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Race report
Stuttgart. With a double victory on the Circuit of the Americas at Austin, the
The six-hour race on the 5.513-kilometre Grand Prix circuit, with its spectacular layout with many corners linking, rapidly changing gradients, and fast passages, got underway at 17.00 hours on Saturday. And still, competitors faced high summer temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius. However, the
The pair of 911 RSR spearheaded the GTE-Pro class field over the entire six-hour distance, swapping positions several times. The convincing and reliable performance of the nine-elevens, which have won four straight races in the North American United SportsCar Championship so far this season, was made possible by the immaculate performance of the drivers, their pit crews and the perfect race strategy of
Thanks to his victory, Richard Lietz further extended his lead in the World Endurance Cup for GT Pilots. In the team classification,
In the GTE-Am class, Earl Bamber (New Zealand) achieved second after a stunning chase through the field in the 911 RSR fielded by Abu Dhabi Proton Racing with Christian Ried (Germany) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi). This marks the best result so far this season for the
Matthias Müller, President and Chief
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “An exciting race, and a bigger advantage in the championship – there’s only one word for this: perfect. Right from the start, our 911 RSR was consistently fast even in the high temperatures. We made good use of the advantages that we’d worked for in practice and qualifying and could pull clear of our rivals. Even during the night, while we were running on softer rubber, the tyres worked excellently. All in all, today was a strong team effort. I’m proud to be a part of
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #91): “That’s precisely the result that we wanted. In this race, we underlined what we can do. The whole team put in a strong performance, no one made a mistake, and that’s how you achieve such a result. From the outside it might have looked easier than it actually was most of the time. But it was hard work. We really only had everything under control in the last hour of racing.”
Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #92): “I’ll definitely sleep well tonight. To contest two long distance races in one day is not easy, especially in such temperatures. But such a fabulous team result is worth all that effort. That was a perfect weekend for
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #92): “Our double victory at the Nürburgring was fantastic, but to repeat such a success is a great feeling. I’m truly proud to be able to drive for
Earl Bamber (911 RSR #88): “We started from way down the field and had to make up a lot of places. But our 911 RSR ran fantastically over the entire race weekend. It wasn’t easy for me, because I’d already contested a race in the searing heat. Plus a puncture forced us into the pits for an unscheduled stop. But ultimately it was still a great result for the team. We had to wait a long time for this.”
GTE-Pro class
1. Lietz/Christensen (A/DK),
2. Pilet/Makowiecki (F/F),
3. Rigon/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, 162
4. MacDowall/Stanaway/Rees (GB/NZ/BRA), Aston Martin, 161
5. Sörensen/Nygaard (DK/DK), Aston Martin, 160
6. Turner/Adam (GB/GB), Aston Martin, 160
7. Bruni/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, 160
GTE-Am class
1. Bertolini/Shaytar/Basov (I/RUS/RUS), Ferrari F458 Italia, 159 laps
2. Ried/Bamber/Al Qubaisi (D/NZ/UAE),
3. Perrodo/Collard/Aguas (F/F/P), Ferrari F458 Italia, 158
4. Dempsey/Long/Seefried (USA/USA/D),
5. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda (CDN/P/A), Aston Martin, 158
6. Castellacci/Goethe/Hall (I/D/GB), Aston Martin, 158
7. Roda/Ruberti/Poulsen (I/I/DK), Chevrolet Corvette, 171
Points’ standings GTE-Pro after 5 of 8 races
World Endurance Cup for GT manufacturers
1. Ferrari, 187 points
2.
3. Aston Martin, 129
World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers
1. Richard Lietz,
2. Davide Rigon, James Calado, Ferrari, 87
3. Michael Christensen,
4. Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, Ferrari, 68,5
5. Alex MacDowall, Fernando Rees, Richie Stanaway, Aston Martin, 62
6. Alexey Basov, Andrea Bertolini, Victor Shaytar, Ferrari, 62
7. Frédéric Makowiecki,
FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Pro Teams
1.
2. AF Corse, #71 Ferrari, 101
3. AF Corse, #51 Ferrari, 86
The sixth of eight rounds of the Sports Car World Championship WEC is contested on 11 October in Fuji/Japan.
The Sports Car World Championship WEC
Sports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the Sports Car World Championship WEC (World Endurance Championship) in four classes: LMP1 (eg.
Tous les rapports de course de la saison précédente peuvent être trouvés dans nos archives.