Porsche Penske Motorsport continues WEC podium streak at 6 Hours of Spa

The #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry, piloted by Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor, secured the runner-up spot after a challenging race, which was extended by almost two hours after a lengthy red flag period. It was the Hertz Team JOTA #12 Porsche 963 which took the overall win, driven by Will Stevens and Callum Ilott, marking the team’s first Hypercar victory and its second podium, with the first having come in Qatar. Porsche has now had two cars on the podium at all three WEC races so far this season. The Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 car won the season-opening Qatar 1812km before finishing second in the 6 Hours of Imola. Its sister car, the #5 entry, was third in both races. The #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport car, driven by Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki, was forced to retire at Spa due to damage suffered during a crash shortly before the halfway mark, with the #38 Hertz Team JOTA entry also crashing out of the race. In the LMGT3 class, Manthey Racing took a double podium at Spa with the 911 GT3 R. The #91 EMA car claimed its maiden win, while the sister #92 PureRxcing entry secured its third consecutive podium.

Drivers’ comments after the race

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): “This time, we had luck on our side in the midst of difficult conditions. But we also did everything we could to put ourselves in the right place. In terms of the championship, we’re happy to take another second place – being championship leaders feels good. Nevertheless, we still have some work to do for the next race in Le Mans.” Michael Christensen (Porsche 963 #5): “I had a problem in 'Blanchimont' just before the end of the lap. The wind created changeable conditions in this high-speed corner – sometimes it worked flat-out, sometimes it didn’t. I veered a bit too far to the outside, but was still within the track limits when the underbody hit the kerb. As a result, I lost control of the car. That’s a shame for the whole team. Until then, we were doing very well in the race. Sometimes small mistakes have big consequences.”

Story of the race

The #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry lined up on pole, having been promoted from second place after the #50 Ferrari AF Corse car was disqualified from qualifying, while the #6 was further back in fifth. Frédéric Makowiecki took the wheel of the #5 car first, holding the lead off the line, while it was Laurens Vanthoor’s turn to pilot the #6 entry. After a clean first lap, the #5 car built a lead to the #99 Proton Competition entry, running in second, and was 1.5s clear by lap six, while the sister factory car had moved up to third. The leader was then passed by the Proton Porsche 963, leaving the two factory entries to run in second and third. There were two full course yellows due to debris on the track, and upon the second restart, the #6 car lost third place to the #51 Ferrari, having locked up at the chicane. The first set of pit stops started at the end of lap 26, with the #5 Porsche 963 first to stop and taking two new left-side tyres and exiting in second. The sister entry stopped the following lap to take all new rubber, returning to the track in fifth place. The #51 Ferrari then passed the #5 car at Les Combes due to traffic caused by LMGT3 cars, with the two factory Porsche entries in third and fifth once the first cycle of stops was complete. The safety car was deployed on lap 40 after a crash at Turn 8, which ended the Hertz Team JOTA #38 car’s race.

The caution lasted for 35 minutes, with racing resuming with just over 3hr30 left on the clock. The #6 car then faced pressure from the #50 Ferrari and was soon passed for fifth place, while the #5 factory car fought the other Ferrari for second. It was closing in when its race came to an end as Michael Christensen lost the car in the second corner of Blanchimont by hitting the kerb with the skidpad under the car before crashing into the barrier on the left side. The heavy contact shut down the hybrid system for safety reasons, which meant restarting was not possible and forcing the #5 car’s retirement, with a full course yellow following to clean the track. Racing resumed on lap 68, with the #6 car stopping again five laps later for new right-side tyres, exiting to run in fifth before fending off a challenge from the #12 Hertz Team JOTA car. The #6 crew stopped again at the end of lap 95, immediately before the red flag was thrown after a huge incident on the Kemmel Straight, stopping the action for 1hr45. All drivers involved were unhurt. That led to an extended race time. With the pit strategy taken by Porsche before the stoppage, the #6 was boosted to second place once the cars ahead took their necessary stops, running behind the #12 Hertz Team JOTA car driven by Callum Ilott. The #6 car, driven by Estre, stopped again on lap 122, with less than 45 minutes remaining, and exited the pits into third. Two laps later, he made a brilliant move to pass the #50 Ferrari on the run up to Eau Rouge to retake second, where he went on to finish.

