Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid Storms Petit Le Mans
Porsche's hybrid racer more than held its own this weekend at Petit Le Mans, finishing 18th.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid made its North American debut this weekend at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Even though it wasn't officially classified, the 911 Hybrid ended up finishing 18th overall out of 45 entires. That's more than respectable considering it was competing against GT cars and much quicker prototype machinery as opposed to the Nurburgring 24 hour race where it competed against only GT cars but suffered a heartbreaking engine failure while leading the race, just two hours from the finish.
In free practice, Romain Dumas, Mike Rockenfeller and Timo Bernhard used the extra power provided by the KERS system to their advantage on the long straights of Road Atlanta and posted the quickest time among the GT cars. Tire issues meant they were a little slower in the race but had they been classified, they would have finished 8th in the ultra-competitive ALMS GT2 class.
Expect to see the GT3 R Hybrid campaigning several races next season too, though chances are, it won't be the only hybrid on the track. Peugeot, among others, is rumored to be developing a Hybrid for next season, with the aim being overall victory at Le Mans.