Sturm: Tire Strategy Key to Clinching LMGT3 Title Early

Photo: Drew Gibson/Porsche

Manthey PureRxcing’s tire strategy in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Fuji was a key factor in the Lithuanian-flagged team clinching the inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 title, says Joel Sturm.

Sturm and co-drivers Alex Malykhin and Klaus Bachler rallied from a 14th place class starting position to finish second, to the winning No. 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, which was enough to lock up the championship with one race still to spare.

Malykhin explained that the team’s original plan to do an opening double stint with the same set of tires changed when their engineer opted to give the Belarusian driver a fresh set of Goodyears for his second stint.

“It was enough to protect our position,” Malykhin explained. “Then we got proper luck with the safety car because it pushed us a lot of positions [to] the front.

“I did two hours and 25 minutes [in the car]. It wasn’t planned and it was difficult for my mindset. Our pace didn’t allow me to control our position. I really had to push.

“We had as quick of a pit stop to Joel. It was so critical for our tactic.”

Silver-rated Sturm then completed his first stint on Malykhin’s used set of tires before switching to the car’s qualifying tires, with Bachler double-stinting his rubber to the finish.

“I think the strategy our team did was brilliant,” said Sturm. “It was an odd strategy for sure.

“I think only a few cars did a similar one but I think in the end it was a key point to bring us up the order from P14.

“We did a great job on driving but the strategy was really the key today.

“I think we can thank the team for the job they did.”

When asked by Sportscar365 if they would have imagined to have locked up the title this weekend, given their pace in practice and qualifying, Sturm said: “After the qualifying yesterday I was hoping to maybe get a P5 or a P7 [in the race].”

He added: “For sure clinching the title today was not in my imagination, to be honest. Therefore, I’m really happy that we did it.

“We had a lot of luck, for sure, with the opponents and the strategy. But in the end it was great teamwork.”

Bachler echoed Sturm’s sentiments, in what’s been a dominant season for the trio, who have scored two class wins and only finished off the podium once.

“We knew what we had to do, definitely,” Bachler told Sportscar365. “But to be honest, after qualifying when I saw the pace compared to the others I thought this would be really tricky.

“We knew we would be better in the race because we are consistent. We prepared our car for [the race], much more than quali.

“In the end, this is the key. You need to be consistent in the race. But you don’t know, when you start so far back it’s so difficult to pass other cars.

“But somehow, with our team, it always works out. They make such good strategies, pit stops. The car was so consistent, we mad no mistakes as a driver lineup.

“Today was one of those times where I did not see that this move they did… would work.

“After 10-15 minutes, I saw we weren’t P14 anymore. I think now we are fighting for the podium or P4.

“This was all the team. They did a mega job.”

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