Porsche 911 RSR tackles 24 Hours of Le Mans from pole position

Hyperpole

His brand colleague Michael Christensen from Denmark planted the No. 92 sister car on sixth place. In the GTE-Am category, works pilot Matt Campbell was the fastest Porsche driver. The Australian claimed the second grid spot in his class with the No. 77 Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Dempsey-Proton Racing. He was only 0.056 seconds off the top time.

In the new 30-minute shootout for the best grid positions, the two Porsche 911 RSR fielded by the factory squad attacked immediately at the start. Bruni promptly turned the fastest lap, however, his time was cancelled due to him leaving the track in the area of the Porsche Curves. The Italian, who had set a lap record for GTE vehicles in 2018, did not let the stewards’ decision deter him. In his second flying lap, Bruni immediately undercut his previous top time. Teammate Christensen, however, encountered traffic and was unable to improve on his time during his final attempt towards the end of the session.

In the GTE-Am class, the young factory driver Matt Campbell planted the Porsche 911 RSR in last year’s spec on second place with a time of 3:51.322 minutes. At the wheel of Dempsey-Proton Racing’s No. 77 car, the Australian was faster in the Hyperpole than half of the GTE-Pro field. Italy’s Matteo Cairoli claimed the third grid spot in the identical No. 56 car run by the Project 1 team. Benjamin Barker from Great Britain posted the sixth quickest time in the 911 RSR fielded by Gulf Racing (No. 86).

Comments on the Hyperpole

Fritz Enzinger (Vice President Motorsport): “That was a great qualifying. We’ve achieved pole position in the fiercely competitive GTE-Pro class – with a car that has never competed on this track before. Congratulations to our customer teams. Second and third on the grid in the GTE-Am category is a tremendous result. Thanks to the team’s great work, we’re now perfectly prepared for the race. The weather forecast predicts rain. I’m sure that it’ll be an exciting and spectacular competition over 24 hours.”

Alexander Stehlig (Head of Operations FIA WEC): “Pole position at Le Mans! What a fantastic debut for the Porsche 911 RSR-19 on this special racetrack. We learned a lot with every lap. Between the sessions and during the short night we analysed all the details and made precisely the right conclusions. I’d like to thank all of our drivers, engineers and mechanics. Everyone pulled together and made sure that our car is now very well sorted for the upcoming 24-hour race.”

Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 911 RSR #91): “After initial difficulties in the first practice, we completely changed the setup of our car – with success! Our 911 RSR is now significantly easier to drive. That became obvious in the qualifying and the Hyperpole. I didn’t make any mistakes in my flying lap and now I’m on pole with my teammates Richard and Fred. It’s a fantastic result for Porsche. Now we want to be just as successful in the race.”

Result Hyperpole

GTE-Pro class
1. Lietz/Bruni/Makowiecki (A/I/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 3:50.874 minutes
2. Calado/Pier Guidi/Serra (GB/I/BR), Ferrari 488 GTE, 3:51.115 minutes
3. Sörensen/Thiim/Westbrook (DK/DK/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 3:51.241 minutes
4. Lynn/Martin/Tincknell (GB/B/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 3:51.324 minutes
5. Rigon/Molina/Bird (I/E/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE, 3:51.515 minutes
6. Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor (DK/F/B), Porsche 911 RSR, 3:51.770 minutes

GTE-Am class
1. Ledogar/Negri Jr./Piovanetti (F/USA/E), Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, 3:51.266 minutes
2. Campbell/Ried/Pera (AUS/D/I), Porsche 911 RSR, 3:51.322 minutes
3. Perfetti/ten Voorde/Cairoli (N/NL/I), Porsche 911 RSR, 3:51.647 minutes
4. Gunn/Dalla Lana/Farfus (GB/CDN/BR), Aston Martin Vantage, 3:52.105 minutes
5. Yoluc/Eastwood/Adam (TR/GB/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 3:52.299 minutes
6. Wainwright/Barker/Watson (GB/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR, 3:52.346 minutes

Full results: http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com

Porsche’s outright Le Mans victories

1970 – Herrmann (D) / Attwood (GB) – Porsche 917 KH

1971 – Marko (A) / Van Lennep (NL) – Porsche 917 KH

1976 – Ickx (B) / Van Lennep (NL) – Porsche 936

1977 – Ickx (B) / Haywood (USA) / Barth (D) – Porsche 936/77

1979 – Ludwig (D) / Whittington (USA) / Whittington (USA) – Porsche 935 K3

1981 – Ickx (B) / Bell (GB) – Porsche 936

1982 – Ickx (B) / Bell (GB) – Porsche 956

1983 – Schuppan (AUS) / Haywood (USA) / Holbert (USA) – Porsche 956

1984 – Pescarolo (F) / Ludwig (D) – Porsche 956

1985 – Barilla (I) / Ludwig (D) / Krages (D) – Porsche 956

1986 – Bell (GB) / Stuck (D) / Holbert (USA) – Porsche 962C

1987 – Bell (GB) / Stuck (D) / Holbert (USA) – Porsche 962C

1994 – Dalmas (F) / Haywood (USA) / Baldi (I) – Dauer Porsche 962 LM

1996 – Wurz (A) / Reuter (D) / Jones (USA) – TWR Porsche WSC-95

1997 – Kristensen (DK) / Alboreto (I) / Johansson (S) – TWR Porsche WSC-95

1998 – Aiello (F) / McNish (GB) / Ortelli (F) – Porsche 911 GT1

2015 – Bamber (NZ) / Tandy (GB) / Hülkenberg (D) – Porsche 919 Hybrid

2016 – Jani (CH) / Lieb (D) / Dumas (F) – Porsche 919 Hybrid

2017 – Bernhard (D) / Hartley (NZ) / Bamber (NZ) – Porsche 919 Hybrid