Proton ‘Standing Taller’ After Petit Le Mans Podium

Harry Tincknell said Proton Competition received a significant morale boost from securing a podium finish at Motul Petit Le Mans and is hoping to carry that momentum over to 8 Hours of Bahrain this weekend.

Tincknell, along with co-drivers Gianmaria Bruni and Neel Jani, finished third overall in last month’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale.

It marked the first time a customer Porsche 963 took a podium finish, while it also gave the Christian Ried-led squad a landmark result in its first season with the Multimatic-chassised machine.

Tincknell said the result at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta boosted the team’s spirits, adding he’s been seeing a significant upward curve since the program came online at the 6 Hours of Monza in July.

“I think we were, even from Monza, really happy with our initial performance,” he said.

“We were literally straight out in Free Practice 1, no testing or anything like that. So I think the fact that we were actually competing in the top four or five and even led the race for a few laps was far beyond our expectations.

“Fuji as well, we came up through the field in the first couple of stints. We hadn’t, up to that point, had a result with a few little niggles and things like that.

“So Petit Le Mans was definitely a huge moment for the team. I think everyone is standing a couple of inches taller coming into this race, [getting] that first podium for a customer car.

“To legitimately be there as well, I think that’s the important thing. It wasn’t like it was a luck thing or anything like that. When the time came in the race to pump in the laps, we had the pace to hold our own up the front. So I think it’s a huge step forward.”

Tincknell insisted the German squad is ‘punching above its weight’ compared to the factory teams that make up the majority of the Hypercar class in WEC this season.

“It’s amazing sitting here listening to everyone talking about, ‘Oh, we haven’t tested at this track,'” he said.

“Our testing really is straight into FP1. I think that’s a fact that shouldn’t be forgotten about. I think we are punching above our weight a lot.

“We’ve got some upgrades this weekend on the software side, which hopefully should be able to progress us forward again. So it’s definitely exciting times.”

While Proton has been coming to grips with the 963, the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport team has also seen something of a positive swing of momentum with back-to-back WeatherTech Championship victories at Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a hard-fought third place in the 6 Hours of Fuji.

Tincknell said the strong results from the works squad acts to further strengthen Proton’s resolve as it climbs the learning curve with the car.

“I think even in Road America, as well, in the IMSA series, seeing these guys win was definitely good for morale,” he said.

“We know the package is there. We know it’s good enough. We just need more time. Like I say, it’s so difficult when you’re just coming straight into FP1 on a weekend.

“We just keep progressing every single race. We did two days [testing] before Petit. I think we learned a lot there and every single race, we’re just getting stronger and stronger. So that’s fantastic.

“Hopefully, we can take another step forward this weekend with some upgrades to the package. It was just nice to see everyone so buzzing after Petit.

“Everyone has worked so many hours, so many all-nighters. We’re a small team, but the team that Christian’s put together is full of experts and I think we can continue to legitimately run up the front on pace.”