Podium for Porsche at Silverstone Porsche finished on the podium at Silverstone, but the result could have been better still…
WEC Silverstone
Round three of the FIA World Sports Car Championship (WEC) at Silverstone treated more than 60,000 British spectators to a gripping battle. An incident at the start of the race saw the front-runners amongst the 34-strong field caught up in an incident, the No92 911 RSR shared by Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen navigated its way through neatly to lead the GTE-Pro class. However during its second stint while Christensen was at the wheel, the 911 experienced tyre problems and it fell back to P6. A good pit stop strategy saw the pair perform an effective recovery, working their way back up to the front, at times even holding the category lead but ultimately finishing P3 in GTE-Pro.
The No91 RSR driven by Richard Lietz and Gianmaria Bruni initially scored a second place finish in category, however they were subsequently disqualified from the race after an irregularity in the car’s ride height was detected during post-race scrutineering. Pascal Zurlinden, Director GT Factory Motorsport, commented: “Unfortunately we were informed after the race that an irregularity was detected in the ride height. That threw our number 91 car out of the classification and advanced the number 92 car to third place. We’re still leading the manufacturers’ and drivers’ classifications. Now we need to focus on the next tasks.”
Kevin Estre said: “Our race started well and I moved into first place after the start and built up a comfortable lead. Unfortunately, Michael was hampered by tyre problems during his stint. We had to call him in earlier than planned and change our strategy. This enabled the Ferrari to overtake us in the pits. At the end, our tyres weren’t fresh enough to attack again. Still, I’m satisfied with our result.”
Four additional 911 RSRs tackled the GTE-Am class at Silverstone. Victory went to Dempsey Proton Racing (right) with Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell, Christian Ried and Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer at the wheel. Despite a difficult race at Silverstone, Porsche continues to lead the manufacturers’ championship in the GTE-Pro class, as well as the drivers’ classification of both the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am classes in the WEC – with Estre and Christensen heading the drivers’ standings.
Round four of the WEC takes place at Fuji in Japan.
