The Porsche GT Team finished the last race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in positions two and four, at the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
In the manufacturers’ classification, Porsche wrapped up the endurance season in second place. In the GTE-Am class, the German customer teams Dempsey-Proton Racing and Project 1 repeated their successes from the previous week at the same racetrack. Germany’s Christian Ried, works driver Matt Campbell from Australia and New Zealander Jaxon Evans finished second in their No. 77 Porsche 911 RSR.
Campbell (2016) and Evans (2018) are both former Carrera Cup Australia champions and graduates of the Porsche Michelin Junior Development Programme.
The No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Kévin Estre (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) held a well-earned lead in a gripping final sprint to the flag and was on course for the title when a Ferrari shunted the Porsche into a spin.
Race Control did not penalise the competitor. The identical ca. 515 PS sister car shared by Gianmaria Bruni from Italy, Richard Lietz from Austria and Frédéric Makowiecki from France concluded the sixth and final race of the season on fourth place in the GTE-Pro class.
“It’s a sad day for Porsche Motorsport,” comments Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Motorsport. “Our rival nudged our leading car into a spin and drove on to victory. We can’t understand why the race director first issued a penalty and then withdrew it. Our drivers and teams deserve the utmost respect. Everyone drove a fair and clean race for eight hours and gave spectators a great show. I’d like to thank them all for this. Right up until the end, the race was a really great promotion for motor racing.”
“It was a sad end to an extremely exciting race for us. Unfortunately, we were spun off the track by a competitor,” remarks Alexander Stehlig, Head of Operations FIA WEC, giving an account of his impressions. “We can’t understand the race stewards’ decision. First, the two leading cars were supposed to switch positions after the contact which would’ve put our Porsche back in the lead. A little later, they withdrew this announcement during the No. 92’s pit stop. So, despite our fair and clean race, we couldn’t achieve our goals. That’s why we’ve lodged a protest.”
Up until the final stage, the protagonists had been locked in a wheel-to-wheel battle and treated fans to spirited fights over 7:45 hours. After the start, polesitter Estre retained his front spot, and as the race progressed, the frontrunners took turns at the lead. Clever decisions by strategists in the Porsche GT Team pits and flawless performances by the drivers enabled Christensen to head into the final 15 minutes of the season finale as the leader – only to have Alessandro Pier Guidi (Italy) shunt the rear of the Porsche 911 RSR with his Ferrari.
Bad luck hampered the crew in the No. 91 sister car in the second half of the race. The 911 RSR driven by Bruni, Lietz and Makowiecki took the lead multiple times in the first four hours but then lost time due to a pit-stop penalty. A little later, a loose rear wheel caused significant vibrations and, as a result, the rear left wheel sustained minor damages. The team had to make an unscheduled pit stop, and Bruni then brought the struggling 515 PS nine-eleven home in fourth place.
The Porsche GT Team concluded the 2021 season after six races with 277 points as runner-up in the manufacturers’ classification. In the world drivers’ championship, Kévin Estre and Neel Jani earned 166 points on their way to second place. Their team colleagues Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz wrapped up the year in third with 111 points. In the team classification, Dempsey-Proton Racing finished the season in third place.
Race result
GTE-Pro class
1/ Calado/Pier Guidi (GB/I), AF Corse, Ferrari 488 GTE #51, 233 laps
2/ Estre/Jani/Christensen (F/CH/DK), Porsche GT Team, Porsche 911 RSR #92, 233 laps
3/ Serra/Molina (BR/E), AF Corse, Ferrari 488 GTE #52, 233 laps
4/ Lietz/Bruni/Makowiecki (A/I/F), Porsche GT Team, Porsche 911 RSR #91, 231 laps
GTE-Am class
1/ Perrodo/Nielsen/Rovera (F/DK/I), AF Corse, Ferrari 488 GTE #83, 230 laps
2/ Ried/Campbell/Evans (D/AUS/NZ), Dempsey-Proton Racing, Porsche 911 RSR #77, 229 laps
3/ Perfetti/Cairoli/Pera (N/I/I), Team Project 1, Porsche 911 RSR #56, 229 laps
10/ Wainwright/Barker/Gamble (GB/GB/GB), GR Racing, Porsche 911 RSR #86, 224 laps
DNF Andlauer/Jefferies/Al Qubaisi (F/GB/UAE), Dempsey-Proton Racing, Porsche 911 RSR #88, 90 laps
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