On the finish straight of the 2016 motorsport season, Porsche will field the 911 GT3 R at two sports car classics in Asia: At the FIA GT World Cup in Macau, which is contested on 20 November through the narrow streets of the Chinese special administrative region, Earl Bamber (New Zealand, #911) and Kévin Estre (France, #912) will drive the 500 hp customer-sport racer from Weissach. The sprint race over an hour and twenty minutes on the unusually long 6.115-kilometre street course is held a day after the sixty-minute qualifying race. As the last event of the year, Porsche campaigns two 911 GT3 R at the twelve-hour race in Sepang/Malaysia on the 5.543-kilometre Sepang International Circuit on 10 December. Sharing driving duties in the number 911 car are Earl Bamber, Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain), with Frédéric Makowiecki (France), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Richard Lietz (Austria) driving the #912 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Manthey Racing is the operations team for both races.
The 911 GT3 R was designed in Weissach for worldwide GT3 series on the basis of the 911 GT3 RS production sports car. In its development, the engineers placed particular emphasis on consistent lightweight design, better aerodynamic efficiency, a reduction in fuel consumption and improved driveability. Its maiden race outing featuring the new, ultra-modern four-litre flat-six engine with direct fuel injection was in January 2016 at the Daytona 24-hour race. In its debut season, the 911 GT3 R has celebrated many successes in international racing series, including the IMSA SportsCar Championship, the World Challenge as well as the Nürburgring VLN Long Distance Championship on the demanding Nordschleife.