Manthey concludes the 2024/25 ALMS season with a double victory in the GT championship standings. In the first race of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, the team achieved a double victory with first place for car number 92 and second place for car number 10. The final race of the season at the Yas Marina Circuit was won by car number 10, while car number 92 finished seventh

Manthey secures double championship victory in the GT class with two race wins at the finale of the 2024/25 ALMS season in Abu Dhabi. Antares Au (Hong Kong), Joel Sturm (Germany) and Klaus Bachler (Austria) not only celebrated second place in Saturday's race and race victory on Sunday at the Yas Marina Circuit, but also won the ALMS GT Trophy for Manthey. Ryan Hardwick (USA), Riccardo Pera (Italy) and Richard Lietz (Austria) complete the strong result with victory in Saturday's race and second place in the championship - just ten points behind the sister car.

Manthey one-two victory in Saturday's turbulent race at the Yas Marina Circuit

The number 92 car started Saturday's race from second position, while the number 10 car lined up 22nd on the grid after a chaotic qualifying session that was affected by three red flags. After Antares Au and Ryan Hardwick got off to a good start and the latter took the class lead in turn one, an accident less than two minutes into the race led to the fourth red flag of the day, which lasted almost an hour and a half and caused the race to be extended by 30 minutes. After the restart, Hardwick initially had to give back the lead and, with one hour and 55 minutes of the race remaining, eventually came into the pits in third place, still on course for a podium, to change drivers to Riccardo Pera. Just a few minutes later, the starting number 10 also turned into the pit lane after a strong recovery by Antares Au, who was now in ninth place, and Joel Sturm took over the wheel. Good performances from both silver drivers and a clever pit stop strategy ensured that the two nine-eleven cars were on course for a podium finish in second (#92) and third (#10) before the final driver changes and with just one hour of racing remaining. Richard Lietz, who was in the lead after taking over the wheel of the #92 car, maintained this position until the end of the race and thus clinched the first ALMS class victory for the team. Klaus Bachler benefited from an additional pit stop by the number 2 car in front of him and completed the team's double victory by crossing the finish line in second place.

Further race win and championship decision in the second race

In the final four-hour race of the ALMS season, the red flag was also waved immediately after the race start following an accident in the third corner. The number 92 car, which had started from sixth on the grid, made up two positions in the starting phase, while the number 10 car, which started the race from seventh on the grid, lost two places. Ryan Hardwick (#92) and Antares Au (#10) restarted the race at 17:10 from fourth (#92) and ninth (#10) positions, which was extended by the duration of the red phase. In the next hour of the race, both cars battled for position and were fourth (#92) and fifth (#10) with three hours remaining. After just under 70 minutes of racing, Au was handed a drive-through penalty for an offence during the starting formation. After serving the penalty, he lined up twelfth in the GT field. However, the nine-eleven then managed to make up numerous positions and take the lead thanks to a strategic overcut and a pit stop favoured by a virtual safety car phase. Klaus Bachler, who had taken over the wheel, initially lost this lead. But after the final driver change to Joel Sturm, the number 20 was back at the front of the field with just under an hour to go before the end of the race. The German maintained this lead and never relinquished his grip on victory. Meanwhile, Hardwick also received a drive-through penalty after a collision with the number 88 car. Richard Lietz served this penalty in the middle of the race, dropping back from fifth to 21st place, but made up several places as the race progressed. Thanks in part to an overcut, car number 92 was back in the top ten after the driver change to Riccardo Pera 30 minutes before the end of the race. The Italian was able to make further progress, but had to drive through the pit lane 2 minutes and 30 seconds before the end of the race in fourth place to avoid exceeding the prescribed maximum stint length of 65 minutes and avoid a penalty. The number 92 car finished the race in seventh place.

