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Strong Porsche line up at long distance classic
Porsche customer teams are well prepared for the 77th running of the legendary Le Mans 24 hour race. The Japanese NAVI Team GOH and the Danish Essex team race two RS Spyder on 13/14 June and are keen to repeat the Porsche double victory from 2008 in the LMP2 sports prototype class. Porsche supports the teams with works drivers Sascha Maassen (Germany/GOH) and Emmanuel Collard (France/Essex).
In the production-based GT2 category, international customer teams compete with five Porsche 911 GT3 RSR vehicles this year. In addition, the two Porsche works pilots Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) drive an Audi R15 TDI in the class for the most powerful vehicles, the LMP1 sports prototypes.
'With a double victory at its debut last year, the RS Spyder proved to be fast and reliable. And in the GT2 class, we are even better represented than in 2008, with five 911 race cars instead of three. Having Timo and Romain in the LMP1 car, we have two of our drivers, who are amongst the best sports car pilots in the world, who can even fight for overall victory," says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport.
'With this diversity we can travel to La Sarthe with great optimism. We are aiming for class wins for the RS Spyder and the 911 GT3 RSR, and we are well prepared for this." With 16 overall victories since 1970, Porsche is by far the most successful manufacturer in the history of the long distance classic.
With a total of six test days in Japan and France, NAVI Team GOH, 2004 overall winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has taken meticulous steps to prepare for the race. Joining forces with works driver Sascha Maassen for the event are two Japanese teammates, Seiji Ara, winner at Le Mans in 2004 with GOH, and the talented Formula 3 youngster Keisuke Kunimoto.
'I'm feeling optimistic after our tests," says Maassen. 'The RS Spyder is fast and reliable and my teammates are extremely capable. The experience and preparedness of the team are very important, above all because there was no pre-test on the circuit this year." No other works driver has clocked up as many kilometres in the RS Spyder as the 39-year-old German.
He has assisted with development of the sports prototype since 2005 and in 2006 claimed the championship title in the American Le Mans Series. Maassen knows the 13.629 kilometre circuit in Le Mans well. In 2004 and 2005 he celebrated class wins in the GT2 category, and last year he came second with an RS Spyder fielded by the Essex team. 'I have the greatest respect for the race track and its swift corners," he says. 'The race will be immensely challenging and certainly very exciting. My goal is to improve on last year's result by one place."
Taking Maassen's seat in the Essex team this year is the Porsche factory pilot Emmanuel Collard from France. Together with Denmark's Casper Elgaard and Kristian Poulsen, the trio are a force to be reckoned with. The 38-year-old Frenchman won the GT class in Le Mans in 2003, secured second in 2005, and in 2007 Collard claimed third overall.
31-year-old Elgaard celebrated second place at the wheel of an Essex RS Spyder in the LMP2 class in 2008 – and early May in Spa claimed his second win in the Porsche sports prototype in the Le Mans Series. Newcomer Poulsen underlined his talent and nerves of steel at his debut on the Belgian circuit, when in the gripping final phase of the race he brought the RS Spyder across the finish line as the winner.
Porsche customer teams are well prepared for the 77th running of the legendary Le Mans 24 hour race. The Japanese NAVI Team GOH and the Danish Essex team race two RS Spyder on 13/14 June and are keen to repeat the Porsche double victory from 2008 in the LMP2 sports prototype class. Porsche supports the teams with works drivers Sascha Maassen (Germany/GOH) and Emmanuel Collard (France/Essex).
In the production-based GT2 category, international customer teams compete with five Porsche 911 GT3 RSR vehicles this year. In addition, the two Porsche works pilots Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) drive an Audi R15 TDI in the class for the most powerful vehicles, the LMP1 sports prototypes.
'With a double victory at its debut last year, the RS Spyder proved to be fast and reliable. And in the GT2 class, we are even better represented than in 2008, with five 911 race cars instead of three. Having Timo and Romain in the LMP1 car, we have two of our drivers, who are amongst the best sports car pilots in the world, who can even fight for overall victory," says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport.
'With this diversity we can travel to La Sarthe with great optimism. We are aiming for class wins for the RS Spyder and the 911 GT3 RSR, and we are well prepared for this." With 16 overall victories since 1970, Porsche is by far the most successful manufacturer in the history of the long distance classic.
With a total of six test days in Japan and France, NAVI Team GOH, 2004 overall winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has taken meticulous steps to prepare for the race. Joining forces with works driver Sascha Maassen for the event are two Japanese teammates, Seiji Ara, winner at Le Mans in 2004 with GOH, and the talented Formula 3 youngster Keisuke Kunimoto.
'I'm feeling optimistic after our tests," says Maassen. 'The RS Spyder is fast and reliable and my teammates are extremely capable. The experience and preparedness of the team are very important, above all because there was no pre-test on the circuit this year." No other works driver has clocked up as many kilometres in the RS Spyder as the 39-year-old German.
He has assisted with development of the sports prototype since 2005 and in 2006 claimed the championship title in the American Le Mans Series. Maassen knows the 13.629 kilometre circuit in Le Mans well. In 2004 and 2005 he celebrated class wins in the GT2 category, and last year he came second with an RS Spyder fielded by the Essex team. 'I have the greatest respect for the race track and its swift corners," he says. 'The race will be immensely challenging and certainly very exciting. My goal is to improve on last year's result by one place."
Taking Maassen's seat in the Essex team this year is the Porsche factory pilot Emmanuel Collard from France. Together with Denmark's Casper Elgaard and Kristian Poulsen, the trio are a force to be reckoned with. The 38-year-old Frenchman won the GT class in Le Mans in 2003, secured second in 2005, and in 2007 Collard claimed third overall.
31-year-old Elgaard celebrated second place at the wheel of an Essex RS Spyder in the LMP2 class in 2008 – and early May in Spa claimed his second win in the Porsche sports prototype in the Le Mans Series. Newcomer Poulsen underlined his talent and nerves of steel at his debut on the Belgian circuit, when in the gripping final phase of the race he brought the RS Spyder across the finish line as the winner.