At the Sebring 12 hour race, Porsche took off into the 2011 season of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the American Le Mans Series by clinching second place in the new GTE-AM class. Sharing the cockpit of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Proton Competition was Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) with his teammates Christian Ried (Germany) and Gianluca Roda (Italy).
“Our car ran well until we experienced some clutch problems towards the end of the race,” said Richard Lietz. “The new GTE-AM class, in which only one professional driver is permitted per vehicle, is very interesting. As always, the Sebring event was huge fun. My driver colleagues drove consistent times and didn’t make one error.”
In the GT class of the American Le Mans Series, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) claimed sixth place. At the wheel of the Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR, the title defenders found themselves a lap down early on in the race run in hot temperatures after Patrick Long received a one minute stop-and-go penalty for a collision. Later on, a hose on Joerg Bergmeister’s cooling vest came loose and the leaking water caused misfiring, making an unscheduled pit stop necessary. Through this, they lost another lap to the front-runners. “The opposition is so strong this year that you simply can’t make up such a shortfall. In this respect, I’m quite satisfied with sixth place,” said Joerg Bergmeister. “We experienced bad luck today and I hope that we’ll be able to balance things out over the course of the season.”
Despite putting in a strong drive with Team Falken’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche factory pilot Wolf Henzler (Germany) and his teammates Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Bryan Sellers (USA) were not rewarded with a good result. The new squad under Derrick Walker made an impressive debut in the American Le Mans Series, and worked highly professionally with excellent pit stops at their first race outing. Over long stretches, their 911 GT3 RSR was the fastest Porsche in the field, but did not reach the finish line due to gearbox problems. “Our teamwork went very well,” said Wolf Henzler. “Above all, we’ve made huge progress with the tires compared to last year. We can build on this over the rest of the season.”
In the second Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche works driver Marco Holzer (Germany) and his American teammates Seth Neiman and Darren Law saw the flag in seventh place. “Obviously, we imagined our start to the season differently,” said Porsche head of motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. “Still, sixth place for Flying Lizard Motorsports and the corresponding championship points are very important for a successful title defense. Sadly, the collision with a competitor, the leaking cooling vest and the resulting electrical problems prevented a better result. Congratulations to the Proton Competition squad for their second place at the premiere of the GTE-AM class. The other Porsche teams also performed excellently at this extremely competitive race.”
Victory in the GTC class for one-make series vehicles went to Tim Pappas (USA), Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (NL) and Damien Faulkner (IRL) in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Round 2 of the American Le Mans Series will run on 16 April on the street circuit of Long Beach in the US State of California.
Statistics: 1st race ILMC / ALMS in Sebring, FL
Result GTE-AM class
1. Krohn/Jonsson/Rugolo (USA/S/I), Ferrari F430, 301 laps
2. Lietz/Ried/Roda (A/D/I), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 252
3. Ehret/Lynn/Wills (D/GB/NZ), Ferrari F430, 226
Result GT
1. Priaulx/Müller/Hand (GB/D/USA), BMW M3 GT, 312 laps
2. Farfus/Auberlen/Werner (BR/USA/D), BMW M3 GT, 311
3. Beretta/Garcia/Milner (MC/E/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 311
4. Gavin/Magnussen/Westbrook (GB/DK/GB), Chevrolet Corvette, 311
5. Fisichella/Bruni/Kaffer (I/I/D), Ferrari F458, 311
6. Bergmeister/Long/Lieb (D/USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 310
7. Holzer/Law/Neiman (D/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 306
Result GTC class
1. Pappas/Bleekemolen/Faulkner (USA/NL/IRL), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 299 laps
2. Ende/Pumpelly/Li (USA/USA/HKG), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 298
3. Cisneros/Edwards/Kauffmann (USA/USA/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 296
- Porsche Motorsport
Looking for more? Have a look below.
- Porsche works driver Richard Lietz sets best time in new GTE-AM class
- Strong Porsche contingent at Sebring twelve hour classic
- Seven Porsche works drivers contest the classic 24 Hours at Daytona
- Nürburgring 24 Hours: Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid report
- Porsche celebrates class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring and wins environmental classification
