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You are here: Home / Featured / Silverstone WEC Round 3 Preview

Silverstone WEC Round 3 Preview

13th August 2018 by: Glen Smale | 2 Comments

#92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, finished first in the LMGTE Pro class

After the summer break, the WEC heads to Silverstone this coming weekend for WEC Round 3 of the 2018/2019 Super Season. Having moved from its traditional slot as the WEC season opener in April, it will be the first time the Silverstone round of the WEC has been held this late in the year.

#91 Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Richard Lietz, Gianmaria Bruni and Frederic Makowiecki
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #91 Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Richard Lietz, Gianmaria Bruni and Frederic Makowiecki, and finished second in the LMGTE Pro class

The LMP1 class should be beyond question with Toyota already well out in front of second-placed Rebellion. In the LMP2 formula, the #36 Signatech Alpine is comfortably ahead of the two Jackie Chan cars which are lying in second and third places, just a point apart. The real action, though, will be in the GTE Pro and GTE Am classes.

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Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Lindsey and Egidio Perfetti in the LMGTE Am class
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Michael Wainwright, Ben Barker and Alex Davison in the LMGTE Am class

GTE Pro and Am class drivers for Round 3:

Class No.  Team Drivers
GTE Pro 91 Porsche GT Team Richard Lietz/Gianmaria Bruni
92 Porsche GT Team Michael Christensen/Kévin Estre
GTE Am 54 Project 1 Jörg Bergmeister/Patrick Lindsey/Egidio Perfetti
77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Christian Ried/Julien Andlauer/Matt Campbell
86 Gulf Racing Michael Wainwright/Ben Barker/Alex Davison
88 Proton Racing Khaled Al Qubaisi/ Giorgio Roda/Matteo Cairoli

The GTE Pro and Am Porsche 911 RSR are essentially running the same spec machine in both classes. The 911 RSR in the Pro class has a minimum weight limit of 1269 kg and the engine must run with a pair of 30.3 mm restrictors. In order to establish a performance difference between the Pro and Am Porsches, the 911 RSR in the Am class must have a minimum weight of 1279 kg and the engine must be fitted with a pair of 29.9 mm restrictors.

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Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR (LMGTE Am) driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi, Giorgio Roda and Matteo Cairoli waits in the pits
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: (from L-R) Michael Wainwright and Ben Barker shared the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR with Alex Davison in the LMGTE Am class

Apart from these restrictions, which are carried over from Le Mans and were correct at the time of publication, the only other difference between the Pro and Am cars is the driver behind the wheel.

Kevin Estre gets a last-minute hug from his wife on the grid prior to the race
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: Kevin Estre gets a last-minute hug from his wife on the grid prior to the race. Estre shared the #92 Porsche 911 RSR with Michael Christensen and Laurens Vanthoor in the LMGTE Pro class

From the points tables below, it can be seen that the Porsche Pro and Am teams travel to Silverstone with a strong lead in each class. Of course, the #92 and the #91 GTE Pro Porsche RSRs were victorious at Le Mans, so the drivers will still be buoyed following that fine performance. Hard on their heels though, will be the other contenders in class which includes Ferrari, Aston Martin and BMW. While the #91 and #92 cars competed at Le Mans sporting a special historic livery, for the Silverstone round, the two factory cars will revert to the corporate design with the colours white, red and black.

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#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer and Matt Campbell
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer and Matt Campbell in the LMGTE Am negotiates the Ford chicane

In the GTE Am class, it was the class leaders in the #77 Proton Dempsey RSR that romped home first at Le Mans, so it will be important for this team to turn in a top performance at Silverstone. It won’t all be plain sailing though, as the team new to the class this year, namely Project 1, turned in an admirable sixth in class at Le Mans considering it was their first year in WEC and their first race in the 24-Hour of Le Mans. This result would have been a good deal higher had they not had a problem late in the race. The other strong contenders will be the #86 Gulf Racing RSR which was a full second quicker than the rest of the class at Spa, until a pit lane speeding infringement put paid to their chances. Not wanting to be left out of the limelight, the #88 Proton Racing RSR will be keen to lift their fortunes and climb off their position at the bottom of the class.

