Porsche Targeting Up to Six New 911 GT3 Rs for Daytona Debut

Photo: Porsche

Porsche is targeting to have up to a half-dozen of its new Porsche 911 GT3 R cars on the grid for January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona according to Porsche Motorsport North America President and CEO Volker Holzmeyer.

The German manufacturer, which recently presented its Type 992 car at the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa, is placing extra emphasis around next year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, which will serve as the car’s first major race in the hands of customer teams.

Speaking to Sportscar365, Holzmeyer said current supply chain issues could impact the initial build numbers but is still confident of having a well-represented grid split across the GTD Pro and GTD classes.

“It’s really hard to say because in the past, you’d put an order out to build 60 sets [of components] to build the car and the supplier would tell you one year in advance this would work,” he explained.

“At this time, it’s not like that. We are approving batches and when we get it approved from the supplier we sell the cars. So it’s step by step.”

When asked about the number of cars he’d realistically like to see at Daytona, Holzmeyer said: “Anything around five or six cars. Anything more would be great and if it’s less that would be also okay.

“We are at the moment at the stage where we’re talking to everybody who’s interested and then get the right programs together with the right people.

“A GT3 program is not just selling a car and let it go. It’s complex because the customer needs training and service. We have to have the right people and the right amount to serve them at a high quality.

“It’s not like you sell a car at a dealership and you go. If you sell it, that needs commitment for yourself to deliver a good quality.

“So we’re looking into detail what each customer wants to do and then we make decisions in the next weeks.

“The feedback so far has been really good and the also the feedback on respecting the Bronze drivers in GTD helps getting more GTD cars on the IMSA grid.”

While Pfaff Motorsports is set to return to the GTD Pro class, Holzemeyer said they’re in discussions with other prospective customer teams that could be represented in the category next year.

It would come in addition to a potential increased season-long presence in GTD, which is currently only represented by Wright Motorsports.

Holzmeyer indicated the same level of customer support, including the allocation of factory drivers, will be in place for GTD Pro and GTD teams next year despite the launch of the Porsche Penske Motorsport program in the GTP class.

“At the end of course the team makes the choice,” he said. “If they ask for factory drivers, we’ll sit together and see what we can do. But it’s up to them to make the choice as it’s real customer racing.

“We help where we can and they ask what they want.”

Porsche “Respects” IMSA Decision to Forgo Bronze-Driver Mandate in GTD

Holzmeyer said he “respects” IMSA’s decision to not enforce a Bronze driver mandate in GTD next year, despite Porsche’s primary customer model centering around those drivers.

“The Porsche vision is that our customer programs are normally funded by gentlemen drivers,” he said. “IMSA has a broader view. They have to take everything into consideration.

“They have different brands and I totally respect their approach, a more conservative approach, to do one step and then the second step and not do both at one time.

“I respect that and that’s a great direction we’re heading into.”

New incentives for Bronze drivers, as part of the Bob Akin Bronze Cup championship, could help attract more gentlemen drivers to the class according to Holzmeyer.

“[IMSA President] John Doonan explained it that they’re looking at opening up qualifying so that means that the team can choose if the pro can qualify,” he said.

“At least they have a chance to place their car [higher] on the grid. This is of course important.

“It should be open on whether the pro can start or not. The start is a pressure [filled] time so many the gentleman doesn’t want to be in that environment so they can choose to maybe step later into the car.

“That opens up opportunities for them. I think that’s the right way to go.”

John Dagys

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