With air temperatures at 29 degrees Celsius and 40-degree track temperatures, both factory Porsche 963 cars struggled for grip in the fading light at the Bahrain International Circuit, hampering their attempt at securing top starting positions. Kévin Estre was knocked out of qualifying with 18th, while his teammate Julien Andlauer achieved a top ten time to secure a place in Hyperpole, ultimately finishing eighth in the shootout. Porsche still has a chance to win the manufacturers’ championship in tomorrow’s finale, with Estre and Laurens Vanthoor aiming to defend their drivers’ title. The customer Porsche 963 from Proton Competition will start from position 17.
‟Our number 5 car was able to realise the full potential of the Porsche 963 today – Julien did a fantastic job,” explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. ‟Unfortunately, Kévin locked up his brakes on his first flying lap and was unable to make up ground afterwards. I’m confident that our two hybrid prototypes will perform better in the race. We also started from far behind at Le Mans and Fuji yet still achieved top results.”
LMGT3 Class: disappointing qualifying for both Porsche 911 GT3 R
In the LMGT3 class, both Porsche 911 GT3 R cars campaigned by Manthey were unable to match the pace of the leading teams. American Ryan Hardwick wrapped up the session in 17th at the wheel of the championship-leading Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche, while France’s Célia Martin posted 18th in Iron Dames’s 911 GT3 R.
The eighth and final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) marks the 50th race for the Porsche 963, the most successful LMDh hybrid prototype. The eight-hour race gets the green flag on Saturday, 8 November at 2pm local time (midday CET).
Driver comments after the qualifying
Julien Andlauer (Porsche 963 #5): ‟It was always clear to us that we wouldn’t be able to match the pace of the front-runners over a single fast lap. With that in mind, I’m satisfied with the qualifying result. One or two tenths of a second might still have been possible with a flawless run. I’m confident we’ll look stronger in the race.”
Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): ‟Another disappointing qualifying session for us after Fuji – what a shame. On my first run, the wheels locked as I braked for the first corner. After that, I eased off and took it easy on the tyres, but on my next attempt there wasn’t enough grip. Hopefully, we can fight our way back in the race.”
Célia Martin (Porsche 911 GT3 R #85): ‟Qualifying has been a challenge for us all season, and that was especially true today. The temperatures were significantly lower during the session compared to free practice at midday – which probably explains why our Porsche felt so different. I’m curious to see what insights the data will reveal. Fortunately, we have the strong Manthey team behind us, and we’re determined to turn the tide in the race.”
Ryan Hardwick (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): ‟I’m disappointed with my worst qualifying performance of the season. The track is great fun, but we still can’t quite optimise the Porsche’s setup for the hard tyres. Unfortunately, we’ll be starting behind our championship rivals, so there’s a lot of work ahead of us.”
Qualifying result
Hypercar class:
1. Conway/Kobayashi/de Vries (GBR/JPN/NLD), Toyota #7, 1:46.826 minutes
2. Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa (CHE/NZL/JPN), Toyota #8, 1:46.977 minutes
3. Duval/Jakobsen/Pourchaire (FRA/DNK/FRA), Peugeot #94, 1:47.166 minutes
8. Andlauer/Heinrich/Jaminet (FRA/DEU/FRA), Porsche 963 #5, 1:47.870 minutes
17. Jani/Pino/Varrone (CHE/CHL/ARG), Porsche 963 #99, 1:48.914 minutes
18. Campbell/Estre/Vanthoor (AUS/FRA/BEL), Porsche 963 #6, 1:49.157 minutes
LMGT3 class:
1. Robin/Gehrsitz/Barnicoat (FRA/DEU/GBR), Lexus #78, 2:01.661 minutes
2. Gilbert/Hanafin/Rueda (GBR/GBR/ESP), Mercedes-AMG #60, 2:01.987 minutes
3. Berry/Hodenius/Martin (AUS/NLD/BEL), Mercedes-AMG #61, 2:02.017 minutes
17. Hardwick/Lietz/Pera (USA/AUT/ITA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, 2:04.520 minutes
18. Frey/Gatting/Martin (CHE/DNK/FRA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #85, 2:04.992 minutes
