PorschePorsche and Richard Lietz Triumph in GTE
2015 has been a very good year for Porsche as the Stuttgart based sportscar manufacturer cleaned up GTE claiming the World Endurance Cups for Manufacturers and Drivers as well as the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams to add to LMP1 the Driver and Manufacturers World titles.
While the LMP1 Manufacturers title was decided in China, the GT title was a much harder affair as Porsche trailed three time champions Ferrari by four points going into the final race of the year in Bahrain. A drama filled race saw the no92 Porsche of Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet take their first win of the 2015 season and Richard Lietz, with the support of Michael Christensen, take the World Endurance Cup for Drivers for the first time by finishing 5th in the Middle East.
Leitz and Christensen scored three victories in 2015 in Germany, Texas and China but the Dane missed the race in Belgium as he was on duty in the United States and so finished the season with 18 fewer points than his Austrian teammate. Richard Lietz finished on 145 points, 13.5 ahead of outgoing champions Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander, the Ferrari duo finishing the season as Vice Champions.
Porsche finished 2015 on 290 points, just four points ahead of Ferrari on 286, with Aston Martin a distant 3rd on 192 points. The German manufacturer claimed two 1-2 finishes in Germany and the United States and had the two 911s on the podium on two other occasions with a 1-3 finish in China and a 2-3 in Belgium. All of the pole positions went to Aston Martin or Ferrari with a even split between the two manufacturers.
The 2015 season started fairly well for Richard Leitz when he and Michael Christensen finished 2nd in the opening race of the year at Silverstone, but it was a disappointing 7th place for Fred Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet after the car suffered a suspension issue.
At Spa-Francorchamps Richard Lietz switched to the no92 911 to partner Fred Makowiecki as Kevin Estre and Sven Müller made their WEC debuts in the no91 Porsche. The dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans resulted in a double podium for Porsche behind the winning no99 Aston Martin, with Lietz and Makowiecki collecting 18 points for second.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans was probably the low point of Porsche’s 2015 GTE season. While their LMP1 colleagues were celebrating a famous victory, Porsche Team Manthey were left with a 7th place finish for Leitz, Christensen and Jorg Bergmeister, while the no91 car caught fire and failed to finish the race as a result.
However Porsche bounced back at home at the Nürburgring with a 1-2 finish in front of a large German crowd and then followed it up with another crushing performance at the Circuit of The Americas a few weeks later to get their championship aspirations back on track.
In Japan the heavy rainfall and tricky track conditions saw a four way fight in LMGTE Pro between the two AF Corse Ferraris and the two Porsche Team Manthey 911s. At the end of a gruelling 6-hours the Ferraris proved to be the best finishing 1st and 3rd with the no92 Porsche of Makowiecki and Pilet finishing 2nd and the no91 car of Lietz and Christensen finishing 4th.
The Austrian-Danish duo however bounced back in China to claim their third win of 2015 ahead of the Bruni-Vilander Ferrari and Lietz headed into the final race of the season with a 20 point advantage over Davide Rigon and James Calado in the no71 Ferrari and knowing he only had to finish the race to be crowned Driver’s Champion. However the dilemma for the Porsche team was the fact the manufacturer was 4 points behind Ferrari and needed both their cars to finish well to secure the Manufacturers GT World Endurance Cup for the first time.
Makowiecki and Pilet took the battle to the Ferraris from the start but Lietz and Christensen seemed to be struggling to get on terms with the F458s. However halfway through the race the pressure was relieved as the no71 Ferrari had a collision with an LMP2 competitor and then later lost a wheel following a pitstop and the car had to limp back to the pits for a replacement. With the no71 out of contention for a podium finish Lietz and Christensen just need to finish the 6 Hours of Bahrain, which they duly did with Richard Lietz taking the chequered flag to claim the title for himself and Porsche for the first time.
The LMGTE Pro Team’s title went to the no91 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR, which finished the season on 154 points, 5 points ahead of the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia.
Richard Lietz: “It wasn’t just a thrilling race in Bahrain, the whole week was full-on. Many thought, because of my points’ lead, I could just coast along and bring home the title. But the race was six hours of pressure; a nonstop fight against cars in all classes. After all, championship titles were at stake for many and therefore they didn’t hold back. Our strategy worked. Patrick and Fred went for victory in their 911 RSR, we erred on the side of caution. Porsche did everything right and I’m proud to be part of this team.
“Only when the environment is right, can everyone give their best towards success. With the guys at Porsche Team Manthey you can really get where you want to go, every single one of them knows what has to be done. You can only win such a title when you have a strong team behind you, and that they want success as much as you do. As much as I am thrilled to win the drivers' title it is a shame Michael can not share it with me. Although the statistics say otherwise – my feeling says that I’ve won the title together with Michael.”
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “We fought hard and gave our utmost. And we were rewarded for this with three titles. Richard Lietz is a worthy champion, and the team definitely deserves the title, too. Ultimately, our strong catch-up campaign after Le Mans with four victories tipped the scales for us. We never gave up and we deserved to win. Right to the end, we benefitted from our consistency. Our pit stops were perfect, the drivers didn’t make any mistakes. The WEC is a fantastic arena for an automobile manufacturer. The fight against Ferrari was incredibly gripping – for fans it couldn’t have been better.”
