Porsche Sweep to 1-2 in LMGTE Pro; AF Corse Triumph in LMGTE Am
The Porsche GT Team triumphed in the LMGTE Pro class at Silverstone today as the No.91 car of Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz led home stablemates Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre in the No.92 911 RSR.
It was a well-judged debut victory for the new-look Porsche 911 RSR-19 giving Porsche its first victory at Silverstone since 2014.
Bruni and Lietz gained the upper hand in the wet second hour but that was clawed back by their opposition once dry running resumed and the second Safety Car period closed the field up once again.
Aston Martin claimed third position at their home event with the No.97 car of Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin capitalising on a late-race penalty for No.51 AF Corse Ferrari which finished fourth.
The No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo led the race from pole position but was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a puncture. James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi fought back valiantly but were also hit with a further penalty.
The sister Prancing Horse entry of Davide Rigon and Miguel Molina was in contention until the third hour when an on-track altercation with the No.6 Team LNT Ginetta at the ultra-quick Becketts corner ended its race.
The second of the Aston Martin Racing Vantage AMR entries driven by Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen took fifth position in the final classification.
AF Corse take LMGTE Am victory for Ferrari
In LMGTE Am AF Corse made up for some of its LMGTE Pro class disappointment as the No.83 AF Corse entered Ferrari 488 GTE Evo took a well-judged victory.
François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Nicklas Nielsen claimed the win after taking the lead of the ultra-competitive class in the final hour.
For Perrodo and Collard it was a repeat of their 2016 win at Silverstone, while Nielsen took a debut victory after making the move of the race with a courageous pass on Ben Barker’s Gulf Racing Porsche around the outside of Stowe Corner.
Their victory was largely thanks not only to Nielsen’s skill but also the wet weather experience of Collard who ensured that the team took a comfortable win despite having to complete a Drive Through Penalty after being judged not to have slowed sufficiently when a Full Course Yellow period was announced.
The No.98 Aston Martin Racing entry of Paul Dalla Lana, Darren Turner and Ross Gunn claimed second position ahead of the MR Racing Ferrari of Olivier Beretta, Motoaki Ishikawa and Kei Cozzolino.
Home heroes Gulf Racing looked set for a runners-up position until the final minutes of the race but were forced to pit ensuring they slipped down to fourth place.
Final race results can be found HERE.
LMGTE Am sees sensational racing throughout the race but #83 @AFCorse takes the victory for Nicklas Nielsen, Emmanuel Collard and Francois Perrodo! 🥇#4hSilverstone #WEC pic.twitter.com/2NCnJnzZ6k
— WEC (@FIAWEC) September 1, 2019
