Dr. Wolfgang Porsche: “Such a success is only possible as a team”

With a triumph for Porsche, the Nürburgring 24 hour race came to an end. After 156 laps on the legendary Nordschleife, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) together with Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) won with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Manthey Racing. For Porsche and Manthey Racing, this marks the fifth victory in the last six years at the long distance classic in Germany’s Eifel region.

Quotes after the race

Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Porsche AG: “I’m overwhelmed. Such a success is only possible as a team. I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this. Today, I’m especially proud because we are small but great and successful.”

Matthias Müller, CEO of the Executive Board at Porsche AG: “This is the first time I’ve been to a 24 hour race for Porsche and I certainly hadn’t anticipated it being so emotional. It was a very great weekend for the Porsche enterprise. All the employees at the track have proven what Porsche Intelligent Performance really stands for. Thank you to all the drivers – not only to the winning troupe, but particularly to the squad in the Hybrid-Porsche. All those drivers put in an excellent effort, as well. And thanks to all those people who worked behind the scenes.”
Board Member Wolfgang Hatz: "I’m proud to be part of such a troupe"
Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG: “I’m proud to be part of such a troupe. What we saw this weekend was an immense team effort. The winning squad virtually just refuelled and changed tyres. I promise that we will continue keeping the revs high in motorsport. There are wonderful things ahead of us. I’m looking forward to the future.”

Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “Congratulations to the crew from Manthey Racing and our staff from Weissach. They did a brilliant job and contributed greatly to our success. I’m very pleased that, after all the wrangling in the run-up, there was a clean, sporting decision on the track. Also decisive for our win was that the 911 GT3 RSR was one hundred percent reliable and we had to put in one fuel stop less than the competition. You would expect this from a Porsche. Of course, our drivers also deserve a huge compliment. Once again, they all conducted themselves faultlessly. That also applies to the quartet in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid that wasn’t able to bring home the success it deserved because of two mechanical problems and an accident. As far as pure power is concerned and with its efficiency, the car has performed as we had expected with its innovative drive concept. It’s a great shame that the results don’t reflect this.”

Marc Lieb: “Winning this year is one of the most emotional moments of my career"

Marc Lieb (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing): “Winning this year is one of the most emotional moments of my career. We really didn’t expect to conquer here. After the difficult practices, we pulled ourselves together and said, ‘Let’s give our all’. We didn’t make any mistakes and the entire team put in a superb effort. It’s simply fantastic.”

Timo Bernhard (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing): “The fifth victory at this race is something very special, especially because this year was particularly difficult. We had no other choice than to attack from the first moment. At the end of the day, everything went perfectly. My special thanks goes to our team boss Olaf Manthey. He lives for this race like no other and puts his whole heart into it year after year.”

Romain Dumas (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing): “My fourth win at this race was the hardest. The competition this year was tougher than ever before. We all had to give one hundred percent. We took up the race from 18th on the grid and made the most out of it. I got a fright at one point during the night when a BMW and I touched. I was really afraid that the car was damaged, because right at that point I had no radio contact and I couldn’t ask if I should come in to the pits. So I listened to the car and noticed that everything was okay. Now it’s time to celebrate.”

Lucas Luhr (No. 18, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Manthey Racing): “Our plan was to go all out during the night to get ahead. That worked. We simply had to keep the pressure on from the first to the last moment, because the competition was fierce. During one of my stints there was a slight shunt on the front left, but we taped it up and kept driving. I feel we deserved this win.”

Patrick Long: "For me, not giving up fits in with the Porsche philosophy"

Joerg Bergmeister (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey): “It was certainly one of the most difficult races of my career. The power performance and above all the efficiency of the car were great, even better than last year. It’s also so much fun to drive thanks to the Hybrid-boost. I hope we can continue working like this. And one day luck will be on our side.”

Richard Lietz (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey): “The performance of our car was super, all the drivers did a great job and our mechanics put in a mammoth effort. It’s a shame that these efforts weren’t rewarded. But I’m very pleased that our squad decided to pull out all stops and get to the finish line. We owed this to our mechanics and the Porsche fans on the ‘Ring.”

Marco Holzer (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey): “I reckon I was driving one of the best cars in the entire field. We always clocked good lap times. We lost the chance to win through the mechanical problems and an accident. The effort our mechanics made is something I’ve never seen before. And that’s why our goal was to never give up as long as the wheels kept turning. In this regard it’s a small consolation that we crossed the finish line after 24 hours and that we showed the Porsche fans at the track that we never give up.”

Patrick Long (No. 9, Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche Team Manthey): “After the flange broke we were out of the top 100 contenders but worked our way up to 28th. For me, not giving up fits in with the Porsche philosophy. I wholeheartedly congratulate our colleagues in the 911 GT3 RSR. Reliability and faultless driving was the key.”