Podium finish and expansion of LMGT3 championship lead for Manthey PureRxcing at the 6 Hours of Imola

WEC | Racing

A third place means the second podium finish in a row for the No. 92 driver line-up
Due to a collision at the start, the Manthey EMA nine-eleven finishes the race in 16th place
Manthey PureRxcing continues to lead the LMGT3 standings

Imola. The Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by Manthey EMA and Manthey PureRxcing finished the FIA WEC Six Hours of Imola in third (#92) and 16th (#91). Klaus Bachler (Austria), Alex Malykhin (Great Britain) and Joel Sturm (Germany) thus secured their second podium finish of the season further extending their lead in the LMGT3 class. Starting number 91 with Richard Lietz (Austria), Morris Schuring (Netherlands) and Yasser Shahin (Australia) saw the chequered flag in 16th place following a collision at the start.

After a successful Hyperpole the day before, the Manthey PureRxcing and Manthey EMA Porsche entered the premiere race of the FIA WEC Endurance Championship at the Italian Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari from pole position and seventh place. Starting from the front of the LMGT3 field, Alex Malykhin (#92) survived the turbulent start phase of the six-hour race unscathed. However, the sister car driven by Yasser Shahin (#91) was involved in a collision before the first turn, which resulted in considerable damage to the front of the car. As a result, the nine-eleven had to head for the pits and was only able to leave after 30 minutes of repairs at the back of the field.

The trio of drivers in car number 92 spent the first half of the race in the lead, while the sister car in car number 91, in 16th place, steadily reduced its gap to the rest of the field. It was only when the rain set in and a switch to wet tyres was made that Klaus Bachler had to relinquish the lead just under two hours before the end of the race. With track conditions drying out again towards the end of the race, the Austrian was unable to match the pace of the two cars in front of him on slick tyres and crossed the finish line in Imola in third place on the podium once again. The Manthey EMA driver trio of Lietz, Schuring and Shahin took the chequered flag in 16th place after the start collision, but showed a faultless performance and good pace throughout the race.

As a result, Manthey PureRxcing with Malykhin, Sturm and Bachler further extended their lead in the LMGT3 Team and Drivers' standings. The team will travel to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the third race of the season with a 17-point lead.

"An exciting six hour race at Imola. Both driver pairings and our entire crew did a great job here. Of course, it's a great shame that car number 91 had an accident at the start. The car was in the pits for a long time as a result, but returned to the track to gain important kilometres and valuable experience. The Manthey EMA driver line-up showed that they can run at the front in terms of pace. The number 92 car led the race for long periods. When the rain started and got heavier, we had to decide whether to take the risk of continuing on slicks. We opted for the safer strategy and switched to wets. As a result, we were slower than the cars on slicks at the end of the race and finished third. Of course you hope for more when you start from pole position, but we are satisfied with this decision in terms of securing the championship lead.”, summarised Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey Racing GmbH

The next race in the FIA WEC Endurance Championship will be the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 11 May in Belgium.

Quotes on the 6 Hours of Imola:

Richard Lietz, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: „ It was a very chaotic start to the race here in Imola. This situation needs to be looked at again in order to avoid something like this in the future. After the collision and the repair, the car was very good to drive - so our crew repaired the damage very well. Even though we were similarly good in terms of balance and pace as in practice, this unfortunately no longer played a role in the race result.”

Morris Schuring, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: „We had an incident on the first lap, which unfortunately ended the battle for a good position rather quickly. This is tough, especially when you consider that Yasser's pace was amazing after that. So it could have been a really good race. I'm also really happy with my stint - I think I did a good job in both the wet and the dry. It just goes to show that there's a lot of potential for our car and for the next few races. Now we just have to put all the pieces together and look forward to Spa to get some points on the table. And of course a big congratulations to the Manthey PureRxcing car for a great race.”

Yasser Shahin, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: „The start was very chaotic. The starting speed was very high and the overall conditions with the Hypercar field in front were very unpredictable. By the time I realised what was happening, it was too late to avoid a collision. It was really unfortunate because we showed a lot of promise. And I think the car as well as us drivers had good pace. But unfortunately we spent 30 minutes fixing the car. Today wasn't our day. But I think we learnt a lot of valuable lessons.“

Klaus Bachler, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: „Third place here in Imola is definitely a great result and means important points for the championship. We led the race for a long time, but then the weather changed. We then opted for rain tyres, which was a gamble. Unfortunately, it then stopped raining again and two cars on slicks benefited from this. Nevertheless, as already mentioned, third place is a very good result and has brought us good points for the championship. We're already looking forward to the next race at Spa, where we'll be going all out again.“

Alex Malykhin, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: „We had a pretty hot start with a lot of incidents at the front and in turn one. I couldn't see exactly what happened, but I was able to avoid any contact with other cars. Our pace was good, but the competition proved to be strong as well. I tried to make some distance for my team-mates and then handed the car over to Joel, who did a great job on slicks in very tricky conditions. I will look at what he did and try to learn something from it. Of course, Klaus also did a great job at the end. So I think it's a pretty good result for us, especially when you're talking about the championship.“

Joel Sturm, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: „A pretty good race for us with third place and more points for the championship. The race was very demanding, Alex built up a good gap at the start. Halfway through my stint, it started to rain. We stayed out on slicks, which was very challenging on the wet track. But we managed the situation well and Klaus did a very good job in the end. Basically, the whole team did an excellent job and we are all pleased. Now we're off to Spa in three weeks' time. I think our chances there are not bad either, so it will definitely be interesting.“

Results 6 Hours of Imola:

LMGT3 Class
3. Bachler/Malykhin/Sturm (AT/GB/DE), Manthey PureRxcing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92
16. Lietz/Schuring/Shahin (AT/NL/AU), Manthey EMA, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91

Quotes on the 6 Hours of Imola:

Impressions