WEC Co-Drivers Estre, Vanthoor Excited for 24H Spa Link Up

FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar co-drivers Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor are looking forward to carrying their partnership over to Manthey EMA’s entry at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

Manthey and its Australian partner EMA Motorsport are contesting this weekend’s 75th edition of the Belgian endurance classic with a Porsche 911 GT3 R shared by the factory lineup of Estre, Vanthoor and Julien Andlauer.

It will be Manthey’s second Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli appearance this year after it finished second at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour with Porsche GTP co-drivers Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet teaming up with Thomas Preining.

Estre and Vanthoor, who recently did the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the WEC season, expressed excitement at adding a GT3 race to their program together this year.

“It’s cool to do it with Kevin,” Vanthoor told Sportscar365.

“I’ve done loads of races with him by now, so it makes it easier. I also know Manthey very well. Julien is pretty new but he’s a young, quick guy.

“It should be a good race, with a good team and good teammates.”

Estre added: “It’s going to be the first time I’ve driven with Julien as a teammate but with a lot of known faces at Manthey.

“We’re driving on the ‘green-o’, so another ‘Grello’ type of car which I know well. It’s a race which I’ve won in the past.

“It’s a tough race which is different from what I’ve been doing normally in the last weeks and months. I’m excited to be part of it.”

Estre won the 24H Spa in 2019 with GPX Racing while Vanthoor is a two-time winner, having taken victory with Team WRT in 2014 and ROWE Racing in 2020.

Despite those past successes, Vanthoor reckons it will be a benefit to maintain the chemistry of his and Estre’s WEC driving partnership as they reacquaint themselves with the specifics of the Spa event.

“We have a lot of respect between ourselves and we’re very open,” said the Belgian driver.

“We try to help each other, on and off the track. That definitely helps to have a familiar surrounding when you got a completely different place.

“Even though we know the car and the team, it’s still a completely different thing. It’s a different team on the car [compared to WEC]. It’s quite a big adaptation.

“We’re used to it, so we should be OK. But you always have a bit of a step behind compared to the guys who are driving that car on those tires the whole year. I know it from the past, the other way around when I was there. But I think we should be alright.”

Estre added that he finds it a “pleasure” to maintain contact with Porsche’s customer-focused GT3 activities by taking part in some of the major endurance races.

The Frenchman also joined Manthey EMA for its ultimately unsuccessful Nürburgring 24 bid alongside Preining, Frederic Makowiecki and Michael Christensen in May.

Porsche promoted several of its recent GT stars to the factory LMDh program but they remain involved in the former discipline despite their schedules being focused on prototypes.

Vanthoor, for example, will drive for Pfaff Motorsports at Motul Petit Le Mans and has also expressed interest in doing the revived FIA GT World Cup at Macau.

Makowiecki, who drives the No. 5 Penske-run Porsche 963 in the WEC, will be at Spa driving for Come Ledogar’s CLRT outfit, meanwhile.

“In the end, WEC is seven races a year,” said Estre. “For me, it would be too little for what I’m used to. I’m happy to have done the Nordschleife.

“I would not like to do another championship beside it, which I think would be a bit too much.

“But doing the one-shots from time to time for Porsche and Manthey, with a chance of winning, is for sure not a problem. It’s a pleasure to do so.”

John Dagys contributed to this report