At its FIA WEC swan song, the 911 RSR again gave a strong performance. Heading into the race from pole position, Sarah Bovy initially held on to the lead in the Iron Dames’ 378 kW (515 PS) Porsche. After a good half hour, the Belgian had to make way for Matteo Cressoni’s Iron Lynx sister car. For long stretches of the final race in Bahrain, the two Porsche dominated the GTE Am class. However, halfway through the seventh hour, the charge of the leading Iron Lynx car came to an early end: after falling ill, the third driver was unable to take over the cockpit. To avoid disqualification, the team pulled out.
This opened the door for Sarah Bovy and her teammates Michelle Gatting from Denmark and Rahel Frey from Switzerland. The all-female crew clinched their first class victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship after 232 laps and gave the Porsche 911 RSR a perfect farewell – from next season, the 911 GT3 R will replace the GTE vehicle. Christian Ried (Germany), Mikkel Pedersen (Denmark) and former Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (France) brought the Dempsey Proton Racing nine-eleven over the finish line sixth in class. The customer teams GR Racing and Project1-AO secured positions eight and ten with the other 911 racers
Race result GTE Am Class
1. Bovy/Gatting/Frey (B/DK/CH), Porsche 911 RSR #85, 232 laps
2. Talbot/Stevenson/Fujii (AUS/UK/J), Aston Martin #777, 232 laps
3. James/Mancinelli/Ribeiras (USA/I/E), Aston Martin #98, 232 laps
6. Ried/Pedersen/Andlauer (D/DK/F), Porsche 911 RSR #77, 231 laps
8. Wainwright/Pera/Barker (UK/I/UK), Porsche 911 RSR #86, 231 laps
10. Hyett/Jeannette/Cairoli (USA/USA/I), Porsche 911 RSR #56, 230 laps
DNF Schiavoni/Cressoni/Picariello (I/I/B), Porsche 911 RSR #60
Full results: fiawec.alkamelsystems.com.
Edited Porsche Factory Press Release
Pictures & Video courtesy Porsche AG
