Van Merksteijn Motorsport leds Team EssexThe Porsche RS Spyder achieved another double victory in a second discipline at the Le Mans 24 hour race: The sports prototype claimed first and second in the ‘Michelin Energy Endurance Challenge Trophy’ as the vehicle with the best overall efficiency. The classification is based on a formula with factors including fuel consumption, vehicle weight and average speed. The double victory of the RS Spyder in the LMP2 class at the 24 hour race signifies a double success over all other opponents, as all four classes are classified equally in the Michelin Challenge. This means that the petrol-powered RS Spyder was substantially more efficient at the 24 Hours of Le Mans than the diesel-powered vehicles in the more powerful LMP1 class.
Continue reading ‘RS Spyder has the best overall efficiency of all participants’
Porsche RS Spyders, Van Merksteijn Motorsport leads Team ESSEXThe Le Mans premiere for the Porsche RS Spyder could not have gone better: At the world’s toughest long distance race, the sports prototype from Weissach celebrated a double victory in the LMP2 class. After a trouble free run without a single technical problem, Jos Verstappen, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Peter van Merksteijn (all Netherlands) crossed the finish line first. The trio from the Van Merksteijn Motorsport team held an eight lap advantage over the second-placed RS Spyder of John Nielsen, Casper Elgaard (both Denmark) and Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen (Germany). Taking up the marathon from first and second, the two teams controlled the race with their 476 hp RS Spyder right from the start.
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The qualifying sessions were a blast to listen to yesterday and today. If you fortunate enough to listen in and hear the moment when Patrick Long went 3:58, you probably got the same chills we did! Joerg Bergmeister and the #80 Flying Lizard Motorsport 911 GT3 RSR had pole until those moments. He was very anxious to break the 4:00 mark but team orders thought differently.
911 GT3 RSR, IMSA Performance Matmut: Raymond Narac, Richard Lietz, Patrick LongPorsche sets the tone in Le Mans: At the qualifying for the Le Mans 24 hour race, both the RS Spyder and the 911 GT3 RSR were clearly the fastest vehicles in their respective classes. Continue reading ‘24 Hours of Le Mans: Porsche customer teams dominate qualifying’
A class victory in Le Mans is a huge success
After its successes in the American Le Mans Series and the Le Mans Series, the Porsche RS Spyder is on the verge of its next great challenge: On Saturday at 3pm, the Weissach-developed and built sports prototype tackles the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time. Hartmut Kristen, Head of Motorsport at Porsche, is relaxed about the debut at the world’s toughest long distance race: ‘I’m confident that we are very well prepared.’
Continue reading ‘24 Hours of Le Mans: Interview with Head of Porsche Motorsport Hartmut Kristen’
