Porsche Penske Motorsport got off to a strong start in the endurance race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace: in front of almost 85,000 enthusiastic fans, Frenchman Julien Andlauer was able to attack the Cadillac, which had started from pole position, on the second lap and overtake it shortly afterwards with a spirited manoeuvre. The number 5 Porsche 963 thus took the lead and built up a small advantage. At the first pit stop, the factory team changed the racing tyres on the right-hand side of the car only. This pattern was to be repeated at the halfway point of each double stint: as the 4.309-kilometre Sao Paulo Grand Prix circuit runs anti-clockwise, these tyres are subjected to greater stress.
Shortly before the two-hour mark, Andlauer came under pressure from the two Cadillac of Team Jota, who were able to take the lead despite his fierce resistance. This remained the case in the middle phase of the fifth race of the season, when Michael Christensen from Denmark took the wheel. It was only in the final phase, when the already low tarmac temperatures dropped below 25 degrees Celsius, that the hybrid prototype of the two former Porsche Juniors came more strongly to the fore again. An exciting chase broke out in the final hour of the race, in which Andlauer was able to reduce a gap of a good eight seconds to less than a second at times – but an attack on second place was not to happen.
Laurens Vanthoor started the race in the number 6 sister car. The Belgian initially lost one position, but quickly made up two places. After the changeover to Kévin Estre from France, the 501 kW (681 PS) race car from Weissach initially continued to run in sixth position. At the halfway point of the race, the two reigning FIA World Endurance Champions were in fourth place and defended this result to the finish.
“Third and fourth place is a very good result for us in terms of the championship,” emphasised Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “We weren’t able to beat Cadillac today, but we had everyone else in our pocket. Our Porsche 963 worked perfectly, and the team and drivers also did a flawless job over the entire weekend. That’s going in the right direction, now we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
“Our number 5 Porsche executed our race strategy really well and we are very proud of the podium result. The sister car came from a little further back and was able to realise fourth place, which we are also happy with,” explains Travis Law, Technical Director Porsche Penske Motorsport.
The Porsche customer team Proton Competition was delighted with its best result of the season so far in Sao Paulo with tenth place. The German team is fielding the third 963 in the FIA WEC. As the other hypercars had not previously tested on the newly paved Grand Prix circuit either, Nico Varrone from Argentina, Neel Jani from Switzerland and Nico Pino from Chile started the race with a comparable wealth of experience.
LMGT3 class: best race result of the season for Iron Dames
Fourth place in the LMGT3 category for Célia Martin from France, Rahel Frey from Switzerland and Michelle Gatting from Denmark: the Iron Dames celebrated their breakthrough in Brazil and achieved their best WEC result with the 911 GT3 R. The successful initiative to promote girls and women in motorsport is cooperating closely with Porsche Motorsport from this year onwards. The day before, the trio had already made it into the Hyperpole session of the ten best qualifiers for the first time. In the race, all three impressed with a strong driving performance and demonstrated their fighting spirit in numerous duels for position. Their number 85 car set the fastest lap times over long stretches. Until three minutes before the end of the six-hour distance, it even looked like a podium result was in the cards. However, Gatting then had to let an Aston Martin pass.
Thanks to another flawless race, the 911 GT3 R of Manthey 1st Phorm was able to work its way up from 13th on the grid to sixth position. The American Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera from Italy and the Austrian Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz had previously won their class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and had to pack on 36 kilograms as a success ballast in Sao Paulo. Nevertheless, the trio extended their lead in the LMGT3 drivers’ standings with this result.
Drivers’ comments after the race
Michael Christensen (Porsche 963 #5): “Third place is a good result for us. We did our best, but the Cadillacs were simply faster than us today. Julien got off to a great start and took the lead. However, we were unable to defend first place over the distance. We can be satisfied with our performance, even though our expectations are obviously different. Looking at the season so far, the development is pointing in the right direction: we are getting stronger and stronger.”
Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): “Fourth place is probably the best we could achieve today. The starting phase was very difficult because we first had to fight our way through the traffic. After that, there was already quite a gap to the front that we couldn’t close, because the Cadillac was simply the fastest car today.”
Nico Pino (Porsche 963 #99): “With tenth place, we were finally able to finish in the points! We’ve learnt a lot in the last few races and made good progress. We now have a better understanding of how we need to set up the Porsche 963. Now we are even more optimistic about the future. We can still improve in one or two details.”
Rahel Frey (Porsche 911 GT3 R #85): “Fourth place feels bittersweet – on the one hand, the Iron Dames have achieved their best WEC result to date. On the other hand, we were on the podium until just before the chequered flag. A big compliment goes to the Manthey team for the perfect preparation of our Porsche 911 GT3 R. It’s incredible fun to drive this race car. All three of us had great duels on the track.”
Riccardo Pera (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): “Because of our success ballast, I would never have thought our result today was possible, because the 36 extra kilograms really slowed us down. Against this background, sixth place is simply outstanding – especially as our direct rivals didn’t score any points. As a result, we were able to extend our lead in the overall LMGT3 standings.”
Race results
Hypercar class:
1. Lynn/Nato/Stevens (GBR/FRA/GBR), Cadillac #12, 242 laps
2. Bamber/Bourdais/Button (NZL/FRA/GBR), Cadillac #38, +57.016 seconds
3. Andlauer/Christensen (FRA/DNK), Porsche 963 #5, +58.882 seconds
4. Estre/Vanthoor (FRA/BEL), Porsche 963 #6, -1 lap
10. Jani/Pino/Varrone (CHE/CHL/ARG), Porsche 963 #99, -2 laps
LMGT3 class:
1. Umbrarescu/Schmid/Lopez (ROU/AUT/ARG), Lexus #87, 216 laps
2. Van Rompuy/Andrade/Eastwood (BEL/AGO/IRL), Corvette #81, +37.716 seconds
3. McIntosh/Barrichello/Hasse Clot (USA/BRA/FRA), Aston Martin #10, +42.565 seconds
4. Martin/Frey/Gatting (FRA/CHE/DNK), Porsche 911 GT3 R #85, +44.026 seconds
6. Hardwick/Pera/Lietz (USA/ITA/AUT), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, -1 lap
Further information, film and photo material in the Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com
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