News
Race report
Stuttgart. At the Silverstone six-hour race, the new
Twenty-seven cars lined up on the Silverstone Circuit to kick off this year’s Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC. The sky over the storied racetrack in the British Midlands was overcast, a cold wind blew, and light showers fell especially in the second half of the race. However, this dampened neither the spirits of the enthusiastic British motor racing fans on the grandstands nor the pilots, who, instead of switching to wet tyres on the partially wet track, stayed out on slicks and treated the spectators to gripping fights and spectacular overtaking manoeuvres. The
This strategy paid off. In the #91
Frédéric Makowiecki on the other hand seemed unstoppable. When the safety car was deployed a good two hours before the finish, he took over driving duties from Richard Lietz and promptly turned the fastest lap of the race. With one hour and twelve minutes to go, he pulled into the pits as the leader. Even as he pitted for a splash-and-dash fuel stop shortly before the finish he was still running at the top. Since his rivals had already made their final pit stops at this stage, Makowiecki returned to the race action in fourth. Still, with a breathtaking final push in the final laps he managed to snatch third – which everyone had believed to be lost – and made the much hoped for good start into the WEC season.
In the GTE-Am class as well,
Round two of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship is contested on 6 May in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium.
Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “It was a very difficult race, particularly my stint with slicks in the rain. We can be very pleased with a podium place. Still, it was definitely a great and promising start to the WEC season.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #91): “We concluded this extremely tough race with a well-earned podium spot. In some situations we simply had luck on our side, but that’s just part of a strong and balanced field. Finishing third is more than we could have expected after our qualifying. Now we can build on this performance for the next races.”
Kévin Estre (911 RSR #92): “We were running well with our 911 RSR right from the start. Our strategy was to conserve our tyres until the last two hours of racing. Everything actually ran according to plan. But towards the end of my double stint I suddenly lost power. A short time later I saw smoke and flames. It’s a shame that our first WEC race ended like this for our new 911 RSR.”
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #92): “The race started really well for us. Our strategy to use the qualifying to prepare for the race and save our tyres worked brilliantly. This put us in the position to overtake several competitors and then match the pace of the frontrunners. At times we were in third place. That was all very positive. So we’re now looking ahead and we’re excited for the next race at Spa.”
Matteo Cairoli (911 RSR #77): “What a way to start my first WEC season. The race was a fantastic experience for me. I’m totally thrilled with third place. In the last lap we had a little luck on our side, but we all deserved this podium result.”
Race result
GTE-Pro class
1. Priaulx/Tincknell/Derani (GB/GB/BRA), Ford GT, 171 laps
2. Calado/Pier Guidi (I/I), Ferrari 488 GTE, 171
3. Lietz/Makowiecki (A/F),
4. Mücke/Pla/Johnson (D/F/USA), Ford GT, 171
5. Rigon/Bird (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE, 170
6. Thiim/Soerensen/Stanaway (DK/DK/NZ), Aston Martin, 170
7. Turner/Adam/Serra (GB/GB/BRA), Aston Martin, 168
8. Christensen/Estre (DK/F),
GTE-Am class
1. Mok/Sawa/Griffin (MYS/J/IRL), Ferrari 488 GTE, 166 laps
2. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda (CAN/P/A), Aston Martin, 166
3. Ried/Cairoli/Dienst (D/I/D),
4. Wainwright/Barker/Foster (GB/GB/GB),
Flohr/Castellacci/Molina (CZE/I/E), Ferrari 488 GTE, DNQ
Tous les rapports de course de la saison précédente peuvent être trouvés dans nos archives.