Porsche teams set some impressive times in the opening sessions at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with many teams opting to use the first qualifying session to primarily focus on set-up work for the 911 RSR’s first appearance at the famous event.
The #92 911 RSR of Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz set the fastest GTE Pro time in opening practice, before moving on to set the fifth quickest time in class during night qualifying. The #92’s team-mates in the #91 car of Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard and Patrick Pilet set the seventh best time in class.
The top Porsche in GTE Am was the 911 GT3 RSR of Proton Competition, piloted by Christian Reid, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti, setting the second fastest time in class, followed by the IMSA Performance Matmut 911.
Finally, the DempseyDelPiero 911 of Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Long and Joe Foster set the seventh quickest time in class, and 45th overall.
“The qualifying was quite good,” said Lieb. “I went out on used tyres and that worked well. I’m happy with the car’s balance. Of course we have to tweak the set-up but I think that we’ll manage that before the race. Compared to Spa and Silverstone we’ve made great strides.”
“I’m very pleased to compete in Le Mans with Porsche,” added Hollywood star, Dempsey. “This is really a fantastic experience. Of course there are still some things that need improving but it’s been quite a long time since I’ve driven laps at night on this difficult track. The Porsche is great fun to drive. I’ve learned a lot and I’m feeling confident that we’ll improve even more until the race.”
