Back at The Rock - GT-Focused Event Brings Porsche 911 RSR and 911 GT3 R Back to the Northeast

After a visit over the border to Canada, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to the United States. On July 23, round seven of the North America’s premier endurance sports car racing series takes to the road racing “bull ring” of Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. At just 1.53-miles (2.414 kilometers) long, this circuit located in the picturesque Northeast of the United States is the shortest on the championship calendar. The two-hour, 40-minute race will feature only GT cars – GTLM where the Porsche 911 RSR competes and the GTD category for the 911 GT3 R – and the PC category.

Saturday’s race marks the first outing for the Porsche North America factory team at Lime Rock Park. The 470 horsepower racer from Weissach, Germany is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car and won the race at Long Beach, California earlier this season. In the GTD class, Porsche customer teams campaign the new 500 hp 911 GT3 R, the winning car at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May.

Reigning IMSA GTLM Champion Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) again share the cockpit of the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR. Piloting the No. 912 rear-engine racer are Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France). Pilet is the only factory team driver to have competed at Lime Rock prior to this weekend. However, fellow factory driver Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), who contests the GTD class in the No. 73 Porsche customer team of Park Place Motorsports, is a seasoned Lime Rock expert. He has won on this racetrack six times, most recently in 2012 with the 911 GT3 RSR. Driving for Team Seattle-Alex Job Racing is the former Porsche junior Alex Riberas (Spain) and Mario Farnbacher (Germany), the Laguna Seca winners.

Steffen Höllwarth, Program Manager, IMSA SportsCar Championship.

“After two races in eight days we had a little time to catch our breath. We used this time to prepare as best we can for the race at Lime Rock Park. The results at Watkins Glen and Bowmanville were not exactly what we were hoping for. But in motorsport it’s completely normal to go through phases that are not so successful. For 2016, we only slightly modified the 911 RSR with which we won all GT titles in the USA and the WEC in 2015. This is its last racing season with the factory and its successor is currently being tested on various racetracks. Nevertheless, we have taken a step forward compared to 2015, which was of course smaller than the competition who are fielding entirely new cars this season.”

Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR.

“Lime Rock Park is out in the middle of nature. It’s a little like a go-kart track, short and narrow. Nowhere else do we drive as many laps in one stint as here, if I remember correctly, it’s almost 70 laps per stint. That’s unusual. Most of the time the cars are bunched up, but that gives the spectators a particularly exciting show with tough fights for positions. I competed at Lime Rock Park back in 2008 and it was great fun.”

Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR.

“I’ve been familiar with this circuit for years, but only from computer games. I’ve never actually driven there. I’ve heard that it’s normally very hot there at this time of the year. That would suit us.”

Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR.

“The Lime Rock Park race is new on the calendar, at least for our GTLM class. I always look forward to getting to know new circuits. Basically it’s an oval with a chicane. I’ve had a look at several on-board videos and I can’t hardly wait to experience the track live with the 911 RSR.”

Frédéric Makowiecki, Driver, No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR

“A new race is always an interesting challenge. But it also means a lot of work for the team, particularly at Lime Rock Park. It’s a two-day event, so instead of the usual three, we have just two practices and the qualifying to setup the 911 RSR for this special circuit. I hope we manage it in such a short time.”

Jörg Bergmeister, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“Lime Rock is always an experience. It seems I can’t do much wrong on this circuit. I’ve competed there seven times, I won six times and finished second once. It can continue like this. The track is very short, almost an oval, and it has everything that’s fun – very fast corners, but also several slow ones where you need good traction. That’s always good for Porsche.”

Mario Farnbacher, Driver, No. 23 Team Seattle Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“The track is very short and therefore very demanding. You’re steering constantly and you barely get a chance to relax. From what I know there is very little traction, but that should improve with the 911 GT3 R. As far as the traction is concerned we are certainly in a good position with the new car. I think we have good chances to fight for victory at Lime Rock Park.”

Successful Blind Date. Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Winning Pair Came Together in Unique Way.

Relationships in motorsport come together in more ways that one can count. For the three-time Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge-winning pairing of Cameron Cassels (Canada) and Trent Hindman (Wayside, New Jersey), their path to the No. 12 Bodymotion Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport was a serendipitous introduction, almost a blind date. Hindman, who was eager to learn all he could about the sport, came to and worked at Bodymotion two years ago to learn. The young aspiring racer was taught at the lectern of team owner Mike Bavaro while racing with a competitor in the Continental Tire-backed series. When Cassel made Bodymotion aware that he wanted to go racing in 2016 but had no co-driver in place, Bavaro reached out to his old employee. Despite the lack of funding from his potential young teammate, after a few phone calls and racing sims online, the relationship sparked and the contract signed. In their second outing in the No. 12 mid-engine machine, the duo won at Sebring to score the Cayman GT4 Clubsport’s first worldwide victory. That was followed by a second win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and a third at Watkins Glen.

Saturday, July 23 at 10:00 a.m. ET, the partnership of Cassels-Hindman will take the green flag at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut in pursuit of their fourth victory of the season. In total, the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport has earned podium finishes in each of the first five races. Most recently, the No. 33 CJ Wilson Racing machine earned a top-three at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with drivers Daniel Burkett (Canada) and Marc Miller (Holland, Michigan) while the No. 35, also out of the CJ Wilson bull pen, of Tyler McQuarrie (Danville, California) and Till Bechtolsheimer (New York, New York) returns after sitting out the most recent round in Canada. Team TGM has two of the German marques’ club racing machines entered for Connecticut with Ted Giovanis  (Highland, Maryland) and David Murry (Atlanta, Georgia) entered in both the No. 46 and 64 cars.

Cameron Cassels, Driver, No. 12 Bodymotion Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

"Mike (Bavaro) and Geoff (Abel) introduced me to Trent. We actually did not meet face to face until our rain soaked Sebring practice weekend. Having some time in-between when the new Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport was delivered shortly before Christmas, and the Sebring race, gave me some time to consider the best path for me in my first season of Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge racing. Trent and I had a few phone conversations to see if we both felt it would be a good fit for the remainder of the season prior to meeting at Sebring. It was apparent during our talks that our goals were very aligned. As they say; the rest is history!”

Trent Hindman, Driver, No. 12 Bodymotion Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

"I’ve known Mike (Bavaro) for quite some time and he gave me the excellent opportunity to work and learn about how these cars come together underneath the seat and that beautiful Porsche bodywork. I quit working at the shop at the very end of the 2014 to focus on winning the GS championship with John Edwards, which we ultimately did. I still maintained a great relationship with Mike and all of the guys at Bodymotion. Cam and I honestly met for the first time at the IMSA February test in Sebring. Before that, we had talked over the phone a bunch and even hopped on iRacing together after we knew that we would be co-driving together this season. Definitely a little bit backwards in the sense of how we had a deal in place before we ever even met face to face, but so far it seems to be working out just fine. Moral of the story here is to never burn a bridge!”