“After seven very successful years, we’re wrapping up our works program in North America with the upcoming race at Sebring. With this special vehicle design, we want to underline our connection to this tremendous racing series and also want to say a big thank you to the loyal fans," said Pascal Zurlinden, Director Factory Motorsport. While racing the 911 in the GTLM class, we experienced firsthand the excitement that our brand inspires in the USA. The spectators were always full of passion, they love the 911 RSR and they were unfailingly supportive. We’d also like to thank everyone involved from Porsche AG, Porsche Cars North America, our motor racing colleagues in the USA, the operations team Core autosport and, last but definitely not least, our loyal partners. The huge successes over the last seven years would not have been possible without their trust and dedicated cooperation.”
“With this special vehicle design, we want to express our connection to this tremendous racing series and also want to say a big thank you to the loyal fans.” Pascal Zurlinden
In total, including the one-off design of the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Porsche will have carried five custom designs to recognize the unique nature of the North American market. Special liveries bookend the seven-year history of the CORE autosport-operated “works” team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. These designs, along with official corporate colors, have adorned three iterations of the Porsche 911 RSR in a total of 75 races entering Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Porsche is marking the conclusion of its overwhelmingly successful North American factory team at Sebring International Raceway on November 14 with a final red, white and blue graphic conveying a “Thank You” to CORE, IMSA, the tracks and promoters, workers and fans in the United States and Canada.
Much like the livery in the team’s first race at Daytona 2014 highlighted the operation’s North American lineage, the GTLM class race cars will be wrapped in a truly American design. The No. 911 driven by two-time consecutive and defending class Sebring winners Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) as well as 2019 WeatherTech GTLM class champion Earl Bamber (New Zealand) will see the corporate “Porsche Crest” livery echoed in a blue ribbon with white stars crossed by red and white stripes running the length of the white car. The No. 912 with Bamber also assigned to drive with longtime teammate Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and veteran Porsche factory driver Neel Jani (Switzerland) will reverse this with a ribbon of red splitting into red and white stripes over the rear fenders while a stripe of blue and white stars runs from the hood over the roof and onto the rear bodywork of the white car. “THANK YOU” messages will adorn the rocker panels and underside of the rear wings of both machines. The cars can also be differentiated by a white windshield banner and rear wing, as well as white rear wing underside on the No. 911 while the No. 912 has a black Porsche windshield banner and rear wing with a blue rear wing underside.
"THANK YOU.". The message, which appears as a thread across the week-long celebration of the final race to be run by the North American factory team, has multiple targets. Porsche wishes to express deep gratitude to the Jonathan Bennett-owned CORE autosport operation, its managers, specialists and technicians, as well as to IMSA, the many Porsche GT Team partners in North America such as Mobil 1, Michelin, TAG Heuer, PUMA, ZF and Hugo Boss as well as the race tracks, promoters and corner workers on the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar the last seven years… every one of which has seen the team stand in victory lane. Most heartfelt in this simple message of appreciation is to the race fans themselves. Every lap turned by both the No. 911 and No. 912 is a personal salute not only to the fans at Sebring International Raceway but to those at home watching the NBC Sports broadcast or listening to the IMSA Radio call as well.
Porsche, as a manufacturer, has taken part in every IMSA sports car race ever held including an unprecedented string of 67 consecutive 12 Hours of Sebring dating back to 1953. During that time, Porsche has captured a record 18 overall and 72 class wins at the central Florida track. Drivers have piloted a Porsche 911 into Sebring’s victory lane 33 times, including the last two years with Tandy, Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet (France) taking back-to-back GTLM class victories in the No. 911. While Porsche will continue long into the future supporting customer teams, the 68th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring marks the end of the factory GTLM program in North America.
