Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to compete in Race of Champions

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is the most popular race car ever. To date, over 2,000 vehicles have been delivered to customers around the world and compete in both national championships and the F1-supporting Mobil1 Supercup. And now, the 444 bhp GT racer from Weissach joins the official competition cars at the annual Race of Champions, where many of the world’s most talented and famous racing celebrities from diverse disciplines come together to fight for the Nations Cup and individual Race of Champions title.

This years event will be held in Dusseldorf on 27/28 November and joining the ranks of the world class starter field is 2009 Supercup champion Jeroen Bleekemolen. The 29-year-old driver from the Netherlands won the GTC class of the American Le Mans Series this season at the wheel of a 911 GT3 Cup and knows the Cup-911 from many years of racing. In 2008 and 2009 he won the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup and in 2008 he clinched victory in the LMP2 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a Porsche RS Spyder.

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]I’m hoping to contest as many heats as possible with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – not one of the participating drivers knows the car like I do.[/blockquote]

In Dusseldorf, Bleekemolen is up against the likes of Formula 1 pilots Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel as well as World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb and ex-World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx. “I’m proud to be part of the Race of Champions for the first time,” says Bleekemolen. “Obviously, I’m hoping to contest as many heats as possible with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – not one of the participating drivers knows the car like I do.”

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, based on the road-legal 911 GT3 RS sports car, is powered by a 3.8-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine delivering 444 bhp. The spectacular sounding race exhaust system features a fully controlled catalytic converter. The rear-engine concept and the wide track give the racing-911 excellent traction and razor-sharp handling. Pilots operate the sequential six-speed gearbox manually whilst power from the high-revving engine (max. 8,500 rpm) is distributed to the wide rear wheels via a mechanical differential.

“I’m very pleased that the racing elite from all over the globe will be seen driving the world’s most produced race car, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup,” said Hartmut Kristen, Head of Motorsport at Porsche. “I’m sure that fans and drivers alike will gain just as much pleasure from the spectacular sound and the superb handling of this vehicle.”

This marks the return of the Race of Champions to Germany since 1989. The event will be broadcast by the German national TV, ZDF, with many international broadcasters transmitting the live feed.