At the German premiere of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC at the Nürburgring, the Porsche 911 RSR driven by Frenchmen Patrick Pilet and Frédéric Makowiecki starts from the second grid row. The pair planted the Porsche Manthey-run 470 hp racer from Weissach, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports cars, on the fourth grid spot in the GTE-Pro class. Richard Lietz (Austria) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) achieved the fifth fastest time in the second 911 RSR.
In the GTE-Am class, American actor Patrick Dempsey tackles his first race on the 5.317-kilometre circuit in Germany’s hilly Eifel region from third at the wheel of the Porsche 911 RSR fielded by the Dempsey Racing customer team. His teammates are Porsche works driver Patrick Long (USA) and Marco Seefried (Germany). The 911 RSR campaigned by Abu Dhabi Proton Racing and crewed by Porsche factory pilot and Le Mans overall winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Christian Ried (Gemrany) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi) qualified fifth.
Gymnastics star and Porsche guest of honour Marcel Nguyen enjoyed an in-depth look into motorsport. The two-time silver medallist of the London Olympic Games turned fast laps in a Porsche at the side of Le Mans winner Nico Hülkenberg and witnessed the qualifying from the Porsche Manthey pits.
Qualifying quotes
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “Our qualifying strategy worked. We’ve prepared for the race and have opted for a different tyre strategy which is turning out to be right. We’re looking forward to a thrilling race.”
Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #92): “It wasn’t an easy qualifying but everything ran according to plan for us. We’ve only used one set of tyres and can start on totally fresh rubber. That is definitely an advantage. Our 911 RSR improved with every practice and that makes us very optimistic for the race.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #92): “We have a good and very consistent car for the race. We’re feeling very confident.”
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “As far as speed is concerned we’ve qualified as we had expected. Our laps were perfect and at the limit. We’re feeling good and expect to benefit from the consistency of our 911. We hope to make the best of our chances.”
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #91): “The qualifying went well. Fifth place is not perfect, but our RSR is well balanced. The tyres were great, we’ve only used one set. Now we’re hoping for a good race.”
Patrick Long (911 RSR #77): “We chose a different qualifying strategy. Patrick went before me. The 911 RSR ran perfectly and Patrick put in a strong drive. In my view, he has made the greatest progress of all drivers in the WEC. We are very happy and now we’re focussing on the race. This will be a completely new challenge.”
Earl Bamber (911 RSR #88): “We’d hoped for a bit more from qualifying but now we know exactly what we have to do. I’m sure that we’ll have a perfectly setup 911 RSR for the race tomorrow.”