Team release: Porsche podiums in Fuji

Porsche express dissatisfaction with race outcome

The race debut of the new Porsche 911 RSR in Fuji, Japan, was literally a washout. Round six of the sports car World Endurance Championship WEC was suspended twice on Sunday after formation laps behind the safety car due to heavy rainfall. After a third attempt to start with another safety car lap, the race was finally cancelled one and a half hours before the scheduled end.

Because safety car laps count towards the race according to the WEC regulations, the Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France) were classified third in the GTE-Pro class, with their factory pilot colleagues Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) in fourth.

Marco Ujhasi, Product Project Manager 911 RSR: “We can’t understand the reason for terminating the race at this time. No rain had fallen 45 minutes prior to the announcement, at the most a brief shower, so driving would definitely have been possible. The final stop came much too early. For us, the cancellation is particularly hard to swallow, because such conditions would have given us the best chances for a double victory. The 911 RSR is very quick in wet weather and has excellent traction. So unfortunately we were prevented from making up ground to the points’ leaders in the fight for the title.”

Information taken from Porsche press release

Photo: OYAMA-CHO (SHINOZUKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, 6 HOURS OF FUJI, SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER 2013, RACE.