RNW Staff

United Autosports finished third at the end of the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Portimao, Portugal today as Phil Hanson, Paul Di Resta and Wayne Boyd scored the team’s second podium of the WEC season so far.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing celebrated its 100th World Championship sportscar race with a one-two victory for its new GR010 HYBRID Hypercar in the 8 Hours of Portimao following a flawless performance in Portugal.

Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Antonio Fuoco completed a memorable weekend in Algarve to secure the first ever FIA WEC victory in the LMGTE Am class for team Cetilar Racing at their second race in the #47 Ferrari 488 GTE run by AF Corse.

The second ADAC GT Masters race weekend at Spielberg in Austria saw Mercedes-AMG Motorsport score a total of four top ten results. Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Raffaele Marciello (ITA) delivered the best result at the Red Bull Ring. The duo with the #70 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by MANN-FILTER Team Landgraf – HTP WWR ended up in fourth place on Saturday, having temporarily led the race. The best-placed Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Sunday race of the international German GT championship was the #13 Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing entry driven by Jules Gounon (FRA) and Igor Walilko (POL), classified in eighth place. 23-year old  Walilko ended up on the junior class podium on both days. There were also podium results for the teams with the Mercedes-AMG GT4s in the two ADAC GT4 Germany races.

Closing out the team’s second race on the day in Detroit, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) finished sixth in the IMSA Sports Car Classic on the streets of Belle Isle on Saturday with drivers Olivier Pla and Dane Cameron on board the No. 60 Acura DPi. 

After persevering through an engine change, a chaotic race start, and the Detroit heat, the Paul Miller Racing team’s promising weekend ultimately came to an unfortunate end when a penalty dashed their hopes of victory in Detroit.

Milestone success for Corvette in a spectacular race that went down to the wire at the Red Bull Ring: Jeffrey Schmidt (27/CH) and Marvin Kirchhöfer (27/Lucerne, both Callaway Competition) not only claimed their first win of the season in a thrilling Sunday race in the German GT Championship, but also racked up triumph number ten for the US sports car manufacturer at the Austrian circuit. Second place, less than one second back, went to pole-sitters Kim-Luis Schramm (23/Meuspath) and Dennis Marschall (24/Eggenstein, both Rutronik Racing by Tece) in the best-placed Audi. BMW drivers Nick Yelloly (29/GB) and Jesse Krohn (30/FIN, both Schubert Motorsport) finished third to ensure a good mix of manufacturers on the podium. “A great day. We had very quick guys behind us, so we could not afford to make any mistakes,” said a delighted Schmidt. “We had to give it everything.”

Porsche Carrera Cup GB – the fastest single marque GT racing championship in the UK – entered its 19th season at Snetterton with the promise of a thrilling title fight between returning drivers and exciting newcomers. Former double champion 2015 / 2016 Dan Cammish (Redline Racing) and reigning champion – Porsche GB 2020 / 2021 Junior – Harry King (Team Parker Racing) – arrived in Norfolk as title favourites. Confirming their form from pre-season testing the pair topped the combined times in Practice ending Friday separated by just 0.224secs, though close behind was championship returnee Lorcan Hanafin (JTR).

Porsche tackles round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC in Portugal from the front row of the GTE-Pro-class grid. At the debut of the WEC on the 4.684-kilometre Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, works driver Kévin Estre turned the fastest lap with the ca. 515 PS Porsche 911 RSR in 1:37.986 minutes. With this, the Frenchman repeated his qualifying success from Spa-Francorchamps. His Italian teammate Gianmaria Bruni set the third quickest time on the undulating circuit in the backcountry of the Algarve in 1:38.389 minutes and takes up the race from the second grid row. Like at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the highlight of the WEC season, each of the two factory-run 911 fielded by Manthey will be manned by three drivers for the eight-hour race. The championship leaders Estre and Neel Jani (Switzerland) receive support from Denmark’s Michael Christensen. Bruni and the Austrian Richard Lietz join forces in the cockpit with French factory driver Frédéric Makowiecki.

Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Kevin Magnussen and Renger van der Zande drove the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R to the win in today’s running of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle Park. 

Excitement from start to finish: Saturday’s race in the German GT Championship at the Red Bull Ring was characterised by many overtaking manoeuvres and spectacular battles. In the end, it was defending champion Michael Ammermüller (35/Rotthalmünster) and Mathieu Jaminet (26/F, both SSR Performance) who crossed the finish line first to take their second victory of the season. Second place went to Mirko Bortolotti (31/I) and Albert Costa Balboa (31/E, GRT Grasser Racing Team), with Corvette drivers Jeffrey Schmidt (27/CH) and Marvin Kirchhöfer (27/Lucerne, both Callaway Competition) rounding off the podium in third place. “A really incredible race,” said a delighted Ammermüller. “To claim win number two on the second weekend of the season is really super.”

BMW M Motorsport is returning to international prototype racing. On Thursday, it was confirmed that an LMDh car is being developed for use in the North American IMSA series. From the 2023 season, this car will allow BMW M Motorsport to compete for overall race wins at such prestigious classics as Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta (all USA).

The 2021 GT4 European Series season will reach its halfway mark next weekend (18-20 June) with two one-hour races at the 4.2km Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Both races are scheduled for Sunday.

At mid-year 2021, Audi Sport customer racing has reached an important milestone: The 138th GT3 model of the second-generation Audi R8 LMS, which has been marketed since the end of 2015, has been built. The successful predecessor model, which was available from 2009 to 2015, had been produced in a series of 137 units. In a global GT3 market of ten car manufacturers in total, Audi Sport is thus making a clear statement.

The Porsche works team travels to the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) leading the points. Since the upcoming eight-hour race in Portimão on 13 June is new on the series’ calendar, teams and drivers face special challenges. The Porsche GT Team has prepared intensively for the upcoming task in Portugal’s Algarve with test drives and simulator sessions. The Manthey factory squad fields two 515 PS Porsche 911 RSR in the GTE-Pro class. The drivers in each of the cars are the same crews that will tackle the 24 Hours of Le Mans in August. In the GTE-Am category, the customer squads Dempsey-Proton Racing, Project 1 and GR Racing campaign a total of four nine-elevens at the endurance race.

The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing team is back on track this weekend as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to Detroit’s Belle Isle Raceway after the series missed the event in 2020.

Two reasons to be cheerful better than one! GRT Grasser Racing have good grounds to be really looking forward to this next weekend in the 2021 ADAC GT Masters, as the second round in the Super Sports Car League will be a home fixture for the team and their Lamborghinis (June 11th-13th). Races 3 and 4 are scheduled to take place at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring just a stone’s throw away from team headquarters in Knittelfeld. After making a strong start to the season, the four Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs are going for their first win of the year. This weekend would be the perfect opportunity for team boss Gottfried Grasser and team as they welcome fans, friends and sponsors back to Styria for the first time in two years.

Cetilar Racing is set for the second round of FIA WEC seasonas theWorld Endurance Championship heads this weekend, 11/13 June, to the Algarve circuit for the 8 Hours of Portimão.

United Autosports are delighted to confirm that Jonathan Aberdein will join their Le Mans 24 Hours team this year.

Since IMSA’s founding over 50 years ago, Porsche remains the sole manufacturer to enter every GT event held by North