Tom Kimber-Smith and Patrick Long had a tough task ahead of them in the highly competitive GT category. The No. 06 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR started from seventh on the grid and was in the middle of an all-Porsche battle when contact with a P2 car knocked Kimber-Smith back to 10th. He was able to work his way back to eighth before handing the car over to Long near the one-hour mark. Long also spent the majority of his race in an all-Porsche battle with Team Falken Tire and Paul Miller Racing. Whilst working through a never-ending train of traffic, Long was able to hold off the other Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs, crossing the finish line in eighth.
Patrick said, “Ultimately, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs were the only cars we could fight with over a stint. We had some intense battles with the Falken car and I think our strategy and our tire wear prevailed and for that I’m proud that we fought some more experienced teams with an equal car. Unfortunately, in the big scheme of things, we were outside the window of being competitive today.
“The race demanded a lot of physical and mental energy, not because I was discouraged, but because the car was difficult to hold on to. The faster I drove it, the more violent it was. With that, it was about fighting for every lap regardless of the position and being proud that, although we didn’t finish where we wanted to finish, we beat some really professional teams and we did the best with what we had.”