Notwithstanding a faultless run in the second round of the top-rated Blancpain Endurance Series held on the British Silverstone circuit, the Belgian Porsche entered by ProSpeed Competition could achieve no better than a 14th place in the Pro category. In the #75 Porsche 911 GT3-R Marc Hennerici, Xavier Maassen and Maxime Soulet started out from the fourteenth row on the grid and notwithstanding a catch-up race points were not forthcoming. The regularity was there, they worked off a faultless race, but for the team the Silverstone circuit was to be their downturn. For a reason still to be explained neither the team nor the drivers were able to take 100% advantage of the Italian rubber on this highly technical F1 circuit, located to the north of London.
Speed is not the only factor in an endurance race, however it is an essential element to remain competitive in a field of 60 GT3s when it comes to achieving a top result. One of the utmost essential elements for speed is to bring out the full potential of the tyres. Unfortunately this is where matters turned sour for the Belgian Porsche, which on the other hand turned out to be the best representative of the marque when it crossed the line, following a 180 minutes race. As good as the Porsche 911 felt thoroughly at home at Monza the German 50th anniversary GT experienced difficulties on the British asphalt. An 18th place overall and a 14th spot in the competitive Pro class was finally the outcome of the race.
Rudi Penders (ProSpeed Competition Team Principal) : “It is difficult to travel on home with such an unsatisfactory result. The most important is that we thoroughly analyse everything in order to find the reasons for this poor performance. Right from the start I can eliminate a fair amount of elements. The drivers worked off a faultless race and at no time were involved in any race incident. They did what was expected from them. The pit-stops ran faultlessly and were fast, so there also there is no element that could reflect today’s poor performance. Last but not least once again the Porsche 911 proved itself to be thoroughly reliable. The only explanation for this weekend is a combination of the set-up and the partial inability to make full use of the potential of the tyres. In addition it is perhaps not coincidental that this situation appears to raise its head here in Silverstone, because in the past we were not able to achieve the expected level of performance here either. A bright note is the fact that we were the first Porsche to cross the finishing line. The work now is to take the necessary steps in order for us to battle it out for victory in four weeks time at Paul Ricard and to be in a position to travel on down to the 24 Hours of Spa with the necessary number of points.”
Xavier Maassen (NDL – Driver – Porsche 911 GT3-R #75) : “Rarely have I fought so hard with the car … whatever I tried just wouldn’t work. There is nothing more I can add to what Rudi (Penders) has already said. We know from Monza that the car can be strong, so it’s up to us to prove it once again at Paul Ricard!”
Source : ProSpeed Competition