The most successful manufacturer in the history of Le Mans 24 Hours is ready for yet another victory at this year’s event. They’ve recently announced their lineup for the 2010 race which includes six GT2-Class Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, prepared for private teams from Europe and the USA , and backed by Porsche factory drivers.
Some of this Le Mans masters include Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria), Wolf Henzler (Germany), Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Pilet (France), Patrick Long (USA), and Junior Marco Holzer (Germany). But like last year, two of Porsche’s best drivers, Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France), will be driving for Audi R15 TDi in LMP1 class.
At the 78th edition of the long distance motor sport classic in the Sarthe region, Porsche customer teams face strong opposition with major-league names in the GT2 class. “We are up against tough competition this year from BMW, Ferrari, Corvette and Aston Martin,” states Marc Lieb, who mans the number 77 car. “But the 911 GT3 RSR is reliable and quick. You need a very well balanced car here, particularly for the extremely fast corners – and that’s just what we have. The long full throttle passages also suit our car and Michelin is the perfect tyre partner. We have the chance to fight for class victory, and we’ll be doing everything to make it happen.”
As reigning GT2 champions and current points’ leaders of the Le Mans Series, Richard Lietz teams up with Lieb. Lietz is looking forward to Le Mans: “This race is always something special. The whole affair has flair and the circuit is simply fantastic.”
The Felbermayr team enters a second 911 with start number 88, in which the Austrians Horst Felbermayr senior and junior with Slovakian Miroslav Konopka share driving duties.
At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR run by the French IMSA Performance Matmut team, regulars Patrick Pilet and team boss Raymond Narac (France) join forces with support, as usual, from Patrick Long. “We kicked off the season with victory at the 24 Hour race in Dubai, perhaps that was a good omen for our home event,” hopes Pilet. “The 911 GT3 RSR is cut out for the demanding Le Mans circuit. We’re aiming for the podium.” The French 911 bears the start number 76.
Another well-established Porsche outfit comes from the United States: Flying Lizard Motorsports (start number 80), GT class title defender in the American Le Mans Series, brings Joerg Bergmeister as well as Americans Darren Law and Seth Neiman.
BMS Scuderia Italia’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR also features a top driver line up. Porsche Junior Marco Holzer shares the number 97 cockpit with reigning FIA GT champion Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) and the double DTM champion Timo Scheider (Germany). The sixth 911 with starting number 75 is entered by the Belgian ProSpeed Competition team, with Dutchmen Paul van Splunteren and Niek Hommerson as well as Louis Machiels (Belgium) sharing the cockpit.
