At the same time that the new, seventh generation Porsche 911 (type 991) is arriving at Porsche dealerships nationwide, Porsche Motorsports North America President Jens Walther told Porsche racing customers that the 2013 Cup cars (based on the 997 platform) will continue virtually unchanged from this year’s model.

“As with previous models of the 911 GT3 Cup cars, it takes some two years for the race car design to be completed based on a new street car, so we anticipate the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (type 997) to be the racing platform through at least the 2013 racing season. Meanwhile, we have a limited number of 2012 Cup cars and will have a limited number of 2013 Cup cars that have no specification changes,” said Walther, who pointed out that the Cup car has remained essentially the same since 2010.

Where is the the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car Raced

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car is the defending Rolex Grand-Am GT champion, as well as the defending SCCA Pirelli World Champion title-holder and the SCCA GT2 Club Racing National Champion, and the spec car for the American Le Mans Series GT Challenge, the International Motor Sports Association GT3 Challenge by Yokohama, and the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. Cup cars are also popular in Porsche Owners Club and Porsche Club of America racing series.

“The whole Porsche family is excited about the new Porsche 911 (type 991) street car, but there is so much more to be accomplished in 2012 and 2013 with the current 911 GT3 Cup (type 997),” said Walther.

Since its introduction in 1989, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup has shown to be both fast and reliable, maintaining its value as it races in different countries in different classes. In last week’s Rolex 24, there were 23 Cup cars that started the race, with 2006 to 2012 models, each made competitive by the upgrades allowed by the sanctioning body and made available by PMNA.

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In the No. 44 racing Porsche, Seth Neiman is joined by Darren Law and Andy Lally. Law has driven with the Lizards since 2004 and will return as a guest driver in 2012. Sebring will be Lally’s first race with the team. Lally heads to Sebring following a GT win last week at the 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona (with Magnus Racing). 2012 is Lally’s fourth GT win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Among his notable achievements in endurance racing and stock car racing, Lally was named NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year for 2011.

Thomas Blam, Flying Lizard Chief Strategist said,

“Marco Holzer has proven to be a highly consistent driver; he contributed a great deal to our 2011 program. He will be a very solid addition to Joerg and Patrick in the No. 45 for Sebring. In the No. 44, we have an All-American lineup with Seth, Darren and Andy. This will be Andy’s first time driving with the Lizards but he has a proven performance record in Porsches and brings a wide breadth of endurance racing experience.”

The new Porsches will have their first run at the ALMS Sebring Winter test this week: February 8 and 9 in Sebring, Florida. Developments to the RSR for 2012 include a wider body, increased front tire diameter and wider front and rear track width. Porsche has also modified the bodywork to optimize aerodynamics and added new air intake ducts to the rear quarter panel. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is powered by a six-cylinder boxer engine with a four-liter capacity.

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Porsche Produced Videos from the 2012 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona

Some of you have complained in the past about spoiling results of races you’ve DVR’d or otherwise recorded and not yet watched. So, if you don’t want to know Porsche’s results from the Rolex 24 Hour race at Daytona International Speedway, then stop reading now. For everyone else, read on and feel free to browse our 2012 Daytona Albums on Facebook.

When the race started, Porsche commanded 6 of the top 10 qualifying spots in the GT class. Among them were Magnus Racing in P3 and Brumos Racing in P1. 24 hours later the two swapped positions and found themselves on podium (in 1st and 3rd respectively) along with another Porsche customer team, TRG, in 2nd place.

Magnus Racing Successful in Third Year of Existence

Team owner John Potter was understandable emotional after his relatively new team won what is arguably one of the “greates sports car races in the world”.

“This crew works so hard, and we have come so close to the top step of the podium in Grand-Am in the past, but to win for the first time, at this race is something special. Rene and Andy are great guys, and Richard really brought us home strong,” said Potter.

