Le Mans, France, (August 15, 2021) – Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), and Earl Bamber (New Zealand) had a successful test day by posting the fastest lap in the LMGTE PRO Class in preparation for next weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans to run Aug. 21-22 at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
The WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR ran 44 problem free laps on the day. The Proton Competition crew worked through their test day to-do list providing the three drivers with maximum track time. The fast time of the day was posted by Earl Bamber who ran a 3:52.938 around the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe that had them first in the LMGTE PRO Class.
“The day was good,” Bamber said. “Obviously just preparing for the big one. The Proton guys did a good job today with the car. It is my first time with WeatherTech Racing, so it is good to be P1. So now let’s see what we do next week.”
“Good start to a long week ahead posting the quick time of the day,” MacNeil said. “We definitely have a lot of work to do. With this place being as fast as it is, we need as much straight-line speed as we can get. We’re at a bit of a deficit right now compared to some of the other Porsches. We are looking for a little more top speed in the car as well as fine tuning the balance. A solid test day with some good times turned by all three of us. The car is in good shape, so the Proton guys don’t have any extra work. They can focus on race prep and getting the car dialed in for race.”
“I am reasonably happy,” Vanthoor said. “We still have some small issues to resolve. The WeatherTech Porsche handles quite well. I feel very confident in the car. Things are going in the right direction. We still have some work to do to make it better for the race, but I am happy with the way the day went.”
The team will return to on track action on Wednesday for the first official practice at 14:00 CET.