GTD class win for GT3 R as works RSRS falter

Mixed results in IMSA Sportscar Championship

Porsche’s 911s endured a weekend of mixed emotions at round eight of the IMSA Sportscar Championship at the storied Road America race track. The factory RSR squad of Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor in the #912 car just missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish, while teammates Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet crossed the line in fifth, their #911 car leading the field with an hour of racing to go before a drive-through penalty was incurred.

Despite the disappointment in Wisconsin, Porsche’s factory drivers remain in a realistic hunt for individual titles in GTLM: Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor currently occupy fifth place in the driver’s championship, their haul of 225 points just 16 shy of the leaders. Their Weissach teammates Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet are sixth, a mere seven points back.

Meanwhile, the rear-engined GT3 R fared much better at Road America, with Wright Motorsports’ Patrick Long and Christina Nielsen (the latter forming part of the Ebimotors team from our extended 24 hours of Le Mans feature in issue 168) enjoying a lights-to-flag victory in GTD. The result was the 542nd win for Porsche in the history of the IMSA.

Road Atlanta’s results leave Porsche third in GTLM’S four-team manufacturers’ standings (the fifth outfit, Ferrari, only competing at Sebring and Daytona), only 19 points off leaders Ford. In GTD, Porsche lies eighth out of eight manufacturers. Before Total 911 went to print there were four rounds remaining of the 2018 IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.