Watch These Porsche 911 RSRs Crush Sebring In Slow Motion
Sit back and watch as GTLMs balance on the edge of adhesion, the rubber marbles fly, and, once in a while, the cars catch air.
Florida's Sebring circuit isn't just any old airfield track, it's also one of the roughest (on nerves and suspension parts) on the IMSA calendar. The crusty concrete on the sphincter-clenching Turn 17 alone can send cars into orbit, and drivers into therapy.
On occasion of the 65th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race earlier this month, Porsche factory driver, Frenchman Patrick Pilet, talks about driving the Sebring circuit, and we get extreme closeups of the 911 RSR racecars, and their GTLM-class competitors.
In this configuration, the RSRs have Porsche's racing spec 4.0-liter, six-cylinder boxer producing 510 hp, with power directed through a six-speed sequential gearbox. All in, they weigh around 2,740 lbs, per series rules.
Pilet knows from whence he speaks. At this year's Sebring 12-hour, Pilet, who -- with teammates Fred Makowiecki and Dirk Werner -- helped score second place at the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier this year, battled his way to second place twice, only to suffer a tire defect. During the unscheduled pit stop that followed, Pilet received a drive-through penalty, when he drove over the hose of the impact wrench. He ultimately came in seventh.
