Round four of the 2018 season is contested on the Fuji Speedway in Japan on 14 October. On the tradition-steeped 4.563-kilometre racetrack at the foot of Mount Fuji, the Porsche GT Team fields two 911 RSR race cars. Four identical vehicles will be campaigned by customer teams in the GTE-Am category at the fourth race of the 2018/2019 WEC Super Season.
At last year’s race in Fuji, both of the latest generation Porsche 911 RSR secured podium spots with second and third at the maiden outing at Fuji. Since the foundation of the FIA WEC in 2012, teams and drivers have travelled to Japan in autumn to take on the special challenges. In 2013, the race had to be stopped after 16 laps due to torrential rain. Changeable weather conditions are also expected this year. For engineers, the Fuji Raceway is particularly demanding. The long 1.475-kilometre start-finish straight leads into a twisty section, which requires a great deal of downforce and good traction. Finding a suitable vehicle setup in the practice sessions is equally as tricky.
Richard Lietz from Austria and his works driver teammate Gianmaria Bruni from Italy share the cockpit of the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR car. The Italian has notched up two race victories on the Fuji Speedway, with Lietz winning the debut WEC race in Japan. The cockpit of the No. 92 vehicle is shared by Frenchman Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen (Denmark). The duo leads the drivers’ classification of the 2018 WEC after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and claiming podium places in Belgium and Great Britain. In the manufacturers’ classification, Porsche heads to round four of the season ranking a clear first in the hotly contested GTE-Pro category.
Four more Porsche 911 RSR will contest the GTE-Am class. Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (France), Christian Ried from Germany and Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (Australia) compete in the #77 car fielded by the Dempsey Proton Racing customer squad. The trio travels to Japan leading the GTE-Am class after scoring class wins from Le Mans and Silverstone. Manning the No. 88 sister car is Porsche Young Professional Matteo Cairoli (Italy), his compatriot Giorgio Roda and the Japanese racing driver Satoshi Hoshino. Competing in the 911 RSR campaigned by the German Project 1 team are Porsche works driver Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Lindsey from America and Norwegian Egidio Perfetti. The customer team Gulf Racing relies on Porsche Junior Thomas Preining from Austria. The newly crowned champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland contests his maiden WEC race with two British racing drivers Benjamin Barker and Michael Wainwright.
The Porsche 911 RSR celebrated its WEC debut at Silverstone in 2017. So far this season, the racer from Weissach has clinched a one-two result in the GTE-Pro class at Le Mans and secured the GTE-Am category class win at the endurance classic in France as well as at the previous race at Silverstone. The RSR with its water-cooled four-litre boxer engine is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car and produces around 510 hp depending on the restrictor. With a total of six vehicles, the Porsche brand is represented by the largest contingent of GT racers in the World Sports Car Championship.
The six-hour WEC race at Fuji gets underway on Sunday, October 14, 2018, at 4:00 hours CEST (11.00 hrs local time).
The free-to-air station Sport1 will broadcast the race live from 6:00 to 8:00 hrs as well as the final phase (9:00 to 10:15 hrs). The entire race can be viewed free-of-charge via live streaming on sport1.de. The race is also aired in full length on the pay-TV channel Sport 1 Plus. Including the pre- and post-race coverage, the broadcasting runs from 3:30 hrs to 10:30 hrs. The free-TV station Eurosport 1 televises the race between 8:30 and 10:15 hrs. Moreover, the entire race can be watched on the pay-TV channel Eurosport Player. The pay-TV channel Motorsport.TV also broadcasts the six-hour race from 12:45 to 19:15 hours. For a fee, the FIA WEC app offers live streaming of the complete race as well as the time-keeping.
Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser (Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars): “Fuji is a real highlight, alone due to the Japanese fan culture and the incredible passion for motor racing. The entire Porsche GT Team benefits from the fact that the drivers really enjoy competing there. The racetrack with the extremely long straights and fast corners throws special challenges at us. The competition in the WEC is extremely exciting and tough, and the manufacturers are getting closer. We saw this recently at Silverstone. We’re well prepared and we want to extend our lead in the championship. Although the race in Japan is the penultimate round of the current year, the season is still long with three more races to tackle in 2019. There are still plenty of points to earn.”
Pascal Zurlinden (Director GT Factory Motorsport): “Despite winning at Le Mans and climbing the podium at Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, the WEC season is not a done deal. At the upcoming race in Japan we’ll do our best to defend or further extend our points’ lead. However, the race in Fuji at this time of the year is unpredictable. We have to be prepared for all kinds of weather scenarios. Whoever does the right thing at the right time has the best chances.”
More quotes in the press release (downloads).
In the Sports Car World Endurance Championship (WEC), which was first contested in 2012, sports prototypes and GT vehicles compete in four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GTE-Pro and GTE-Am. They all compete together in one race but are classified separately. The Porsche GT Team contests the GTE-Pro class, while the customer teams Dempsey Proton Racing, Project 1 and Gulf Racing fight for honours in the GTE-Am class.
