News
Race report
Stuttgart. The title fight in the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC remains gripping to the end: At the six-hour race on the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday, Richard Lietz (Austria) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) secured second place in the GTE-Pro class with the
Driving the #91
The final phase was definitely not for the faint-hearted. Over many laps, the Austrian delivered a gripping duel with the leading Ford, where he was practically glued to the bumper of the frontrunner. With 35 minutes to go, a critical incident thwarted his charge: A Toyota prototype hit the right side of the
In the first third of the race, Kévin Estre and Michael Christensen impressed with a strong performance. Taking up the race from the first grid row, it took Kévin Estre only three laps to move into the lead with the #92
The
The ninth and final round of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC will be contested in Sakhir/Bahrain on 18 November.
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars: “The fight for the world championship remains gripping. Today we managed to narrow the small gap to two points. Hopefully in Bahrain we’ll finally be able to bring home our long overdue maiden world championship win for our new 911 RSR. In the GTE-Pro class it was even closer than usual today. It’s a shame that the incident with the Toyota cost us decisive seconds as well as the chance to be even closer and perhaps even score a victory. The title race in the GTE-Am class is still open.”
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “That was an exciting race. I feel sorry for Michael and Kevin. They were doing so well. Our 911 RSR was running well, too. Fred drove a fantastic double stint and, at the end, the situation with the leading Ford became really close. The incident involving the Toyota cost us a lot of time, and afterwards our car was pretty badly battered. The steering wheel was wonky and I felt strong vibrations. I’m pleased that I managed to salvage second place. We’re still totally in contention for the world championship.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #91): “Obviously we would rather have won. We were so close towards the end. But we’ve again improved our chances of winning the world championship with second place, so I’m satisfied. What I didn’t like was how disrespectful the LMP1 and LMP2 drivers were. That wasn’t the first time we were nudged unnecessarily today. But the most important thing is that it’ll be really exciting at the season finale in Bahrain.”
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #92): “It’s always disappointing to have a race end prematurely. But considering how we’ve improved over the second half of the season, we have no reason to hang our heads. Again, every team member did a great job today and contributed to a great start to the race, possibly our best this year. Now we would like to reap the fruits of our hard work at the season finale in Bahrain.”
Kévin Estre (911 RSR #92): “The beginning of the race went well for us. I had a great start and could move into first place after three laps. Michael then extended the lead. Our 911 RSR ran like clockwork, it was the fastest GT car in the field. But two laps after Michael handed the car off to me, the car suddenly lost power. That was tough because at that point the situation seemed very promising for us to win the race. It’s just bad luck. But we’re looking ahead now and we hope for a good season finale in Bahrain.”
Matteo Cairoli (911 RSR #77): “That was a very tough race. We experienced problems with the tyres over the whole weekend, plus we lacked a bit of speed compared to the frontrunners. Viewed in this light, third place is a good result, even though it means we’ve lost our lead in the FIA Endurance Trophy. Still, the final score will be settled after the last round in Bahrain.”
Race result
GTE-Pro class
1. Priaulx/Tincknell (GB/GB), Ford GT, 170 laps
2. Lietz/Makowiecki (A/F),
3. Calado/Pier Guidi (I/I), Ferrari 488 GTE, 170
4. Mücke/Pla (D/F), Ford GT, 170
5. Thiim/Soerensen (DK/DK), Aston Martin, 170
6. Rigon/Bird (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE, 170
7. Turner/Adam (GB/GB), Aston Martin, 170
8. Christensen/Estre (DK/F),
GTE-Am class
1. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda (CAN/P/A), Aston Martin, 166 laps
2. Barker/Foster/Al Qubaisi (USA/GB/UAE),
3. Ried/Cairoli/Dienst (D/I/D),
4. Mok/Sawa/Griffin (MYS/J/IRL), Ferrari 488 GTE, 158
5. Flohr/Castellacci/Molina (CH/I/E), Ferrari 488 GTE, 37
Complete results of all WEC race can be found on http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com
Current points standings on http://www.fiawec.com/en/season/result/4116
All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.