Porsche Targeting Customer 911 RSRs in 2014

Photo: John Dagys

Porsche will offer 911 RSRs to customers competing in next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.

The German manufacturer confirmed during last weekend’s season-ending Six Hours of Bahrain that they will support up to three privateer entries in 2014, in addition to the recently confirmed two-car factory Porsche AG Team Manthey effort in GTE-Pro.

“We’ve had discussions with teams like Proton and IMSA [Performance Matmut] and we have to see where we will finally end up,” said Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “I think that’s not bad when you take into consideration what kind of commitment it takes from a private team to do a program like that.”

Kristen said that all of the 991-based GTE cars in 2014 will run to the updated specification that debuted in Bahrain. The 911 RSR’s evolution features changes to the aerodynamics, including a wider rear wing and modifications to the front and rear axles.

“The regulations say that you have a freeze for two years and within the first 12 months you can do an [update],” Kristen said. “You always have some things that you find out when you race a car under racing conditions and not just test conditions.

“This is what we have done here. Therefore, the homologation is frozen until the end of 2014. That gives us a little bit of a special situation that we are currently facing. The Pro and Am cars will be the same next year.”

While Team Falken Tire, which is expected to be the only 911 RSR customer in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, will forgo the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Kristen said that all WEC customers would have their cars in time for its first round of the season at Silverstone in April.

Proton Competition team principal Christian Reid confirmed to Sportscar365 they’re hopeful of running a new 991 car in GTE-Am next year, although IMSA Performance Matmut, the only other current Porsche customer in the WEC, is currently undecided on their 2014 plans.

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