#2 - Porsche Wins FIA WEC Super Season
Porsche dominate the FIA WEC super season, taking both the drivers' & manufacturers' titles at Le Mans.
It is no secret that I am a bit of a Porsche nut, so when I had to make a decision about how much coverage I was going to provide for Le Mans this year, I went with my favourite car brand. The Porsche heritage at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is unrivalled, and the boys from Weissach have done it again.
The Porsche works drivers Michael Christensen, and Kévin Estre have won the drivers’ world crown in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The duo from Denmark and France, shared driving duties in the #92 Porsche 911 RSR at the season finale at Le Mans with Belgian Laurens Vanthoor, scored enough points at the 24-hour race at la Sarthe to clinch the title. Porsche had already claimed the manufacturers’ title before the endurance classic. The Project 1 customer squad won the drivers’ and team championship titles in the GTE-Am class of the FIA WEC.
At the 87th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, all four Porsche 911 RSRs maintained an impressive pace in front of over 250,000 spectators. The best result was achieved by Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki in the #91 nine-eleven with 2nd place. Earl Bamber, Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy yielded a double podium result for the Porsche GT Team, clinching 3rd in the #93 car. Both Porsche 911 RSRs crossed the finish line less than 70 seconds behind the class winner. This margin resulted from being hampered by bad luck in the safety car phases.
Lietz reflected, “That was an incredibly tough race. We made the most out of our chances. Unfortunately, unlike last year, it wasn’t enough for the first two places, but positions two and three are definitely not something to be ashamed of. On the contrary: The Porsche 911 RSR was one of the very best cars in the field. Next year we aim to be back at the very front of the field again with our new car.”
Over long stretches of the race, Christensen and Estre and Vanthoor was on course to repeat last year’s victory. After five hours, the #92 car had swept into the lead of the GTE-Pro class to hold a convincing lead during the night. This wasn’t to last when in the early hours of the morning the car had to pit with a broken exhaust system. Repairs to the exhaust threw the 2018 winners back six laps. In the end, the car crossed the finish line in tenth place, still enough to win the drivers’ title in the FIA WEC.
Dane, Michael Christensen, had this to say following the race, “What a rollercoaster ride! We were on track for victory, everything was perfect, but then we had to pit during the night for repairs to the exhaust. You feel as if the world has fallen out from under your feet. Still, we won the world championship, and that’s what counted for us; that was our aim. So we have a great reason to celebrate.”
The Le Mans debut of Mathieu Jaminet and Dennis Olsen ended with 8th place in the GTE-Pro category. The two Porsche Young Professionals, who shared the #94 car with works driver Sven Müller, suffered several setbacks throughout the world’s toughest endurance race. Bad luck with the safety car interventions and repairs to the data systems cost a lot of time. As a result, halfway through the race, the vehicle was relegated from the front.
A blithe Olsen remarked, “I finished my first Le Mans race in eighth place. Given the setbacks, that’s pretty good. Taking part in this race has made a dream come true for me. Hopefully, I’ll get another chance next year – preferably with the same driver line-up, because our teamwork was outstanding.”
In the GTE-Am class, the Porsche customer team Project 1 secured the team and drivers’ titles at its first FIA WEC season after moving up from the Porsche one-make championships. Works driver Jörg Bergmeister, the American Patrick Lindsey and Norweigian Egidio Perfetti ended the 24 Hours of Le Mans in second place in the #56 Porsche 911 RSR “Art Car”.
During post-race scrutineering, the original winner of the race, the #85 Ford GT, was disqualified due to a technical infringement, meaning the Project 1 squad were moved up into 1st place.
A spokesman for team Project 1 said, “We thank the competition for an exciting neck-and-neck race for the Le Mans victory. Of course, we are happy about this success but would rather have won on the track instead of a subsequent disqualification.”
Last year’s class winners, however, were very unlucky. The #77 car fielded by Matt Campbell, Julien Andlauer and Christian Ried led the race for many laps but were thrown down the field with a defect on the underbody. The three drivers finished the season finale of the FIA WEC in 5th place (4th following the race).
Campbell revealed, “We wanted to win, and we came fifth. It’s not ideal, but that’s just the way it is at Le Mans. The competition is intense, the rivals are incredibly strong, and the race is very demanding. The effort in making it to the finish under such circumstances definitely deserves high respect.”
In the #78 911 RSR, Louis Prette, Philippe Prette and the Frenchman Vincent Abril ended their Le Mans debut in 7th place (6th following the race).
Thomas Preining and his British teammates Michael Wainwright and Ben Barker brought their #86 Gulf Racing 911 over the finish line in 9th (8th following the race).
The #88 Porsche 911 RSR retired early. Dempsey Proton Racing ultimately had to park the car in the garage after just 79 laps after Japanese driver Satoshi Hoshino was involved in several accidents. Hoshino shared the car with the Italian duo of Matteo Cairoli and Giorgio Roda.
GTE-Pro class
1. Pier Guidi/Calado/Serra (I/GB/BRA), Ferrari 488 GTE, 342 laps
2. Lietz/Bruni/Makowiecki (A/I/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 342 laps
3. Pilet/Bamber/Tandy (F/NZ/GB), Porsche 911 RSR, 342 laps
8. Müller/Jaminet/Olsen (D/F/N), Porsche 911 RSR, 339 laps
10. Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor (DK/F/B), Porsche 911 RSR, 337 laps
GTE-Am class
1. Bergmeister/Lindsey/Perfetti (D/USA/N), Porsche 911 RSR, 334 laps
2. Segal/Baptista/Lu (USA/BRA/CAN), Ferrari 488 GTE, 334 laps
4. Campbell/Ried/Andlauer (AUS/D/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 332 laps
6. Prette/Prette/Abril (I/I/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 332 laps
8. Wainwright/Barker/Preining (GB/GB/A), Porsche 911 RSR, 331 laps
DNF. Hoshino/Roda/Cairoli (J/I/I), Porsche 911 RSR, 7