Porsche Secures Third in Manufacturers' Championship as Manthey 1st Phorm Claims GT3 Title
- Porsche Blog
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Porsche celebrated a strong finish to the season, securing third place in the manufacturers' championship. While the factory team's 963 prototypes faced challenges in the final race, customer outfit Manthey 1st Phorm triumphed, clinching the FIA Endurance Trophy title in the LMGT3 category for the second consecutive year. The drivers' crown in LMGT3 also went to Manthey's Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, and Ryan Hardwick.
Key Takeaways
Manthey 1st Phorm successfully defended its FIA Endurance Trophy title in the LMGT3 category.
Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, and Ryan Hardwick secured the LMGT3 drivers' crown.
Porsche finished third in the overall manufacturers' championship.
The Porsche 963 LMDh program concludes its FIA WEC tenure with a strong track record.
A Challenging Finale for the Porsche 963
The Porsche 963 factory team concluded its FIA World Endurance Championship campaign without a podium finish in Bahrain. After a difficult qualifying session, the two 963 prototypes finished 13th and 14th overall, with the customer Proton Competition entry taking 17th. Despite the race result, Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach expressed pride in the team's achievements over the past three years, highlighting race wins, a drivers' title in 2024, and a near overall victory at Le Mans.
"Looking back over the past three years fills us with pride," stated Laudenbach. "Our Porsche 963 has also set the benchmark for LMDh race cars in the FIA WEC."
Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, thanked the entire team, including partners like Penske and Multimatic, for their support. Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport, acknowledged the challenging nature of the final race but reflected positively on the successful period.
Manthey 1st Phorm Dominates LMGT3
In the highly competitive LMGT3 category, the Manthey 1st Phorm team delivered a stellar performance to secure the championship. Drivers Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, and Ryan Hardwick piloted their Porsche 911 GT3 R to fourth place in the race, a result that was enough to clinch the FIA Endurance Trophy. This marks Manthey's second consecutive championship title in the LMGT3 class and follows their second consecutive class victory at Le Mans earlier in the year.
"This success story in the LMGT3 category is hard to beat," commented Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. "The teams at Manthey... can be proud of the foundation they have built."
The Iron Dames squad, also racing a Manthey-prepared 911 GT3 R, finished 12th after an impressive comeback drive.
Driver Reactions
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #5): "Unfortunately, we lacked the necessary pace during the race to achieve more. The entire team deserved better for our farewell.
Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): "Unfortunately, it didn’t pay off. Instead of fighting for the world championship, we lost second place in the championship to Toyota."
Riccardo Pera (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): "Unbelievable – a dream has come true! My heartfelt thanks go to the Manthey team and my fellow drivers."
Michelle Gatting (Porsche 911 GT3 R #85): "Today’s race reflects the entire season – once again, everything went against us. Congratulations to our colleagues in the sister car: a fantastic and well-deserved title victory!"
Race Results Summary
Hypercar Class:
LMGT3 Class:
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