RNW Staff

Entering the final weekend of the 2021 IMSA race season, Porsche and its customer race teams are in the hunt for seven championship titles… and they will do so at their home track in North America. Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will host both Friday’s two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge championship clincher on November 12 and Saturday’s 24th Running of the Petit Le Mans for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, November 13. The German sports car manufacturer has contenders in both races and is, itself, up for Manufacturer honors in the GS class of Michelin Pilot Challenge and GTD class in the WeatherTech Championship at the Braselton, Georgia-area race track. Additional titles up for grabs on the home turf for Porsche Cars North America include Driver and Team honors in both of the top IMSA championships as well as the GTD Michelin Endurance Cup.

This weekend, Flying Lizard will return to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with Chris Bellomo for the season finale of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. After making his debut in the series earlier this season at Road America, where he showed good potential with great pace, Bellomo and his No. 68 Porsche 991 Cup car will close out the year with a triple-header during the Motul Petit Le Mans weekend.

It doesn’t get any better than this: Montaplast by Land-Motorsport is by far the most successful team in the 2021 German GT Championship and, as in 2016, completes the treble. The team not only won the Drivers’ Championship with Ricardo Feller (21/CH) and Christopher Mies (32/Düsseldorf) at the season finale at the Nürburgring, but also the Team title and, with Feller, the Pirelli Junior competition for young drivers. “It is difficult to put this weekend into words,” said team manager Christian Land. “I am incredibly proud of the whole crew. We were a well-oiled team that all pulled together all year. What we have achieved for the second time today is unbelievable. Thank you to everyone involved who made this possible.”

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing brought the curtain down on its record-breaking 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season with a successful test for two eye-catching rookie drivers at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Ricardo Feller (21/CH) and Christopher Mies (32/Düsseldorf, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) are the 2021 German GT Champions. The Audi drivers wrapped up the title win with a victory and tenth place at the season finale at the Nürburgring. A profile of the new champions.

In the ADAC GT Masters season finale at the Nürburgring, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz (both GER) have secured third place in the drivers’ standings of the hard-fought race series. At the same time, the drivers achieved fourth place in the teams’ standings for Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT. Their fellow Mercedes-AMG drivers Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Raffaele Marciello (ITA) concluded the season in fourth place of the drivers’ standings, equalling fifth position for MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF – HTP/WWR. Jules Gounon (FRA) and Igor Walilko (POL) ended up in sixth place of both the drivers’ and the teams’ standings while Walilko also got to celebrate third position in the Junior standings. At the end of a thrilling season, the records show three overall race wins and nine further podium results for the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams.

Grand finale, drama aplenty, and a nail-biting climax to the title race – but in the end, they did enough: Ricardo Feller (21/CH) and Christopher Mies (32/Düsseldorf, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) won the German GT Championship in the final race at the Nürburgring. Defending champion Michael Ammermüller (35/Rotthalmünster) and Porsche works driver Mathieu Jaminet (27/F, both SSR Performance) got the maximum out of the last race and claimed their fourth win of the season. In the end, however, tenth place was enough for Feller and Mies to take the title with a slender lead of just four points. This was title number two for Mies, who was previously crowned champion in 2016, and the maiden title for Feller. Second place went to Marco Holzer (33/Bobingen) and Joel Eriksson (23/S, both Küs Team Bernhard) in another Porsche 911 GT3 R, ahead of Lamborghini drivers Rolf Ineichen (43/CH) and Franck Perera (37/F, both GRT Grasser Racing Team). “It feels mega,” said champion Christopher Mies. “The race was really nerve-wracking. It was brutally close from the start, but we did enough in the end. It was very emotional today.”

The MOTEGI GT 300km RACE, Round 7 of the 2021 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Series took place on the afternoon of November 7 (Sun.) at Twin Ring Motegi circuit (one lap 4,801m x 63 laps) in Tochigi Prefecture. In the GT500 class, the No. 8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri/Nirei Fukuzumi) pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the final lap of the race to score their second straight win of the series. In the GT300 class, the No. 21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS (Shintaro Kawabata/Takuro Shinohara) came from a 5th- position start to claim victory.

