Ford take win after epic duel; Ferrari seals GT Manufacturers’ title

Ford scored a hard-fought victory at the 6 Hours of Shanghai today as Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell claimed their second LMGTE Pro win of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship season.  In doing so, the British duo thrust themselves back into championship contention in their No.67 Ford Ganassi Team UK Ford GT.

Priaulx and Tincknell finished ahead of the No.91 Porsche 911 RSR of Frédéric Makowiecki and Richard Lietz, and claimed a second win in as many years at the Shanghai International Circuit.  An enthusiastic crowd of 58,000 spectators over the weekend at Shanghai International Circuit saw a memorable event and went home having witnessed an incredible race which was full of action, drama and tension.

The win came after Tincknell performed a heroic rear-guard action when he came under intense pressure from the Porsche in the fifth hour.

When Lietz’s 911 RSR was hit by the No.7 Toyota, driven at the time by José Maria Lopez, it freed up Tincknell and he brought the car home to claim the maximum points haul.

Ferrari’s third and sixth place finishes in the class were enough to seal the GT FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship for the Prancing Horse, the No.51 Ferrari 488 GTE of Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado taking the final podium place today.  

The GT Drivers’ Championship will not be settled until the final race at Bahrain in two weeks’ time but today’s result in Shanghai sees Calado and Pier Guidi’s lead diminished as the consistent Makowiecki and Lietz axis scored a remarkable sixth podium points score of the season. The gap is now just two points between the two pairs.

One of the two non-finishers in the race was the No.92 of Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre which suffered the cruel blow of an engine failure in the third hour while in the lead of the GTE field.

Aston Martin takes dominant victory in LMGTE Am

The LMGTE Am category will go also down to the wire in Bahrain as the No.98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 of Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda and Pedro Lamy took a third win of the season and a 10-point lead in the championship.  

Gulf Racing UK took their best ever WEC result with Ben Barker, Nick Foster and Khaled Al Qubaisi – subbing for team owner/driver Mike Wainwright - combining to take second position in the No.86 Porsche 911 RSR.

The Dempsey Proton Racing run Porsche was third after it recovered from contact with an LMP2 car in the opening hour. Christian Ried, Marvin Dienst and Matteo Cairoli therefore still keep in touch with the Aston Martin trio as the 2017 season reaches its conclusion at the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain in two weeks’ time.   The race into the night will be on Saturday 18th November.

Provisional classifications can be found HERE and race facts HERE