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Race report
At the first race of the 2015 season,
The second factory-entered 911 RSR campaigned by
The race on the Daytona International Speedway had only just got underway when
The battle at the top continued into the night. Thanks to a perfect race strategy and with the help of numerous safety car phases, the 911 RSR that had fallen back shortly after the start battled through the order to run in the same lap as the leader, with both
After the collision threw the factory-911 contenders down the field, the Falken Tire customer team’s 911 RSR stepped into the breach. With works drivers Wolf Henzler and Patrick Long at the helm, the 2014 Petit Le Mans winning car also put in a strong performance, moving into the lead in the first race hour and eventually settling in amongst the front pack. On Sunday morning, Patrick Long took the wheel from Wolf Henzler and held on to second place for quite some time, only to have engine damage herald an early end to their race, as well.
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser,
Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #911): “When we were in the lead I was beginning to think we might win. But you also need a great deal of luck in a 24-hour race. It wasn’t our day and it wasn’t the result we had expected. Still, the championship is not yet lost.”
Marc Lieb (911 RSR #911): “Of course it’s really disappointing how the race went for us. We were going well but then there was the unfortunate situation that should never happen, but it did. It cost both cars the race. But there’s no point complaining, we simply have to look ahead. It was definitely great fun to be back at the wheel of a GT car and to contest Daytona. The 911 RSR is simply a great race car.”
Nick Tandy (911 RSR #911): “The positive thing is that we were doing really well up until the incident. We didn’t imagine it would end like this, but we still finished in fifth and eighth and that earns us important points towards the championship. And we have to settle for this today.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #912): “I’m proud of the whole team. It’s incredible what the mechanics and engineers achieved during this race. We had a fast car and our strategy was good. It’s a pity we weren’t rewarded for this. Prior to the accident we had the speed to run at the top and that makes me confident for the rest of the season.”
Jörg Bergmeister (911 RSR #912): “The qualifying was much tougher compared to the pre-race tests and we experienced problems with the handling. But the car ran very well in the race. Despite the problems shortly after the start, we fought our way up and even after the accident we were back in fourth. That would have yielded some decent points. Still, last year in Daytona we didn’t do so well with the #912 car but then went on to win at Sebring. That has to be our aim this time.”
Earl Bamber (911 RSR #912): “Well that’s not how I expected my first Daytona race with the 911 RSR to go. The collision with Marc was a chain of unfortunate circumstances. I’m sorry that it caused such consequences. Up to that point we were going strong and as a team we deserved a better result. Now we have to take our chance at Sebring.”
In the GTD class two customer-run
GTLM class
1. Magnussen/Garcia/Briscoe (DK/E/AUS), Chevrolet Corvette, 725 laps
2. Auberlen/Werner/Farfus/Spengler (USA/D/P/CDN), BMW Z4 GTE, 725
3. Gavin/Milner/Pagenaud(GB/USA/F), Chevrolet Corvette, 718
4. Edwards/Luhr/Rahal/Klingmann (USA/D/USA/D), BMW Z4 GTE, 701
5. Tandy/Pilet/Lieb (GB/F/D),
6. Turner/Mücke/Lamy/Lauda/Dalla Lana (GB/D/P/A/CAN), Aston Martin, 632
7. Bergmeister/Bamber/Makowiecki (D/NZ/F),
8. Henzler/Long/Sellers (D/USA/USA),
GTD class
1. Keating/Farnbacher/Carter/Wittmer/Lawrence (USA/D/USA/CH/USA), Dodge Viper SRT, 704 laps
2. MacNeil/Keen/van Gisbergen/Davis (USA/USA/NZ/USA),
3. Snow/Heylen/Dempsey/Eng (USA/USA/USA/A),
All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.