In motorsport, it is often said: "You never lose. Either you win – or you learn." If this holds true, then we really learned a lot in the last race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Bahrain.
Advertising for motorsport: It was an exceptionally exciting race in which the two teams fought out a tough but always fair battle for the lead – and thus the title. After the start, Kévin Estre directly took over first place from pole position with the 911 RSR. In the following 7:45 hours, different cars took their repeated turns at the front. A clever strategy and the exceptional driving skills of Kévin Estre, Neel Jani and Michael Christensen got the Porsche GT Team to the final quarter of the race. The title win was within reach.
But then Alessandro Pier Guidi hit the rear of the 911 RSR with his Ferrari and spun it off the track. The penalty initially imposed by race organisers would have put our RSR back in the lead, but this was revised shortly afterwards. In the end, it was only enough for second place. Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki's 911 RSR finished the race in fourth place in the GTE Pro class.
The two customer teams, Dempsey-Proton Racing and Team Project 1 were somewhat more successful in the season finale. Both were able to finish on the podium in the GTE Am class with one of their 911 RSRs.
We thus end the season in a good second place in the manufacturers' championship – and have a clear goal for next season: to finish one place higher. At least...
Advertising for motorsport: It was an exceptionally exciting race in which the two teams fought out a tough but always fair battle for the lead – and thus the title. After the start, Kévin Estre directly took over first place from pole position with the 911 RSR. In the following 7:45 hours, different cars took their repeated turns at the front. A clever strategy and the exceptional driving skills of Kévin Estre, Neel Jani and Michael Christensen got the Porsche GT Team to the final quarter of the race. The title win was within reach.
But then Alessandro Pier Guidi hit the rear of the 911 RSR with his Ferrari and spun it off the track. The penalty initially imposed by race organisers would have put our RSR back in the lead, but this was revised shortly afterwards. In the end, it was only enough for second place. Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki's 911 RSR finished the race in fourth place in the GTE Pro class.
The two customer teams, Dempsey-Proton Racing and Team Project 1 were somewhat more successful in the season finale. Both were able to finish on the podium in the GTE Am class with one of their 911 RSRs.
We thus end the season in a good second place in the manufacturers' championship – and have a clear goal for next season: to finish one place higher. At least...