Porsche factory builds special car for Grand-Am
The factory has constructed 12 – 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars to for the 2007 Rolex Grand-Am series customers in accordance with current Grand-Am GT rules. The cars should be delivered to the teams which ordered them by the January 4 – 6, 2007 Grand-Am test days at Daytona International Speedway.
"Our Grand-Am customers have worked hard in the past modifying our Cup cars to meet Grand-Am specifications, so when we asked if they would like to purchase a car that was a turn-key racer for the series, we received a very positive response," said Uwe Brettel, president of Porsche Motorsport North America, the subsidiary of the factory responsible for selling race cars and competition parts for the Porsche factory in the U.S. and Canada.
"Because of this customer need, and out of respect for the importance and stature of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, the Porsche factory agreed to build the cars for our Grand-Am customers, and, at this point, they are all sold," said Brettel.
"We have a great line-up of GT customer teams running in the upcoming Rolex 24, and our teams will announce themselves and their drivers shortly," Brettel added.
Roger Edmondson, president of Grand American Road Racing, Inc., is also pleased that Porsche has built Grand-Am-specific cars, and pointed out that Porsche's reputation for GT class success proceeds their prototype fame.
"Porsche has a great tradition in endurance racing, both in prototype and GT classes, and we are pleased that the factory has committed to both classes again in 2007. Although they did not win the GT class last year, the have renewed their commitment to the class by building cars specifically for our series. Porsche's first racing victories in the late 1940's were with GT cars in class, and this action shows their commitment to continuing that success," said Edmondson.
Changes included in the special Cup model include a complete fuel system including fuel cell, all suspension joints in uni-ball bearing, special Brembo front and rear brake calipers, five-stud wheel hubs, and special driver side safety cage, plus other technical items.
In addition to the GT Porsches, several teams will have Porsche-powered Daytona Prototypes in the 2007 Rolex Grand-Am series, including Alex Job Racing, Eddie Cheever Racing, and Brumos Racing. Those team driver announcements will be finalized in the coming weeks.