Preview, World Endurance Championship WEC, Round 1 in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium
The six-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps on May 5, 2018, kicks off the 15-month Super Season of the FIA Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC. On the time-honoured racetrack in the Ardennes region of Belgium, six 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR go up against strong opposition from Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari and Ford in the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am classes.
The race
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which is approximately 20 kilometres from the German border, sets motorsport fans’ hearts racing: The 7,004-kilometre circuit is an electrifying mix of high-speed passages such as the famous Eau Rouge and slower sections. An altitude difference of around 100 metres makes the season-opening round into a rollercoaster ride. One unpredictable factor in the Ardennes is the weather: The sun can be shining in the Bus Stop chicane, while in Le Combes it’s raining.
The Porsche GT Team drivers
Sharing the cockpit of the #91 car, the new driver pairing of Gianmaria Bruni (Italy) and Richard Lietz (Austria) tackles a world sports car championship race for the first time together. Bruni, as the two-time champion, has contested the second half of the 2017 IMSA Weathertech Championship in the USA and is thus well acquainted with the 911 RSR. Like last year, Kévin Estre (France) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) share the # 92 Porsche 911 RSR.
The customer teams
In the GTE-Am class, three Porsche customer teams run a total of four 911 RSR racers. The Porsche works driver Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Lindsey (USA) and Norwegian Egidio Perfetti drive for the Project 1 team. The British pilots Michael Wainwright and Ben Barker join forces with Australian Alex Davison to compete for Gulf Racing. Dempsey Proton Racing competes with two GT racers from Weissach. Sharing the wheel of the #77 car for the Super Season are the Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (Australia), Christian Ried (Germany) and Porsche-Junior Julien Andlauer (France). Porsche Young Professional Matteo Cairoli (Italy), Khaled Al Qubaisi (United Arab Emirates) and Giorgio Roda (Italy) pilot the second 911 RSR of the squad supported by the Hollywood actor Patrick Dempsey.
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