Customer racing

Hertz Team JOTA took its maiden victory at Spa, with the #12 entry taking the first ever Hypercar win by a customer team and the first privateer victory in the WEC since 2020. It was the second podium of the season, for the #12 Porsche 963, driven by Stevens and Ilott, coming after a second-place finish in Qatar. The #12 car lined up fourth, with the sister #38 car, piloted by Jenson Button, Phil Hanson and Oliver Rasmussen, in 17th. Stevens took the wheel of the #12 entry first, with Hanson in the sister car. The #12 lost out to Ferrari after the first full course yellow, dropping to sixth, before later losing another place. Meanwhile, the sister entry was up to 15th. After the first round of stops, the two entries ran in ninth and 10th, with the #12 car ahead. But around the 90-minute mark, the #38 car’s race was ended in a crash at Turn 8, with Hanson tagged from behind by the #20 BMW and taking out the #46 BMW in the process, prompting a safety car. The #12 car made progress back through the field, running in seventh after the safety car period ended, before applying pressure to the #6 car for fifth place after the next round of pit stops. It was running sixth when the red flag was thrown, but like the #6 Porsche, clever pit strategy meant it took the lead once the cars ahead took their stops. Ilott set about building a strong lead, and crossed the line 12 seconds clear of Estre in the #6 factory car.

After its best ever qualifying result, the #99 Proton Competition entry driven by Julien Andlauer and Neel Jani lined up third, with Andlauer first to take the wheel. He quickly closed in on the #2 Cadillac running in second, taking the position on the run to Eau Rouge on lap six before then setting about catching the leader. The gap was just 0.5s by lap 13, and four laps later the Proton Porsche 963 took the lead at turn 18, helped by one of the Lexus LMGT3 entries. It pitted on lap 26, and led by 12s by lap 34, before stopping again for a driver change, with Jani taking the wheel on lap 40 ahead of the safety car. Despite a staunch defence, the #99 car was passed for the lead on the Kemmel Straight by the #51 Ferrari on lap 72, before the sister Ferrari repeated the move 20 laps later. It was running third when the red flag was thrown, and stopped after the race resumed to run in ninth. But Andlauer put in some blistering laps, and made three stunning overtakes in the closing stages to bring the car home in fifth.

LMGT3

The Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R entries took a double-podium at Spa, with the #91 EMA car taking its maiden win, while the sister #92 PureRxcing entry secured its third consecutive podium. The Manthey EMA #91 entry, piloted by Yasser Shahin, Morris Schuring and Richard Lietz, lined up third for Saturday’s race, with the sister PureRxcing #92 car in eighth, driven by Alexander Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler, after a huge crash in Friday’s qualifying session. The #91 entry dropped back in the early stages, initially driven by Shahin, but was soon back up to third after making up two places in one lap. The #92 car was up to seventh off the line, with Malykhin first to take the wheel. It quickly made further progress to fight for fifth, before both cars stopped on consecutive laps on laps 21 and 22. The pair stopped again under the safety car around the two-hour mark, with the #92 car fighting for sixth after the restart as the #91 ran fourth.

The #91 made further progress to second before taking the lead from the #59 United Autosports McLaren by hour four, soon before the red flag was thrown, as the #92 ran in eighth. With both cars stopping again after racing resumed, #91 held the lead, as #92 was in fifth place, before making up two more positions for the pair to run second and third. But heading onto the last lap, the #60 Iron Lynx car pulled into the pits, allowing both Manthey cars through to run first and second. The #91 car then overtook the sister car at Les Combes to snatch victory. The World Endurance Championship returns for the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 15-16 June. Porsche Penske Motorsport will enter three cars and is aiming for the manufacturer’s 20th overall Le Mans victory.