24h Le Mans
Jörg Bergmeister finished seventh in the LMGTE Am class at his 17th 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, a race he greatly enjoys and won in GT in 2004. The official Porsche driver is the spearhead of the new Team Project 1 fielding the #56 911 RSR in the entire 2018-2019 Super Season of the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC).
How did your 24 Hours of Le Mans go?
"We had quite a few highs and lows. At one point, things seemed really promising for us and we weren't far from second place in LMGTE Am. Unfortunately, we had a mechanical problem that dropped us down to seventh place in the classification. We made up the time and climbed back to third, but then we had another problem an hour and 30 minutes from the finish (brakes, Ed.) that relegated us to seventh place. It's a shame, we had the pace to claim a spot on the podium. But I want to congratulate the Dempsey-Proton Racing team for its win in LMGTE Am. They did good work and had a solid driver line-up."
What are your main takeaways from the race?
"It was a good experience for the team. Don't forget, it was our first 24 Hours of Le Mans. We learned a lot and made great progress which will help us better prepare for the 2019 Le Mans, and it should give us a boost for the shorter races. We are very pleased with the level we demonstrated because this is still a young team having just debuted in May at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (first round of the 2018-2019 World Endurance Championship season, Ed.). Also, my teammates Patrick Lindsey and Egidio Perfetti did good work, especially since they're not used to driving for so long (laughs, Ed.)."
You were back at Le Mans, a race that has been successful for you in the past...
"That's right, I love this race. I hated not doing it last year, but it worked out because my son was born around that time. I have wonderful memories of this race, like my win in GT in 2004 (at the wheel of White Lightning Racing's Porsche 911 GT3-RS with Patrick Long and Sascha Maassen, Ed.). I can't wait for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans."
What are your thoughts on the rest of Team Project 1's season?
"I think after Le Mans we can reasonably count on a podium finish in Silverstone (the third FIA WEC round, Ed.). Sure, we still need to improve, but I'm confident in the team. At Spa, we already showed we are a contender for a podium finish. We just have to make everything come together!"
