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Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid defies rain and fog

© Porsche AG

Right place, right time – for Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), the timing at the first qualifying session of the 24 hour race was perfect. At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, he opted for slicks at the right moment before heavier rain set in again.

With a lap time of 9:26.421 minutes on the 25.378 kilometre combination of the Grand Prix circuit and the Nordschleife, Bergmeister planted Porsche Team Manthey’s orange and white liveried 911, with its 480 hp combustion engine supplemented by two 60 kilowatt electric motors, on second place. The German teams up with works driver Richard Lietz (Austria), Porsche junior Marco Holzer (Germany), and the former Porsche junior driver Martin Ragginger (Austria).

Because of thick fog, the first qualifying session was halted at 22.20 hours after three of the scheduled four hours. Tomorrow, the second and final two-hour qualifying session takes place at 12.45 hours, before the 38th edition of the Eifel classic takes off on Saturday at 15.00 hours. The Porsche teams were well prepared. Under cold and changeable weather conditions, they completed the first qualifying without any problems and safely covered the minimum amount of laps as required by the regulations.

Third position went to Team Mamerow Racing. Former Porsche junior Chris Mamerow (Germany) achieved the third quickest time of the field in the 911 GT3 R. Mamerow competes alongside Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler and his German compatriot Joerg Hardt.

For the title defenders from Manthey Racing, Porsche works driver Marc Lieb (Germany) claimed the quickest time with sixth. After winning three times in succession, the driver quartet returns this year to compete under team boss Olaf Manthey. Sharing driving duties are works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) as well as experienced Manthey pilot Marcel Tiemann (Monaco).

The 911 GT3 R run by Haribo Team Manthey secured 16th position in qualifying. At the wheel of the 911 sporting the Haribo gold bear design is a racing pro line-up consisting of Lance David Arnold (Germany), Christian Menzel (Germany), Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) and Alexander Margaritis (Germany).

The squad driving the Porsche 911 GT3 RS brought home a commendable 36th place. The four men aim to show that a production vehicle is up to the challenges of a 24 hour race. Manning the vehicle for the 24 hour classic is former DTM pilot Roland Asch (Germany), race professional and TV commentator Patrick Simon (Germany), as well as two Nürburgring-experienced journalists Horst von Saurma (Germany) and Chris Harris (Great Britain).

Television station Sport1 (formerly DSF) broadcasts over 20 hours of the Nürburgring 24 hour race. For the first time, Porsche offers its German-speaking fans its own internet radio as part of a web special under www.porsche.com. In a ten-minute radio show held on the hour every hour during the race, commentator Burkhard Bechtel reports on the progress of the Porsche league, and also interviews interesting guests at the track.

Quotes from the Porsche drivers

Timo Bernhard (Porsche 911 GT3 R, Manthey Racing), 6th:
“The conditions during qualifying changed constantly. At the beginning, the track was very wet. So we had to get out and attack again when it dried up. Today, the trick was to be on the right tyres at the right time. With this in mind, sixth is pretty good. If tomorrow stays dry the cards will be reshuffled. But starting from the first, second or third grid row makes no difference in the end.”

Marc Lieb (Porsche 911 GT3 R, Manthey Racing), 6th:
“That was an extremely tricky qualifying with such mixed conditions. Sometimes wet, sometimes dry, and then damp in between. It was a real lottery trying to choose the right tyres for the job. It’s a huge advantage for us that we four pilots have competed together over the last years – we know each other inside out. Each of us gets the best out of the car.”

Marcel Tiemann (Porsche 911 GT3 R, Manthey Racing), 6th:
“It’s almost impossible to already make a prediction after this qualifying session. To put it bluntly, none of us would dare say we’re now going to bring home our fourth straight victory. Still, I think it’s safe to say that we have the same driver line-up, the same team and a new car that functions excellently and seems to be very reliable.”

Joerg Bergmeister (Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Manthey Racing), 2nd:
“Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time. And I went out at exactly the right moment with slicks, before the heavy rain started again and fog made visibility more difficult. As far as I’m concerned the result can stay just like this. Let’s see what the second qualifying session brings.”

Wolf Henzler (Porsche 911 GT3 R, Mamerow Racing), 3rd:
“Chris turned a super lap under adverse conditions. Despite bad grip, our Porsche 911 GT3 R handled very well which made us drivers feel very confident. This is simply a great car for the Nordschleife.”

Chris Mamerow (Porsche 911 GT3 R, Mamerow Racing), 3rd:
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We took the risk and chose slicks for the slightly damp track. It was somewhat tricky on several passages, but everything came together beautifully during my fastest lap.”

Lance David Arnold (Porsche 911 GT3 R, Haribo Team Manthey), 16th:
“I found the track conditions very challenging, but this is nothing new for the Nordschleife. I was the first out for our team on slicks. But that didn’t work at all. Still, I was fifth when I handed the car over to my teammate. So I’m quite happy with that.”

Roland Asch (Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Porsche AG), 36th:
“What I find most fascinating is the fact that you can buy a street-legal car and go racing with it. Even under the most difficult conditions this production 911 is very easy to handle. The car’s various electronic controls help a lot.”

Patrick Simon (Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Porsche AG), 36th:
“It’s possible to be totally relaxed when driving the 911 GT3 RS, even on the Nordschleife in the rain. As a driver you have total trust. And that is, of course, the best prerequisite for a 24 hour race.”

Horst von Saurma (Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Porsche AG), 36th:
“We did it just like in the good old days and drove our car from home to the Nürburgring. Such a journey on the autobahn is simply part of proving how fast a standard car can be on the track. To be honest I was a little nervous but it was a great experience. Particularly when we were sitting in a traffic jam you should have seen how surprised people were when they noticed us.”