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Busy weekend ahead for Porsche at Austin

At the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, sports car fans can again expect an unforgettable motorsport experience. The tenth and penultimate round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship will be contested on the Grand Prix circuit on September 17th with the Porsche North America works team fielding a pair of 911 RSR.

Also contested on this weekend in the capital of Texas in addition to the most important sports car racing series in the USA and Canada is the WEC Sports Car World Endurance Championship, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge as well as the SportsCar Challenge. Spectators can enjoy five races with around 45 Porsche racing vehicles including the 911 RSR, 911 GT3 R, 911 GT3 Cup, Cayman GT4 Clubsport as well as 919 Hybrid models.

This coming weekend marks the third time for the IMSA SportsCar Championship at the Circuit of the Americas. The Formula 1 race track with its distinctive observation tower is located in the hills not far from downtown Austin. The racetrack is part of a modern entertainment complex, which also hosts other sporting competitions and concerts.

The IMSA GT champion Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy again share the cockpit of the No.911 Porsche 911 RSR for the Austin round.

“The Circuit of the Americas is one of my favourite racetracks in the USA." said Pilet "But a victory there is still missing from my collection. We got very close to winning last year, but while we were in the lead we had to pit briefly two laps before the finish. I hope we can do better this time. Our chances look good, because Austin has traditionally been good turf for us.”

Added Tandy, “I always particularly look forward to Austin. Part of the reason for this is the demanding racetrack – I especially enjoy the first fast sector. But the city has a very special flair and it’s always worth a visit. As for the race, we have a score to settle. This year I hope that we can bring home the victory that we lost last year just a few kilometers from the finish line.”

Their works driver colleagues Earl Bamber and Frédéric Makowiecki tackle the race in the sister 911 RSR with the starting No.912. Recently, the pair clinched their fourth podium result this season with third place at Virginia.

“I have great memories of Austin." said Bamber "In 2014 I won the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup title there, and we were also looking good last year with the 911 RSR. Austin is one of my favourite American cities. Since the Circuit of the Americas also hosts a round of the WEC, I’ll be able to catch up with many Porsche teammates and old friends. I’m really looking forward to that.”

Makowiecki added, “Finally I get to go racing on a familiar US racetrack. The Circuit of the Americas has an interesting layout and I’m very confident that we can match the pace of the frontrunners. We should be able to make the most of the 911 RSR’s traction advantages, especially in the slow corners. The most important thing will be to find the optimal balance for our car during the practice session."

American customer teams take on the GTD class with the new Porsche 911 GT3 R. Jörg Bergmeister contests this category for Park Place Motorsports, with the former Porsche junior Alex Riberas and Mario Farnbacher driving for Seattle/Alex Job Racing.

“After skipping the race in Virginia I’m now looking forward to Austin." Bergmeister said "The Circuit of the Americas is a very modern racetrack, but it’s still a lot of fun to drive there. I hope that we can repeat our result from Elkhart Lake where we secured second place.”

Tackling the IMSA SportsCar Championship are the Porsche 911 RSR and the Porsche 911 GT3 R. After securing victories at the long distance classics in Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring as well as numerous championship titles, the 470 hp 911 RSR has become the most successful GT racing car of recent years. The 911 RSR is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, with 2016 marking its last season of racing as a works car. Its successor is expected to make its race debut in January 2017 at the Daytona 24-hour race.

Porsche built the 500 hp Porsche 911 GT3 R for GT3 series worldwide based on the 911 GT3 RS production sports car. The new customer racer scored its first victory in the IMSA SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca.

The Austin round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship takes off on Saturday, August 17, at 11:35 pm local time (18:35 hrs CEST) and runs over 2:40 hours. The race can be viewed live outside the USA on www.imsa.com.

09/11/16

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