Porsche tackles round seven of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in Lime Rock (USA) holding a 24-point lead in the manufacturers’ classification.
After scoring five straight wins, the Porsche GT Team now wants to build on this record. With the two prototype classes absent from the Lime Rock event on 19/20 July, the main focal point will be on the two ca. 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR fielded by the works team.
In the GTD category, the customer squads Park Place Motorsports, Wright Motorsports and Pfaff Motorsports aim to claim a podium spot each with their Porsche 911 GT3 R racing cars.
The race
Lime Rock Park in the US state of Connecticut is the shortest racetrack on the IMSA calendar. The short 2.41-kilometre course was built in 1956 in forested parkland about 200 kilometres north of New York City. The flowing layout featuring seven turns makes sub-minute lap times possible.
In the past, the Porsche GT Team has celebrated big successes on this extraordinary course. In 2017, the American factory squad clinched a one-two victory, and in the 2018 season, Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) finished on the podium.
The two prototype classes will not be contesting the Lime Rock event of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. For this reason, the Porsche GT Team will be chasing overall victory in the North American endurance series.
The Porsche drivers
The winners of the Sebring and Watkins Glen races, Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain), share the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR. The pair currently ranks second in the drivers’ classification.
Their works driver colleagues in the No. 912 sister car, Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), lead the class after their victories at Long Beach, Mid-Ohio and most recently at Bowmanville, Canada.
“We’re heading to Lime Rock with five Porsche wins in a row,” commented Bamber. “Our goal is to continue this winning streak. I really like Lime Rock Park, mainly because the fast times of around 50 seconds per lap make for spectacular racing. We’ve always been strong there with our Porsche 911 RSR, and that’s not about to change this year.”
In the GTD class, three 500+hp Porsche 911 GT3 R will compete. The customer team Pfaff Motorsports (No. 9) tackles the race with Porsche Young Professional Dennis Olsen (Norway) and Zacharie Robichon from Canada.
Porsche works driver Patrick Long (USA) shares the cockpit of the No. 73 vehicle run by Park Place Motorsports with Germany’s Marco Seefried. The No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R campaigned by Wright Motorsports is shared by Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (Australia) and Anthony Imperato (USA).
The race over 2:40 hours takes off on Saturday, 20 July, at 3:10pm local time (9:10pm CEST) and can be viewed live outside the USA and Canada on www.imsa.com.
Comments