Estre-Lotterer-Vanthoor lead drivers Championship

WECHyperCar

Aug 12

Thanks to their regularity along the five first round of the World Endurance Championship, Kevin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor lead the drivers Championship. With a win at 1812 Qatar, a P2 at the 6 Hours races at Imola, Spa, Interlagos and a P4 at Le Mans which brings them almost as much points (24) as a 6 hours race win (25), the #6 Porsche 963 works drivers are 19 points ahead of the Ferrari #50 trio Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Micklas Nielsen.

It all started with a victory at Lusail

Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor crossed the finish line first at the wheel of the #6 Porsche 963. Laurens Vanthoor worked his way into the lead after around 90 minutes. Relayed by Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer, the #6 Porsche 963 only relinquished first place briefly over the next eight hours due to different pit stop rhythms. At the end of a nail-biting race on the Lusail International Circuit, Estre-Lotterer-Vanthoor scored the first world championship victory (with 38 points for a 10 hours race) for the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team with a lead of over 30 seconds.

Victorious Porsche #6 at 1812 Qatar. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail’s 1812 Qatar. Victorious Porsche #6.

André Lotterer (Porsche 963 #6): “I’ve waited a long time for this. Finally my first victory for Porsche! Today we had three #6 drivers on top of the podium. This triumph is thanks to every single person in the team. Everyone worked incredibly hard and improved so many things for the new season. It works perfectly. We also experienced some nail-biting moments in the race but we kept out cool and brought home the win. We’d be happy to continue like this.” Source: Porsche

Second podium for the #6 trio at Imola

At the Autodromo di Imola, Laurens Vanthoor, André Lotterer and Kévin Estre crossed the finish line in second place in difficult weather conditions towards the end of the six-hour race. Laurens Vanthoor promptly catapulted the #6 Porsche 963 from fourth on the grid to second place. André Lotterer at the helm of the #6 cockpit successfully maintained contact with the leaders.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Autodromo di Imola. Laurens Vanthoor, André Lotterer and Kévin Estre crossed the finish line in second place.

Soon after Kévin Estre took his seat in #6 963, at first light, the rain became heavier. Estre was the first to switch to wet tyres. The two leading Ferraris waited longer to change to wets and consequently lost valuable time on the slippery track. They fell far down the field to positions six and seven. Meanwhile, Estre had moved into second place again, now behind the #7 Toyota. With an hour left on the clock, although the track remained wet in parts, almost all hypercar teams switched back to slicks for dry conditions – resulting in more off-track excursions. Despite having to conserve fuel, Kevin Estre caught up with Kamui Kobayashi’s car with 16 minutes to go. Because a five-second penalty for overtaking behind the safety car was added to his driving time anyway, the final attack ultimately failed to materialise.

After their victory at the season opener in Qatar, Estre, Vanthoor and Lotterer have further extended their lead in the drivers’ standings with second place.

Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “Second and third place – what a great weekend for the team. We didn’t expect this result coming into the race. We almost even won. The race itself was crazy: with wet tyres on a drying track, and the first lap back on slicks, that was awful. I had a bit more fuel than the Toyota and was therefore able to close the gap, but overtaking wasn’t possible at that stage. The team worked hard to put a competitive car on the track for us and to maximise everything. In the dry, we lacked the pace compared to Ferrari and Toyota. But with the right strategy and a clever tyre choice, we did a better job than most of the others. In any case, we are in a much better position than last year!” Source: Porsche

Third consecutive podium for Estre-Lotterer-Vanthoor

After their success at the season opener in Qatar and a P2 at Imola, Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and André Lotterer crossed the finish line in second place behind the Hertz Team JOTA Porsche customer team with the #12 963.
A collision after four hours and 15 minutes required the race to be red-flagged for a 120-minute interruption so that crash barriers on the Kemmel straight could be replaced. It took until 7:15 pm local time for the race to resume for another 104 minutes. Hertz Team Jota’s #12 Porsche 963 and Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 works car had already completed their penultimate pit stop shortly before the race was red-flagged. As a result, they promptly catapulted to first and second place. With 45 minutes left on the clock, Porsche Penske Motorsport fitted four new tyres for the decisive final sprint. However, the tactic failed to reap rewards.

After their success at the season opener in Qatar, Estre (France), Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium and André Lotterer from Germany crossed the finish line in second place – a repeat of the Imola result. With this, the trio further extended the lead in the drivers’ standings.

at Spa-Francorchamps, Laurens Vanthoor, André Lotterer and Kévin Estre crossed the finish line in second place. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps. Laurens Vanthoor, André Lotterer and Kévin Estre crossed the finish line in second place.

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.” Source: Porsche

Fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Torrential rain saw the race director deploying the safety cars and neutralising the field. Further showers with about two hours left on the clock and during the final moments of the race pushed the battle for glory to the extreme. Despite pushing the strategic limits to the edge when it came to tyre choice, polesitter Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor battled for a spot on the podium until the end in the #6 car. At the flag, the best-placed works-run Porsche 963 was a mere 1.167 seconds off third place.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024. Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor with #6 Porsche 963 were a mere 1.167 seconds off third place. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024. Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor with #6 Porsche 963 were a mere 1.167 seconds off third place

Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “Fourth place and missing out on the podium by just one second – that’s not the result we were aiming for. We were in it to win and drove a good race with just one mistake in tyre choice in the early stages. While we fought our way back up the order, in the end, we couldn’t find the pace we needed to be in contention for overall victory. We must keep learning and come back stronger next year.” Source: Porsche

P2 for Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor at Interlagos

Despite a difficult first stint for Laurens Vanthoor who initially lost lost a lap due to a puncture after a collision caused by the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963, both André Lotterer and Kevin Estre charged to the top for the Frenchman to bring the car across the finish line in second place.

📷 © Courtesy of Porsche. #6 Porsche 963 ends second ahead of sister #5.

Thanks to P2, works drivers Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor extend their lead in the drivers’ championship.

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): “What a perfect result for the championship! We didn’t expect it. I’m delighted. My stints were good but unfortunately, there was an unnecessary collision with a Jota car. But anyway, we caught up and extended our lead in the world championship – it doesn’t get much better than that.” Source: Porsche

Three races until the end of season

The next round of the World Endurance Championship will occur at Austin for the Lone Star Le Mans race September 1st. The WEC circus will then fly to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji on September 15th. Both races enables to score 25 points for the race win and 1 point for the pole in Hyperpole. Season ends at Bahrain for an 8 hours race November 2nd (a 38 points race for the winners).