Connect with us

Industry

Porsche Targeting “High Quality” Teams for New 911 GT3 R

Porsche looking for “high quality” teams to run its new 911 GT3 R…

Photo: Porsche

While facing a large demand for its latest-generation GT3 car, Porsche is working to secure “high quality” teams for the new 911 GT3 R in several key championships, according to Head of Motorsport Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser.

The German manufacturer, which is ramping up for a full customer rollout with its 2019-spec machine, has outlined aggressive plans to have additional all-pro teams in championships such as the Blancpain GT Series.

An initial batch of around 40 cars are set to be made available to customers next year, which Walliser indicated has more-or-less already been accounted for.

“It’s been totally easy to sell all of the cars,” Walliser told Sportscar365. “But we are looking for high quality racing teams.

“Getting really good teams with proper lineups, professional teams, properly financed in the most important series, this is what we’re working on at the moment.”

Walliser explained the reason behind the Manthey Racing entry in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup this year was to help attract customer teams to the series.

The all-factory crewed Manthey car and Am Cup competitor Precote Herberth Motorsport were the only two full-season Porsches in the Endurance Cup this year, although Walliser is expecting that to change.

“The reason for entering Blancpain this year, knowing it would be difficult, was to attract more teams,” he said. “We want more teams and are expecting more.”

It’s understood Porsche had been courting several high-profile Blancpain GT teams, including Team WRT, in recent years, although the Belgian powerhouse squad is expected to remain with Audi next year amid its potential ramped up involvement with the manufacturer in DTM.

Walliser said demand in both U.S. and Asia, its two strongest GT3 markets, remains stable and is expecting similar numbers next year.

An initial allocation of around ten of the new Porsches will be made to North America, with January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona set to serve as the car’s first major race with its customer teams.

“It confirms that everything we did was right and the demand for the market is there,” Walliser said. “People trust us more in GT3 again. I would say our first generation [991-based 911 GT3 R] was a little bit of an introduction in coming back to GT3.

“I would say we are now back. I’ve had a lot of requests from Blancpain GT. We won the ADAC GT Masters championship and Nürburgring 24 and were competitive on the Nordschleife.”

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

11 Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in Industry