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Porsche to Debut 2014-Spec 911 RSR in Bahrain

2014-spec Porsche 911 RSR to debut this weekend in Bahrain…

Photo: John Dagys

Photo: John Dagys

Porsche will take the wraps off its updated 911 RSR in this weekend’s  Six Hours of Bahrain, the season finale for the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The German manufacturer, which won this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, will take advantage of a one-time update permitted for new GTE-Pro cars, due to the current class-wide freeze on developments.

Per ACO/FIA rules, the car must run with the new developments in at least one race during its first year of homologation, forcing Porsche to roll out with the updates for the Middle Eastern round.

“In Bahrain, the 911 RSR lines up in the spec homologated for 2014,” confirmed Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “This means that the season final will be an important test for us under competition conditions, and it will undoubtedly produce some interesting information with regard to next season.”

Aside from its 1-2 finish at Le Mans, Porsche has generally struggled with its new 991-based GTE contender, although Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Pilet claimed a podium finish in the most recent round in Shanghai earlier this month.

Bergmeister and Pilet will again be joined by fellow factory drivers Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz, as the Porsche AG Team Manthey squad search for their first six-hour race victory of the season.

“The fact that we’re driving our 2014-spec car in Bahrain for the first time makes it a very special race for us,” Lieb said. “I’m confident that we’ll do well there and manage to wind up the season successfully.”

The updated Porsche GTE car will be used in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship next year in the hands of the CORE autosport-run factory squad, which is expected to begin testing next month.

Team Falken Tire will also campaign a 911 RSR in the TUDOR Championship, although it’s unclear if the team will have the 2014 developments.

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

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