GR, Project 1 Pondering Next Steps as Porsche Picks Manthey

GR Racing and Team Project 1 are pondering the next steps for their GT programs after Porsche chose Manthey to run its LMGT3 entries in next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.

The German manufacturer announced in July that Manthey, which previously ran Porsche’s factory GTE-Pro program, will return to the WEC after one season away to field two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs in the first year of GT3’s eligibility, held to a Pro-Am format.

While Proton Competition has aligned with Ford, the news left the two other long-time Porsche GTE-Am customer teams without an obvious option to stay in the series.

U.K.-based GR Racing is uncertain about what it will do but is known to have spoken with teams running cars from other manufacturers, while Project 1 looks set to leave the WEC after five seasons.

GR team principal Owen Daley told Sportscar365 that Porsche’s move to select Manthey “wasn’t the news we wanted to hear” after his team hoped to remain on the WEC grid.

The team has been a regular in GTE-Am since 2016 and this year finished third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ben Barker, Riccardo Pera and Bronze driver Mike Wainwright.

A contributing factor in GR Racing’s recent upturn in form has been its enrolment of Manthey engineering support.

“We want to race with Porsche,” said Daley, who along with Wainwright has a strong affinity with Porsche including a workshop of classic models.

“But not only is that impossible to do in WEC due to them choosing Manthey, but now it seems due to issues with manufacturing we currently can’t even get a car to commit to do any other championship.

“Further, due to the late notification of such, we have missed the opportunity to get a deal with an alternative manufacturer, like TF and Proton smartly did earlier in the year.

“So next year, to do WEC, we would have to partner with a team that has already had the blessing of a manufacturer for the entry or, of course, buy a Hypercar as seemingly there isn’t a restriction on the entries for that.”

Sportscar365 understands that it currently isn’t possible for GR Racing to form part of one of the Manthey crews.

A Manthey spokesperson told Sportscar365 that it will operate both Porsche 911 GT3 Rs, but the names of the entries and the driver lineups will be announced later.

Project 1 “Appreciate a Clear Decision” on LMGT3

Project 1 team principal Axel Funke, meanwhile, indicated that the German squad is likely to leave the WEC following Porsche’s decision to go with Manthey for LMGT3.

The team made its WEC debut in 2018-19 and won Le Mans during that title-winning season with Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Lindsey and Egidio Perfetti.

Aside from its GTE-Am program with the Porsche 911 RSR-19, Project 1 operates two BMW M4 GT3s in the DTM and is the technical partner of the BMW M2 Cup.

However, the BMW entries in LMGT3 are set to be run by the brand’s factory Hypercar partner Team WRT.

“I appreciate a clear decision from Porsche and respect their way of dealing with this tricky situation,” said Funke.

“I think for them it was the easiest and fairest way to do it, as with such a limited number of cars they would have struggled anyway to please all.

“We had six good years – five good seasons – wins [and] titles in the FIA WEC and can say that we had a good time and thank [the championship] and Porsche for the opportunity they gave us and accompanied us on this path.

“Obviously we would have loved to continue but also we haven’t built our company on this championship only, as we have sufficient work on the other projects.

“And I am sure that Project 1’s CEO will keep his good, more than 30-year, relationship with Porsche even after.”