Sturm, Bachler Credit Malykhin for Historic LMGT3 Win

Joel Sturm said Manthey PureRxcing’s historic first victory in the new LMGT3 category in the FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar “wouldn’t have been possible” without Alex Malykhin’s performance in the opening stages of the race.

Sturm, together with co-driver Klaus Bachler, praised Bronze-rated Malykhin following the team’s class win in the Qatar 1812km, which was the first race for the new category in the championship after it replaced GTE-Am.

The No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R beat the No. 27 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas in Saturday’s race at Lusail International Circuit after starting the race from second on the grid.

A strong opening stint from Malykhin saw the Lithuanian-flagged Porsche overtake the pole-sitting No. 81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Tom van Rompuy prior to the first stops before building an advantage that stretched to as much as 20 seconds with two hours to go.

That laid the groundwork for a race in which the Porsche crew was able to resist pressure from the chasing Aston Martins to win, with Sturm quick to praise Malykhin afterwards.

“We tried to do as quick times as we could but for sure it was really tough,” Sturm said.

“I just tried to build a gap just to keep it and just have a bit of an easier race for the end, but without Alex driving in the beginning for sure it wouldn’t have been possible.

“A really great job from him. I’m just really happy to win on my debut.”

Sturm’s comments were echoed by Platinum-rated Bachler, who pointed to Malykhin’s opening-hour pass on Van Rompuy as a key moment.

“It was a very long day, but it was a fantastic result for us,” said Bachler.

“To sum it up, it was clear that it helped what Alex did at the beginning. I knew it before but he’s really strong for his category.

“It’s incredible, he’s working so hard. Everybody saw how he prepared to pass the Corvette in Turn 4.

“I’m happy to be here with these two guys and also with the team. We prepared ourselves already in the winter in the Asian Le Mans Series. We already drove together last year, so we know each other very well.”

Malykhin, for his part, directed some credit back in the direction of his co-drivers, thanking them for their guidance and coaching.

“Klaus and Joel helped me in the background always,” he said.

“After each session, they gave me good advice and we worked with data together. Because, of course, my teammates have more pace and more experience.

“If you see good lap from me, for example, this is a job from Klaus and Joel as well.”

In the end, only 4.866 seconds separated Bachler’s No. 92 Porsche from the No. 27 Aston Martin at the finish as Riberas closed in.

“I think the key for the success today was that we stayed out of trouble,” Bachler reflected.

“We did not get penalties. We were close with track limits once to get a penalty, but we did not get it. Many other cars got penalties for track limits.

“We just did our best. It was not easy out there with all the traffic. It’s cool racing but you also need to focus a lot, especially for our class.

“When the Hypercars are coming from behind, especially in the night it’s really difficult to see how far they are back with their lights.

“I had also a moment in the last hour where one Hypercar dived into a corner and I saw it really late, I opened and there was so much gravel that I went straight.

“It was Turn 14 so we lost four or five seconds with this and the gap to the Aston Martin behind was not so much.

“So it was as I said a challenging race but I’m really happy and proud what we achieved today and I’m looking forward to the next races.

“It’s a long way to go but it’s the best start you can imagine.”

Jamie Klein & John Dagys contributed to this report