The qualifying
The German shares the No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R with Porsche Young Professionals Matt Campbell (Australia) and Dennis Olsen (Norway). The trio won the season-opening round at Bathurst (Australia) and currently rank third in the drivers’ classification. The identical vehicle fielded by Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) with the starting number 911 qualified on 24th.
Werner was the only Porsche driver who was eligible to take part in the final qualifying session with the 20 fastest cars. Prior to this, his teammates Olsen and Campbell had joined forces with the German works driver to lay the foundation for the pole shootout with fast lap times in the three qualifying sessions. Bad luck plagued the winning team of the season-opener at Bathurst (Australia), Earl Bamber Motorsport. Factory driver Romain Dumas from France was stopped by a red flag while attempting his flying lap in the first qualifying session. Afterwards, the worn tyres of his Porsche 911 GT3 R prevented the Frenchman from attempting another fast lap. His compatriot Mathieu Jaminet and Porsche works driver Sven Müller (Germany) were unable to make any significant headway in the remaining sessions. The No. 911 car now faces a ten-hour pursuit from P24 on the grid.
The “Suzuka 10 Hours” takes off on Sunday, 25 August, at 10:00am local time
In the Pro-Am category, the No. 60 vehicle of the customer team LM corsa, with Japanese drivers Juichi Wakisaka, Kei Nakanishi and Shigekazu Wakisaka, takes up the ten-hour race from the 27th overall spot as the best car of its class. The Porsche 911 GT 3 R (model 997) run by the AMAC Motorsport squad, which is entered in the silver class, achieved fourth in its category (34th overall). Sharing driving duties in the No. 51 vehicle are the Australians Andrew MacPherson, Ben Porter and Brad Shiels.
The “Suzuka 10 Hours” takes off on Sunday, 25 August, at 10:00am local time (3:00am CEST).
Qualifying quotes
Sebastian Golz (Project Manager 911 GT3 R): “Only one car in the pole shootout, and the best vehicle on eleventh – this is not what we expected. We need to look at the data to see the reasons for this. I’m confident that both Porsche 911 GT3 R will be competitive in the race. Our strength is our consistent pace over long distances. So I see good chances for our cars to make up ground over the ten hours of the race and join the frontrunners.”
Dirk Werner (Porsche 911 GT3 R #912): “It was a great experience to get the chance to contest the pole shootout on the legendary Suzuka racetrack. My lap was good, but I braked a little too late before the chicane. Perhaps we could have qualified one or two spots further up the grid. We only had one practice session in dry conditions before the qualifying and I didn’t get to turn a single lap. In view of this, I’m really pleased. The car was good to drive and, with this setup, we’re also well prepared for the race.”
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #911): “It was a difficult day for us. Unfortunately, we missed out on a place among the top 20 cars in qualifying. And that meant we weren’t eligible to take part in the pole shootout. We have to analyse why our car didn’t run optimally. The team is doing everything possible to make significant improvements to the car in time for the race. We want to launch a major pursuit.”
Qualifying result
01. Farfus/Tomczyk/Yelloly (BR/D/GB), BMW M6 GT3
02. Vanthoor/van der Linde/Vervisch (B/ZA/B), Audi R8 LMS GT3
03. Krognes/Catsburg/Jensen (N/NL/DK), BMW M6 GT3
11. Campbell/Olsen/Werner (AUS/N/), Porsche 911 GT3 R
24. Dumas/Jaminet/Müller (F/F/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R
27. Wakisaka/Wakisaka/Nakanishi (J/J/J), Porsche 911 GT3 R
34. MacPherson/Porter/Shiels (AUS/AUS/AUS), Porsche 911 GT3 R (997)
The preview
After the successful season-opener at Bathurst, Australia, and the one-two victory at the world’s most important GT3 race in Spa, Belgium, Porsche is again aiming for a top result at the ten-hour race in Suzuka (Japan).The two Porsche teams, Earl Bamber Motorsport and Absolute Racing, each field a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Pro category. Three Porsche works drivers and three Porsche Young Professionals will share driving duties in the two vehicles on 25 August. Thirty-six vehicles are entered for round four of the Intercontinental GT Challenge on the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit.
The race
The ten-hour race in Japan marks the fourth of five rounds of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge. The Suzuka Circuit, with its many twists and turns, including slow, semi-fast and flat-out corners, has a reputation as one of the world’s most demanding racetracks for drivers. Moreover, it is one of the very few tracks to feature a figure-eight layout with an overpass.
The Porsche teams and drivers
Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) fields a Porsche 911 GT3 R with the starting number 911, with the French Porsche Young Professional Mathieu Jaminet as well as works drivers Sven Müller (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) sharing the cockpit. At the wheel of the No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R run by Absolute Racing is the winning trio from Bathurst: Porsche works driver Dirk Werner (Germany) and the Porsche Young Professionals Matt Campbell (Australia) and Dennis Olsen (Norway).
The customer squad LM corsa also fields a latest generation Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Pro-Am category, with the No. 60 car shared by three Japanese local heroes. AMAC Motorsport contests the silver class with a GT3 vehicle from Weissach in last year’s spec. Three Australian amateur racers share the No. 51 car.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R
The Porsche 911 GT3 R was newly developed for the 2019 season. Improvements in the areas of aerodynamics, kinematics, efficiency and driveability were systematically implemented from the insights garnered from the many race outings of its predecessor. The six-cylinder engine in the rear of the GT3 customer racer produces over 368 kW (500 hp). The successful predecessor has notched up victories in numerous international racing series, for example in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, the World Challenge, the ADAC GT Masters, at the Nürburgring 24-hour race and the Bathurst 12 Hour.
The schedule
The ten-hour race at Suzuka takes off on Sunday, 25 August, at 10am (3am CEST). The race can be watched live on www.intercontinentalgtchallenge.com.
Comments before the race
Sebastian Golz (Project Manager 911 GT3 R): “We still have a score to settle at the IGTC race in Suzuka. This year our teams Absolute Racing and Earl Bamber Motorsport will compete with the new 911 GT3 R. Last year’s high temperatures put drivers under extreme stress. That will be a thing of the past thanks to the active driver cooling system, which ensures a constant driving performance. The 5.807-kilometre-long circuit is one of the most technically demanding racetracks on the IGTC calendar. High-speed passages combined with sudden changes of direction require a direct and stable vehicle platform. We’re confident that our overall package is strong and we’ll fight for the podium and more championship points.”
Pascal Zurlinden (Director GT Factory Motorsport): “We managed to achieve great results with our local teams at the first three races of the series. We won the Bathurst and Spa races, and we climbed the podium at Laguna Seca. In 2018, the race in Japan wasn’t our best, but our teams and drivers are very well prepared and will hopefully be amongst the frontrunners. We’re particularly looking forward to the Japanese fans. They always come to the track in droves and they give the event a fantastic atmosphere.”
More comments in the press release (Downloads).
This is the Intercontinental GT Challenge
The 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar is made up of five endurance races on five continents. While the teams were only permitted to field 2018-spec GT3 cars at the season-opening round in Bathurst (Australia), the latest spec is sanctioned for the Laguna Seca (USA), Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Suzuka (Japan) races and the season finale in Kyalami (South Africa). Porsche will not compete with a factory squad, but instead supports various customer teams in their campaign.