Inaugural Porsche Carrera World Cup

[FTS]

Porsche Press Release:


It will be one of the most spectacular sprint races ever. The Porsche Carrera World Cup (“PCWC”) on June 25, 2011 with up to 200 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers will line up on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany watched by more than 200,000 spectators and up to 20 positions on the starting grid are reserved for North American drivers.

“We have already received serious inquiries from numerous of our North American customers for participation in this once-in-lifetime event. With the assistance of the Porsche Carrera Cup Organization based in Weissach, Germany, we were able to put together an “Arrive & Drive” package catered to drivers who want to race, but do not wish to ship their cars and send their crew overseas,” said Jens Walther, President of Porsche Motorsports North America, Inc. (“PMNA”).

Walther emphasized that time is of the essence, and that potential competitors should contact PMNA by March 31 in order to make the best arrangements. The details of this package are available by calling PMNA at 714-361-2500.

The world’s greatest Porsche race takes place just prior to the start of the 39th ADAC 24 hour race and runs over a distance of six laps (70.2 miles). The Porsche Carrera World Cup will highlight Porsche’s 19 brand trophy and challenge series worldwide, including the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama in North America. This race will count as a competition round towards several other championships, including the Porsche Carrera Cups in Germany, Scandinavia, France and Italy.

For this inaugural event, the field will be divided into two classes. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with 3.6-liter engines from 2007 to 2009 model years (400 to 420 hp) and the 3.8-liter versions of the 2010 and 2011 model years (450 hp). Each class will be scored separately. All competitors must provide proof of their considerable track experience. For all Nordschleife rookies, an intensive two-day training course will take place in the week leading up to the event with former Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen (Germany) as the head instructor.

Over the last years, the success story of Porsche Motorsport has been closely tied to the Nürburgring. From 2006 to 2009, the Porsche team, Manthey Racing, won the 24 hour race on the Nordschleife four times in a row. In May this year, the innovative Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid held the overall lead for more than eight hours at Germany’s most popular automobile race. From the ten races on the VLN Nürburgring Long Distance Championship calendar this year, a Porsche 911 won nine times.