BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 14, 2018) – The Porsche GT Team has won the final round of the 2018 IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship. Patrick Pilet (France), Nick Tandy (England) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) won the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta.
In the 10-hour race in Braselton, Georgia, Porsche put in a strong performance against tough competition in the GTLM class. Thanks to perfect tactics and a flawless race, the Porsche 911 RSR scored its third win of the season in the North American championship. Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Mathieu Jaminet (France) concluded the last IMSA race of the year in sixth place.
The victorious trio in the No. 911 Porsche maintained their promising position in the early phase of the race. With consistent lap times and perfectly executed pit stops, the three worked their way through the field at the endurance classic. With approximately three hours left on the clock, Makowiecki moved into the lead and defended this position. Tandy then brought the car over the finish line in first place with an advantage of 11.443 seconds.
For 71 laps, the sister car with the starting number 912 was also on course for victory – despite a puncture early on in the ten-hour race. A drive-through penalty, however, threw the trio down the field. Bamber, Vanthoor and Jaminet tried everything to catch up, however the fierce competition in the GTLM prevented them from making up lost ground. The vehicle crossed the finish line one minute behind the winning No. 911 car.
Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser (Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars)
“Our strategy worked perfectly. Right from the start, we focused on having a car at the end of the race that was very fast in cool conditions. Patrick laid the foundations for this success with a strong double stint. Nick and Fred then brought it home. But you need the right tactic, too, and that worked perfectly. Petit Le Mans was a huge race. This victory fits perfectly with the successes that came just in time for Porsche’s 70th anniversary. If someone had written a film script for such a scenario, no one would have believed it to be real. But it worked and that’s just terrific!”
Pascal Zurlinden (Director GT Factory Motorsport)
“It was a gripping race with highs and lows. Minor errors on the racetrack cost us some time, but with perfect strategies and tire choices we made it to the front of the field. After victories in Sebring and at Le Mans and now Petit Le Mans – the entire team simply did a perfect job, and today we extended the contract with the squad for another three years. Now we’ll prepare for next season.”