GTE Am, The car that looked set to win, hit trouble, changing the race.
In this case, it was the Iron Dames Porsche.
The all-female trio of Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy, who started from pole, benefitted early from being in the pits during an FCY and held a lead of over half a minute when Bovy handed over to Frey.
Unfortunately, the lead wouldn’t last long, as Frey made an error at Turn 1, going off track on the exit, ⁣b] ripping the rear bumper and diffuser off the car.[/b]
(Women Drivers :-)
Frey limped to the pits for repairs, dropping the car down the order, the team forced to switch to recovery mode and spend the remaining hours fighting their way back to eighth. It wasn’t a fairytale first race for Iron Dames with Porsche, but the team looks set to be a force to reckon with.
The No. 33 Corvette Racing C8.R of Ben Keating, Nico Varrone and Nicky Catsburg took the class victory on the US factory team’s home soil and on its GTE Am debut.
Keating set this victory up, the Texan, the class of the Bronze drivers in the field; his performance, in trademark fashion, so strong that the team went almost unchallenged after the drama for Iron Dames in the first half of the race.
Varrone, on his Corvette WEC debut, was also extremely impressive, completing an iron-man triple stint during the race.
“It’s so special to defend home turf.
This is the only home race for us, so it’s special to perform well here,” Keating said after the race.
“All of us didn’t make mistakes, which is great as it’s mayhem out there. Everyone else had some problem or another. It’s a nice way to win.”
The gap to the second place No. 77 Dempsey Proton Porsche was almost 90 sec at the finish.
The SIX Porsche's contingent pushed hard and climbed the order, taking second right at the end.
With six minutes to go, the No. 57 Kessel Racing Ferrari pitted for a splash, dropping to third agonizingly close to the end.
AF Corse’s No. 21 Ferrari finished fourth, with the Iron Lynx Porsche in fifth.
Better is, 6 Porsches could not beat one Corvette !
