The Porsche GT Team continued its string of podium results at the eighth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Earl Bamber (New Zealand) finished third in the GTLM class after a strong drive in their Porsche 911 RSR at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The podium — which marked a Porsche 911 RSR on each of race this season including five-straight victories — extended their lead in the drivers’ championship.
In the two-hour and 40-minute race, Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) ultimately finished in seventh-place in the sister 911 RSR factory car. In the Manufacturers’ classification, Porsche holds a convincing lead with three races remaining.
The GT-only Round Nine of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will present the Porsche GT Team the opportunity to go for an overall victory. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for August 23 – 25 at VIRginia International Raceway.
Steffen Hollwarth, Program Manager IMSA SportsCar Championship.
“We knew that Road America would be one of the most difficult races of the year for us. So we’re very pleased with this podium result. Porsche has managed to defend its lead and Laurens and Earl have extended the gap to their pursuers even further in the drivers’ championship. The team now has two weeks off. Then we’ll be back in full force in Virginia.”
Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Third-place on this racetrack is a great result for us. We haven’t been particularly successful here in recent years. Still, we managed to further extend our lead in the drivers’ classification. That was a tremendous effort from the whole team. Pitting as late as possible proved to be the key to success today.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Road America is not our strongest circuit. We didn’t have the pace to win. In this regard, we’ve achieved the maximum here. We came third on what is allegedly our weakest racetrack and finished in front of our toughest rivals. What’s more, we have further extended our lead. That almost feels like a victory.”
Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Over the last six years, we’ve encountered on average four caution phases at this race in Elkhart Lake. For this reason, we had to split the timing of the pit stops to be ready for all eventualities. Unfortunately, our strategy didn’t work out. Seventh-place is disappointing. We lost several points in the drivers’ standings to our teammates at the top, but we’re still in second. Now it’s time to take a vacation. We’ll strike back in Virginia.”
Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“Both of our cars were on different strategies. Unlike our teammates, we pitted early in anticipation of a safety car phase, which never happened. I think that must have been the first time we’ve competed here without a single caution.”
