– Porsche Penske Motorsport’s works cars qualify on positions three and five
– Both customer-run Porsche 963 from Hertz Team Jota in the top 8
– Best Porsche 911 GT3 R on the first grid row of the LMGT3 class
– Round five of the WEC gets underway on Sunday at 11:30 hrs local time
The best Porsche 963 tackles the race in Brazil from the second grid row. The time-honoured Formula 1 circuit in Interlagos hosts round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Australian Matt Campbell posted the third quickest lap time in the No. 5 works car. Frenchman Kévin Estre wrapped up the qualifying session in fifth at the wheel of his 512 kW (696 PS) hybrid prototype. The two identical customer cars fielded by Hertz Team Jota will start the six-hour race in São Paulo from positions seven and eight. In the LMGT3 class, the two Porsche 911 GT3 R campaigned by Manthey qualified in second and fifth.
Cool temperatures under 15 degrees Celsius during qualifying threw challenges at the teams and drivers to get the Michelin tyres into the ideal operating window. In the Hyperclass session, Matt Campbell and Kévin Estre turned three warm-up laps before attempting their flying laps. The Australian advanced into the hyperpole session as the best-placed Porsche driver, with Estre reaching the final top-10 shootout in tenth place.
Those who reached the hyperpole session had ten minutes to clock their best times on the 4.309-kilometre Grand Prix circuit. Both works drivers continued to improve in their Porsche 963 and concluded the hunt for pole position in positions three and five. « Our strong performance was exactly what we’d expected, » stated Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. « We’re right behind the two Toyota. That’s pretty good considering we haven’t done any testing here. We’re well-prepared for the race. Hertz Team Jota’s two Porsche 963 also put in a great qualifying performance. »
« I’m very proud of our team’s qualifying result with positions three and five, » says Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. « We weren’t familiar with the track coming here and the fact that we achieved such a strong performance is the result of our preparation. We did a great job in the simulator. Since we’re expecting significantly higher temperatures on race day, the conditions will be completely different. Our cars are fast, and our tyre wear looks good. We’ll be chasing down the Toyotas tomorrow. »
The Hertz Team Jota customer team also underlined the potential of the Porsche 963 in Interlagos. Positions seven and eight were claimed by the Spa race winner Callum Ilott in the No. 12 hybrid prototype and Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion, in the No. 38 car. Former Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer from France planted the Proton Competition customer car on P12.
In the LMGT3 class, the two Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Manthey EMA and Manthey PureRxcing competed in a two-part qualification. UK driver Alex Malykhin and Le Mans class winner Yasser Shahin from Australia advanced to the hyperpole in second and ninth. In the final shootout for the best grid spots, Malykhin again achieved second place, while his brand colleague Shahin qualified fifth.
Drivers’ comments after the qualifying
Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #5): « Third on the grid is great and a little more than we expected to be honest. Starting from the second grid row puts us in a solid position. The qualifying session was extremely close – I really enjoyed it. Still, with much warmer temperatures in the six-hour race, things will look completely different. We need to keep a very close eye on our tyre wear because we want to be at the front. »
Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): « The car handled well, but we lacked a little pace when it counted in the bid for pole position. That said, the gap is small. It’s tricky getting everything just right in one hot lap on this circuit. Now we’re looking ahead to the race. Let’s see where we stand compared to the competition over the six-hour distance. We’re aiming for another podium finish and to extend our lead in the championship. »
Callum Ilott (Porsche 963 #12): « The first part of the qualifying was great. But I suddenly lost a bit of grip in the hyperpole session. That’s something we’ll need to look at and fix before the race. I’m a little disappointed because I know our car is capable of more than the results show. We could’ve done better. Anyway, seventh is a decent starting point. Let’s see what we can achieve in the race. »
Jenson Button (Porsche 963 #38): « The qualifying session was good but finishing eighth in the hyperpole is a bit disappointing because the car felt great. Given how close the hyperpole times were, a small improvement could’ve put us much further ahead. Two things ultimately prevented me from achieving a better result: I drove a little too close to the Ferrari in front. That helped initially, but then I veered off the track slightly and lost time. Secondly, we struggled with high tyre degradation which impacted our lap times, and we didn’t really maximise the car. Still, we’ve started from worse positions. Let’s see what we can do on race day. »
Yasser Shahin (Porsche 911 GT3 R #91): « I’m delighted with fifth place. I managed to gain another half a second from qualifying to hyperpole. We now need to make the most of our opportunities. After our great results, like our recent class win at Le Mans, we’re carrying a lot of success ballast in the car – that’s the price for success, which we’re happy to accept. But here in Brazil, the extra weight is a bit of a handicap, especially with so many uphill sections. But the gaps are small so I’m very happy. »
Alex Malykhin (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): « While the Porsche is running well and my lap was okay, I’m not thrilled with second place. The gap to pole position is simply too big. We have a long race ahead of us on Sunday and we’ll be starting from the front row, so anything is possible. »
Qualifying results
Hypercar class:
1. Conway/Kobayashi/de Vries (UK/J/NL), Toyota #7, 1:23.140 minutes
2. Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa (CH/NZ/J), Toyota #8, 1:23.262 minutes
3. Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki (AUS/DK/F), Porsche 963 #5, 1:23.331 minutes
5. Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor (F/D/B), Porsche 963 #6, 1:23.408 minutes
7. Ilott/Stevens/Nato (UK/UK/F), Porsche 963 #12, 1:23.639 minutes
8. Hanson/Button/Rasmussen (UK/UK/DK), Porsche 963 #38, 1:23.701 minutes
12. Andlauer/Jani (F/CH), Porsche 963 #99, 1:23.955 minutes
LMGT3 class:
1. Bovy/Gatting/Frey (B/DK/CH), Lamborghini #85, 1:34.413 minutes
2. Bachler/Malykhin/Sturm (A/UK/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, 1:34.804 minutes
3. Caygill/Pino/Sato (UK/CHL/J), McLaren #95, 1:34.860 minutes
5. Lietz/Shahin/Schuring (A/AUS/NL), Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, 1:35.471 minutes
Holger Eckhardt,