With these race results, Antares Au, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler (car number 10, Manthey) finish the 2024/25 ALMS season in first place in both the team and driver standings with 86 championship points. Sturm and Bachler thus secure their second ALMS championship title in a row. As a result of the ALMS victory, Manthey now won a starting place in the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans and thus the opportunity to field a third car alongside their two WEC cars. Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz (car number 92, Manthey EMA) follow in second place in both rankings with 76 points. After the successful ALMS season, the driver line-up will continue directly with the start of the FIA WEC season with Manthey. Next weekend, the team will first contest the official prologue of the endurance championship in Qatar before the season opener takes place in the city near the Arabian Gulf from 26 to 28 February.
Quotes on the ALMS season and the races in Abu Dhabi:

Antares Au, Porsche 911 GT3 R #10: "I‘m really glad to be celebrating with the team not only a race win but also the ALMS championship victory. Huge credit to everyone in the team, mechanics and engineers as well as my amazing teammates and the drivers of our sistercar. The race winner’s trophy and the championship win belongs to everyone, thank you!"

Klaus Bachler, Porsche 911 GT3 R #10: "The second race in Abu Dhabi is over, we won today and yesterday we finished second. Even better: we won the championship. A huge thank you to Manthey. Without the team I wouldn't have been able to win so much in the last few years. We won the WEC together and now the ALMS. Thanks to all the mechanics, engineers and the whole crew! It was a great season, we were so strong in the pit lane and the car drove incredibly well, especially today. I won the championship with Joel for the second time, the first time with Antares. I'm also really pleased for him, because he's put so much energy into the project for years and now we've been able to win the championship with him. It's a dream come true!"

Joel Sturm, Porsche 911 GT3 R #10: "We won the Asian Le Mans Championship, the second time in a row for Klaus and me. It was an extremely tough season. We led the championship on the most important day, the last day, and I'm extremely proud of the whole team and also very happy for Antares that he finally won the series. A huge thanks to Manthey for the great support. They are all great people in the team who always deliver and I am very happy to have been part of their recent successes."

Ryan Hardwick, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "First and second place in the ALMS Championship. What an amazing result for Manthey! First, I want to congratulate all drivers of our sister car. Joel, Antares and Klaus drove amazing all season and they are very deserving champions. As for our car I am more than proud of the hard work, dedication and the results, that our car 92 earned as runner up in the championship. I’m very honored to be part of such an amazing team, that showed unbelievable determination and achieved some great things during my very first time competing in the ALMS. I very much enjoyed my time in the series and the competition. I feel that we are now very prepared for the WEC and I can not be more excited for the season opener next week in Qatar along with my teammates Riccardo and Richard as well as all the engineers, mechanics and crew. I can not be more excited for the journey that we will all have together this season!"

Richard Lietz, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "For us, the ALMS also started with the idea of preparing ourselves as well as possible for the joint WEC season. The fact that we can then compete for the championship and go into the final races as the leader can, I think, be described as a very successful season. With P1 and P2 in the championship, Manthey has once again proven that it is a top team. They have fulfilled all expectations and set the bar high. I hope that we can now carry the momentum into our WEC season with Ryan and Riccardo."

Riccardo Pera, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "It has been a great journey in the ALMS. We made a huge step forward since Malaysia and now we are fully prepared for the start of the WEC season next week in Qatar. That we ended up in the fight for the championship is, when we drove together for the first time, is amazing. In the end the sister car won, but a good 1-2 finish for Manthey. I am super proud to be part of such a professional team. Now we are fully focused on the first race of the WEC!"

Patrick Arkenau, Division Manager Racing, Manthey Racing GmbH: "Our debut season in the ALMS is history and we were able to win two races - both in Abu Dhabi. The last race weekend couldn't have gone better for us. With a bit of luck, we managed to take first and second place in the championship, just like in the WEC. That's an overwhelming feeling! We started the season with some new drivers that we hadn't worked with before. However, we very quickly managed to form a unit and were able to compete for victories. In addition, the crew for starting number 92, which will also work together in the WEC, was able to learn how to work together well. We will try to implement the learnings in the WEC from Qatar onwards. We have now won another Le Mans grid position with the number 10 car and will discuss with what kind of constellation we can realise the idea of bringing a third car to Le Mans. Finally, I would like to point out that a large part of our success in the ALMS is down to our excellent pit crew. The pit stop in the series is timed, just like in the WEC and the DTM. We were once again able to show our strength there. We couldn't celebrate these successes without our great crew!"

ALMS 2024/2025 race calendar:

Source: Manthey Racing