Porsche Team Manthey Goes 1-2 in GTE-Pro at Nürburgring

Photo: John Dagys

Porsche claimed a clean sweep Sunday at the Nürburgring, with the German manufacturer also scoring a 1-2 finish in GTE-Pro.

Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen gave Porsche Team Manthey its first class win since Shanghai of last year, following a strong run in the production-based ranks.

Lietz took a one-lap win over the sister No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, after the Frenchman was forced to serve a late-race penalty for an early incident by co-driver Fred Makowiecki.

Makowiecki made contact with the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia of James Calado while battling for second in the third hour, resulting in bodywork damage to the Prancing Horse.

The Ferrari, however, rebounded to finish third in class.

Calado and AF Corse co-driver Davide Rigon flew the flag for the Italian manufacturer, following electrical issues that saw the class pole-sitting No. 51 entry of Gianmaria Bruni stop on track on lap 15.

While Bruni managed to rejoin, he and co-driver Toni Vilander could only muster an seventh place result, and as a result, losing the championship lead to their teammates.

The trio of Aston Martin Vantage V8s struggled in the race, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth in class.

SMP Racing took top class honors in GTE-Am, with Andrea Bertolini, Victor Shaytar and Aleksey Basov going back-to-back following their Le Mans triumph.

Shaytar took his No. 72 Ferrari to a one-lap win over the No. 98 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Mathias Lauda, who had held the lead until the final round of pit stops when Lauda briefly stopped on track.

The No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari was third, denying Dempsey Proton Racing a podium finish after Patrick Long’s early class lead and a career drive by Patrick Dempsey, in his first race on the famed German circuit.

Dempsey, Long and Marco Seefried settled for a fourth-place result.

RESULTS: Six Hours of Nürburgring

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John