The 2016 season of the Sports Car World Championship WEC kicks off on 17 April at Silverstone. With factory support from Porsche, Dempsey Proton Racing fields a Porsche 911 RSR in the GTE-Pro class at the six-hour race on the storied racetrack in the British Midlands. The American racing driver and Hollywood star Patrick Dempsey is a joint partner of the squad. Three other Porsche customer teams will tackle the GTE-Am class with the 911 RSR. Several details on the 470 hp winning racer from Weissach, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, were revamped over the winter months. At this year’s Le Mans 24-hour race, Porsche will campaign its own GT factory team.
The Porsche drivers
Sharing the cockpit of the #77 Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Dempsey Proton Racing is the reigning WEC GT champion Richard Lietz (Austria) and his works driver colleague Michael Christensen (Denmark). Two other factory pilots, Wolf Henzler (Germany/KCMG) and Patrick Long (USA/Abu Dhabi Proton Racing), will race for customer teams at Silverstone. Due to Patrick Long’s racing commitment in the USA on the same weekend, the former Porsche Junior Klaus Bachler (Austria) will stand in for him at Silverstone.
The Porsche 911 RSR
The 911 RSR, with which Porsche won all three GT championship titles for drivers, manufacturers and teams in the 2015 WEC season, is the fastest ever nine-eleven. The insights gained during the vehicle’s development and at race outings are directly incorporated into the design of future 911 generations. The 470 hp winning racer, which is characterised by an uncompromising lightweight design, received modifications for 2016, particularly to the aerodynamics.
