In the sister car of the winning team, Bruni and Lietz were plagued by bad luck. First, the No. 91 car got
caught in heavy traffic on the 7.004-kilometre racetrack, then they were hampered by a puncture. A shunt
from a Hypercar about halfway through the race resulted in the rear section of the car having to be replaced.
Under these circumstances, only fifth place was possible.
LMGTE-Pro
The forecast of unsettled and cold weather was partially contradicted by the facts. The race was held in dry
conditions with pale sunshine, making for less rigid temperatures than anticipated. In a race interrupted by
three full-course yellows, which, however, didn’t change the positions in the standings, the two AF Corse
488 GTEs put in a convincing performance at a good pace, albeit not enough to challenge the victorious
Porsche no. 92. The Maranello cars consistently occupied the podium positions, even moving into the lead
at the three-hour mark, taking advantage of their rivals’ early stop. Second place for Alessandro Pier Guidi
and James Calado and third place for Miguel Molina and Daniel Serra, despite two drive-throughs for
speeding during the first and second FCYs for the pair in no. 52, represent an excellent start to the
championship.
LMGTE-Am
AF Corse no. 83 488 GTE, crewed by reigning champions François Perrodo and Nicklas Nielsen, joined
this season by Alessio Rovera, put in an extraordinary performance to repeat last year’s triumph on the
Belgian circuit. Having taken the lead during the stint of a superb Rovera, the Piacenza-based team
managed and increased their margin over their pursuers until Nielsen crossed the finish line in first. The
Cetilar Racing crew, making their class debut, took third place on the podium, benefiting from the
23-second penalty given to car no. 88 at the end of the race. This result rewards the strong performance of
the trio that had seen Antonio Fuoco mount an excellent recovery in the final stints. The second AF Corse
car crewed by Thomas Flohr, Giancarlo Fisichella and Francesco Castellacci finished fourth, eight seconds
off the podium, with another spectacular performance by Fisichella who showed his superior class. The two
Iron Lynx Ferraris, eighth and ninth respectively, with the all-female trio Frey-Legge-Gostner and
Schiavoni-Cressoni-Piccini, got some crucial miles and experience under their belts for the rest of the
season.
Drivers’ comments on the race
Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 RSR #92)
“This race wasn’t nearly as easy as it might have seemed from the outside. Both cars got punctures. The
early wheel change meant we lost our pit stop rhythm, which may have resulted in an additional stop. So, it
really hung by a thread. Everything worked out in the end and we crossed the finish line as the winners.
Neel did a terrific job at his first stints in the Porsche 911 RSR in the WEC and maintained the lead. That
was fantastic.”
Neel Jani (Porsche 911 RSR #92)
“Victory at my GT debut in the FIA WEC – that’s awesome. It couldn’t have gone better. When Kévin had to
pit earlier than planned due to the puncture, we were a bit concerned at first because I had to save some
fuel during my stints for tactical reasons. But a caution phase helped us at the right moment, so it was no
longer an issue. It went well for me.”
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 911 RSR #91)
“A lot of negative things happened today for us. We had several punctures, bad luck overtaking traffic and
finally an accident that destroyed the rear of our car. It simply wasn’t our day. Obviously, our sister car’s
win is great. I’m pleased for our colleagues. All in all, we scored a lot of points for Porsche – that’s great.”
Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 RSR #91)
“Mediocre – that’s how I would describe today’s race. Our tyres were damaged, we were shunted and
ultimately we ran out of fresh rubber. We really didn’t need anything more to happen. That says it all. First,
we had no luck and then we were hit by bad luck.”
Programme
The FIA WEC will be back on track from 11 to 13 June for the 8 Hours of Portimao, held on the beautiful
Portuguese track.
Result GTE-Pro class
1. Estre/Jani (F/CH), Porsche 911 RSR #92, 153 laps
2. Pier Guidi/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE #51, 153 laps
3. Serra/Molina (BR/E), Ferrari 488 GTE #71, 153 laps
4. Garcia/Gavin (E/GB), Corvette C8.R #63, 152 laps
5. Bruni/Lietz (I/A), Porsche 911 RSR #91, 152 laps
Result GTE-Am class
1. Perrodo/Nielsen/Rovera (F/DK/I), Ferrari 488 GTE #83, 152 laps
2. Keating/Pereira/Fraga (USA/L/BR), Aston Martin Vantage #33, 152 laps
3. Lacorte/Sernagiotto/Fuoco (I/I/I), Ferrari 488 GTE #47, 151 laps
5. Haryanto/Seefried/Picariello (RI/D/B), Porsche 911 RSR #88, 151 laps
DNF. Ried/Evans/Campbell (D/NZ/AUS), Porsche 911 RSR #77, 138 laps
DNS. Wainwright/Barker/Gamble (GB/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR #86, 0 laps
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