– “Fortunately, I have had the truck driver’s license for over ten years, since I drove around the world with my father’s team,” laughs Kevin Estre. Of course, the question has a serious background: The Porsche 963 weighed 1,100 kilograms at the IMSA race in Long Beach, and at the Laguna Seca Raceway this weekend it still weighs 1,084 kilograms. (IMSA Laguna Seca here in the livestream!)
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Motorsport-Total.com spoke with Kevin Estre and Felipe Nasr at Laguna Seca Raceway on the topic. In fact, Porsche Penske Motorsport achieved third and fourth places in Long Beach – although a favorably timed yellow phase helped with that.
“It is definitely more challenging, especially when braking and turning. Every time you apply lateral forces to the car, it gets harder,” says Nasr.
Estre adds: “It is not easy to know how it behaves, compared to Sebring [with 1,055 kilograms] for example, because the tracks are completely different. We have no reference values.” What he means: The Porsche 963 is already new with the Evo package, and then there is also a lack of experience with such a high vehicle weight.
Estre, who is still new as a full-time driver in the IMSA SportsCar Championship this year in the GTP class, therefore lacks information on two levels. But there is only the option to make the best of the situation.
That worked in Long Beach. But Estre knows that the circumstances helped: “For the performance we had, we achieved a good result. We had a bit of luck, a good start, the right strategy. Everything came together.”
Nasr points out that the nature of the street circuit in Long Beach also helped: “In Long Beach, we are simply completely stuck behind the car in front. Whether you are slower or faster, overtaking is hardly possible.”
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More tactical opportunities, but…
For Laguna Seca, he sees a greater chance to gain positions on their own power: “On a track like Laguna Seca, on the other hand, you can build more of a rhythm and also work more with the strategy overall. You can gain more positions during pit stops and traffic also plays a big role here.”
But this can also have disadvantages, as Estre points out: “On street circuits, you notice the weight less than on a race track because there are hardly any fast corners – actually none. Lots of stop-and-go and the grip is also lower, which leads to less tire wear.”
“But if you are heavier here, you definitely notice it more. But here it is more a normal race where pace is important, and you can overtake. If we are too slow, then even if we have track position at some point, it will be difficult.”
“We especially have to watch the tire wear to have as little of it as possible – both in the setup and in the driving style. But that is always the goal, no matter how much weight you carry. So it is just normal driving.”
The two Penske Porsche 963s are competing again at Laguna Seca Raceway with a retro livery. It recalls a design of the Porsche 935 from Dick Barbour Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1980.
In qualifying, the Penske factory team achieved eighth and ninth places. The pole position was taken by Louis Deletraz in the WTR-Cadillac #40 (J. Taylor/Deletraz). () The race starts on Sunday at 22:10 CEST.
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