Porsche 2006 Annual Report Download - page 119

Dumas crowned an outstandingly successful year by
taking the LMP 2 drivers title. Dyson Racing achieved
some first-class results in their first year – an amazing
feat with the technically challenging RS Spyder – and
took third and fourth places behind the two Penske
Porsche in the class ranking. The spectacular succes-
ses of the Porsche customer teams in the USA also had
a big knock-on effect in European motor sports. In 2008,
the Dutch team VM Motorsport and Horag Racing from
Switzerland will use the prototypes for the first time in
the Le Mans Series, a top-flight championship consisting
of races over distances of 1,000 kilometers.
With the overwhelming success in the USA and the
setting of the RS Spyder’s future course in Europe,
Porsche continued the tradition of top-class customer
motorsport in the review year by adding yet another
successful chapter.
The Porsche 911 on the Road to Victory
Whether over a sprint distance or a long haul, the race
versions of the 911 continue to set the standards in the
categories for modified production sports cars. The
new 911 GT3 RSR, developing around 485 hp, follows
on from the masterly achievements of its predecessor
models, while the 420 hp 911 GT3 Cup is putting cus-
tomers way ahead in the factory race car category.
One of the most popular motor sports series in the
USA is the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series.
Porsche holds the record for class victories in this
race series and in the GT class notched up the most
victories, fastest training times and podium finishes.
In 2007, the German Dirk Werner added to this long
list of successes by clinching the GT class drivers’
title in a 911 GT3 Cup. At the same time, Porsche
won the manufacturers’ championship and Farnbacher
Loles clinched the team title.
In the American Le Mans Series, works driver Jörg
Bergmeister set out to defend his GT2 class title.
Driving the 911 GT3 RSR of the Flying Lizard Motor-
sport Team, the German and his American team
colleague Johannes van Overbeek were continually
among the front runners – enough to secure them-
selves the vice-championship after twelve races.
In 2006, works driver Marc Lieb won the GT2 class
drivers’ title in the Le Mans Series, a series consisting
exclusively of races over a distance of 1,000 kilome-
ters, for the second time in a row. Driving a 911 GT3
RSR from the Felbermayr Proton team, the German
also regularly produced some outstanding results in
2007. After the penultimate race, Lieb and his French
teammate Xavier Pompidou were lying third in the
championship.
In the FIA GT Championship, works driver Emmanuel
Collard added some muscle to BMS Scuderia Italia in
the 2007 season. The Frenchman shared the cockpit of
a 911 GT3 RSR with Italian Matteo Malucelli. Throughout
the entire season, the duo remained in the lead group
despite some stiff competition and finished the year in
third place in the GT2 drivers’ championship.
Way Ahead in the Endurance Category, too
In July 2007, the engineers, mechanics and drivers
celebrated the first racing birthday of the new 911
GT3 RSR by taking the top four places in the car’s
class with the near-series Porsche at one of the most
famous endurance races in the world, the 24-hour
race at Spa-Francorchamps in the Belgian Ardennes.
The race car trial debuted at this race back in 2006.
In 2007, works drivers Marc Lieb and Emmanuel
Collard, along with Matteo Malucelli, won their class,
with a clear lead over three other RSRs. The Mühlner
Motorsport Team rounded off a successful outing
at Spa for Porsche customer sport with a victory in
the “minors” class with the 911 GT3 Cup.
In 2007, the marathon in Belgium was the fourth and
last of the major 24-hour races steeped in tradition.
Traditionally, the series starts with the Daytona
24-hour race in January. In a dramatic finale at the
circuit on Florida’s west coast, a team of German,
American and Canadian drivers won the GT title in
a 911 GT3 Cup with a seven-second lead over a US
sports car. Three other 911 GT3 Cup cars made it
The new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR demonstrated its exceptional performance
as an endurance race car in numerous GT championships and 24-hour races.
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