Valentino Rossi ruined a historic first WEC win

WECLMGT3

Apr 23

Starting from pole, courtesy of Valentino Rossi fastest lap during hyperpole, Al Harthy led the race during his stint but Valentino Rossi ruined a historic first WEC win after a stop-and-go penalty for a clumsy move fighting for the LMGT3 class lead. A heroic Richard Lietz offered LMGT3 class win of the 6 Hours of Imola to Manthey 1st Phorm #92 Porsche.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Manthey 1st Phorm #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R

Manthey 1st Phorm’s first win of the season

The Manthey 1st Phorm celebrated its first victory of the season in the LMGT3 class. At the wheel of the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R, factory driver Richard Lietz beat BMW in a last-ditch dash to the flag. Bronze driver Ryan Hardwick managed to get his #92 Porsche from 7th to 4th during his stint but silver rated Riccardo Pera battled between 9th and 11th, until key contenders fell foul of a combination of penalties and/or costly incidents, bringing the 911 into the leading pack. With an excellent strategy, Richard Lietz held off a feisty attack from Kelvin van der Linde finishing just 0.316 seconds ahead of the #46 WRT BMW for a fine victory in the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Richard Lietz takes over from Riccardo Pera (left); Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera (right)

Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): “That was very exciting and extremely close! And it was a stressful race. Others made a few mistakes, but our six-hour race was flawless. That was the deciding factor. One more lap would have been difficult for us in the tough and spirited duel against BMW. I want to thank Ryan, Riccardo, and the entire team. Hopefully, things will continue to go this well – perhaps with a little less drama at the end.” Source: Porsche

Kelvin van der Linde master drove #46 Team WRT BMW back to P2

the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO fought for the win right up to the finish line after an emotional rollercoaster. Al Harthy started from pole position and defended the lead during his double stint. Subsequent shifts in positions due to different strategies saw Rossi battling for first place with Simon Mann in #21 Ferrari 296 GT3. During an overtaking attempt, he hit his opponent at the rear, for which the team received a stop-and-go penalty.

Ahmad Al Harthy in #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO keeps P1 during his stint.

That was followed by an impressive comeback by final driver Kelvin van der Linde, who made up place after place (from 9th) and even closed the gap to the leading Porsche in the final laps. In a spectacular duel, he tried everything to snatch the victory but ultimately had to settle for second place. It was the second podium for the BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the second race of the season.

Valentino Rossi and Ahmad Al Harthy in background during track walk.

Valentino Rossi (Team WRT, #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 2nd place LMGT3 class): “I have mixed feelings because a podium is a good result, but we could have won. It's very unfortunate because the team did a fantastic job, the car was very fast, and we managed the tyres well. Ahmad and especially Kelvin at the end drove brilliantly. Kelvin fought until the end and brought the podium home. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and hit the Ferrari in front of me during an overtaking attempt. The subsequent penalty cost us the win. I am sorry for that.” Source: BMW Group

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. First podium for #78 Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Arnold Robin, Finn Gehrsitz and Esteban Masson.

First FIA WEC podium for Akkodis ASP Team

Petru Umbrarescu (#87) was P2 on the grid, courtesy of Silver drivers Clemens Schmid qualifying #87 in first row, and Arnold Robin (#78) P5. After the first hour of racing, completing a double stint, the two Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3 bronze drivers were respectively P3 (#87 Umbrarescu) and P5 (#78 Robin).

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Left: #78 Lexus RC F GT3. Right: Arnold Robin (#78), Jose Maria Lopez (#87), Petru Umbrarescu (#87), Clemens Schmid (#87) during track walk.

A first safety car saw the race strategies come into place. The #87 and the #78 adopted different timings by playing on the type of relay (single or double) and the number of laps before refuelling. Thus, Clemens Schmid (#87) took the lead at the 2-hour mark, while Finn Gehrsitz (#78) was P5. The Austrian driver had a lead of more than 18 seconds ahead of his pursuers, then after a single relay, passed the wheel to Petru Umbrarescu.

The leader (#46) received a penalty, allowing Esteban Masson (#78) to lead the category. Only 1h30 left to go. The Frenchman and Jose Maria Lopez (#87) were in charge of this last part of the race, respectively P3 and P4. The end of the race was being fought at the front, but they had to remain vigilant to not spoil their chances. The two Lexus crossed the finish line in that order, claiming the team’s first podium.

Esteban Masson, Arnold Robin and Finn Gehrsitz climbed onto the third step of the podium, just ahead of their teammates, Jose Maria Lopez, Clemens Schmid and Petru Umbrarescu, who also really deserved to get up there.

Fifth place at Imola for 296 LMGT3

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #54

Fifth-place finish for the top-performing Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #54, crewed by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Ferrari official driver Davide Rigon. After contesting the top positions, the sister car, number 21, driven by François Heriau, Simon Mann and fellow Ferrari official driver Alessio Rovera, was forced to retire when it was struck at Rivazza 2 by the #46 BMW – driven by Valentino Rossi – and was sent into the barriers. The crew resumed the race three laps later but ultimately had to retire..

📷© Luc Warnotte at Imola. Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #21.

The #54 car faced a more challenging start. Thomas Flohr lost ground in the opening laps, dropping out of the points zone. Francesco Castellacci recovered to bring the car back into the top ten by the fourth hour before handing it over to Davide Rigon. The Ferrari official driver executed several overtakes to climb through the field and finish fifth, one lap behind the race-winning car. In the championship standings, the number 54 crew now sits eighth with 16 points, while car number 21 is in tenth with 15.

6 Hours of Imola LMGT3 classification