First Customer Porsche Podium a “Mega Result” for Proton

Harry Tincknell described Proton Competition’s third place at Motul Petit Le Mans as a “mega result” as the German squad took the first podium for a customer Porsche 963.

Tincknell, Neel Jani and Gianmaria Bruni beat the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport entries in Saturday’s ten-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale, finishing behind the Meyer Shank Racing Acura squad and Cadillac.

It marked Proton’s best result in either GTP or the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class to date in the fifth race outing for its Porsche LMDh car.

The No. 59 crew contended with a disrupted build-up to Petit as they worked through various issues and setup adjustments in the first practice session, followed by a dislodged wheel that cost significant time in night practice.

“Super happy for the team,” Tincknell told Sportscar365 after his finishing stint.

“From where we’ve begun, halfway through the year… and we’ve barely done any testing. The weekend started with us not driving much. Gimmi and I did 20 laps before the race.

“We tried the three-wheel setup and that wasn’t any good!

“It’s a mega result. To be the first customer 963 podium and to be quicker than the factory cars, it was great. It got a bit dicey out there at times, but I think we rode the luck well.

“We showed in the day that we could come up through the field and be up there on pace.

“Of course, at the end, it was a complete crapshoot with everything going on. But we put ourselves into a position to be lucky, and we were lucky.”

Tincknell added that he, Bruni and Jani went into the race with “no idea where we were” in terms of vehicle setup for the 2.54-mile Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Additionally, Jani had to start from the back of the ten-car GTD class because Proton was sent there after working on its car’s tire pressures during qualifying.

The No. 59 Porsche climbed into the top three during the fourth hour when Tincknell overtook Philipp Eng, Tijmen van der Helm and Ricky Taylor in quick succession.

Proton remained on the lead lap through Bruni and Jani’s subsequent stints before Tincknell returned to the cockpit with just over an hour and a half remaining.

The British driver gained five spots when Proton kept him out during the round of pit stops held under the caution period after the accident for Filipe Albuquerque.

“He was saving fuel, so the team decided to stay out instead of pitting,” Bruni told Sportscar365.

“It was the right call. It wasn’t a gamble because we had enough fuel [to reach the end without another stop] but it was a good strategy just before by saving fuel.”

The drivers saw the Petit Le Mans podium as a boost for the Proton team after some challenging early races for its new top-level prototype program.

Proton has one more race with its other Porsche 963 this year in the WEC season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain.

“I think it’s a nice reward for Proton, Chris [Ried, team owner] and his brother, for the investment they do and everything,” reflected Jani.

Tincknell added: “And for all the boys and girls. They’ve done so many all-nighters, not only at the factory but at the track.

“To see the big smiles on their faces was a nice feeling getting out of that car.

“The important thing is that we build on this now for next year, taking this momentum into Bahrain and testing for next year.”

Proton’s podium beat the previous-best result for a customer Porsche 963 which was a pair of back-to-back fourth places that JDC-Miller Motorsports took at the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park earlier in the GTP season.