Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC, round 7 in Fuji/Japan – Race GT
Porsche customer teams are continuing on their successful path in the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC. After Abu Dhabi Proton Racing’s GTE-Am class win in Mexico City, KCMG went on to clinch second in Austin and secured another podium spot on Sunday in Fuji, Japan: Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany), Christian Ried (Germany) and Joel Camathias (Switzerland) crossed the finish line in third in the 470 hp Porsche 911 fielded by the team from Hong Kong. Rounding off the fine performance from Porsche customer squads on the 4.563-kilometre racetrack at the foot of Mount Fuji, Gulf Racing claimed fourth place with Abu Dhabi Proton Racing finishing on fifth.
In the fiercely contested GTE-Pro class, the Porsche works drivers Richard Lietz (Austria) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) were unable to join in the fight for the top places. The pair ultimately brought home seventh place in the 911 RSR run by Dempsey Proton Racing.
Comments on the raceWolf Henzler (Porsche 911 RSR #78): “We can be pleased with third place. Our team once again fought a great fight and thanks to fast pit stops the squad kept us in the race for a podium spot. Unfortunately we weren’t able to go for victory at the end, we were simply a little too far off the leader. I hope that we can be back up there at the next race in Shanghai. I’m very confident about this.”Christian Ried (Porsche 911 RSR #78): “A podium result twice in a row is not too bad. If we could just find a few tenths of seconds we might even secure our first win of the season in one of the two remaining races. But to do this everything has to come together perfectly.” Joel Camathias (Porsche 911 RSR #78): “That was a great race for us. We’d planned on a podium spot. Our strategy was good, but unfortunately we couldn’t put any more pressure on the frontrunners. We aim to make up for it in Shanghai.”Patrick Long (Porsche 911 RSR #88): “The beginning of the race was really difficult for us. We experienced a minor problem and as a result we lost touch to the top guys. Then we fell further back after touching another competitor. Afterwards it was simply a matter of getting over the line.”Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “Today was rather sobering. We simply didn’t get to grips with our tyres – in one stint they were good, then poor in the next. So it was virtually impossible for us to find a good balance for our 911 RSR.”Michael Christensen (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “Unfortunately, the result speaks for itself. Now we have to stay motivated for the last races in Shanghai and Bahrain. Maybe we’ll experience something like a small sense of achievement there.”
Round eight of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC will be contested in Shanghai/China on 6 November.
Race resultGTE-Pro class1. Priaulx/Tincknell (USA/GB/GB), Ford GT, 212 laps2. Mücke/Pla (D/F), Ford GT, 2123. Bruni/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE, 2124. Rigon/Bird (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE, 2125. Sörensen/Thiim (DK/DK), Aston Martin, 2116. Stanaway/Turner (NZ/GB), Aston Martin, 2117. Christensen/Lietz (D/A), Porsche 911 RSR, 210
GTE-Am class1. Lamy/Dalla Lana/Lauda (P/CAN/A), Aston Martin, 208 laps2. Collard/Perrodo/Aguas (F/F/P), Ferrari F458 Italia, 2073. Ried/Henzler/Camathias (D/D/CH), Porsche 911 RSR, 2064. Wainwright/Carroll/Barker (GB/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR, 2055. Al Qubaisi/Long/Heinemeier Hansson (UAE/F/DK), Porsche 911 RSR, 2006. Yamagishi/Ragues/Taylor (J/F/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 172
The Sports Car World Championship WECSports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the Sports Car World Endurance Championship (WEC) in four classes: LMP1 (eg. Porsche 919 Hybrid), LMP2, LMGTE-Pro (eg. 911 RSR) and LMGTE-Am (eg. 911 RSR). They all compete together in one race but are classified separately.
