Porsche extends championship lead in LMGTE Pro
Today’s 1000 Miles of Sebring marked the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Super Season, the race forming part of an exhilarating sportscar double-header alongside IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The varying weather conditions saw the event run to its eight hour maximum instead of the proposed 1000 miles, with rain falling heavily during the race’s closing stages.
There was plenty of action in the highly-competitive LMGTE Pro category, however, as the No.91 Porsche driven by Richard Lietz and Gianmaria Bruni took the chequered flag for Porsche GT. The victory is the fourth of the season for Porsche but the first for Lietz this season and a debut win for Bruni with the German marque.
BMW Team MTEK took the runners-up spot with its new BMW M8 GTE model as birthday boy Alexander Sims was joined by Martin Tomczyk and Nicky Catsburg in the car. The trio were set for a milestone first win as they led for the majority of the last two hours but a final pit stop saw the Porsche GT Team edge ahead on wet tyres.
Making it three different manufacturers on the podium in the ultra-competitive GTE Pro class was the No.67 Ford Chip Ganassi entered Ford GT of Harry Tincknell, Andy Priaulx and home driver Jonathan Bomarito. The Ferrari sister cars No. 51 and 71 finished fourth and sixth respectively.
Elsewhere, round five victors Aston Martin Racing had a difficult event. The No.95 car dropped down the order when Porsche made contact with Darren Turner resulting in a spin and lengthy pit stop to repair damage.
Dempsey-Proton Racing take second consecutive win in LMGTE Am
Sealing victory in the LMGTE Am class was the No.77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche team with Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer and Matt Campbell making it a perfect weekend after starting from pole position.
The victory is the team’s second in a row for the German-based but Patrick Dempsey owned team with the squad having also taken the chequered flag at the previous round in Shanghai.
Race long multi-manufacturer battles saw Spirit of Race Ferrari finish second with drivers Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Giancarlo Fisichella. Team Project 1 claimed third, the podium made extra special following the team’s heroic efforts to fix the car after it caught fire and destroyed the chassis last weekend. American driver Patrick Lindsey celebrated third on home soil alongside Jorg Bergmeister and Egidio Perfetti.
Gulf Racing finished fourth while MR Racing rounded out the top five.
Race results from today’s 1000 Miles of Sebring can be found HERE.
The penultimate round of the WEC Super Season – the TOTAL 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps – will take place in Belgium on Saturday 4 May.
