The Porsche GT Team finished round two of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) third and fourth in the GTE-Pro class. At the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, works drivers Kévin Estre from France and Neel Jani from Switzerland as well as Denmark’s Michael Christensen drove from pole position to the podium. At the flag, the No. 92 ca. 515 PS Porsche 911 RSR was only 20 seconds off clinching second place. Works drivers Richard Lietz from Austria, Gianmaria Bruni from Italy and Frédéric Makowiecki from France secured fourth place after 278 laps on the 4.684-kilometre Grand Prix circuit on the Algarve coast in Portugal. In the GTE-Am class, the customer squad Project 1 scored second place with drivers Egidio Perfetti (Norway), Riccardo Pera and Matteo Cairoli (both Italy).

At the start, Kévin Estre immediately took the lead. The Frenchman quickly set himself apart from his pursuers with the number 92 car and built up a lead of over eight seconds in the first hour. After the first full-service stop, Neel Jani returned to the track in second place with four new tires. Before that, Gianmaria Bruni had kept the second works Ferrari in check in the Porsche with the 91 in third place, but had to let the opponent go after a slight contact. A tire defect caused by parts on the track shortly before the two-hour mark triggered a slightly early pit stop in which Frédéric Makowiecki took over the wheel.

With increasing air and asphalt temperatures, both 911 RSR left the optimal performance window of the selected Michelin specification and lost ground. Halfway through the race, they finished third and fourth with a lap deficit. A safety car phase after five hours and 15 minutes of driving time and an adapted tire strategy brought about the turning point for Porsche. Estre had meanwhile replaced Michael Christensen in the cockpit of the number 92, Richard Lietz handed the 91 sister car back to Bruni a little later. Both 911 RSR caught up with the top two in the category and an exciting final phase began. When the last hour of the race began, the four GTE-Pro opponents were on the same lap. Estre had even fought his way to second place, However, he had to give up his position again at his final pit stop - at an unsuitable time, as it turned out: A yellow phase almost 30 minutes before the end of the race played into the cards of the competition, which was able to defend second position. Bruni crossed the finish line in fourth place in the class.

Alexander Stehlig, Head of Operations FIA WEC: “Third and fourth place is not the result that we expected. We won pole position again yesterday and thought we could build on what we achieved at Spa-Francorchamps. In the first half of the race we were simply too slow and in terms of race pace we weren't with the competition because our tires deteriorated more. From the middle of the race, we relied on the second specification of the tires, so we were able to catch up well. Our starting number 92 was on a safe second place - until the last half hour. Then a 'full course yellow' hit us unhappy: We had already completed our last pit stop. A competitor was able to stop under yellow, which is why he passed us. Things went a little better for us in the GTE-Am rating:

In the GTE-Am category, the Norwegian Egidio Perfetti (Team Project 1) and Christian Ried from Schöneburg (Dempsey-Proton Racing) started from the front row with their 911 RSR, but lost this advantage in the early stages of the 8-hour race. Race one. After 60 minutes Perfetti was in fourth place. After a brief interlude from Riccardo Perra (Italy), the Norwegian handed the 911 RSR over to Matteo Cairoli, who started a remarkable race to catch up. In the meantime, the Porsche from Project 1 was back in first place in its class. A ten-second pit stop penalty thwarted the great success. In the end, the team took second place.

Christian Ried had to park his 911, which he shared with New Zealander Jaxon Evans and Australian Porsche works driver Matt Campbell, early after a collision through no fault of his own. The sister car of Dominique Bastien (USA), Marco Seefried (Germany) and Porsche Young Professional Julien Andlauer from France lost a bit of ground due to low battery voltage at the start of the race, but was still tenth in the class. GR Racing finished the Portuguese 8-hour race with the British driver trio Michael Wainwright, Benjamin Barker and Tom Gamble in ninth place in the GTE-Am.

The third round of the endurance world championship (WEC) will take place on July 18th at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. The race distance is over six hours.

Driver voices about the race
Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 RSR # 92): “A win would certainly have been possible today, but we messed up with the tires. We could have changed our strategy faster, but that's always easy to say afterwards. Second place was definitely within reach. It's a shame because we awarded a lot of points this weekend. We learned a lot, but now we have to understand why our tire strategy didn't work out. We are a team and we will grow with it. ”

Neel Jani (Porsche 911 RSR # 92):“That was a very, very difficult race for us. Especially when the heat came, from noon to around three in the afternoon, we had extreme problems with the tires. During this phase, Ferrari was able to save us a lot of time. After that, victory was no longer within reach, but second place was still clearly feasible. In fact, it looked pretty good. Towards the end of the race, however, there was a 'full course yellow' phase that washed us back to third because our opponent was able to make a free pit stop. Then it was over with second position - a shame. "

Michael Christensen (Porsche 911 RSR # 92):“We started well, but the warmer it got and the higher the asphalt temperatures rose, the more we had to struggle with the grip. In the second half of the race, when it got cooler again, we were more competitive again - but by then we had already lost too much ground. In the end we also had bad luck with a 'Full Course Yellow', which cost us second place. That's the way it is sometimes in motorsport. ”

Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 911 RSR # 91): “ It was a tough race for Porsche. It didn't bring us the result that we expected. We will learn from it and do everything we can to get stronger into the next race. ”

Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 RSR # 91):“We expected that the 8-hour race would be tough here in Portimao. Not with our tire problems that kept us busy the whole race. As a result, we lost valuable time on our competitors. We now have to analyze the race and try to answer the questions that we have been asked. ”

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR # 91): “ We knew that the track here in Portimão is quite tough on the car in certain aspects. We couldn't get the result that we set out to do. But there are also positive things: We learned quite a bit, which was also our goal. That serves as a basis for us to fight back more strongly in the next races. ”

Matteo Cairoli (Porsche 911 RSR # 56):“It's nice to be on the podium after a difficult 8-hour race - that was our day today. Even if I'm a little disappointed, we made a few mistakes too many. So for us, 'only' jumped out of second place. Nevertheless, we are happy to have scored more points in the championship than expected. We are back in the fight with our opponents, that is the most important thing. In Monza we will try again to win the GTE-Am class. I'm sure we'll have even more fun this season. ”

Result GTE-Pro class
1. Pier Guidi / Calado (I / GB), Ferrari 488 GTE # 51, 279 laps
2. Serra / Molina (BR / E), Ferrari 488 GTE # 52, 279 laps,
3rd Estre / Jani / Christensen (F / CH / DK), Porsche 911 RSR # 92, 279 laps
4. Bruni / Lietz / Makowiecki (I / A / F), Porsche 911 RSR # 91, 278 lap

result GTE-Am class
1. Lacorte / Sernagiotto / Fuoco (I / I / I), Ferrari 488 GTE EVO # 47 , 274 laps
2. Perfetti / Cairoli / Pera (N / I / I), Porsche 911 RSR # 56, 274 laps
3. Flohr / Castellacci / Fisichella (CH / I / I), Ferrari 488 GTE EVO # 54, 274 laps
9. Wainwright / Barker / Gamble (GB / GB / GB), Porsche 911 RSR # 86, 271 laps
10. Bastien / Seefried / Andlauer (USA / D / F), Porsche 911 RSR # 88, 269 laps