Manthey EMA victorious in LMGT3 Le Mans debut

WEC | Racing

Richard Lietz, Morris Schuring and Yasser Shahin win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGT3 class with Manthey EMA Porsche starting number 91
Sister car number 92 from Manthey PureRxcing finishes the endurance classic in 14th place after repairs in the pits
In the LMGT3 team and driver standings, Manthey EMA takes the lead ahead of their team-mates from Manthey PureRxcing, who are equal on points

Le Mans. Manthey EMA triumphs in its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Porsche 911 GT3 R starting number 91. The winning driver trio at the debut of the new LMGT3 class of the FIA WEC Endurance Championship consisted of Richard Lietz (Austria), Morris Schuring (Netherlands) and Yasser Shahin (Australia). In the meantime, the sister car from Manthey PureRxcing (No. 92) with Klaus Bachler (Austria), Alex Malykhin (UK) and Joel Sturm (Germany) was in the lead for a long time in changeable weather conditions. Due to problems with the gearbox and a resulting repair, the trio saw the chequered flag in fourteenth place. In the LMGT3 classification, Manthey EMA is now tied on points with the second-placed Manthey PureRxcing crew.

The two Porsche 911 GT3 R from Manthey EMA and Manthey PureRxcing started the endurance classic at Le Mans on Saturday afternoon at 16:00 from 16th and second position in front of a record crowd of 329,000 spectators. In the first three hours on the 13.626-kilometre Circuit de la Sarthe, car number 91 steadily worked its way forward, allowing Morris Schuring to take the lead for the first time as the fastest driver in the LMGT3 field on Saturday evening. Just two hours later, Joel Sturm did the same in the Manthey PureRxcing nine-eleven, meaning that both cars were already leading the class after just over five hours of racing.

After a long safety car phase due to heavy rain, Klaus Bachler in the Manthey PureRxcing nine-eleven led the class ahead of the sister car with just under eight hours on the clock. However, Bachler had to head for the pits due to problems with the gearbox after the field had resumed its race pace. A defective shift actuator made a 24-minute repair necessary. Five laps down, the car resumed the race in 18th place, while the sister car was able to take over and defend the lead. Towards the end, the race at the top of the LMGT3 class developed into a duel between the Manthey EMA Porsche and the WRT BMW with starting number 31. Final driver Richard Lietz was able to build up a lead over the BMW despite difficult conditions in the wet and crossed the finish line in first place in the class after 281 laps. Final driver Klaus Bachler was able to work his way up to 14th place with the number 92 car. This means that Morris Schuring and Yasser Shahin are victorious in their first ever Le Mans entry, while this is the fifth Le Mans victory for Austrian Lietz.

"This is the fifth time that we have won Le Mans and the fourth time that Martin and I have taken part. It's obviously a special event that you can't force. To be able to take part here with Porsche and then compete for the win is something very special, and then to achieve victory - that's obviously a dream. Being able to drive a car here at all has long been a dream of Martin and me. Unfortunately, the 92 dropped back with a technical defect, which is obviously a shame, as the car certainly had a good chance of taking the win. The victory with start number 91 was hard-fought and a great team effort - everyone gave their all and everything came together. That's what made it possible for us to take the win.", summarises Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey Racing GmbH.

Quotes on the 24 Hours of Le Mans:

Richard Lietz, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: "People don't realise how often you take part in races where you have no chance. It's special to come here to Le Mans and have a team, a car and all the necessary basic conditions to be able to win this race. And then to actually win here is a real privilege. My team-mates have done a fantastic job. They won Le Mans on their debut here, which is incredible. It was my 18th start at Le Mans and I feel very honoured that Porsche has given me the chance to race here over the past 18 years. We've also had some very difficult years, but this year everything just fell into place and then we really did it. That's fantastic."

Morris Schuring, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: "It's a dream come true. When I came here, I never dared to expect that I would win my first Le Mans, especially not at the age of 19. Thanks to the team and my team-mates in particular, we delivered an almost perfect race. We didn't make any mistakes, always made the right decision, stayed calm and didn't get any penalties. We can be proud of that and we really set an example of how a 24-hour race should be driven. Many thanks to Manthey, Yasser and Richie!"

Yasser Shahin, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: "They say Le Mans chooses you. I'm very lucky and very happy that we were chosen this year. I don't think you can find a faster group of guys who are so level-headed. It really was a triumph of discipline. And I'm over the moon to be a part of it."

Klaus Bachler, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "This Le Mans was tough for us. A lot can happen in a 24-hour race like this, and it hurt a bit to have to pit in the morning as the leader and lose five laps. But nonetheless, we gave it our all and tried to get a bit further forward to at least take one or two points home with us. Congratulations to our sister car and the team on the win. That was a really strong performance. We now have to make sure that we attack again in Sao Paulo."

Joel Sturm, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "Anything but a good race for us. We had the pace and were among the fastest cars on the track. To finish 14th in the end due to a technical defect is obviously not a nice feeling. It's hard to put into words what you've just felt and lost. It's always been a big dream to win the race here at Le Mans. We've also lost our lead in the championship. The worst thing about it is that it was out of our hands this time."

Patrick Arkenau, Head of Racing, Manthey Racing GmbH: "Le Mans 2024 - a success story for Manthey. After winning the first LMGT3 race in Qatar, we have now also won the first edition at Le Mans with LMGT3 cars. It really was an extremely difficult race with many ups and downs, during which we had to make difficult decisions every hour - both the team and the drivers on the track. Of course, there is also a small drop of bitterness, because we would have been capable of winning with the 92 and a one-two victory would have been within reach. But that's Le Mans, that's 24-hour races. Minor technical problems are simply part of it and the necessary bit of luck to avoid these problems. Nevertheless, we are very happy - another milestone for us this year after we have already achieved success in other major endurance classics. A great success for us. We are very proud to have won here again under our own name."

Results 24 Hours of Le Mans:

LMGT3 Class
1. Lietz/Schuring/Shahin (AT/NL/AU), Manthey EMA, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91
2. Farfus/Galael/Leung (BR/IDN/UK), Team WRT, BMW M4 LMGT3 #31
3. Olsen/Pedersen/Roda (N/DK/I), Proton Competition, Ford Mustang LMGT3#88,
14.Bachler/Malykhin/Sturm (AT/GB/DE), Manthey PureRxcing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92

Quotes on the 24 Hours of Le Mans:

Impressions