RNW Staff

The Porsche GT Team will not be participating in the seventh round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on September 27th at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The GT4 European Series is back in action this weekend at Zandvoort for round four of the 2020 season. Two one-hour races will kick off the second half of the season on the recently renovated Dutch venue.

After early damage resulted in a hard-earned seventh place finish at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta last month, Heinricher Racing is refocusing on climbing the points standings over the final five events of the 2020 season. That starts this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is heading to the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course for the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the Acura Sportscar Challenge at Mid-Ohio to run September 25-27.

Porsche has decided to send only a reduced number of participants to tackle the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. This affects the factory-contracted racing drivers as well as members of Porsche Motorsport and Manthey-Racing who worked at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend. The reason behind this decision is that three people have returned positive tests for COVID-19. Porsche had the routine tests done on Sunday at Le Mans. The precautionary decision was made in consultation with the Robert Koch Institute. This involves a total of nine racing drivers who were to drive the six 911 GT3 R of four customer teams this coming weekend and means that the No. 911 Manthey-Racing car, dubbed “Grello” by fans, cannot be fielded. Porsche is in discussions with the affected teams to look for solutions so that the remaining 911 GT3 R can compete. More details to follow shortly.

Audi Sport customer racing will head with the number 1 in its twelfth race at the Nürburgring 24 Hours from September 24 to 27: After its fifth victory in last year’s tradition-steeped Eifel event, the Audi R8 LMS of Audi Sport Team Phoenix will bear the leading starting number. A total of nine of the brand’s racing cars will be competing in various categories in this endurance race. In addition, three more touring cars from a customer team are part of the supporting program in the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup.

With just five races left in the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the GTD team and driver championship lead. Just 70 miles north of the MSR headquarters, Mid-Ohio will stage the Acura Sports Car Challenge on Sunday.

Lucky Khera (Graypaul Birmingham) converted his fifth pole position of the season into his fifth win, producing a storming drive to continue his domination of the Ferrari Challenge UK 2020 season.

The number three played a central role at the weekend as BWT Mücke Motorsport travelled to the third ADAC GT Masters meeting of the season at the Hockenheimring. Igor Walilko and Mike Beckhusen in the BWT Audi R8 LMS #25 and Ricardo Feller and Stefan Mücke in the BWT Audi R8 LMS #26 battled for points and trophies in a field of 33 super sports cars. After Saturday’s race, Feller won a cup for coming third in the Junior classification, having taken points overall for eleventh place along with Stefan Mücke.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned a third consecutive overall Le Mans 24 Hours win with the TS050 HYBRID after a turbulent and ultimately-successful race at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Four 24 Hours of Le Mans ended over four participations by Cetilar Racing. The only one all-Italian team in the Sport category finished for the fourth year in a row the most important event of the season, the penultimate of FIA WEC rounds.

The Ferrari 488 GTE no. 51 was second over the line in the LMGTE Pro class, while no. 83 came third in the LMGTE Am at the end of the eightyeighth edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The world’s most famous endurance marathon was held behind closed doors for the first time, with sixteen Ferraris lining up at the start.

On its 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, COOL Racing’s #42 Oreca 07 finished a fantastic seventh in the LMP2 class with Alexandre Coigny, Antonin Borga and Nicolas Lapierre.

Sunday morning at Circuit of the Americas, Flying Lizard Motorsports driver Michael Dinan unofficially secured the GT4 America Sprint Am championship in the No. 210 Aston Martin Vantage GT4, earning the team its seventh championship to date. Dinan, together with co-driver Robby Foley, celebrated another SprintX Pro/AM win in the No. 21 Aston Martin Vantage GT4. After almost a full season of technical gremlins, the No. 30 McLaren of Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper enjoyed a smooth run, finally able to run within the GT4 America pack.

United Autosports have won the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours, after the #22 crew of Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Di Resta brought their Oreca 07 home in first place after a frantic race, which saw Phil pit the leading Oreca with 10 minutes to go for a splash of fuel, before exiting the pits just in front of the second placed car, crossing the line first to take victory.

Aston Martin has won the 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans. The British manufacturer, which was last victorious in the world famous event in 2017, recorded its best ever result at the Circuit de la Sarthe by winning both GT classes and with three crews standing on the podium. The result means that Aston Martin scored enough points to secure the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) manufacturers’ title with one round remaining.

RLR MSport finished eighth and sixth in the fraught Michelin Le Mans Cup ‘Road to Le Mans’ races (17-19 September), thanks to combative performances from James Dayson and Malthe Jakobsen at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Mission Title Defence is ramping up. After finishing as runners-up on Saturday, the Audi R8 LMS pairing of Patric Niederhauser (28, CH) and Kelvin van der Linde (24, ZA, both Rutronik Racing) chalked up their first victory of the season in Race 2 at Hockenheim. Last year’s champions now lead the drivers’ standings for the first time this year. They were followed across the finish line by two other Audis: Max Hofer (21, AUT) and Christopher Haase (32, GER, both Montaplast by Land Motorsport) took second place ahead of Rolf Ineichen (42, CH) and Mirko Bortolotti (30, ITA, both Team WRT) in third. “A mega race and a mega weekend,” was winner Kelvin van der Linde’s happy verdict. “Hockenheim is really starting to become one of my favourite circuits. In the past three years I have won each of the Sunday races here – once with my brother Sheldon and now twice with Patric.”

Porsche Carrera Cup GB – the fastest single marque GT racing championship in the UK – entered the second half of the 2020 season with a visit to the fastest circuit on the calendar, Thruxton, for Rounds Nine and 10 of the championship. Porsche GB 2020 / 2021 Junior Harry King (Team Parker Racing) set the pace on Friday – topping both Practice sessions by lapping approximately one-second faster than his rivals. Lorcan Hanafin (JTR) showed strong form to end the day second in the combined times, teammate Sam MacLeod (JTR) was third. Esmee Hawkey (Team Parker) was the fastest Pro-Am driver in both sessions, John Ferguson (Team Redline Racing) topped Am.

COOL Racing scored its first Road To Le Mans victory and third Michelin Le Mans Cup win of the season at Circuit de la Sarthe on Saturday. Nicolas Maulini and Édouard Cauhaupé’s #37 Ligier JS P320 dominated race two from pole position after finishing second in the first race of the weekend. Maurice Smith and Matt Bell’s #69 machine made it two double podium finishes with a pair of third places.