Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Porsche, Racing
Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid - Click above for high-res image gallery
After leading the 2011 24 Hours of Nürburgring race for eight hours last year, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid was forced to retire after its combustion engine's valve spring failed less than two hours before the race's conclusion. This year, the team returned with a revised hybrid system that weighs about 20 percent less and delivers about 40 more horsepower. It proved very competitive, as the GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 won the VLN race at this circuit just three weeks ago.
As a result, and with just over a week before the famed 24-hour Nürburgring event, organizers chose to slap an air intake restrictor on the combustion engine, knocking it down to 448 horsepower (last year's engine was rated 480). Calculated over one lap, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 now delivers a lower system output than last year's vehicle with a combustion engine, says Porsche.
The team and drivers are understandably frustrated with this last-minute ruling. Not only does it reduce top speed on the straights, but it forces to drivers to push the the hybrid powertrain much harder just to stay competitive. With the handicap, the GT3 R Hybrid qualified 18th. "This further reduction in performance by the organizers is incomprehensible to us," says Porsche Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. "There are no data from the two test races as part of the 2011 Nürburgring Long Distance Championship that would provide the basis for such a grading."
The 39th edition of the Nürburgring 24 hour race starts on Saturday June at 4:00 PM CET (10:00 AM EDT).
2011 24 hours of N�rburgring: Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 punished with restriction originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 25 Jun 2011 08:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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