Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche GT Team (92), Michael Christensen (DK), Kevin Estre (F), Spa-Francorchamps 2018
The opening round of the FIA WEC Super Season took place this Saturday at Spa Francorchamps. Porsche recently dominated Spa by nabbing the outright track record with their 919 Hybrid LMP1 Evo, but that car has retired from a traditional motorsport sense, and will not be participating in the WEC this year. That left just Porsche’s GTE Pro and GTE Am squads to carry the torch for Zuffenhausen. After a 2017 that saw the WEC 911 RSR score no Pro-class victories, the team very nearly kicked off 2018 with that elusive win.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche GT Team (92), Michael Christensen (DK), Kevin Estre (F), Spa-Francorchamps 2018
After an incredibly gripping final stint of the race, the factory 911 RSR effort started the season with a second and fourth place set of finishes. Kévin Estre and Michael Christensen scored second in the #92 car and narrowly missed out on the win, while teammates Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz finished up in fourth. The race wemt almost entirely in Porsche’s direction, as the team got off to a good start. Bruni and Lietz grabbed hold of the lead of the class at the 2-hour mark and held on to it until the Ford GT stole it away with a brassy move at Eau Rouge with half an hour remaining in the race. Lietz, having pitted, returned to the track in third behind the Ford and the other Porsche, but Ferrari driver Davide Rigon was charging hard. In some of the most engaging racing I’ve seen in years, Lietz held off the faster Ferrari. There were moments the Ferrari was quicker and there were moments the Porsche excelled, such as mid-corner and off-corner acceleration. He’d nearly held on to the spot after defending for six consecutive laps, but was felled to fourth on the penultimate.
Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche GT Team (92), Michael Christensen (DK), Kevin Estre (F), Spa-Francorchamps 2018
In the GTE Am class, there were four 911 RSRs entered. The Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche of Matt Campbell, Christian Ried, and Julien Andlauer was the best placed of the four taking fourth overall behind two battling Aston Martins and a single Ferrari 488. Sixth at Spa was that Porsche’s twin, driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi, Matteo Cairoli and Giorgio Roda. The Gulf Racing 911 of Wainwright, Barker, and Davison spent some time early on with their nose in the barrier and had to be hauled out, ultimately finishing a handful of laps down. In the reverse of that situation, the former IMSA squad, now Project 1, ran well early on but ultimately finished in last place with Patrick Lindsey, Joerg Bergmeister, and Egidio Perfetti.
Porsche 911 RSR, Team Project 1 (56), Joerg Bergmeister (D), Patrick Lindsey (USA), Egidio Perfetti (N), Spa-Francorchamps 2018
Pascal Zurlinden (Director GT Factory Motorsport): “That was a very difficult race for us. The performance of the cars and the team was very good. In fact, everything looked good for us to win the race. But unfortunately Lady Luck wasn’t with us towards the end of the race, because the last safety car phase didn’t fit in with our strategy. Now we’re heading to Le Mans where we’ll go all-out.”
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 911 RSR #91): “I’m disappointed, of course. We were running in the lead for more than four hours. Richard and I did everything we could and we’d built up an advantage of around 15 seconds to the car behind us and about 55 seconds to third place. Unfortunately, the safety car phase cost us this lead.”
Michael Christensen (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “This race had truly everything that a six-hour race can throw at you. Our start was okay and we managed to maintain our position over the distance. But then unfortunately we received a stop-and-go penalty. This was followed by a safety car phase and a lot of traffic. Consequently, it was a very difficult race. I’m thrilled with the podium result.”
Porsche 911 RSR, Gulf Racing (86), Ben Barker (GB), Alex Davison (AUS), Michael Wainwright (GB), Spa-Francorchamps 2018
GTE-Pro class
1. Mücke/Pla/Johnson (D/F/USA), Ford GT, 148 laps
2. Christensen/Estre (DK/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 148 laps
3. Rigon/Bird (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, 147 laps
4. Lietz/Bruni (A/I), Porsche 911 RSR, 147 laps
5. Blomqvist/da Costa (GB/P), BMW M8 GTE, 146 laps
6. Lynn/Martin/Adam (GB/B/GB), Aston Martin Vantage AMR, 146 laps
7. Soerensen/Thiim/Turner (DK/DK/GB), Aston Martin Vantage AMR, 146 laps
8. Tomczyk/Catsburg (D/NL), BMW M8 GTE, 145 laps
9. Pier Guidi/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, 139 laps
Not classified: Priaulx/Tincknell/Kanaan (GB/GB/BR), Ford GT
GTE-Am class
1. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda (CDN/P/A), Aston Martin Vantage, 144 laps
2. Yoluc/Alers-Hankey/Eastwood (TR/GB/GB), Aston Martin Vantage, 144 laps
3. Sun Mok/Sawa/Griffin (MAL/J/IRL), Ferrari 488 GTE, 143 laps
4. Ried/Andlauer/Campbell (D/F/AUS), Porsche 911 RSR, 142 laps
5. Ishikawa/Beretta/Cheever (J/MC/I), Ferrari 488 GTE, 142 laps
6. Al Qubaisi/Roda/Cairoli (UAE/I/I), Porsche 911 RSR, 141 laps
7. Wainwright/Barker/Davison (GB/GB/AUS), Porsche 911 RSR, 137 laps
8. Flohr/Castellacci/Fisichella (Ch/I/I), Ferrari 488 GTE, 136 laps
9. Bergmeister/Lindsey/Perfetti (D/USA/N), Porsche 911 RSR, 131 laps
