mechanics make a good job but we lost three laps. Car was great to drive. See u at Spa”. The Pilet/Bergmeister/Bernhard car seemed to hold up Marc Lieb’s encouraging charge in the early part, before Bergmeister boxed the #91 car, to check on loose front suspension. Olaf Manthey said no fault was found, and the car continued on its way. The sister #92 991 RSR and fourth place finisher of Lietz/Lieb/Dumas had what looked like a trouble-free run, just without sufficient dry pace to take it to the Astons.
Interviewed for Motors TV by the Radio Le Mans team after his stint, Romain Dumas noted that the rain shower had played to Porsche’s strengths, and allowed the RSR to close on the Ferrari he was trailing at the time, but also said each pitstop was costing the drivers ten or twelve seconds more than their rivals. “Whatever time we gain on track, we lose in the pits,” bemoaned Romain.
At the flag, the RSR finished a lap plus over a minute behind the winning Aston, but showed a fastest lap within reach of its rivals (see the data). Saving twelve seconds in each of five pitstops might have helped to keep Porsche in touch.
The next round at Spa on May 4th and 5th has some watery comfort. Last year’s big race was held in the wet, and Porsche streaked to glory as a result. But we don’t want to race a car hoping for rain. Here’s hoping Porsche AG Team Manthey can further develop the new boy by Spa, and race to take P1 on merit.
Text © MightyMotorMedia Ltd
by John Glynn | Apr 14, 2013 | Porsche People, Race and Rally
Just watched a great Chinese Grand Prix, and now watching the 6-Hour World Endurance Championship event at Silverstone.
The 991 RSR is going well: number 92 at the hands of Marc Lieb had a good second stint, claiming a few scalps thanks to a combination of raw pace and Ferrari chaos. A Lieb/Kobayashi dogfight ended prematurely, when Kamui’s 458 went off on a slippery track following a sizeable Strakka/Ferrari crash.
Number 91 has been in the garage, losing two laps when Bergmeister boxed with suspected loose front suspension. The RSR looked quick in clean air and is now back in the hunt. That said, it’s just had a dig in the right front corner from a passing prototype.
The 991 is just one story here at Silverstone. Another hot Porsche topic amongst Radio Le Mans commentators is a rumour that Red Bull F1 Racing driver, Mark Webber, has signed a five-year deal to drive for Porsche.
Currently unconfirmed, there’s been some buzz surrounding Webber and Porsche in the last few days, and this rumour makes some sense, given potential changes in Webber’s arrangements at the end of this season following the Multi21 episode in Malaysia.
Would the deal be Le Mans only, or might it cover a wider campaign by Webber and Stuttgart? The second option would seem to call for F1 retirement. Mark’s about more than F1 and is a mega Porsche fan, so we’ll regard any drive as good news for enthusiasts. Will keep you informed.
by John Glynn | Mar 28, 2013 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Porsche has finally unveiled the 991 RSR, which will contest this year’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans 24 Hours, run by the all-new Porsche AG Team Manthey.
The new 991 GT3 RSR is 100mm longer than its predeccessor, the 997 GT3 RSR. Chassis balance is improved, with the centre of gravity said to be considerably lower than the outgoing RSR. The new car runs more carbon fibre in its construction, with most of the bodywork and much of the interior made from carbon. Windows are polycarbonate and the battery is lightweight lithium-ion.
The lightweight transmission is new, with six speeds selected by steering wheel paddles. Cooling has been rethought and the radiator is now located in the centre up front. Such survival tweaks combined with many more quick release body panels, should make this new 911 easier to run in competitive endurance events and reduce the duck tape budget.
WEC starts at Silverstone in two weeks, before moving on to Spa in May and Le Mans in June. We have previously reported the drivers and hope to attend a few WEC events this year – I’ve got to get cracking on accreditation.
