Preview
The Petit Le Mans race on the storied Road Atlanta track not only signifies the end of an exciting racing season. The finale of the IMSA SportsCar Championship also marks the end of an era: For the
At its farewell performance, the 470 hp 911 RSR, which was developed based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, could even win a title: In the prestigious North American Endurance Cup, which encompasses the long distance classics of Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans,
The race
Petit Le Mans was first contested on the 4.087-kilometre racetrack in 1998. With 24 victories,
The
The defending IMSA GT champion Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain), last year’s sensational overall winners, tackle the GTLM class together with Richard Lietz (Austria) in the number 911
The
In addition to Petit Le Mans, the 911 RSR has won other long-distance classics such as Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring and has also clinched many championship titles. The vehicle was developed in Weissach on the basis of the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car.
The schedule
The race takes off on 1st October at 11:10 hrs local time (17:10 hrs CEST) and runs over ten hours. The race can be viewed live outside the USA on www.imsa.com.
Pre-race quotes
Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of
Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #911): “It’s a very special feeling to return to this racetrack a year after our amazing overall victory. I can still vividly recall that success. It was one of the most wonderful moments of my career. Petit Le Mans is one of the greatest classics in endurance racing, and to contest a ten-hour event at the end of a tough season is a huge challenge for every race driver. The weather is unpredictable at this time of the year. When it rains, it’s heavy and persistent. All in all I’m looking forward to it. We’ve experienced a difficult season and it would be fantastic if we could end it with a victory.”
Nick Tandy (911 RSR #911): “Petit Le Mans is the first major race that I won as a
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #911): “Road Atlanta will definitely be an exciting race. I’m looking forward to supporting Patrick and Nick as the third driver. In the past they’ve always welcomed me with open arms.”
Earl Bamber (911 RSR #912): “The last few years have underlined that Road Atlanta is a racetrack that suits the 911 RSR. After all the successes, we now hope of course that we’ll achieve a good result again this time. Our goal is clear: we want to secure the fourth straight win for
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #912): “Petit Le Mans is one of the greatest races in the USA.
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #912): “I’m looking forward to racing again in America. Petit Le Mans is always spectacular. It’s the last race of the season so everyone is determined to show just how good they are. And then there is the weather, which is always good for a surprise. All in all, it’s a very intense race on a great racetrack.”
Jörg Bergmeister (911 GT3 R #73): “Petit Le Mans is our last chance of the year to bring home a victory. We’ve done tests there and they were really good. We’ll do our very best to bring the debut season of the 911 GT3 R to a successful close. Road Atlanta is a great track, it’s very challenging and a worthy venue for a season finale.”
This is the IMSA SportsCar Championship
The IMSA SportsCar Championship is a sports car race series contested in the USA and Canada, which was run in 2014 for the first time. The series was formed from the merger of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Series. Sports prototypes and sports cars start in four different classes: GTLM (GT Le Mans), GTD (GT Daytona), P (Prototype) and PC (Prototype Challenge). The
911 GT3 RS: Fuel consumption combined 12.7 l/100 km; urban 19.2 l/100 km; extra urban 8.9 l/100 km; CO2 emissions 296 g/km; efficiency class (Germany): G