The Porsche GT Team finished the last race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in positions two and four. At the eight-hour race in Bahrain, the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Kévin Estre (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) held a well-earned lead in a gripping final sprint to the flag and was on course for the title when a Ferrari shunted the Porsche into a spin. Race Control did not penalise the competitor. The identical ca. 515 PS sister car shared by Gianmaria Bruni from Italy, Richard Lietz from Austria and Frédéric Makowiecki from France concluded the sixth and final race of the season on fourth place in the GTE-Pro class. In the manufacturers’ classification, Porsche wrapped up the endurance season in second place. The customer teams Dempsey-Proton Racing and Project 1 notched up another success, each planting their 911 RSR on the podium in the GTE-Am category.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing completed its history-making Hypercar season in style with a one-two victory in the 8 Hours of Bahrain on a day of destiny for the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) drivers’ crown.

Match point for the championship leaders, setback for the chasing pack: The title race in the German GT Championship goes down the final race on Sunday at the Nürburgring. Audi drivers Ricardo Feller (21/CH) and Christopher Mies (32/Düsseldorf, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) produced a commanding display to claim their third win of the season in the penultimate race of the year, and significantly extended their lead at the top of the table in the process. However, three pairs of drivers still have title aspirations going into the final race. They include the pair who finished runner-up in race one, Mathieu Jaminet (27/F) and Michael Ammermüller (35/Rotthalmünster, both SSR Performance). Third place on Saturday went to their fellow Porsche drivers Christian Engelhart (34/Starnberg) and Thomas Preining (23/A, both Küs Team Bernhard). “That was absolutely perfect today. Third pole, third race win, and we extended our lead. That puts us in the perfect position for the race on Sunday,” said a victorious Feller. “We are extremely motivated ahead of tomorrow.”

United Autosports have finished fourth in the final round of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship in Bahrain today, which means they also finished fourth in the LMP2 championship after six rounds.

The official qualifying for the MOTEGI GT 300km RACE, Round 7 of the 2021 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, was held at the Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture on November 6 (Sat.). In the GT500 class, the No. 19 WedsSport ADVAN GR Supra driven by Yuji Kunimoto and Ritomo Miyata won its second Pole Position of the season following the in Round 2 at Fuji Speedway. In the GT300 class, Natori won his personal first pole position in the No. 18 UPGARAGE NSX GT3 (Takashi Kobayashi/Teppei Natori) with a course record time.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season finale from pole position after another clean sweep in qualifying for the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Porsche Motorsport North America announced today that the championship winning trophy for the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands will honour Porsche legend and North American motorsports pioneer Al Holbert. The Al Holbert Cup has been created in recognition of Holbert’s commitment, inspiration and leadership in the formation and organization of Porsche motorsports in North America. The silver cup carrying his name has been crafted as a timeless and traditional trophy to commemorate each Pro class champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands starting with this inaugural season. The Al Holbert Cup will be engraved each year with the champion’s name and year of the championship. This original cup will be on display at Porsche Motorsport North American (PMNA) headquarters in Carson, California. A replica trophy will be presented to the champion as their tangible reminder of their milestone season. This award recognises the true racing spirit of Al Holbert conveying his professional driver’s skill, engineer’s precision and a gentleman racer’s passion.  A true link between the past, present and future of Porsche.

Porsche teams led the way on Friday morning, dominating the first free practice session of the final round of this season’s German

The Porsche GT Team tackles the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC from pole position. Works driver Kévin Estre turned the fastest GTE-Pro class lap in the final qualifying session for the eight-hour race on Bahrain International Circuit. For the Frenchman, this was the fifth pole position from the sixth event this year at the wheel of the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR. Given that the 911 fielded by the customer team HubAuto Racing was the fastest vehicle in the hunt for top times at the highlight in Le Mans, the ca. 515 PS racer from Weissach remains unbeaten in qualifying for the entire 2021 season – a record in the history of the FIA WEC. The Italian Gianmaria Bruni set the third quickest time with the No. 91 car.

Thanks to a formidable lap from James Calado, AF Corse’s no. 51 488 GTE will kick off the 8 Hours of Bahrain from the front row in LMGTE Pro class, the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. In LMGTE Am class, first pole position of the season for Cetilar Racing alongside leaders of the general standings AF Corse.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing remained on top in Bahrain when practice for the final race of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) began under lights.

Four Porsche customers across three classes are set to take on the final round of the inaugural GT Super Sprint Challenge (GTSSC) season this weekend as the bronze driver-focused series travels back to the Shanghai International Circuit.