#porsche #porschemotorsport #motorsport #hybrid #porschehybrid #germancarforum
Porsche Penske Motorsport wrapped up round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC with both Porsche 963 racers again on the podium. At the Autodromo di Imola, Laurens Vanthoor, André Lotterer and Kévin Estre crossed the finish line in second place in difficult weather conditions towards the end of the six-hour race.
Their teammates Frédéric Makowiecki, Michael Christensen and Matt Campbell claimed the third podium step after an inspired pursuit effort. The best customer Porsche 963 took the flag in eleventh position. In the LMGT3 category, Manthey PureRxcing followed up their class win at the season opener with another podium result.
The six-hour race got underway at 1 pm local time in summery but cool conditions. On the very first lap, several hypercars collided while braking for the Tamburello corner, necessitating the deployment of the safety car. The two factory Porsche 963 cars proved to be the toughest rivals for the local favourite Ferrari early on in the race. Laurens Vanthoor from Belgian promptly catapulted the No. 6 hybrid prototype from fourth on the grid to second place. In the sister car, Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki was holding his own in the top five. Midway through the second race of the season, both Porsche Penske Motorsport vehicles were among the frontrunners and successfully maintained contact with the leaders. At this point, Germany’s André Lotterer sat at the helm of the No. 6 cockpit with Michael Christensen from Denmark in the No. 5 Porsche.
Porsche Newsroom
