THE RACER’S GROUP TAKES POLE POSITION IN THE SECOND AND FINAL ROUND OF QUALIFYING PRACTICE AT 24 HOURS OF LE MANS



LE MANS, France – June 13, 2002 – The Racer’s Group was the fastest car in the GT class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the second and final round of evening qualifying practice on Thursday. The Porsche 911 GT3 RS timed at 4:10.803 in the team’s first-ever appearance at Le Mans. The No. 81 Racer’s Group car was two seconds faster than the next closest car in the GT class. Lucas Luhr of Monte Carlo qualified the car. Kevin Buckler, the owner of the team is co-driving with Luhr and Timo Bernhard of Germany.

A bit of drama occurred early in the evening qualifying practice from 7 to 9 p.m. Going into turn one approximately 25 minutes into the session, Buckler hit the brakes at 140 mph and No. 81 spun hard into the gravel, narrowly missing the wall. A small water leak had occurred, causing water to be laid down on the track directly in front of the tires. Fortunately Buckler and the car were fine, the water hose was repaired and the car was back out for the following session from 10 p.m. to midnight.

“This is unbelievable, we are so honored to be in this position our first time at Le Mans. We have definitely prepared for this moment but achieving it is another story. We have tried to assemble the best team, crew, car, drivers and equipment. The Porsche GT3 RS and Michelin tires are a magical combination. We couldn’t have done any of this without our partners and sponsors. These partners have provided us the opportunity to show our potential at Le Mans. Now it’s our turn to perform in the race. Being in pole position is awesome, but this is only one lap, we have to make sure we keep everything in perspective, it’s a 24 hour race and we can’t make any mistakes. I think we have assembled an all star team,” Buckler said of his first time at Le Mans.

The Racer’s Group is a manufacturer and distributor of high performance Porsche parts, an engine and chassis building and tuning facility, a full service Porsche prep facility and a professional race team. Additionally, they provide electrical and mechanical engineering services, driver development and “arrive and drive” services. They are also the North American distributor of the UNICHIP, a fully programmable piggyback computer system that enhances the performance of streetcars and currently support approximately 130 dealers in the U.S. The Racer’s Group is based at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California.

The Racer’s Group is excited to welcome its primary sponsors Rennlist.com, ThaList.com, Adobe Road Winery, Mail2web.com, Monster Cable, the Natalie Streather fund and Suncoast Porsche to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

To learn more about The Racer’s Group, visit <a href="https://rennlist.com/racing/" target="_blank">rennlist.com/racing/</a> or theracersgroup.com

 

Fantastic Effort.

Why no enthusiasm from the board???

<img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />

 

GO!
1/2 hour into the race, #81 The Racers Group is leading the GT class as expected since they had the pole.

This is from an audio feed over the internet. Maybe some of you lucky SpeedChannel viewers can update us with the latest details.

<a href="http://www.radiolemans.com/" target="_blank">LeMans Audio Feed</a>


<a href="https://rennlist.com/racing/index.htm" target="_blank">Rennlist Racing Forum</a>

 

I GOT THE SPEED CHANELL ON RIGHT NOW.

I WILL UPDATE THROUGHOUT THE RACE <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

 

About 5 hours into the race. TRG #81 is currently in 2nd in GT. Staying with the #80 car. Maybe someone will post time differental. The only thing the radio mentioned is that the lap times of the 2 cars were about the same. Lucas at the wheel of the 81 car.
John D posted that TRG is playing a conservative race. 19hours left to go.

 

Plenty of enthusiasm here, to add to the above links, try

<a href="http://www.lemans.org/course/aco2002/statique/main/classement_live_2_2.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.lemans.org/course/aco2002/statique/main/classement_live_2_2.shtml</a>

There's a few minutes delay , but it's better than nothing.

 

Christian,
Thanks for the link. Looks like Kevin has moved into the drivers seat.

Edit, Hmmm maybe not..

 

As of 22:19 local time (race started at 16:00) they are sitting in 29 th Overall, second place in the GT class, one lap behind the No 80 Freisinger Porsche, lapping steadily in the 4 min 20's.....

The Le Mans Org timing page is a little flaky but if you gie it a chance it eventually catches up on itself

 

As of 10:18am The Racers Group 81 car remains locked in battle with the Freisinger Porsche 80.

After almost 18 and a half hours only 12 seconds seperates the first and second car in the GT class. No.81 managed to overcome a lap disadvantage to the No.80 car with consistently fast driving by Lucas Luhr through the night.

<img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />

 

Results, I need results! I live in the boonies with no Speed (NASTYCAR) Channel.

 

Dear Matt,
Car 81 crossed the line in first place in GT class. The Racers Group Won!!!.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

Thank You! And good job TRG!