Driving duties for the #44 Magnus Porsche were split between John Potter, Andy Lally, Rene Rast and Richard Lietz. It was Lietz who had the last two hour stint of the race and led Porsche’s sweep of the GT podium. Lietz was pleased that the team chose him to finish the race and he thought the field of drivers was especially strong.

“I was honored to carry the team flag to the finish line, and we bested a field of world-class GT drivers,” said Lietz.

Andy Lally, who won the GT event last year, has switched teams and joined Magnus for a full season is excited about the win and thinks it’s a harbinger of things to come.

“This was a great victory for John Potter and Magnus, but it is only the first step in our quest for the Rolex Grand-Am GT championship and North American Endurance GT Championship,” said Lally.

Final Results of GT Class at the 2012 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona

Facts and Figures about Porsche in the Daytona 24 Hours

Overall Wins: 22 -first in 1968; most recent in 2009 (Brumos – Porsche Flat-Six powered Riley Chassis) and 2010 (Action Express Cayenne V-8 Powered Riley Chassis)

Class Wins: 73

Porsche 911 Wins: 39 Overall and Class Victories

Initial Overall Win: 1968

GT Class Wins: 26

SGS Class wins (class ran only in 2004): 1

20 Race Winning Streak (overall or class): 1966-1987

Finished 1-2 overall in 12 Daytona 24-Hours

GT class winner finishing second overall: 2001, 2004

GTX Series Winner: 1978-1981

GTP Series Winner: 1982-87, 1989, 1991

Special thanks to our intrepid photographer Roger Garbow for all the pictures on Facebook. Roger is the founder of Ridgefield, CT-based Full Throttle Marketing, and Vice President of Car Guy Nation. A member of the International Motor Press Association, Roger is a contributing writer for the Fairfield County Business Journal, Ridgefield Magazine and China’s most exclusive lifestyle publication, Fortune Character.

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Davis, although qualifying first, was still disappointed with his opening lap.

“The guys did a great job getting me out onto pit lane in front, as we thought it would be important to get a clean lap with all the traffic, but my first lap wasn’t so great. The first time I was fastest in the session, I was surprised as I was not successful in finding someone to draft, but the car felt great and I figured we’d at least make the top ten. Then Patrick (Long in the Flying Lizard Porsche), and the Risi Ferrari went faster, but I found a drafting partner and squeezed out the best time in the end. With only a 15-minute session, we were fortunate to get in seven laps, and the new 2012 Brumos Porsche was perfect. I am humbled to be fastest in a field which includes Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette/Camaro, and BMW factory drivers. But I better enjoy it tonight, because it really means nothing once the race begins,” said Davis.

Top 10 GT Qualifying Results

1. Davis / Haywood / Keen / Lieb — Brumos Racing – Porsche GT3
2. Assentato / Lazzaro / Longhi / Segal — AIM Autosport Team FXDD Racing with Ferrari – Ferrari 458
3. Lally / Lietz / Potter / Rast — Magnus Racing – Porsche GT3
4. Bergmeister / Long / Neiman / Rockenfeller — Flying Lizard Motorsports with Wright Motorsports – Porsche GT3
5. Bruni / Fisichella / Matos — Risi Competizione – Ferrari 458
6 Cameron / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker — Team Sahlen – Mazda RX-8
7 Collard / Holzer / Leitzinger / MacNeil — Alex Job Racing – Porsche GT3
8 Edwards / Marsh / Milner / Taylor — Autohaus Motorsports – Camaro GT.R
9 Asch / Baldwin / Burtin / Ragginger / Sellers — Burtin Racing with Goldcrest Motorsports – Porsche GT3
10 Bell / Maassen / Miller — Paul Miller Racing – Porsche GT3

Check out the PorschePurist.com Facebook Page for pictures from Qualifying and other Daytona Albums

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Today, the Daytona International is one of the world’s most famous race tracks. The 24 hour race is contested on the 3.56 mile track combination of oval with banked corner and the infield. The circuit is also the venue for the famed NASCAR Daytona 500 race with over 250,000 spectators annually.

