Manthey PureRxcing dominates LMGT3 category in Sao Paulo
Manthey PureRxcing has taken its second win of the FIA WEC season as the No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 driven by Alex Malykhin, Joel Strum and Klaus Bachler took the chequered flag at the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo.
The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo was hot on the heels of the Manthey Porsche in the race’s closing stages but a late drive-through penalty ended the closely-fought battle. The Aston Martin shared by Riberas, Ian James and Daniel Mancinelli eventually finished a lap down on the No. 92 Porsche, scoring their best result of the season so far with P2.
Manthey PureRxcing comes home with another win and extends its championship lead in the LMGT3 class. #WEC #6HSaoPaulo pic.twitter.com/xq4AeagvsZ
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) July 14, 2024
British outfit United Autosports secured its first podium of the season with the No. 95 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Marino Sato, Nico Pino and Josh Caygill while the sister No. 59 car driven by home hero Nicolas Costa, Gregoire Saucy and James Cottingham finished fourth. United Autosports’ third place finish this weekend marks the sixth different manufacturer to finish on the podium in LMGT3 so far this year.
The top five was completed by the Team WRT and the No. 46 BMW M4 LMGT3 car shared by Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi and Ahmad Al Harthy.
Elsewhere, it was heartache for the pole-sitting No. 85 Iron Dames crew which saw the all-female line-up take an early lead out of the 18-strong GT3 field. The Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 was hauled into the pits after two hours or racing due to fluid leaks, eventually causing the car to retire from the race.
Iron Dames up in smoke!!
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) July 14, 2024
There has been no confirmation of what the problem is and the crew are trying to fix the issue.
Will the Dames make it back out for the last 2 hours? 🤞
Watch LIVE on https://t.co/IPZa0nvsLu.
#WEC #6HSaoPaulo pic.twitter.com/KPu9qOUgPd
The only other LMGT3 car to retire from the race was the No. 82 TF Sport entry as Daniel Juncadella was forced to stop the Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R at the Ferradura corner due to a mechanical issue.
With the sister Manthey Porsche of Yasser Shahin, Richard Lietz and Morris Schuring finishing outside the points, the No.92 crew have now taken a 25 point lead in the FIA Endurance Trophy for GT3 Teams standings with three WEC rounds still remaining. Manthey EMA have a total of 75 points with Team WRT one point behind on 74.
The FIA WEC season will now take a short summer break before the championship returns to the USA for round six of the season, the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas (30 August – 1 September).
