Manthey PureRxing celebrates first-ever LMGT3 WEC victory
Manthey PureRxcing scored a brilliantly judged victory with the No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R shared by Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler at the Qatar Airways Qatar 1812kms to make history by winning the first ever WEC LMGT3 category.
In a close battle for the majority of the race with the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage driven by Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas,
In so doing the team pulled off the first win for a Lithuanian-flagged team in not only the any FIA world championship. Porsche also became the first marque to win in every GT category that has raced in the WEC since its inception in 2012.
In a tense finish Manthey PureRxcing took the chequered flag just 4.8 seconds ahead of their rivals.
A perfect day for Porsche. @manthey_racing claims the first win of the LMGT3 era, a double victory for the German marque today! #WEC #Qatar1812KM @PorscheRaces pic.twitter.com/GX3DMwNPJY
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) March 2, 2024
A strong opening two stints from Malykhin put the No. 92 Porsche in to a strong position on with a well-earned gap that hovered around the 22-seconds mark for large portions of the race.
When Riberas spun the Heart of Racing Aston during the mid-phase of the 1812kms event it allowed the Manthey PureRxcing trio a little breathing space. But the Aston Martin Vantage came back at them in final hour, although Bachler was able to mostly control the gap.
D’station Racing ensured that two Aston Martin were represented on the podium, as Marco Sorensen, Clement Mateu and Erwan Bastard finished ahead of the No. 46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 entry of Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin and Ahmad Al Harthy for the place on the podium.
Rossi had enjoyed a successful first WEC race in the BMW M4 run by Team WRT completing four stints at the wheel and contributing to a strong performance as he heads to Imola next month for his home race.
"I feel good with the car."@ValeYellow46 shares his thoughts after his first double stint in the #WEC.
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) March 2, 2024
Watch LIVE on https://t.co/B3OAfJ9by7#Qatar1812KM @BMWMotorsport @followWRT pic.twitter.com/wVPNT8L06A
Fifth was the No.54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Davide Rigon, Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci. Rigon was presented with the Goodyear Wingfoot award for the best two average stints during the race.
The top six was rounded off by the second of the No.31 Team WRT BMW M4 cars of Darren Leung, Sean Gelael and Augusto Farfus.
The top 10 was completed with the No.55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari. Seventh, the No.85 Iron Dames Lamborghini eighth ahead of the No.88 Proton Ford Mustang on its debut and the No.82 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3 car.
Click HERE for the results of the Qatar Airways Qatar 1812kms
