Race, World Endurance Championship WEC, Round 3 in Silverstone/Great Britain
In a turbulent round three of the FIA World Sports Car Championship WEC at Silverstone in Great Britain, Kévin Estre from France and Michael Christensen from Denmark finished on third place at the wheel of the 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR with the number 92. The No. 91 sister car driven by Austria’s Richard Lietz and Gianmaria Bruni from Italy initially scored second, however was subsequently disqualified due to an irregularity in the ride height. Witnessed by 60,240 spectators, ten vehicles from five manufacturers fought for victory in the GTE-Pro class this weekend. Four additional Porsche 911 RSR race cars tackled the GTE-Am class in the UK. Victory went to Dempsey Proton Racing with Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (AUS), Christian Ried (Germany) and Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (F). Porsche continues to lead the manufacturers’ classification in the GTE-Pro class as well as the drivers’ classification of both the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am classes in the WEC.
Under partly cloudy skies and with a temperature of 23-degrees Celsius, British spectators were treated to a gripping race with many changes at the front of the field. Estre and Christensen drove a spirited race. Estre made an inspired start in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR. The Frenchman got away well off the line and made the most of a collision amongst the front pack of the 34-strong field to sweep to the front of the GTE-Pro class. When his teammate, Christensen, experienced tyre problems in the second stint, they fell back to position six, however, thanks to a good pit stop strategy, the pair worked their way back up to the front and at times held the lead. Towards the end of the race, however, they had to let vehicles pass. The two Le Mans winners continue to lead the drivers’ classification of the WEC.

The GTE-Am category also treated fans to some enthralling race action. Heading into the race from P2, the Dempsey Proton Racing squad with Porsche Young Professional Campbell, Ried and Porsche Junior Andlauer crossed the finish line first after 168 laps. Starting from pole position, the Project 1 team with Porsche works driver Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Lindsey (USA) and Egidio Perfetti (N) led the field over two-thirds of the race. A stop-and-go penalty as a result of a pit stop error relegated the team back to position five, however the trio manoeuvred their way up the field to third place and celebrated their first podium result in the WEC. Michael Wainwright (GB), Ben Barker (GB) and Alex Davison (AUS) achieved sixth place for the Gulf Racing customer team. Gianluca and Giorgio Roda (I) as well as Porsche Young Professional Matteo Cairoli (I) brought the second Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Dempsey Proton Racing home in eighth.
Round four of the FIA World Sports Car Championship WEC is contested on 14 October in Fuji (Japan).
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