Photo credit: Porsche
The Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche team claimed victory in the LMGT3 category at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s six-hour race in Imola. Drivers Richard Lietz, Ryan Hardwick, and Riccardo Pera secured the class win after a close battle with BMW, marking the team’s first win of the 2025 season.
The No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R held off late pressure from a BMW entry that featured Valentino Rossi among its lineup. The win was supported by strong stints from all three drivers and effective pit strategy. It capped a weekend that also saw the Iron Dames team score their first championship points of the season, finishing eighth in the LMGT3 class with another Porsche 911 GT3 R.
In the Hypercar category, Porsche Penske Motorsport faced challenges. The No. 6 factory-entered Porsche 963, driven by Matt Campbell, Kévin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor, led the race for a period but eventually finished eighth. The No. 5 Porsche 963 finished 11th, and Proton Competition’s No. 99 entry placed 14th.
Team representatives noted performance gaps between competitors in the Hypercar class. Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, described the eighth and eleventh-place results as disappointing and said the team would analyze performance differences. Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, acknowledged the clean race and strong effort by the drivers and crew but noted the car lacked pace to challenge the leaders.
The next race in the FIA WEC calendar is at Spa-Francorchamps on May 10. That event serves as a lead-up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled for mid-June. Porsche teams aim to build on their learnings from Imola to improve performance in the coming rounds.
