Le Mans – Porsche regrets hidden performances in GTE Pro

Porsche will fight on several levels during the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Stuttgart manufacturer will aim for a 17th overall success with the new 919 Hybrid but will also seek to maintain its supremacy in GTE with Team Manthey which achieved a double last year in GTE Pro. The Test Day allowed the teams to meet on the Sarthe circuit to regain their bearings, but the driving of the German team was limited following an exit from the track by Jörg Bergmeister which damaged the 911 RSR n°91 in taking off on a gravel trap.

If Frédéric Makowiecki achieved the best lap in the category at the wheel of the Porsche n°92 with a time of 3'57"260, two tenths ahead of the first Ferrari from AF Corse, Hartmut Kristen is not fooled however. THE Aston Martin were particularly discreet and the closest GT is the Ferrari of the reference time is the No. 90 of 8 Star Motorsports driven by Paolo Ruberti… entered in GTE Am! “Our drivers are quite satisfied with the handling of the 911 RSR. We will now focus on the race”, comments the director of Porsche Motorsport. “I don’t believe that all manufacturers have laid their cards on the table to avoid being penalized. It would have been preferable to find another regulation which would allow us not to fear being punished because of a good performance, as was the case with our double at Silverstone (victory in GTE Pro for Pilet-Bergmeister-Tandy ahead of Holzer -Makowiecki-Lietz). »

Frédéric Makowiecki nevertheless remains the best performer in the category at the end of the Test Day but the Frenchman who defended the colors of Aston Martin last year prefers to concentrate on the event. “We tested several things on the car but progress remained difficult due to the many phases where the safety car came on track to also practice for the race. The Test Day was still good preparation. We learned a lot and I hope we can show it in two weeks. »

Discover the analysis of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1963 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms, and from tomorrow on newsstands.