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Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche Team Manthey

Qualifying

Porsche 911 RSR, Porsche Team Manthey
FIA World Endurance Championship, GT, round 6, Fuji, Qualifying
Best Porsche 911 RSR on second grid row

Stuttgart. Clocking the fourth quickest time in qualifying for Sunday’s six-hour race in Fuji, Richard Lietz (Austria) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) secured a spot on the second grid row of the GT field. Driving the 470 hp Porsche 911 RSR, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, the duo turned the fourth fastest lap in the GTE-Pro class. Richard Lietz currently leads the World Endurance Cup for GT pilots, which is the drivers’ classification for the Sports Car World Championship WEC. In the second Porsche Manthey-run 911 RSR, Frenchmen Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet take up the race from fifth place directly behind their teammates on the Fuji International Speedway.

Qualifying quotes

Marco Ujhasi, Overall Project Leader GT Works Motorsport: “As expected, it was a difficult qualifying session. We used the free practice to prepare for the race, so despite this outcome I’m still feeling confident. Our performance over the distance should stand us in good stead. In any case, we’re ready to fight.”

Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “I was surprised by the decent grip on the track. We didn’t expect this. Unfortunately we weren’t able to turn this advantage into a better starting position.”

Michael Christensen (911 RSR #91): “We did what we could. Still, we certainly didn’t turn the full potential of our 911 RSR into fast lap times today. But things can look very different in the race. Maybe it’ll rain tomorrow and then it’ll be interesting, because this wide circuit offers many different racing lines.”

Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #92): “We experienced a few hiccups in the third free practice, but everything ran more smoothly in the qualifying thanks to the good grip. We have a sound foundation for the race.”

Frédéric Makowiecki (911 RSR #92): “Compared to the practice sessions we had a better understanding of our 911 RSR and worked in the right direction. After Patrick’s simulation of the race in the third practice session, I’m feeling confident that we can perform better in the race.”


The six-hour race on Sunday starts at 11.00 hours local time (Sunday 04.00 hrs CEST). Eurosport broadcasts the entire race as well as the podium ceremony live.

Qualifying result

GTE-Pro class
1. Rigon/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:38.295 minutes
2. Bruni/Vilander (I/SF), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.108 seconds
3. MacDowall/Rees/Mücke (GB/BRA/D), Aston Martin, + 0.254
4. Lietz/Christensen (A/DK), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.456
5. Pilet/Makowiecki (F/F), Porsche 911 RSR, + 0.569
6. Turner/Adam (GB/GB), Aston Martin, + 0.684
7. Sörensen/Nygaard (DK/DK), Aston Martin, + 0.733

GTE-Am class
1. Roda/Ruberti/Sylvest (I/I/DK), Chevrolet Corvette, 1:39.901 minutes
2. Bertolini/Shaytar/Basov (I/RUS/RUS), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.227 seconds
3. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda (CDN/P/A), Aston Martin, + 0.541
4. Perrodo/Collard/Aguas (F/F/P), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.615
5. Dempsey/Long/Seefried (USA/USA/D), Porsche 911 RSR, + 1.154
6. Castellacci/Griffin/Hall (I/GB/GB), Aston Martin, + 1.280
7. Ried/Bamber/Al Qubaisi (D/NZ/UAE), Porsche 911 RSR, + 8.514



All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.