Stuttgart. The Porsche GT Team campaigns two 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR in the GT class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which has been given world championship status in 2017 for the first time. After a year of development in 2016, the 2015 FIA WEC title winners return with a works entry to the world’s most important GT competition.
The 911 RSR with the starting number 91 can be recognised by the red Porsche lettering on a black windscreen banner and on the rear wing as well as red wing mirrors. The vehicle is driven by the 2015 WEC Champion Richard Lietz (Austria) as well as Frédéric Makowiecki (France). Tackling the series in the number 92 vehicle are Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Kévin Estre (France). In contrast to the sister car, their 911 RSR features a white background on the windscreen and the rear wing as well as white wing mirrors.
Both 911 RSR, which were designed from scratch for the 2017 season featuring a four-litre flat-six engine mounted in front of the rear axle, will take part in the official WEC Prologue tests on 1-2 April in Monza. Silverstone (Great Britain) hosts the first race of the season on 16 April.
“In the fight for the maiden GT World Championship title in the FIA WEC we’ve put together two strong driver pairings. And all four pilots come from the world’s best GT hotbed of talent, Porsche’s one-make race series,” says Head of Porsche Motorsport Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser.
The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship races
16 April: 6 Hours of Silverstone (Great Britain)
6 May: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
17/18 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)
16 July: 6 Hours of Nürburgring (Germany)
3 September: 6 Hours of Mexico (Mexico)
16 September: 6 Hours of Austin (USA)
15 October: 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
5 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai (China)
18 November: 6 Hours of Bahrain (Bahrain)
Neil Simmons
Twitter: @world_racing
Photos courtesy of Porsche (c)