IMSA: Porsche is fighting for overall victory in Virginia

The Porsche GT Team will start the fifth round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship at Virginia International Raceway with two 911 RSR in the GTLM class. Since the two faster prototype classes will be missing on the 5.263-kilometer racetrack, the sports car manufacturer is fighting for overall victory for the first time this season. Last year Porsche celebrated a double success on the traditional North American circuit. In addition to the two approximately 515 hp factory RSRs from Weissach, a customer team is also tackling the 2:40 hour race: Wright Motorsports is fielding a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD category.

The race

The Virginia International Raceway is located near Alton in southern Virginia, not far from the border with the neighboring state of North Carolina. The track, which opened in 1957, looks back on an eventful history and developed from a simple track for road vehicles to a modern motorsport resort with hotels and leisure facilities. In 1971 the Porsche legends Hurley Haywood and Peter Gregg won the very first IMSA GT race there in the Porsche 914/6 GT. Last year, works drivers Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Patrick Pilet (France) crossed the finish line in the 2017 generation Porsche 911 RSR as overall winners ahead of their brand colleagues Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium).

The drivers of the Porsche GT Team

Factory drivers Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor share the number 912 Porsche 911 RSR. The reigning GTLM champions finished second in both races of the season at Daytona. In Sebring, the duo crossed the finish line in third place after a strong fighting performance. After the spectacular rain race on Road America, Bamber and Vanthoor are still second in the drivers’ table with 120 points. Their teammates Nick Tandy and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) finished third in Daytona in the 24-hour race at the end of January and in the 2:40 hour race on July 4th. With 113 points, you are fifth in the drivers’ table. In the manufacturers’ championship, Porsche is nine points behind in third place.

The customer team

In the first pure GT competition of the year in the North American sports car series, the Wright Motorsports customer team sent a 911 GT3 R with over 500 hp into the race in the GTD category. For the team from the US state of Ohio, the American Porsche works driver Patrick Long and his compatriot Ryan Hardwick take turns at the wheel of starting number 16.

The race in the livestream

The fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Virginia International Raceway starts on Saturday, August 22nd at 2:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. CEST). The race over 2:40 hours is on the internet outside of the US and Canada www.imsa.com transfer.

The Schedule (Local time, CEST: -6 hours)

Friday 21st August
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – Free practice 1
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. – Free practice 2
5:35 p.m. – 5:50 p.m. – Qualifying GTD
6:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. – GTLM qualifying

Saturday 22nd August
14:00 – 16:40 – Race

Voices before the race

Pascal Zurlinden (Overall project manager works motorsport): “We have been able to show the potential of the Porsche 911 RSR at any time in the past few weeks, but there have always been incidents that have prevented the deserved victory. We want to finally get rid of our bad luck and build on the strong performance of the previous year. The ingredients for great success are undoubtedly there. In Virginia, the GTLM-class vehicles are all about overall victory – ideal for a comeback for Porsche. “

Steffen Höllwarth (Head of Operations IMSA Championship): “After a short break with two race-free weekends, Virginia is the next event on the IMSA calendar. In the past this course suited our car very much. We look back with pleasure on our double victory last year. We are optimistic that the track layout will also suit the latest-generation 911 RSR. In Virginia we want to attack again and shorten the gap to the top. “

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR # 911): “We have two difficult races behind us in which we did not achieve the results we were aiming for. We definitely want to be on the podium in Virginia. This is one of the keys in the battle for the title. We are aiming for our first win in the IMSA. I think we’ve earned that for a few races. “

Nick Tandy (Porsche 911 RSR # 911): “The run in Virginia is one of my favorite races. Only GT vehicles start. So we have the chance to take overall victory. We have already achieved this twice – most recently last year. After two tough races, we have to report back strongly. “

Earl Bamber (Porsche 911 RSR # 912): “I’m looking forward to Virginia. Porsche has always been strong on this track. Last year we came in first and second there. Hopefully we will soon have luck on our side again so that we can finally win races again. “

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 RSR # 912): “For us it is now time to fight back. If we want to win the championship, we can’t afford to make any more mistakes. We have to turn the tables – win and score. “

The Porsche 911 RSR

The 2019 model year Porsche 911 RSR celebrated its premiere in the IMSA SportsCar Championship at the 24-hour race in Daytona in January. Compared to the very successful predecessor model, the engineers in Weissach were able to improve the approximately 515 hp car in areas such as drivability, efficiency, ergonomics and service friendliness. They developed around 95 percent of all components from scratch. The 911 RSR is powered by a six-cylinder boxer engine with a displacement of 4.2 liters.

This is the IMSA SportsCar Championship

The IMSA SportsCar Championship was founded in 2013 in the USA and Canada after the merger of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Series. A year later, the new sports car championship, organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), started its first season. Sports prototypes and sports cars take part in four different classes: GTLM (GT Le Mans), GTD (GT Daytona), DPi (Daytona Prototype international) and LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2). The new Porsche 911 RSR drives in the GTLM class, the Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD class. The Porsche GT team is aiming to defend its title in the manufacturer, driver and team standings in 2020.

Source: Porsche press release