2015 has been a very good year for Porsche as the Stuttgart based sportscar manufacturer cleaned up GTE claiming the World Endurance Cups for Manufacturers and Drivers as well as the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams to add to LMP1 the Driver and Manufacturers World titles.
While the LMP1 Manufacturers title was decided in China, the GT title was a much harder affair as Porsche trailed three time champions Ferrari by four points going into the final race of the year in Bahrain. A drama filled race saw the no92 Porsche of Frederic Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet take their first win of the 2015 season and Richard Lietz, with the support of Michael Christensen, take the World Endurance Cup for Drivers for the first time by finishing 5th in the Middle East.
Leitz and Christensen scored three victories in 2015 in Germany, Texas and China but the Dane missed the race in Belgium as he was on duty in the United States and so finished the season with 18 fewer points than his Austrian teammate. Richard Lietz finished on 145 points, 13.5 ahead of outgoing champions Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander, the Ferrari duo finishing the season as Vice Champions.
Porsche finished 2015 on 290 points, just four points ahead of Ferrari on 286, with Aston Martin a distant 3rd on 192 points. The German manufacturer claimed two 1-2 finishes in Germany and the United States and had the two 911s on the podium on two other occasions with a 1-3 finish in China and a 2-3 in Belgium. All of the pole positions went to Aston Martin or Ferrari with a even split between the two manufacturers.
The 2015 season started fairly well for Richard Leitz when he and Michael Christensen finished 2nd in the opening race of the year at Silverstone, but it was a disappointing 7th place for Fred Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet after the car suffered a suspension issue.
At Spa-Francorchamps Richard Lietz switched to the no92 911 to partner Fred Makowiecki as Kevin Estre and Sven Müller made their WEC debuts in the no91 Porsche. The dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans resulted in a double podium for Porsche behind the winning no99 Aston Martin, with Lietz and Makowiecki collecting 18 points for second.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans was probably the low point of Porsche’s 2015 GTE season. While their LMP1 colleagues were celebrating a famous victory, Porsche Team Manthey were left with a 7th place finish for Leitz, Christensen and Jorg Bergmeister, while the no91 car caught fire and failed to finish the race as a result.
However Porsche bounced back at home at the Nürburgring with a 1-2 finish in front of a large German crowd and then followed it up with another crushing performance at the Circuit of The Americas a few weeks later to get their championship aspirations back on track.
In Japan the heavy rainfall and tricky track conditions saw a four way fight in LMGTE Pro between the two AF Corse Ferraris and the two Porsche Team Manthey 911s. At the end of a gruelling 6-hours the Ferraris proved to be the best finishing 1st and 3rd with the no92 Porsche of Makowiecki and Pilet finishing 2nd and the no91 car of Lietz and Christensen finishing 4th.
The Austrian-Danish duo however bounced back in China to claim their third win of 2015 ahead of the Bruni-Vilander Ferrari and Lietz headed into the final race of the season with a 20 point advantage over Davide Rigon and James Calado in the no71 Ferrari and knowing he only had to finish the race to be crowned Driver’s Champion. However the dilemma for the Porsche team was the fact the manufacturer was 4 points behind Ferrari and needed both their cars to finish well to secure the Manufacturers GT World Endurance Cup for the first time.
Makowiecki and Pilet took the battle to the Ferraris from the start but Lietz and Christensen seemed to be struggling to get on terms with the F458s. However halfway through the race the pressure was relieved as the no71 Ferrari had a collision with an LMP2 competitor and then later lost a wheel following a pitstop and the car had to limp back to the pits for a replacement. With the no71 out of contention for a podium finish Lietz and Christensen just need to finish the 6 Hours of Bahrain, which they duly did with Richard Lietz taking the chequered flag to claim the title for himself and Porsche for the first time.
The LMGTE Pro Team’s title went to the no91 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR, which finished the season on 154 points, 5 points ahead of the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia.
Richard Lietz: “It wasn’t just a thrilling race in Bahrain, the whole week was full-on. Many thought, because of my points’ lead, I could just coast along and bring home the title. But the race was six hours of pressure; a nonstop fight against cars in all classes. After all, championship titles were at stake for many and therefore they didn’t hold back. Our strategy worked. Patrick and Fred went for victory in their 911 RSR, we erred on the side of caution. Porsche did everything right and I’m proud to be part of this team.
“Only when the environment is right, can everyone give their best towards success. With the guys at Porsche Team Manthey you can really get where you want to go, every single one of them knows what has to be done. You can only win such a title when you have a strong team behind you, and that they want success as much as you do. As much as I am thrilled to win the drivers' title it is a shame Michael can not share it with me. Although the statistics say otherwise – my feeling says that I’ve won the title together with Michael.”
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “We fought hard and gave our utmost. And we were rewarded for this with three titles. Richard Lietz is a worthy champion, and the team definitely deserves the title, too. Ultimately, our strong catch-up campaign after Le Mans with four victories tipped the scales for us. We never gave up and we deserved to win. Right to the end, we benefitted from our consistency. Our pit stops were perfect, the drivers didn’t make any mistakes. The WEC is a fantastic arena for an automobile manufacturer. The fight against Ferrari was incredibly gripping – for fans it couldn’t have been better.”
