Exciting race at Spa: Until the last lap, Michael Fassbender (Ireland), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Felipe Fernandez Laser (Germany) drove in the leading group at the four-hour race in the Ardennes. The first podium for the trio starting from pole position in the Porsche 911 RSR of Proton Competition (car number 93) was within reach. But a safety car phase shortly before the end put a spanner in the work. At the finish, only a few meters were missing to third place. Their team-mates Christian Ried (Schönebürg), Matt Campbell (Australia) and Cooper MacNeil (USA), who were in the lead on the traditional Belgian race track with start number 77, finished seventh in the GTE class.

Quotes after
the race Michael Ried, Team owner and Technical Director: "It wasn't for the faint of heart today. Our #93 drivers would definitely have deserved their first podium after this strong performance. It's a pity that it wasn't quite enough in the exciting race in the end. We will now do everything we can to ensure that they make it onto the podium at the season finale in Portimao."

Christian Ried (Porsche 911 RSR #77): "Things looked quite good for us at times. We were even in the lead. But over the distance we didn't manage to put the front runners under pressure and fight for a top position."

Cooper MacNeil (Porsche 911 RSR #77): "Spa is a fantastic race track. Experiencing them with the Porsche 911 RSR was a great experience for me. It's just a pity that we didn't end up further ahead."

Matt Campbell (Porsche 911 RSR #77): "Even though we weren't fast enough today to be at the front, Spa is still an incredibly intense experience."

Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 RSR #93): "With pole position, we have secured the best possible starting position for the race. Unfortunately, we didn't quite manage to make more of it and finish on a podium. But we still have a try this season."

Michael Fassbender (Porsche 911 RSR #93): "That was a very exciting and hard-fought race. The team has perfectly adapted our Porsche 911 RSR to this difficult track. We were very close to our first podium. Unfortunately, a few meters were missing in the end."

Felipe Fernandez Laser (Porsche 911 RSR #93): "A great race, even if the result wasn't quite right for us in the end. With a bit of luck, more would definitely have been possible today."

Race
result class GTE

Perrodo/Collard/Rovera (F/F/I), Ferrari F488, 93 laps
Cressoni/Mastronardi/Molina (I/I/E), Ferrari F488, 93
Frey/Gatting/Bovy (CH/DKB), Ferrari F488, 93
Fassbender/Laser/Lietz (IRL/D/A), Porsche 911 RSR, 93
Schiavoni/Sernagiotto/Ruberti(I/I/I), Ferrari F488, 93
Fannin/Fontana/Sales (GB/I/USA), Ferrari F488, 92
Ried/Campbell/MacNeil (D/AUS/USA), Porsche 911 RSR, 92
Hartshorne/Gunn/Hancock (GB/GB/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 91
Cameron/Griffin/Perel (GB/IRL/ZA), Ferrari F488, 18

The series
In the European Le Mans Series ELMS, the LMP2, LMP3 and GTE classes are on the grid. They drive a joint four-hour race, but are evaluated separately. Proton Competition starts with the Porsche 911 RSR in the GTE class.

This is how it continues
The next outing for Proton Competition in the European Le Mans Series is the season finale on 24 October with the four-hour race in Portimao/Portugal.

European Le Mans Series ELMS, Round 5 in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium