Porsche 963 narrowly misses the podium at the WEC season finale – first win for Iron Dames

The eight-hour race got underway at 2 pm local time with air temperatures of almost 32 degrees Celsius and asphalt temperatures over 40 degrees. For the Porsche Penske Motorsport works squad, the order was thrown into disarray after the first corner: starting from P4 on the grid, Laurens Vanthoor had to run wide in his Porsche 963 to avoid a collision – which initially relegated the Belgian to ninth place. As the chase continued, a slight nudge with a GTE vehicle made it necessary to replace the front hood at the next pit stop. For the remainder of the race, the No. 6 Porsche systematically battled its way up the field and was back within reach of the podium. Ultimately, Vanthoor and his works driver teammates Kévin Estre from France and André Lotterer from Germany took the flag in fifth place.

The No. 5 sister car benefitted from the chaos in the sprint to the first corner and progressed to fourth place. However, the vehicle was unable to match the pace of its rivals, especially in the heat during the first half of the race. A problem with the speed limiter, which automatically regulates the speed on the track during a full course yellow, also earned the 514 kW (699 PS) Porsche two five-second penalties. Fréderic Makowiecki from France, the American Dane Cameron and Michael Christensen reached the finish in seventh place.

“We’ve experienced a season of mixed fortunes and still have a lot of work to do,” says Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “But we’re seeing an upward trend and we were able to fight with the Ferraris today – that’s great news. I’m particularly impressed with the Hertz Team Jota squad’s strong performance – congratulations on fourth place. We definitely would’ve preferred a better result for the factory team. This was our first season with the Porsche 963, and we rebuilt a lot of things at the same time. That’s why we’re wrapping up the season feeling positive and looking ahead. Next year we will return significantly stronger. I’m also delighted for the Iron Dames team. The squad finally clinched its first class victory in the GTE Am, and thus brings the great era of the 911 RSR in the FIA WEC to a fitting end.”

GTE Am class: First win for Iron Dames, the last for the Porsche 911 RSR
At its FIA WEC swan song, the 911 RSR again gave a strong performance. Heading into the race from pole position, Sarah Bovy initially held on to the lead in the Iron Dames’ 378 kW (515 PS) Porsche. After a good half hour, the Belgian had to make way for Matteo Cressoni’s Iron Lynx sister car. For long stretches of the final race in Bahrain, the two Porsche dominated the GTE Am class. However, halfway through the seventh hour, the charge of the leading Iron Lynx car came to an early end: after falling ill, the third driver was unable to take over the cockpit. To avoid disqualification, the team pulled out. This opened the door for Sarah Bovy and her teammates Michelle Gatting from Denmark and Rahel Frey from Switzerland. The all-female crew clinched their first class victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship after 232 laps and gave the Porsche 911 RSR a perfect farewell – from next season, the 911 GT3 R will replace the GTE vehicle.