Seven Porsche Works Drivers to Compete

Title defender Wolf Henzler competes for TRG Racing while Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) line up for Flying Lizard Motorsports. Alex Job Racing has Marco Holzer (Germany) onboard, with Patrick Pilet (France) taking the wheel of the second TRG-Porsche. Magnus Racing competes with Richard Lietz (Austria), at the same time his teammate in the new World Endurance Championship, Marc Lieb (Germany), lines up for Brumos Racing. Also taking up the race with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is Audi factory pilot Mike Rockenfeller (Switzerland).

Lastly, in recognition of their brilliant performances in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Porsche AG gave the two-time champion René Rast (Germany) as well as “Rookie of the Year” Kévin Estre (France) the chance to compete at Daytona.

Race Schedule and TV Coverage

The race starts this coming Saturday, January 28th at 2:30 pm EST. Speed.com will offer flag to flag coverage on their web-site while Speed TV will air an hour pre-race show and then provide 7.5 hours of uninterrupted live coverage. Coverage will return to Speed TV at 9 a.m. Sunday with another seven uninterrupted hours.

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Here’s what the Driver’s had to say

Patrick Long: “The driver objective for Daytona test days is two-fold: get a balance with the Porsche and get comfortable with the car. By the time we get to race week, we need to have completely sorted through ergomomics issues and be 100 percent with the car. This week, everything came together seamlessly: with Flying Lizard and John Wright’s team we worked through all of our objectives.”

“It’s a huge GT field this year. I’m confident that the Porsche will be competitive, but of course we won’t really know how things stack up until the race. Over the last few days, we stayed focused on our own program; I think we’re well on our way to having a solid car that drives well through the entire stint.”

Mike Rockenfeller: “It’s great to be back at Daytona. It’s been a while since I’ve driven a Cup car so it was important to have the time to get used to it again. We had time this week to try a lot of things on the car. We’ve still got some work to do to get to race setup, but overall I’m happy with what we accomplished. GT competition is really strong: both internally with all of the other Porsches and the other manufacturers. It’s going to be a wild race. We need to have an easy car to drive and find our rhythm early on. I’m happy to be back here and with the Lizards again.”

Joerg Bergmeister: “We are still learning the car and the tires but we made a lot of progress over the test. The competition in GT is going to be tough: there are over 20 Porsches alone and a lot of other manufacturers with good cars and lineups. All signs point to GT being even more challenging than the DP class was in 2011.”

Details about the Rolex 24 at Daytona

The Rolex 24 At Daytona gets the green flag on Saturday, January 28 at 3:30 pm ET. The race will be broadcast live in the U.S. on SpeedTV (select broadcast hours – see your local listings) and also in Europe on MotorsTV. Flying Lizard will broadcast the team radio live and offer a real time race blog: for details see http://www.lizardms.com.

Flying Lizard at Daytona

2012 will be Flying Lizard’s fourth year at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In 2011, the GT team fielded their first prototype: the No. 45 Porsche-powered Riley DP. After a promising start from the pole (Bergmeister) and having set the fastest race lap, the No. 45 was retired at hour 23 after a challenging race. In 2010, the No. 67 Flying Lizard/TRG Porsche GT3 Cup finished second in GT. In 2005 the No. 75 Porsche finished thirteenth, and in 2004, the No. 74 Flying Lizard Porsche GT3 Cup was second in GT and third overall.

Bergmeister has won three times here: in GT in 2009 (with Patrick Long), in GT and overall in 2003, and in GT in 2002. Rockenfeller won overall in 2010.

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[Photo Source: © Bob Chapman, Autosport Image]

According to the news, Porsche continues to invest in the development of innovative drive technologies in motorsport. A further developed version of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid will return to race tracks in 2012. With this rolling race laboratory, Porsche aims to gain extra practical experience under racing conditions and make the hybrid drive even more efficient.

