Under difficult conditions, the two 911 RSR Porsche works cars with start numbers 911 and 912 suffered a dark day in North Carolina – but there was still a glimmer of light.
It was not a good day for the Porsche works drivers at Charlotte Roval in North Carolina. The start of the 1:40-hour sprint race was delayed due to the previous NASCAR race and then took place in the worst possible motorsport conditions: heavy rain and poor visibility.
In the glare of the floodlights, Frédéric Makowiecki at the wheel of the Porsche 911 RSR with start number 911 managed to defend his well-earned second place immediately after the start. In a packed field, the action was fast-paced, but the experienced Porsche driver was able to keep up. Laurens Vanthoor got off to an equally good start in the sister car with start number 912. Commencing from sixth place, the Belgian quickly worked his way up to fourth position – until the race came to abrupt end for the reigning champion on lap 4. Laurens Vanthoor careered backwards into the barrier. The damage to the rear of the 911 RSR was too great to be repaired. The race was over for number 912 after just a few laps.
In the leading pack, his teammate, Frédéric Makowiecki, tirelessly battled through in poor visibility. Then on lap 7, he also got into trouble: exiting a spin, he catastrophically hit the barrier at Charlotte Roval, resulting in the Porsche with start number 911 suffering damage to the front of the vehicle. This accident exacerbated the difficult conditions for the Porsche team and the decision was taken to withdraw the car from the race. A repair would not have been worth the effort at this point. Both the Porsche works cars were now out of the race.