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Race report
Stuttgart. After four straight wins in the USA and Canada,
Glorious summer weather in Germany’s Eifel region and 62,000 spectators over the race weekend – everything fit perfectly at the first appearance of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship in Germany. The squad under team boss Olaf Manthey, who lives just a stone’s throw from the Nürburgring in Meuspath, notched up its long-awaited first victory of the season of all places at the team’s home race after scoring second place at both Silverstone and Spa. This has put the team in a good position for the second half of the season with four races abroad, the first of which is contested in Austin/USA on 19 September.
Just 23 minutes into the six-hour event on the storied race track, Michael Christensen had already moved up to take the lead after starting from fourth in the # 91
Almost halfway through the race the order was then one-two for
In the GTE-Am class, Hollywood star and race driver Patrick Dempsey (USA) netted fourth place with teammates Patrick Long (USA) and Marco Seefried (Austria). The 911 RSR campaigned by the Dempsey Proton Racing customer team – with which the trio celebrated their greatest success to date claiming second at this year’s Le Mans 24 hour race – was even running in the lead over long stretches. In the closing laps, however, it proved not quite enough for a podium finish.
As a guest starter in the KCMG team from Hong Kong,
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “First and second – just perfect. We prepared very well for our home race with two productive test sessions and we didn’t let ourselves worry about the crazy weather conditions at the beginning of the week. Since testing, we changed almost nothing on the setup of our 911 RSR and this paid off.”
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #91): “My maiden win in the WEC – I’m over the moon. What a perfect weekend. Things didn’t go so well for us at Le Mans, but this was a fantastic comeback. It’s one of the greatest successes in my career. And we’re particularly thrilled that we could score victory for our team on their home track. Many of our mechanics had family and friends here and it must have been a wonderful day for them, too.”
Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #92): “That was a tough race. Unfortunately we had to deal with two drive-through penalties which cost us a lot of time. It’s a shame, because we had a fast car, good pit stops and a perfect strategy. To score first and second is a great success. We’ll really celebrate today – but from tomorrow on we’ll be focussing on the next race in Austin.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #92): “The most important thing is that
Patrick Dempsey (911 RSR #77): “Naturally I’m a little disappointed. Only two seconds off a podium result after a fantastic race. It was incredibly close at the flag. Now we’re turning our attention to Austin. Eventually our team will be rewarded for all our hard work and the progress that we’ve made.”
Patrick Long (911 RSR #77): “I really managed to enjoy my stints. They ran perfectly. The consistency and the balance of our 911 RSR were good and our strategy worked well. Unfortunately the extra pit stop put a spanner in the works. Still, despite our lead, it would have been difficult to win. However, a podium result would probably have been possible.”
Earl Bamber (911 RSR #88): “Our start was great and we held the lead for quite some time. But then we experienced some bad luck and lost a lot of time. Our 911 ran without any problems and that makes us very confident for Austin. What we still need is a little luck.”
GTE-Pro class
1. Lietz/Christensen (A/DK),
2. Pilet/Makowiecki (F/F),
3. Rigon/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, 175
4. Sörensen/Nygaard (DK/DK), Aston Martin, 175
5. MacDowall/Stanaway/Rees (GB/NZ/BRA), Aston Martin, 174
6. Turner/Mücke/Adam (GB/D/GB), Aston Martin, 173
7. Bruni/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, 168
GTE-Am class
1. Bertolini/Shaytar/Basov (I/RUS/RUS), Ferrari F458 Italia, 173 laps
2. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda (CDN/P/A), Aston Martin, 172
3. Perrodo/Collard/Aguas (F/F/P), Ferrari F458 Italia, 172
4. Dempsey/Long/Seefried (USA/USA/D),
5. Roda/Ruberti/Poulsen (I/I/DK), Chevrolet Corvette, 171
6. Ried/Bamber/Al Qubaisi (D/NZ/UAE),
7. Castellacci/Goethe/Hall (I/D/GB), Aston Martin, 169
World Endurance Cup for GT manufacturers
1. Ferrari, 166 points
2.
3. Aston Martin, 106
World Endurance Cup for GT drives
1. Richard Lietz,
2. Davide Rigon, James Calado, Ferrari, 72
3. Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, Ferrari, 62,5
4. Alexey Basov, Andrea Bertolini, Victor Shaytar, Ferrari, 58
5. Michael Christensen,
8. Frédéric Makowiecki,
10. Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Long, Marco Seefried,
14. Patrick Pilet,
FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Pro teams
1. AF Corse, #71 Ferrari, 86 points
2.
3. AF Corse, #51 Ferrari, 80
The fifth of eight races in the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC will be contested on 19 September at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin/USA.
The Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC
Sports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the WEC (World Endurance Championship) in four classes: LMP1 (eg.
All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.