Should I Put My Porsche Away For The Winter? Or Go Ice Racing?
Facebook Twitter Pinterest reddit LinkedIn While many Porsche owners around the world lock their cars away when winter arrives, some brave owners go ice racing! On a track built on top of thick ice, interesting and historically significant cars slipped and slithered...
New Porsche RSR-19 Double Podiums at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona
The new Porsche 911 RSR-19 celebrated a successful North American race debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, January 25 – 26, with a double podium finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. After a strong team effort, the two ca. 515-hp Porsche 911 RSR-19 fielded by the Porsche GT Team finished in second and third-places of the GTLM class. In the GTD class, Porsche 911 GT3 R customer teams finished in fourth, fifth and 13th-places.
From start to finish, the factory GT racers from Germany ran like clockwork at their first 24-hour race. Not a single technical problem hampered the premiere as the two new 911 RSR-19 race machines took turns in the lead over most of the record distance. After 786 laps, Porsche was just shy of claiming a record-extending victory at the 24-hour classic in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The two Porsche 911 RSR-19 had already turned heads earlier in the weekend at the high-speed oval/road course combination track. The “works” cars swept the first-two positions on the GTLM class grid in qualifying with Nick Tandy (Great Britain) charging the No. 911 to the pole position just ahead of teammate and defending IMSA Champion Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) in the No. 912. In the race, Vanthoor, Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Mathieu Jaminet (France) followed on this performance, claiming second-place in the No. 912 race car, with the No. 911 sister car with the driver trio of Tandy, Frédéric Makowiecki (France), and Matt Campbell (Australia) finishing in third-place. With flawless stints, a perfect strategy and swift pit stops, both crews set the pace at the front.
The Porsche customer teams also put in a strong performance at the season-opening round of the 2020 race season. Wright Motorsports with Porsche factory driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California), Ryan Hardwick (Atlanta, Georgia), Anthony Imperato (Brooklyn, New York) and Austrian Klaus Bachler made a dramatic comeback in the second half of the race, managing a fourth-place finish in the GTD class despite sustaining slight damages to the underbody of their No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Behind them, Black Swan Racing also put in a spirited chase through the field to take fifth-place with drivers Sven Müller (Germany), Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands), Timothy Pappas (Boston, Massachusetts) and Trenton Estep (San Antonio, Texas) at the wheel of the No. 54 entry. The team, with the assistance of Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) and Wright Motorsports, made the race start after a serious accident rendered the originally entered Black Swan Porsche 911 GT3 R un-repairable on-site. The end result was a impressive example of teamwork, tenacity and the Porsche “Family” spirit.
The GTD class pole-winning Porsche 911 GT3 R of Pfaff Motorsports experienced a frustrating ending to a strong weekend. After leading the pro-am style class for the majority of the first 12-hours, a drive-shaft defect relegated the No. 9 car shared by factory ace Patrick Pilet (France), Dennis Olsen (Norway), 2019 IMSA Sprint Cup Champion Zach Robichon (Canada) and Porsche Development Driver Lars Kern (Germany) down through the field. The quartet ultimately crossed the finish line in 13th-place.
Pascal Zurlinden, Director GT Works Motorsport.
“That was a perfect debut for the new Porsche 911 RSR. At the first race in the USA – and one over 24 hours – we didn’t experience a single technical problem and ended up on the podium with both cars. From the team effort to the strategy right through to the work in the pit lane, everything ran smoothly and flawlessly. At the next race in Sebring, we want to defend our victory from last year.”
Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19.
“It’s not often that you make it through a 24-hour race without making any mistakes. It’s remarkable and a great start to the season for the new 911 RSR. Even though it wasn’t quite enough today, we’re all the more determined to go all-out and climb to the top step of the podium again in the future.”
Frédéric Makowiecki, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19.
“It was a clean race that we can be proud of. The car ran well from start to finish. Our pit crew did an awesome job. There’s nothing to improve on. Our pace was good, too, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough to win.”
Matt Campbell, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19.
“We pushed hard right from the start, stayed amongst the frontrunners for 24 hours and led for a long time. To kick off the season on the podium with the two new RSR is a fantastic start to the 2020 racing year.”
Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19.
“We fought to the finish and tried everything. Our car ran excellently. However, one of our rivals was slightly faster. I’m still very proud, because the team worked brilliantly together and after 24 hours we’re on the podium with the two new Porsche 911 RSR.”
Mathieu Jaminet, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19.
“I have mixed feelings after this race about whether I should be happy or not with second-place. We drove a perfect race and maintained a steady pace supported by a highly motivated team. But the competition was a little better and you have to acknowledge that.”
Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.
“We had our eye on winning, but unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough. I can’t say what we did wrong. The new RSR ran beautifully, the team and drivers did a great job. I just have to come back next year to finally try to win at Daytona after my successes at Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.”
Patrick Long, Driver, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“I’m actually quite satisfied with the race. We constantly had to catch up, but we did this very well as a team with the right pit-stop strategy. Towards the end of the race, we lacked the pace compared to the three competitors in front of us. All in all, it was a good start to the season for our team.”
