The second half of the race was a dogfight between AF Corse’s Ferraris and Aston Martin Racing’s Vantages. Sorensen led home the win, under no pressure in the closing minutes after a stop-go penalty was handed to the chasing No. 71 Ferrari of Miguel Molina for spinning wheels at a pit stop.

Finishing third behind the No. 71 was the No. 97 Aston Martin, Maxime Martin claiming the final podium spot after the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari was ordered to hand back third to Martin for overtaking him while exceeding track limits.



What about Porsche? It came in confident in the reliability of the 911 RSR 19 in its first race over 8 hours, but both cars hit trouble, and within 10 minutes of each too. The No. 92 911 RSR 19 came in with mechanical trouble first. “Kevin Estre reported some issues with car behaviour in last two laps, so we had to look at the car, we’ve had to change a damper,” Michael Christensen said.

Moments later the No. 91 was also forced to pit for hasty repairs after a puncture.

“I don’t know what happened as I was out of the car, after the stop Gianmaria (Bruni) reported a puncture, we have damage on the underfloor now. Now the time lost is so much that it’s just about finishing,” Richard Lietz explained.

This was huge in the championship fight, as the two Porsches were sitting 1-2 in the standings heading into this race. Both cars finished, but off the lead lap in the class in fifth and sixth. Thiim and Sorensen now lead the GTE drivers’ championship and Aston Martin leads Porsche in the manufacturers’ title race.
Project 1 saved Porsche honor in GTE Am.

GTE Am, like the LMP classes, saw a dominant performance too. This time it was from the No. 57 Project 1 Porsche. Larry Ten Voorde and American IMSA regulars Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen didn’t put a foot wrong.

Keating starred here, driving almost three hours at the start of the race, which put the team in position to ease to victory. The Texan was so fast through his time in the car that the team opted to keep him in for longer than the other Ams in the class, meaning they saved a stop. It was a drive that Bleekemolen termed “heroic” in the post-race conference.

“That made the difference,” Keating said to RACER, “because the gap between us and the No. 98 was about a pit stop at the end.”

The No. 98 Aston Martin led for a while but finished second despite the best efforts from Paul Dalla Lana, Darren Turner and Ross Gunn (who spent the weekend recovering from food poisoning the night before practice), with the No. 86 Gulf Racing Porsche taking a hard-fought podium.

In championship terms, this was a nightmare outing for TF Sport. It headed into the meeting hoping to take a third straight win, but the pace wasn’t quite there in the race before a gearbox issue forced its Aston Martin Vantage into the garage and retirement.

To make matters worse, its closest rival before the weekend, the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari, finished fourth and the No. 57 scored maximum points.

“I think we’re tied with the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari for second place in the standings now — amazing when you consider we only scored one point at Silverstone,” Keating related. With two circuits he knows inside out, COTA and Sebring, up next on the schedule, the Texan is thinking championship heading into the second half of the season.

RESULTS

UP NEXT: The FIA WEC resumes with Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas on February 23, 2020.



Aston Martin, Bahrain, Mike Conway, Project 1, Toyota Gazoo Racing, United Autosports, Le Mans/WEC