#91 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Richard Lietz, Gianmaria Bruni and Frederic Makowiecki
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #91 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Richard Lietz, Gianmaria Bruni and Frederic Makowiecki approaches the Dunlop Bridge

Manufacturer/team points table after Rounds 1 & 2:

Class Pos. No. Team Points
LMP1 1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 65
2 Rebellion Racing 38
3 Bykolles Racing Team 12
LMP2 1 36 Signatech Alpine 57
2 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing 43
3 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing 42
GTE Pro 1 Porsche GT Team 96
2 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 50
3 Ferrari AF Corse 45.5
GTE Am 1 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing 51
2 61 Clearwater Racing 33
3 54 Spirit of Race 31
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Lindsey and Egidio Perfetti in the LMGTE Am class
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Michael Wainwright, Ben Barker and Alex Davison in the LMGTE Am class

Drivers’ points table after Rounds 1 & 2:

Class Pos. Driver Points
LMP1 1 Kazuki Nakajima 65
1 Sébastien Buemi 65
1 Fernando Alonso 65
2 Jose Maria Lopez 45
2 Kamui Kobayashi 45
2 Mike Conway 45
3 Gustavo Menezes 38
3 Mathias Beche 38
3 Thomas Laurent 38
Class Pos. Driver Points
LMP2 1 André Negrão 57
1 Nicolas Lapierre 57
1 Pierre Thiriet 57
2 Gabriel Aubry 43
2 Ho-Pin Tung 43
2 Stéphane Richelmi 43
3 Jazeman Jaafar 42
3 Nabil Jeffri 42
3 Weiron Tan 42
#88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi, Giorgio Roda and Matteo Cairoli
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR (LMGTE Am) driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi, Giorgio Roda and Matteo Cairoli crests the Dunlop hill
Class Pos. Driver Points
GTE Pro 1 Kevin Estre 56
1 Michael Christensen 56
2 Billy Johnson 48
2 Olivier Pla 48
2 Stefan Mücke 48
3 Gianmaria Bruni 40
3 Richard Lietz 40
Class Pos. Driver Points
GTE Am 1 Christian Ried 51
1 Julien Andlauer 51
1 Matt Campbell 51
2 Keita Sawa 33
2 Matthew Griffin 33
2 Weng Sun Mok 33
3 Francesco Castellacci 31
3 Giancarlo Fisichella 31
3 Thomas Flohr 31
#92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, seen here crossing the finishing line first in the LMGTE Pro class

Pascal Zurlinden (Director GT Factory Motorsport): “The high grip level at Silverstone puts special demands on the setup of the 911 RSR. Intuition and finesse are needed here. Only those who opt for the right setup will be in a position to fight for victory. We were among the frontrunners to the end at Spa and we scored a double victory at Le Mans – it should continue like this at Silverstone.”

#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer and Matt Campbell
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer and Matt Campbell, seen here crossing the finishing line first in the LMGTE Am class

So, everyone has it all to play for, which means that you will see some pretty hot action on track this weekend. The six-hour race at Silverstone gets underway on Sunday, 19 August at midday local time (13h00 CEST).

#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR on the podium, (from L-R) Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer, Patrick Dempsey and Matt Campbell
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: LMGTE Am winners in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR on the podium, (from L-R) Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer, Patrick Dempsey and Matt Campbell, enjoy the moment

Porsche Road & Race will be at Silverstone, so be sure to check the website and our social media channels for updates.

Written by: Glen Smale
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale & John Mountney

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Categories: Featured, Motorsport, WEC Tags: 911 RSR, Dempsey-Proton Racing, Gulf Racing, Porsche, Proton Racing, Silverstone 6 Hours, Team Project 1, WEC

Comments

  1. Martin Raffauf says

    14th August 2018 at 3:38 pm

    Meanwhile IMSA has a GT only event at Virginia. No prototypes, just GTLM and GTD cars.

    Reply
    • Porsche Road & Race says

      14th August 2018 at 7:07 pm

      That should be an action-packed race, a whole track full of GTs!!

      Reply

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