Porsche Releases “The Heist” Extended Cut – Is This The Best Car Chase Ever?
Porsche just released this great short that features some of their most iconic machines racing through historic German landscapes. The Heist takes you on a heart-pounding chase with an all-star cast of cars from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.
The new all-electric Taycan escapes the museum and is chased down by the storied 917K, Carrera GT, 918 Spyder, 911 RSR, 718 Cayman GT4, 911 Carrera 4S, 930 Turbo, and 911 GT2 RS. The story gives a visual history of iconic Porsche cars that share a common sports car soul, and the story features an unexpected plot twist.
The new Porsche 911 RSR Secures Pole Position (and 2nd) in 24 Hours of Daytona Qualifying
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: The new Porsche 911 RSR has made an impressive North American debut in qualifying for the 24-hour race at Daytona by claiming positions one and two on the grid. During the 15-minute session on the Daytona International Speedway, Nick Tandy in the No. 911 vehicle and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 912 sister car fought a heated duel for the fastest lap time.
Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Belgium’s Laurens Vanthoor tapped the full potential of the 2019-generation GT racer, which is based on the high-performance 911 GT3 RS road-legal sports car, and swapped places at the top of the time sheets. In the end, Tandy snatched pole position with a time of 1:42.207 minutes ahead of Vanthoor, thus beating his own GTLM-class qualifying record, which he set at Daytona in 2019.
Complete event details, broadcast schedule, live timing, and updates can be found here:
https://www.imsa.com/events/2020-rolex-24-daytona
Want To Drive Someone Else’s Porsche? Now You Can.
Peer-to-peer carsharing companies allow private car owners to rent out their vehicles via online and mobile interfaces. It sounds intriguing, and so I popped onto one of these sites to see what was available in my area. I was surprised to find all kinds of neat machines.
Click here to find cool cars
to drive in your area >>>
Below were a few of the Porsches available in my neighborhood
(NorCal – photos are of these actual cars)
Replica 1957 Porsche Speedster – $259 Per Day:
No one, and I mean no one, comes back without a giant smile on their face. This car draws so much attention I can guarantee you can’t go two miles downtown without a wave, thumbs up, a shout, or a question. And if you park it, be prepared to laugh as passing crowds will take pictures all day long.
2013 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet – $290 Per Day:
This car is a dream to drive with awe-inspiring power and handling. It is surprisingly practical with four seats, good gas mileage, and an easy driving temperament when you just want to cruise.
2013 Porsche Boxster – $149 Per Day:
Could have, should have, would have. Life’s too short for ‘what ifs’. Too short for unfulfilled daydreams. This 981S makes a clear statement: let’s go! This is a custom built Porsche Boxster S with – Sports Tuned Exhaust! – PDK automatic with paddle shifters – Convertible – Navigation, – Parking sensors, – Dark red hand stitched sports interior, – Premium Bose sound system, – 14 way power sports seat with lumbar support. Enjoy this stylish ride, that never fails to turn heads!!
Porsche Sales Increase In Every Region
Vehicles produced by the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer are more popular than ever: in 2019 Porsche delivered 280,800 vehicles to its customers – ten percent more than in the previous year.
“We are delighted about this great result, which shows the worldwide customer excitement for our sports cars and we are also proud that we have further strengthened the appeal of our brand and the customer experience with new approaches,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG. “We are optimistic that we can maintain the high levels of demand in 2020 – also thanks to a host of new models and full order books for the Taycan.”
Porsche Sales Breakdown by Region:
| PORSCHE AG Deliveries | Full years | ||
| 2018 | 2019 | Difference | |
| Worldwide | 256,255 | 280,800 | 10% |
| Europe | 77,216 | 88,975 | 15% |
| Germany | 27,541 | 31,618 | 15% |
| America | 70,461 | 75,367 | 7% |
| United States | 57,202 | 61,568 | 8% |
| Asia-Pacfic, Africa, Middle East | 108,578 | 116,458 | 7% |
| China | 80,108 | 86,752 | 8% |
Overall global passenger car sales dropped by 3-5% in 2018 and 2019, and so Porsche is way ahead of the industry going into 2020. You can help them keep up the momentum by placing your order here: www.Porsche.com
Lego Speed Champions Take Over The Stuttgart Museum After Hours
The Lego Speed Champions Porsche 911 RSR and Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 Building Kit is really fun to build. When the cars come alive inside the Stuttgart Porsche Museum it gets even better. There are a ton of great vintage and racing Porsches to see when you take the video tour of the museum at night with these adventurous mini-figures…just keep an eye out for the law…
Surprise… the 992 Aerokit Has Arrived
It was a slow Porsche news day today, and so like any other fan I went to spend a few minutes on the Official Porsche website to build my preferred 911 of the day. Since the 992 builder became available I have preferred the Sport Design front and rear bumpers to the...Rent A Porsche In Your Hometown…
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