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Porsche Team Manthey: Lietz, Christensen

Qualifying

Porsche Team Manthey: Lietz, Christensen
FIA World Endurance Championship, Round 1, Silverstone/Great Britain – GT, Qualifying
Best 911 RSR starts from second grid row

Stuttgart. At the season-opening race of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC at Silverstone on Sunday, the best Porsche 911 RSR starts from the second grid row of the GT field. During qualifying on the storied British race track, Porsche’s works drivers Richard Lietz (Austria) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) planted their 470 hp 911 RSR with the starting number 91 on the fourth grid spot in the GTE-Pro class. In the sister 911 RSR fielded by the Porsche Manthey squad, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, their French factory pilot colleagues Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet set the sixth quickest time.

Comments on the qualifying

Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “I’m okay with the result of the number 91 car. It’s what we expected. But I’m not completely satisfied with the time of the #92 911 RS. We’ll analyse why we weren’t faster. Our former junior Klaus Bachler performed extremely well for our customer team Abu Dhabi Proton Racing. Third in the GTE-Am class is a superb achievement and it underlines what the 911 RSR is capable of.”

Michael Christensen (Porsche 911 RSR #91): “It was new for me to have both drivers qualify the car in the WEC. The track conditions changed since yesterday’s practice and it was interesting to see how our 911 RSR handled these conditions. Everything ran as expected. This looks good for the race, also with regard to the tyres.”

Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 RSR #91): “Our tyres faded only marginally and that makes me confident for the race. Tomorrow we have six hours to make up positions.”

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “That wasn’t easy today. We had too little grip and we don’t know what caused it yet. But our engineers will find out. For the race we’ll definitely be in a much better position.”

Patrick Pilet (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “That wasn’t such a great qualifying. Since free practice, the grip level on the track has changed considerably. It’s a shame, because yesterday we were going very well. But the race is long and a lot can happen.”

Patrick Long (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “We further improved the balance of our car and that gives me confidence for the race.”

Patrick Dempsey (Porsche 911 RSR #77): “The entire weekend is a huge challenge for me. I was unable to attend the official test in Le Castellet and I arrived in Silverstone late. Nevertheless, since yesterday I’ve learned a great deal on this unfamiliar track. Although I’m losing time in the fast corners, I’m already feeling great in the technically demanding passages.”


The six-hour race takes off on Sunday, April 12, at midday local time (13.00 hrs CEST). TV station Eurosport broadcasts the last hour of racing live from 18.00 hrs CEST.

Qualifying result

GTE-Pro class
1. Nygaard/Sörensen/Thiim (DK/DK/DK), Aston Martin Vantage, 1:59.970 minutes
2. MacDowall/Stanaway/Rees (GB/NZ/BRA), Aston Martin Vantage, + 0.205 sec.
3. Turner/Mücke (GB/D), Aston Martin Vantage, + 0.363
4. Christensen/Lietz (D/A), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.681
5. Bruni/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari 458 Italia, + 0.731
6. Makowiecki/Pilet (F/F), Porsche 911 RSR, + 1.621

GTE-Am class
1. Lamy/Dalla Lana/Lauda (P/CAN/A), Aston Martin Vantage, 2:01.998 minutes
2. Roda/Ruberti/Poulsen (I/I/DK), Chevrolet Corvette, + 0.939 sec.
3. Ried/Bachler/Al Qubaisi (D/A/UAE), Porsche 911 RSR, + 1.136
4. Collard/Perrodo/Aguas (F/F/P), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 1.484
5. Shaytar/Bertolini/Basov (RUS/I/RUS), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 2.116
6. Castellacci/Goethe/Hall (I/D/GB), Aston Martin, + 3.052
7. Dempsey/Long/Seefried (USA/USA/D), Porsche 911 RSR, + 4.026


The Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC
Sports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the WEC (World Endurance Championship) 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.



All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.