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Successful race debut for the new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

At the Sebring 12 hour race, the new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR celebrated a successful race premiere. At the wheel of the 911 fielded by the Felbermayr-Proton team, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Patrick Pilet (France) secured second place in the GTE Pro class at the long distance classic in Florida and with this made a very promising start into the new World Endurance Championship.

"Second place is a great result. Right from the start, our new 911 GT3 RSR was reliable and that's very positive," said Marc Lieb. "But we lacked the speed to win off our own bat." Richard Lietz, who had to start from the back of the field because the cockpit temperature of his Porsche in qualifying was one degree over what was permitted, said, "I'm very satisfied with how the race went. For twelve hours our 911 ran without the slightest technical problem. Which is, of course, not something you take for granted at the first race with a new car."

Christian Ried (Germany) and his Italian teammates Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti made a superb start to the season. With the second Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2011 model year) run by Felbermayr-Proton they celebrated victory in the GTE Am class. "This win is a perfect way to kick off the season," Ried commented. "The last one and half hours of the race were incredibly tough for Paolo, because he had to cope without power steering."

With the tradition-steeped twelve hour race on the Sebring International Raceway the American Le Mans Series also took off into the season. Driving the new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for Paul Miller Racing, Sascha Maassen (Germany), Bryce Miller (USA) and Rob Bell (Great Britain) secured fifth place in the GT class. At the wheel of Flying Lizard Motorsports' 911, Americans Seth Neiman, Darren Law and Andy Lally saw the flag in seventh place.

For two other new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, the season-opening round in the sunshine state of the USA brought less than perfect results. Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) secured ninth with Bryan Sellers (USA) and Martin Ragginger (Austria). After the qualifying, their Falken Tire team had to replace the engine in the 911, and although the mechanics managed this in record time, he still took up the race one lap behind. Things were not a lot better for his factory pilot colleagues Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Long (USA) and Marco Holzer (Germany) in the second Flying Lizard Porsche: In the formation lap, a Ferrari rammed into the rear of the Porsche, which threw them far back. After putting in a spirited chase, they still managed to yield tenth and earn valuable points towards the championship.

"Our car ran better in the race than it did in qualifying. We drove consistently fast lap times to the end," stated Wolf Henzler. Marco Holzer added: "That was a bitter race. It was already over for us before it had really begun. So our goal was to finish the 70 percent distance and safeguard those important championship points."

Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche motorsport, regarded the start of the season as positive. "Compliments to the Felbermayr-Proton team for their victory in GTE-Am class and second place in GTE-Pro class. This was almost an optimum result," he said. "I am extremely pleased with the reliability of the new 911 GT3 RSR. As far as the time difference to our fastest rivals in qualifying and in the race is concerned, we will be analysing that gap to determine whether the performance balancing influenced this. Congratulations as well to Paul Miller Racing for its great result in the American Le Mans Series with fifth. It's a pity that the race was over before the start for one of our strongest cars, it was not the team's fault."

Round two of the World Endurance Championship takes place on 5 May 2012 in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium. On 14 April, round two of the American Le Mans Series takes off on the street course in Long Beach, California.

Results

World Endurance Championship
GTE Pro class
1. Bertolini/Beretta/Cioci (I/MC/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, 307 laps
2. Lieb/Lietz/Pilet (D/A/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 306
3. Mücke/Fernandez/Turner (D/MEX/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 291
4. Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander (I/I/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, 215
5. Melo/Makowiecki/Vernay (BRA/F/F), Ferrari F458 Italia, 183

GTE Am class
1. Ried/Roda/Ruberti (D/I/I), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 298 laps
2. Bourret/Gibon/Belloc (F/F/F), Chevrolet Corvette, 297
3. Bornhauser/Canal/Lamy (F/F/P), Chevrolet Corvette, 288
4. Kaufmann/Waltrip/Aguas (USA/USA/P), Ferrari F458, 283
5. Krohn/Jönsson/Rugolo (USA/S/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, 265
6. Binnie/Palttala/Camathias (USA/SF/CH), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 251


American Le Mans Series
GT class
1. Hand/Müller/Summerton (USA/D/USA), BMW E92 M3, 307 laps
2. Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor (DK/E/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 307
3. Gavin/Milner/Westbrook (GB/USA/GB), Chevrolet Corvette, 307
4. Müller/Auberlen/Alzen (D/USA/D), BMW E92 M3, 306
5. Maassen/Miller/Bell (D/USA/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 302
6. Brown/Segal/Lazzaro (USA/USA/USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, 302
7. Law/Neiman/Lally (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 302
9. Henzler/Sellers/Ragginger (D/USA/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 289
10. Bergmeister/Long/Holzer (D/USA/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 251

GTC class
1. Sweedler/Bell/von Moltke (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 291 laps
2. Keen/Dumoulin/MacNeil (USA/CAN/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 291
3. Faulkner/Bleekemolen/LaSaffe (IRL/NL/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 290


Points' standings

World Endurance Championship
Teams GTE Pro
1. AF Corse, Ferrari, 25 points
2. Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche, 18
3. Aston Martin Racing, Aston Martin, 15

Teams GTE Am
1. Felbermayr-Proton, Porsche, 25 points
2. Labre Competition, Chevrolet, 18
3. AF Corse-Waltrip, Ferrari , 12

American Le Mans Series
GT class
1. Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, Jonathan Summerton, BMW , 24 points
2. Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet , 20
3. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Richard Westbrook, Chevrolet, 17
5. Sascha Maassen, Bryce Miller, Rob Bell, Porsche, 12
7. Seth Neiman, Andy Lally, Darren Law. Porsche, 8
9. Wolf Henzler, Bryan Sellers, Martin Ragginger, Porsche, 6
10. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Marco Holzer , Porsche, 5

Manufacturers
1. BMW, 24 points
2. Chevrolet, 20
3. Porsche , 12
4. Ferrari, 10

Teams
1. BMW Team RLL, BMW, 24 points
2. Corvette Racing, Chevrolet, 20
3. Paul Miller Racing, Porsche, 12
4. Extreme Speed Motorsports, Ferrari, 10

This is the World Endurance Championship
Sports prototypes and GT vehicles race in the new World Endurance Championship. They are divided into four classes that start together but are classified separately:
LMGTE Pro class: This class is reserved for slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,245 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR).
LMGTE Am class: Like the LMGTE Pro, but the regulations stipulate that there must be no more than one professional driver per vehicle.
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with around 440 hp and a 900 kilogram minimum weight.

This is the American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The field is divided into five classes that start together but are classified separately:
GT class: This most popular class amongst car manufacturers traditionally receives the most support: Slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,245 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR).
GTC class: This class is reserved for vehicles from one-make race series like the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp and a 900 kg minimum weight.
LMPC class: Prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.

Photo gallery: World Endurance Championship