USA round of the FIA World Endurance Championship

Both Porsche 963s fielded by the Porsche Penske Motorsport finished in the points at the USA round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The No. 6 hybrid prototype charged from P14 on the grid to cross the finish line in sixth place on the Circuit of the Americas. The identical sister car achieved seventh place after a difficult start to the race.

Qualifying

In sunny conditions and air temperatures of 31 degrees Celsius, the heated asphalt on the Formula 1 circuit near the Texas capital, Austin, offered little grip. In the top Hypercar class qualifying, close lap times made for a nail-biting battle to advance into the Hyper-Pole session. While works driver Kévin Estre missed out on the shootout of the fastest ten cars with 14th place, Matt Campbell put in a last-ditch sprint to improve to sixth place. The Australian also turned heads in the Hyper-Pole: On his last flying lap, Campbell catapulted to sixth place again.

The two Porsche 963 racers fielded by the Hertz Team Jota customer outfit qualified in disappointing P10 and P17. Proton Competition’s identical vehicle earned P16.

Manthey PureRxcing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R achieves commendable grid spot

The best Porsche 911 GT3 R in the LMGT3 class qualified on the second row. Alex Malykhin qualified fourth in the shootout of the ten fastest cars. The Belarusian-born driver shares driving duties in Manthey PureRxcing’s No. 92 contender with Germany’s Joel Sturm and the former Porsche Junior Klaus Bachler from Austria. Heading into this weekend, the trio currently leads the championship. Yasser Shahin missed out on advancing into the Hyper-Pole with 16th place. The Australian shares the No. 91 car run by Manthey EMA with the Dutchman Morris Schuring and the Austrian Porsche works driver Richard Lietz.

Qualifying results

Hypercar class:

P1. Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi /I/UK/I), Ferrari #51, 1:50.390 minutes
P2. Kubica/Schwartzman/Ye (PL/ISR/CHN), Ferrari #83, 1:50.667 minutes
P3. Bamber/Lynn (NZL/UK), Cadillac #2, 1:50.680 minutes
P6. Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki (AUS/DK/F), Porsche 963 #5, 1:50.874 minutes
P10. Ilott/Stevens/Nato (UK/UK/F), Porsche 963 #12, 1:51.532 minutes
P14. Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor (F/D/B), Porsche 963 #6, 1:51.984 minutes
P16. Andlauer/Jani/Tincknell (F/CH/UK), Porsche 963 #99, 1:52.225 minutes
P17. Hanson/Button/Rasmussen (UK/UK/DK), Porsche 963 #38, 1:52.320 minutes

LMGT3 class:

P1. James/Mancinelli/Riberas (UK/I/E), Aston Martin #27, 2:05.587 minutes
P2. Bovy/Gatting/Frey (B/DK/CH), Lamborghini #85, 2:05.759 minutes
P3. Heriau/Mann/Rovera (F/USA/I), Ferrari #55, 2:06.001 minutes
P4. Bachler/Malykhin/Sturm (A/UK/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, 2:06.176 minutes
P16. Lietz/Shahin/Schuring (A/AUS/NL), Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, 2:07.691 minutes

Full results HERE

The race

With this result, works drivers Kévin Estre from France, André Lotterer from Germany and Belgium’s Laurens Vanthoor defended their lead in the drivers’ championship. In the manufacturers’ championship, Porsche ranks second with two races left on the calendar. The Manthey customer team continued its strong performance in Texas: Both Porsche 911 GT3 R finished the race on the podium in the LMGT3 class.

After a mediocre qualifying session on Saturday, Porsche Penske Motorsport experienced a difficult race day. On the hot 50-degree asphalt of the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the two works-run Porsche 963 cars managed to match the pace of the frontrunners. However, an unscheduled pit stop for the No. 5 car and a drive-through penalty for the sister car hampered their chance of a better result. Over 65,000 spectators travelled to the track on the outskirts of the Texas capital Austin and were treated to a gripping six-hour race from lights to flag.

“We came here with high expectations and were disappointed with the overall result,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “The close competition over six hours clearly showed how many cars are now in the fight – even those that joined the championship this year. The race was okay in terms of lap-time performance, however, under the current competitive conditions, we have to start further up the grid to make it onto the podium.”

“That was anything but easy today,” says Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “Our drivers didn’t have optimally set-up cars in the qualifying or the race. What’s more, we faced sweltering conditions, which put extreme physical demands on the drivers and the team. Our works drivers did a great job, and the team delivered perfect pit stops. We’re not overly thrilled with the results but we did what we could under the given circumstances.”

“The race didn’t run entirely smoothly for both works cars. We need to take a closer look at that,” states Jonathan Diuguid. The Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport explains: “Since Le Mans, Ferrari and Toyota have been faster than us. It’s now up to us to make the right call for the upcoming race in Japan and get back among the frontrunners. The situation in all championship classifications is still tight. Our goal hasn’t changed: we’re here to win titles.”

In the manufacturers’ championship, Porsche ranks second, just eleven points shy of the leader. Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor have successfully defended their lead in the drivers’ championship, with their teammates Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki lying fourth.

Despite steady lap times, the six-hour race in Austin proved only moderately successful for the Hertz Team Jota customer team. The No. 38 contender earned one world championship point for tenth place, with the No. 12 sister car spending a long time in the pits due to a technical defect – and thus finished outside the rankings. Proton Competition’s identical racing car took the flag in eleventh place.

Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet America Edition (992)

Manthey plants both Porsche 911 GT3 R on the LMGT3 podium

In the LMGT3 class, the seasoned Manthey customer team again underlined its blistering form. Championship leaders Alex Malykhin from Great Britain, Joel Sturm from Germany, and Austrian Klaus Bachler finished second in the No. 92 car, with third place going to the sister car shared by Yasser Shahin (Australia), Morris Schuring (Netherlands) and Richard Lietz (Austria). The team from Germany’s Eifel region heads into the two final races of the year with a significant points advantage.