On the racetrack in the US state of Connecticut, the reigning IMSA GT champion Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) shared the cockpit of the GT racer from Weissach. A problem with the fuel supply after 27 laps cost the winners of the Long Beach race the chance of securing a better result.

At the wheel of the sister 911 RSR (#912) run by the Porsche North America works squad, Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) had to throw in the towel after an accident while fighting for second place. In temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius, the pair was ultimately classified as eighth after the 2.40-hour race. At just 2.414-kilometres long, this racetrack was the shortest on the calendar.

Race quotes

Steffen Höllwarth, Program Manager IMSA SportsCar Championship: “This is obviously a disappointing result. After the practice we had actually worked something out, because we knew we would be strong over the distance. And this was also underlined in the race, although we had problems with the fuel supply in the number 911 car. But the 912 was able to fight for second place up until the accident. I don’t blame Earl. He attempted to overtake and the BMW closed the door. We only have a fortnight until the next race in Elkhart Lake. Despite everything, we’ll take the progress that we made here with us to Road America. Then hopefully we’ll be rewarded there for all the hard work the team has put in.”

Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #911): “Up until the problem with the fuel supply, the race was going well for us. But of course after having to pit twice we lost our chance to fight for a good result. It’s a shame, because after the steps we’d taken we had high hopes for Lime Rock.”

Nick Tandy (911 RSR #911): “When I took over the 911 RSR from Patrick we were running eight laps down. There was nothing else to do than to try to get through the heavy traffic unscathed and bring home important championship points. We succeeded in doing this.”

Earl Bamber (911 RSR #912): “Initially we were looking good in the race and were able to work our way up to third place. Our 911 RSR was perfectly setup for this demanding racetrack. The accident happened when I tried to overtake the BMW in front of me. I was already beside him on the inside when he also pulled to the inside and left me no room. We touched and I hit the tyre wall quite hard.”

Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #912): “Such things happen on this short, tight circuit quicker than anywhere else. With 30 almost equally fast cars you normally can’t overtake. Those who try take a higher risk. Until the accident we were looking good for a top result, but unfortunately we couldn’t finish the race. It’s a pity because we were on the right track. Now we’ll focus on the next race at Elkhart Lake.”

Race result

GTLM class
1. Gavin/Milner (GB/USA) Chevrolet Corvette, 167 laps
2. Magnussen/Garcia (DK/E), Chevrolet Corvette, 167
3. Briscoe/Westbrook (AUS/GB), Ford GT, 167
4. Fisichella/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari 488 GTE, 167
5. Hand/Müller (USA/D), Ford GT, 167
6. Pilet/Tandy (F/GB), Porsche 911 RSR, 159
7. Auberlen/Werner (USA/D), BMW M6, 89
8. Bamber/Makowiecki (NZ/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 89
9. Edwards/Luhr (USA/D), BMW M6, 4

GTD class
1. Lally/Potter (USA/USA), Audi R8, 162 laps
2. Liddell/Davis /GB/USA), Audi R8, 162
3. Bleekemolen/Keating (NL/USA), Dodge Viper GT3, 161
9. MacNeil/Keen (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 161
10. Bergmeister/Lindsey (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 161
12. Pappas/Pilgrim (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 160
14. Farnbacher/Riberas (D/E), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 142

Points’ standings GTLM class after 7 of 11 races
Drivers
1. Millner, Gavin, Corvette, 228 points
2. Briscoe, Westbrook, Ford, 218
3. Garcia, Magnussen, Chevrolet, 197
4. Auberlen, Werner, BMW, 195
5. Fisichella, Vilander, Ferrari, 193
6. Bamber, Makowiecki, Porsche, 190
7. Hand, Müller, Ford, 186
8. Pilet, Tandy, Porsche, 179
9. Edwards, Luhr, BMW, 161
10. Serra, Ferrari, 140

Manufacturers
1. Chevrolet, 227 points
2. Ford, 217
3. Porsche, 209
4. Ferrari, 204
5. BMW, 200

Teams
1. #4 Corvette Racing, 228 points
2. #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, 218
3. #3 Corvette Racing, 197
4. #25 BMW Team RLL, 195
5. #62 Risi Competizione, 193
6. #912 Porsche North America, 190
7. #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, 186
8. #911 Porsche North America, 179
9. #100 BMW Team RLL, 161
10. #68 Scuderia Corsa, 140

Info

Round eight of the IMSA SportsCar Championship will be contested on 7 August on the storied Road America racetrack at Elkhart Lake in the US state of Wisconsin.

This is the IMSA SportsCar Championship

The IMSA SportsCar Championship is a sports car race series contested in the USA and Canada, which was run in 2014 for the first time. The series was formed from the merger of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Series. Sports prototypes and sports cars start in four different classes: GTLM (GT Le Mans), GTD (GT Daytona), P (Prototype) and PC (Prototype Challenge). The Porsche 911 RSR runs in the GTLM class, with the new Porsche 911 GT3 R contesting the GTD class.

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