Second FIA WEC double podium for Manthey at ‘Lone Star Le Mans’ in Austin

WEC

Second double podium and important championship points for both Manthey car crews
Fifth podium result for the second-placed Manthey PureRxcing driver trio
Strong fightback by the Manthey EMA crew to move up 13 positions to third place
LMGT3 double lead in the FIA WEC Team and Drivers' Championships extended

Austin. With second and third places, the two Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by Manthey secured the second double podium of the current season in the FIA Endurance Championship. In second place, Klaus Bachler (Austria), Alex Malykhin (Great Britain) and Joel Sturm (Germany) finished on the podium for the fifth time in total. Richard Lietz (Austria), Morris Schuring (Netherlands) and Yasser Shahin (Australia), who had started from 16th on the grid, made up 13 positions over the six-hour race distance to complete the podium in third place. With this result at the Circuit of the Americas, the two driver trios also maintain the double lead in the LMGT3 Team and Drivers' Championships.

In challenging temperatures of over 31 °C air and 45 °C track temperature, Yasser Shahin (#91) and Alex Malykhin (#92) started the six-hour race in Austin from positions four and 16. The starting phase on the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of the Americas cost the number 92 two positions after contact on the first lap, while Shahin made up places in the Manthey EMA Porsche. The Australian handed over to Morris Schuring in 13th place after 48 laps, despite a drive-through penalty due to track limits, and Joel Sturm took over the Manthey PureRxcing sister car immediately afterwards in fifth place. The two Silver drivers were able to hold their own in the field: thanks to the interplay between the strong performances of Schuring and Sturm and the pit stop strategy of both cars, they were in the top five until the final driver changeover around two and a half hours before the chequered flag fell.

For Klaus Bachler in the starting number 92, the podium was already within sight when he took over the wheel from his team-mate. The Austrian held this promising position confidently for the remaining 63 laps and crossed the finish line of the Texan GP circuit in second place of the LMGT3 field in front of more than 65,000 spectators. Manthey EMA driver Richard Lietz made a strong fightback from fifth place and, after an overtaking manoeuvre and a time penalty on the third-placed Ferrari (#55), was able to move up to behind the sister car. The number 91 Porsche crossed the finish line of the six-hour race in Austin directly behind the sister car, moving up 13 places from its grid position to third.

Manthey PureRxcing and Manthey EMA thus extend their one-two lead in the LMGT3 Team and Drivers' standings. Bachler, Malykhin and Sturm remain at the top of the leaderboard with a 28-point lead (118 points). With 90 points, Lietz, Schuring and Shahin have also slightly widened their lead over the third-placed team (#31) and go into the next, penultimate round of the Endurance Championship as runners-up.

This upcoming seventh round of the WEC at the Fuji Speedway in Japan on 15 September is just two weeks away. This will be the last six-hour race of the season before the eight-hour season finale in Bahrain.

Quotes on the Six Hours of Austin:

Richard Lietz, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: “A very eventful race. America once again put on a great show: It was very hot and very demanding for everyone - the team, the drivers, the cars and the tyres. It was really fun. We gave it our best for six hours. Yasser did a great job, unfortunately we got a drive-through penalty for the track limits. As always, Morris drove a perfect stint and in the end I was lucky to finish P3. We couldn't have hoped for more - a big thank you to the team.”

Morris Schuring, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: “A very unexpected race. Starting from 16th, we would have been happy with points in general, so to finish on the podium was not what we expected, but a great end to the weekend. A really good job by Yasser and Richie - I'm also happy with my own performance and of course the team, they did a mega strategy, pit stops and gave us a really good race car. Now I'm looking forward to Fuji.”

Yasser Shahin, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: „Today was an amazing result. Despite all the challenges including a compromised qualifying, everyone kept fighting for position. Morris and Richard drove an amazing race - this podium belongs to them. Everyone at Manthey did an amazing job to get this result. We leave Austin extremely pleased.”

Klaus Bachler, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “A great result for us here at COTA, I'm really happy. Many thanks to the team. Second place was the maximum we could achieve here. Of course, a double podium for us is even better. With two races to go, we have taken another good step towards the championship. It continues in two weeks’ time in Fuji.”

Alex Malykhin, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “The start was difficult because there were three cars in the apex on the first corner and although I tried to leave as much space as possible, I had a small contact with the Corvette. I initially didn't have the pace I needed, but over the course of my stint we got faster and made up a few positions. The team then prepared a good tactic for Joel and Klaus and they both did a great job and made up a few positions. A good result for us and for the whole team with both cars.”

Joel Sturm, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: „A good result for us at the end of the race weekend in Austin. The conditions here were not the easiest when we started at the beginning of the weekend. That's why I'm very pleased with second place and the fact that we've extended our championship lead. Hopefully we can get a bit more out of Fuji.”

Patrick Arkenau, Division Manager Racing, Manthey Racing GmbH: “The sixth round of the WEC 2024 is now in the books. Another double podium for us, this time with positions two and three. We are obviously delighted that we have once again managed to get both cars on the podium. We were able to extend our championship lead with both cars - we are still first and second, an ideal starting position. It was a very good team performance from everyone involved and we were able to get the best out of our package. We didn't have the best pace of the field, especially on the straights, but we were able to compensate for this with our strategy, a faultless performance and the commitment of the drivers and the team.”

Results Six Hours of Austin:LMGT3 Class
1. James/Mancinelli/ Riberas (US/IT/ES), HEART OF RACING TEAM, Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27
2. Bachler/Malykhin/Sturm (AT/GB/DE), Manthey PureRxcing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92
3. Lietz/Schuring/Shahin (AT/NL/AU), Manthey EMA, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91LINK

Quotes on the Six Hours of Austin:

Impressions