24 Hours of Le Mans

Porsche aiming to repeat GTE Victory at Le Mans

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Porsche Team Manthey are aiming to repeat their class victory at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours in the 2014 edition, with the team once again bringing two Porsche 911 RSR’s to the race, with the aim of taking another 1-2.

Last year the teams new-for-2013 Porsche 911 RSR won Le Mans at its first attempt, with the #92 of Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Romain Dumas taking class victory, with the #91 of Jorg Bergmiester, Timo Bernhard and Patrick Pilet finishing second, with both cars a lap ahead of third place.

This year the line ups are different, with Bergmeister and Pilet returning to the #91, with the duo being joined by Brit Nick Tandy, whilst in the #92 Lietz is joined by Marco Holzer and Fred Makowiecki, who moves from Aston Martin to Weissach.

“Le Mans is the highlight of the year,” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “For our teams and drivers this race represents an exceptional challenge, and we’re feeling highly motivated and very well prepared.

“After our double victory at the season-opener in Silverstone, our car now has to carry 25 extra kilograms of ballast and the diameter of the two restrictors is now 0.3 millimetres smaller than last year’s. When considering the additional changes made, as against 2013, at one or the other competitor one has to question to what extent is the Balance of Performance actually balanced.

“We feel it is a matter of utmost urgency in the spirit of the sport to find a regulation for the classification of vehicles where you don’t have to fear being punished for a good performance, like what happened to us after Silverstone. Nevertheless, we’ll work extremely hard to do a good job at Le Mans, just like last year.”€ 

Tandy, who has been a Porsche driver since 2010, is aiming to achieve his goal at La Sarthe this year: achieving a podium at Le Mans. “Ever since I began racing for Porsche at Le Mans in 2010 it has been my goal to secure a podium spot here. You only get this chance once a year and I’ll do everything within my power to make it happen.

“For a race driver, Le Mans is a magical place. Even when you arrive in the paddock you get a sense of the great history. And the Circuit des 24 Heures is something very special with its unique combination of race track and normal country roads. It’s an honour for me to drive again for Porsche at Le Mans this year.”

Pilet, who is aiming to take victory this year after his second place last season, also commented, saying: “Le Mans is a very special race, especially for me as a Frenchman. It’s always an incredible feeling to go racing on such an extreme circuit in front of so many fans. Aside from the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans is the greatest race on Earth. We are well prepared and our 911 RSR is a strong contender, especially on the long straights. It would be fantastic if we could turn this into a win as we were so close last year!”

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