Vanthoor: Porsche in “Pretty Straightforward” Points Spot

Porsche Penske Motorsport needs to “continue to do what we’ve been doing” to maintain its lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar standings according to Laurens Vanthoor, who said the No. 6 crew is in a “pretty straightforward” position with three races to go.

Vanthoor and co-drivers Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer hold a 19-point lead over the No. 50 Ferrari 499P heading into this weekend’s six-hour Lone Star Le Mans race at Circuit of The Americas.

The No. 6 Porsche 963 opened the season with victory in the Qatar 1812km in March and is the only Hypercar entry to have secured a top-five finish at every race.

This includes podiums in Imola, Spa-Francorchamps and Sao Paulo as well as a fourth-place finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Vanthoor believes maintaining the team’s consistent performances could be the key to title success, noting that there’s ‘nothing we need to drastically improve’ in the remaining events.

“In that aspect it’s actually pretty straightforward and keeps the pressure low,” Vanthoor told Sportscar365.

“It’s like we just need to continue to do what we’ve been doing, that’s been [being] consistent, that’s been executing the races.

“And we’ve been good at that, so there’s nothing that we need to change or drastically improve.

“That’s easier said than done, obviously, but that’s positive. I think it’s also been our strength this year and we just need to continue that.”

Vanthoor admitted that the team’s ability to seemingly go from strength to strength even amazed him at times, praising his team for their mistake-free approach.

“I’m surprised sometimes as well, because we had some setbacks in some races and we always managed to come back in the end,” he said.

“I think, obviously, pace is always a helpful part of it. Strategy and making no mistakes in those parts helps a lot. And I think it’s what our guys have been doing.”

Vanthoor thinks the team should focus on extending its championship lead as much as possible for the final races in Fuji and Bahrain, although he recognizes that the points situation could change on a whim.

“We have a healthy lead, but it can also be gone [in one] weekend if things turn out very bad,” he said.

“But for sure, being able to extend that even a little bit going into the last two month will only make it more comfortable.

“But in the end, this is now asking a lot, I think. In the end, if we win a Bahrain with half a point ahead of the Ferrari, that’s enough.

“You always want it to be less stressful, but it’s wishful thinking”

24H Zolder Outing “A Little Warmup” Ahead of COTA Race

While this weekend’s race at COTA will mark the first time Vanthoor has raced the Porsche 963 since July, he competed at the wheel of a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup at last weekend’s 24 Hours of Zolder.

The Belgian finished fifth overall alongside fellow Porsche factory driver Ayhancan Guven, TF Sport LMGT3 driver Tom van Rompuy and his father Dirk.

Vanthoor described the experience, his first race at the wheel of Porsche’s single-make offering, as “a little warmup” before the WEC’s resumption and expects no trouble moving back into the Multimatic-chassised LMDh car.