After a strong start to the season in the WEC with second place in the Sebring 1000 miles, the Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Dempsey Proton Racing (start number 77) finished seventh in the GTE-Am class at the six-hour race in Portimao. In Long Beach, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Proton Competition for WeatherTech Racing took fifth place in the GTD Pro class.

Quotes after the races
Michael Ried , team owner and technical director of Proton Competition: “That was a difficult weekend. However, not every race can go as well as it did in Daytona and Sebring, especially not against the strong competition that we are racing against in both championships. We will continue to work hard to be able to fight for victory again in the next races.”

Christian Ried, team owner Proton Competition (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “Portimao is a great track where we have already celebrated some great successes. But that wasn't our race today. A seventh place is definitely not what we are aiming for. However, we are looking ahead and will do everything we can to do better at Spa.”

WEC: Portimao
The second race of the WEC season was rather unspectacular for the Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Dempsey Proton Racing. On the Portuguese Atlantic coast, Christian Ried (Schönebürg), Mikkel Pedersen (Denmark) and Julien Andlauer (France) were unable to fight for victory after the strong start to the season in Sebring. For Ryan Hardwick (USA), Zacharie Robichon (Canada) and Harry Tincknell (Great Britain) in the 911 RSR with starting number 88, after the bad luck at the start of the season in Florida, it was enough for ninth place in the GTE-Am class, which had the strongest field, and the first points .

Quotes after the race
Julien Andlauer (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “That was a tough race. After Sebring, we had hoped for a podium finish for Portimao as well, but we missed it by a long way. I am sure that the team will find and analyze the causes of this. At the next race in Spa we want to be among the leaders again.”

Ryan Hardwick (Porsche 911 RSR #88): “We were unable to start the race in Sebring after a training accident that was not our fault. At least this time we managed to go the full distance, even though we naturally expected a better placement. But the season is still long. I'm sure our chance will come."

Race result WEC Portimao
class GTE-Am

Keating/Varrone/Catsburg (USA/ARG/NL), Chevrolet Corvette, 206 Runden
Companq/Vadaoux/Rovera (ARG/F/I), Ferrari 488 GTE, 206
Frey/Gatting/Bovy (CH/DK/B), Porsche 911 RSR, 206
Flohr/Castellacci/Rigon (CH/I/I), Ferrari 488 GTE, 206
Costantini/Mann/de Pauw (I/USA/B), Ferrari 488 GTE, 206
Ried/Pedersen/Andlauer (D/DK/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 205
Hardwick/Robichon/Tincknell (USA/CAN/GB), Porsche 911 RSR, 204

Rennergebnis IMSA Long Beach
Klasse GTD Pro

Hawksworth/Barnicoat (GB/GB), Lexus RC F GT3, 73 Laps
Garcia/Taylor (E/USA), Corvette C8.R GTD, 73
Bachler/Pilet (A/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 73 laps
Gunn/Riberas (GB/E), Aston Martin Vantage GT3, 73
Juncadella/Gounon (E/F), Mercedes-AMG GT3, 72

The series
In the World Endurance Championship (WEC), sports prototypes and GT vehicles start together in a race, but are classified separately. Dempsey Proton Racing competes in the GTE-Am class with the Porsche 911 RSR. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is a sports car racing series that has been held in the USA and Canada since 2014. In this series too, sports prototypes and sports cars are judged separately by class. Proton Competition fields the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GTD Pro class.

This is how it goes on
In the WEC, the six-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium is on the program for Dempsey Proton Racing on April 29th. The next event for Proton Competition in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship is the race in Laguna Seca/California on May 14th.

World Sportscar Championship WEC, Round 2, Portimao, Portugal
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Round 3, Long Beach, USA