“There is no way around the hybrid technology in motorsport,” stressed Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development, on Saturday on the occasion of the end of year Porsche ‘Night of Champions’ celebrations. “With the 911 GT3 R Hybrid project, we have shown how you can test important future technologies on the race track and pave the way for motorsport success in the future. We will continue to determinedly blaze this trail and further develop the hybrid technology.”

The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for the 2012 season celebrated its world debut in front of invited team bosses, race drivers and series organizers. The GT race car, which is now five centimeters wider at the rear and with almost an extra 15 centimeters on the front fenders, will be fielded by Porsche customer teams in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series, the International GT Open as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours. In the USA alone, four new vehicles will be fielded by three different teams.

2012 Porsche Works Drivers

Like in previous years, Porsche will support its most successful customer teams in 2012 with works drivers. The line-up of pilots stays the same with Jörg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Wolf Henzler, Marco Holzer, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Patrick Long and Patrick Pilet.

“To win races you have to have the right race drivers. And there’s no doubt that we have them,” stated Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche AG.

Most of the Porsche factory pilots kick off the season at the Daytona 24 hour race on January 28. Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long race a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Flying Lizard Motorsports. Marco Holzer supports the Alex Job squad, with Wolf Henzler and Patrick Pilet driving for the TRG team. Marc Lieb competes for the accomplished Brumos Racing crew, with Richard Lietz teaming up with Magnus Racing. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Rookie of the Year winner also competes at Daytona, with Kévin Estre takeing the wheel of a TRG Porsche 911.

Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland

In 2012, the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland heads into its 23rd season and will continue to run as support to the DTM. The contract with the series organizers was recently extended for another three years. Taking over the helm of the long established Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland is Andrea Hagenbach, who has worked in the organization of the series for the last 13 years. She takes over from Helmut Greiner who is retiring.

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If performance is up to par, the young drivers may get the opportunity to move into the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (the word’s fastest international one-make series) that runs as support to the Formula 1 series. Concurrently, some of the top performers will participate in the Carrera Cup Deutschland. Similar to full-fledged factory drivers, the younger pilots receive fitness tests with constantly changing training plans, media training and information on managing sponsor obligations.

“For us, supporting talented youngsters is an investment in the future. In line with our LMP1 project we want to expand our driver line up. After all, aside from our works commitment in prototype racing, we don’t want to neglect our GT racing activities and we also want to support our customer teams with works drivers in the future,” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport.

While it takes a lot of hard work, Porsche motorsport fans will recognize names like Timo Bernhard, Marc Lieb and Patrick Long. These three factory drivers all got their start in the Porsche Junior program. Most recently, in 2011, Marco Holzer was called up from the minor league and into the majors as a full time Porsche works driver.

So, if you’re child is interested in racing, get them into that go-kart. Who knows, in a few years we could all be watching them in our next favorite Porsche race.

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There’s always a lot going on and this month is no different. Filled with interesting facts and figures about past and upcoming races, along with changes to team and crew, the Porsche Motorsport Newsletter is an easy way to keep on top of this year’s racing activities within the Porsche community. The full update follows after the pictures. We’re trying out a new gallery option, we may keep it, we may not (definitely need to fine tune it). If you can’t view the pictures in your email, simply click here to check them out directly on our site.

American Le Mans Series: Flying Lizard driver line-up confirmed for 2012

The winning Flying Lizard Motorsports squad will again run two Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the 2012 American Le Mans Series. For the fourth consecutive season, works drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long will share the cockpit of the number 45 race car. Team owner Seth Neiman shares driving duties with factory pilot Marco Holzer.

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup: Proton Competition wins six-hour race

Zhuhai in China hosted the final round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup on 12 November. In the LM GTE Am class, works driver Richard Lietz planted the 911 GT3 RSR of Proton Competition on the second grid spot and drove to victory with team owner Christian Ried as well as Gianluca Roda.

Japanese Super GT: Second place for Porsche 911 GT3 R in riveting final

The duel between Tomonobu Fujii in the Porsche 911 GT3 R of the Hankook KTR squad and a BMW was literally decided at the finish line, when the Porsche pilots were taken by surprise by the slipstreaming BMW in race one (12 November) and beaten by nine-hundredths of a second. Race two saw Masami Kageyama again yield second in the same Porsche after a gripping fight. In the final GT 300 class standings, Fujii, Kageyama and their team occupied third place.

Rallying: Björn Waldegård finally claims Porsche win at the Safari

At the East African Safari Classic (20-28 November) in Kenya – arguably the toughest rally for historic vehicles – rally legend Björn Waldegård won in a Porsche 911. Waldegård was co-driven by his son Mathias at the marathon sprint over 2,000 kilometres in the 911. With this result, the 68-year-old finally clinched the victory that had narrowly escaped him as Porsche works driver at the ‘real’ Safari in the seventies: In 1974 he finished second, in 1978 fourth. The Swede became famous after clinching two wins with Porsche at the Monte Carlo Rally (1969, 1970).

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup: René Rast defends his championship title

With five wins this season, Germany’s René Rast managed to retain his championship title for another year. The VELTINS Lechner Racing pilot snatched his last victory at the final round on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi (13 November), after finishing second at the penultimate race the previous day behind Britain’s Nick Tandy. His Austrian teammate Norbert Siedler took home vice championship honours. VELTINS Lechner Racing claimed the team title, with Kévin Estre from France crowned Rookie of the Year.

Carrera Cup Australia: Craig Baird unstoppable – championship title number three

After the last race weekend of the Carrera Cup Australia in Sydney (2/4 December), Craig Baird travelled home as champion once again. Sixth place at the penultimate round in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by Alliance Group Racing put Baird out of reach of his closest rival Jonny Reid. The 41-year-old New Zealand born professional racer has already won the Carrera Cup Australia series in 2006 and 2008. Moreover, he has won the GT3 Cup Challenge New Zealand eight times. The sheer number of championship titles makes the Gold Coast resident the most successful race driver of Porsche one-make cup series.

Carrera Cup Great Britain: Daniel Lloyd wins race scholarship

Facing competition from three other candidates, 19-year-old Daniel Lloyd came out on top after a rigorous selection process at Silverstone to win an £80,000 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain Scholarship. The scholarship contributes to his campaign budget for all twenty races of the 2012 Carrera Cup Great Britain.

GT3 Cup Challenge Australia: Roger Lago defends his championship title

The key to Roger Lago defending his title was consistency: From 18 races, the Australian finished 13 times in the top three and achieved three victories. The fight for the cup, however, went down to the wire between Lago and Jeff Bobik. Bobik won the last two races in Phillip Island on the first weekend in November, but concluded the season 13 points shy (402:389) of his compatriot.

GT3 Cup Challenge Brasil: Constantino Junior clinches maiden title

On a rainy ninth and final race weekend of the year at Interlagos (9/10 December), Constantino Junior convincingly secured his first championship title in the top ‘Cup Class’ category ahead of his rival Clemente Lunardi. The races of the weekend went to Ricardo Baptista and Tom Valle. In the “Challenge Class”, Sylvio de Barros already clinched overall victory two weeks ago at the event run as support to the Brazilian Grand Prix.

GT3 Cup Challenge Canada: two new courses, nine races instead of six

The GT3 Cup Challenge Canada heads into its second season at full revs. The calendar has grown from six to nine races, contested over five weekends. As a premiere, the makes cup series will run alongside its American equivalent on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix (8/10 June) as well as the storied Circuit Mont Tremblant in Quebec.

GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East: Four races, four different winners

The GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East is tougher than ever before. From the four races contested so far came four different winners: Clemens Schmid from Austria, Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal from Saudi Arabia, his compatriot Bandar Alesayi and Ahmad Al Harthy from Oman. Holding a narrow margin, Al Faisal travels to races five and six on the Yas Marina Circuit (Abu Dhabi, 15/16 December) as points’ leader, which also marks the halfway point in the season.

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