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Fourth place for Manthey EMA at the 75th edition of the 24 Hours of Spa

• The #92 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 fought for victory over almost the entire length of the anniversary edition of the Belgian endurance classic
• The 24-hour race was characterised by numerous full-course yellow phases
• After a thrilling final battle for third place, the Porsche 911 GT3 R finished the race as the best-placed Porsche, in fourth

Meuspath. Manthey EMA competed in the anniversary edition of the 24-hour race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps last weekend. The #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R was within striking distance of the front runners for most of the race, and led the field on several occasions. The course of the GT race was marked by numerous and lengthy full-course yellow and safety car phases. The team received two 30-second time penalties for violating the track limits. After a thrilling duel for third place, final driver Kévin Estre (France) finished fourth, just 0.879 seconds off the podium.

Manthey EMA kicked off the race week on Thursday with free practice, pre-qualifying, and qualifying for Super Pole. The Pro driver trio of Kévin Estre, Julien Andlauer (France) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) completed the latter, one after the other, in light and then increasingly heavy rain. In the changeable weather conditions typical of the Belgian Ardennes circuit, they placed the Grello-Porsche in seventh place with an average lap time of 2:30.456 minutes as the best Pro-car and thus qualified for the Super Pole. On Friday afternoon, the 20 fastest cars had the chance to set their best times and grid positions for the legendary 24 Hours of Spa in two flying laps. Former Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer lapped the 7.004-kilometre circuit in 2:17.791 minutes, putting the 911 in 14th place on the grid.

On Saturday afternoon at 16:30 local time, the 70 participating GT3 cars entered the 75th edition of the 24-hour race on damp but drying track conditions. Starting driver Laurens Vanthoor, who went into the race on slicks, worked his way up eleven positions into the top three during his double stint. Although the Belgian received a ten-second time penalty for a contact in the La Source hairpin, his teammates were able to keep moving forward and take the lead after almost five hours of racing thanks to an overtaking manoeuvre by Andlauer. As the first half of the race progressed, the Porsche had to serve a 30-second penalty for disregarding the track limits and make two early pit stops for tyre changes. Nevertheless, the #92 car kept up with the leaders throughout the long safety car and full-course yellow periods that characterised the night on the Belgian Grand Prix circuit.

However, a second 30-second penalty for driving over the track limits initially dropped the Porsche out of the fight for the front positions in the second third of the race. With an early pit stop immediately after a safety car period at 13:25, Laurens Vanthoor managed to overtake the #96 (Rutronik Racing) and #40 (Audi Sport Tresor Orange 1) cars and regain contact with the leading group. During the fight for positions at the front of the field, there were some instances of contact that caused issues with the car's handling, as noted by Kévin Estre, the final driver, over the radio. Contrary to initial assumptions, their cause was not a puncture, which would have meant an unscheduled pit stop, and thus the end of the fight for a top-three finish for Manthey EMA, but damage to the rear diffuser. So, the Frenchman stayed on the so-called ‘Ardennes rollercoaster, and worked his way ever closer to Audi driver Nicki Thiim, who was in third place, in a thrilling final sprint. With a gap of just 0.879 seconds, the’Grello’ narrowly missed the podium of the legendary GT race, as the best-placed Porsche, after 537 race laps.

Following the endurance marathon at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, the Manthey EMA Team will return to the DTM championship this upcoming weekend, at the Norisring, from 7-9 July.

Quotes on the 24 Hours of Spa:

Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director Manthey Racing GmbH: “With 14th place, we didn't start the race from the position we had hoped for after the practice sessions. But on a track like Spa, you can decide the race from further back, so we started the 24 hours with confidence. Right at the start we got two penalties, one for a slight contact and the other for exceeding the track limits. But the car ran very well during the night and we were still able to establish ourselves at the front as fastest. However, as dawn fell it became more difficult for us. On top of that, we received another penalty for violating the track limits. But we didn't give up and with a good pit stop strategy we were able to make up two crucial positions. The fact that Kévin, despite damage to the car, was able to push for second and third places towards the end of the race and finish fourth as best Porsche, is a conciliatory conclusion for me. I'm proud of our team and I think that with this result we have done honour to the ‘Grello’ on the Spa circuit.”

Julien Andlauer, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “An exciting race weekend lies behind us. We were competitive at all times and did our best to find the perfect set-up, pace and strategy in difficult conditions. Unfortunately, in this hard-fought starting field, we also had to take two-time penalties for exceeding the track limits - with the intensity of the duels, it was almost impossible to always drive absolutely clean. But we never gave up and especially Kévin tried everything in his last stint with some first-class manoeuvres. Unfortunately, it didn't quite pay off in the end. But we can be very happy with fourth place, and I hope we have the chance to come back even stronger next year.“

Kévin Estre, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “Fourth place after a long and difficult race for us. We got two penalties for ignoring track limits, which was very annoying. But especially in this race, it was difficult to stay away from the track limits, which affected many cars. After that, we were further back in the field and had to overtake and push a lot towards the end of the 24 hours. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the podium, but it was still a great experience to take part in the endurance classic at Spa with the Grello.”

Laurens Vanthoor, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “A fourth position is always a bit of a thankless result. In the end, I think we gave it our all and there wasn't much more we could have done. Kévin put up a great fight at the end and we were very close to the podium. But unfortunately, that was the best we could do.”