Successful racing debut for the further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. With \”Version 2.0\” of the innovative hybrid race car from Weissach, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister, Marco Holzer and Patrick Long finished the second round of the endurance racing championship at the Nürburgring in eleventh position. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR entered by Manthey Racing with Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Dittweiler/ Germany), Romain Dumas (France) as well as Manthey driver Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) secured second place.
The race participation for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid was part of the intensive preparations for the 24 Hour Race at the Nürburgring in June. \”We are so far well within our time schedule and are making good progress with the 2011 version,\” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Motorsport at Porsche. \”At an endurance test and with another participation at a round of the endurance racing championship Nürburgring we will gain additional data so that we will be perfectly prepared for the Eifel marathon.\”
Priority in the further development over winter was placed on the increase of efficiency. For this purpose, the weight of the vehicle was reduced from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms in which the hybrid components have become lighter, too. The weight of these components was reduced by 20 percent through efficient optimisation. The general hybrid layout was adopted from the 2010 model.
The output of the two electric motors in the portal axle was increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. For seconds at a time, the drivers of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 now have about 200 HP more at their disposal, which corresponds to about 23 kW (32 HP) of additional conventional power per lap at the Nordschleife. Depending on the programming, this electrical power is automatically added through the use of the throttle pedal. Furthermore, the hybrid drivers can manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking.
Whilst the portal axle drives the front wheels, the four-litre, now 465 HP strong six-cylinder boxer engine which drives the rear axle was reduced in power and optimised with respect to fuel consumption.
\”In many aspects, version 2.0 of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid is a completely new car,\” says Joerg Bergmeister. \”It is always a good sign when a new car makes it to the finish at its first race participation.\”
The yellow and green Porsche 911 GT3 R of Manthey Racing also had a race without any problems. Separated by a gap of 33.6 seconds from the winning Mercedes, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr finished into second place. The trio confirmed unanimous: \”Our car was running like clockwork. The may close fights in which we were involved throughout the entire race were great fun.\”
The Porsche 911 GT3 driven by Georg Weiss (Monschau/ Germany), Oliver Kainz (Kottenheim/ Germany) and Michael Jacobs (Rotgen-Rott/ Germany) took the chequered flag in seventh position. Ninth place was achieved by the 911 GT3 R of Jochen Krumbach (Eschweiler/ Germany), Marc Gindorf (Monaco) and Philipp Wlazik (Gladbeck/ Germany).
