Manthey: “Positive Pressure” to Extend Le Mans Win Streak

Manthey director of racing Patrick Arkenau said the Porsche squad is feeling “positive pressure” to achieve a fourth consecutive victory as “we have something to lose” after winning on its three previous appearances in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The team is undefeated in the LMGT3 era at the Circuit de la Sarthe, having topped the division in each of the past two years, while it also triumphed in the final year of the GTE Pro category in 2022 before sitting out the subsequent edition when GTE-Am was the only GT class.

Manthey is now seeking another success with its pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R Evos, which are the German manufacturer’s only presence on this year’s grid at a time when it is celebrating 75 years since the brand’s first Le Mans entry.

The LMGT3 cars are sporting a special silver livery in tribute to the Porsche 356 SL Coupe’s class victory in 1951 and Arkenau admits there is “definitely more pressure” to maintain Manthey’s winning streak.

“Other people only have something to win — we have something to win and something to lose,” he told Sportscar365.

“But I would not say it’s a bad feeling. It’s a great feeling having that backwind and just using it.

“For sure it’s also some extra weight you carry on your own shoulders but the ballast we’re carrying is made by ourselves.

“It’s our own expectations but we definitely like the positive pressure and we hope for a great race, a great fight and hopefully we’re fortunate enough to be on top again.”

However, Arkenau said it will be “very difficult” to score another victory as “the field looks even closer compared to previous years.”

That challenge was further underlined by a mixed pair of Hyperpole sessions on Thursday evening.

While the No. 91 Porsche will start ninth, the sister No. 92 machine that has been victorious the past two years failed to progress out of the first segment and will therefore begin the race 15th.

“When you win, it’s always something special but it’s even better when you know you fought very hard against very good competition and you’ve been the one doing the best job and this is what we’ve been trying to do,” added Arkenau.

He pinpointed one of the factors behind Manthey’s Le Mans success as maintaining a consistent lineup among its engineering staff.

“In all the key positions, everyone is in the same position since we started LMGT3 at the end of 2023 when we had the first tests,” he explained.

“The engineers never changed, especially the race engineers, they’ve always been the same.

“Most of the other key personnel — chief mechanic, crew chief, team manager — it’s the same group of people and they’re all fixed employed at Manthey, there’s no freelance engineers or people that just come together at the race track.

“They’re all part of our DNA, they’re part of our daily life, we work together on the track but also off the track.

“We’re learning every day, nearly every week we’re on the race track and we get all that information together.

“We always keep learning, we always keep digging and I think this is what makes it very unique and very special to have a group always together.”

Porsche Stalwart Lietz Aiming For Seventh Le Mans Triumph

Another constant factor among those previous three Manthey victories is Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz.

The Austrian is aiming for a seventh Le Mans class win within the GT ranks this year as he will pilot the No. 92 Porsche alongside fellow 2025 winner Riccardo Pera and Lietz’s triumphant 2024 co-driver Yasser Shahin.

“First of all, it helps if you are here 20 times!” said Lietz when asked by Sportscar365 about the keys to his Le Mans success.

“Le Mans is a special place — it feels like coming home. I really like it, I’m happy here and maybe that helps. Also 20 times with Porsche and obviously they build good cars.

“To win a race like this you need to be in the right car in the right year with the right team with the right teammates, you have to be lucky, so many little things have to come together.

“We’ve prepared for the biggest race of the year with all the details we know and are capable of, but it’s not going to be easy.”