(Photo: Ian Chicken / Sportscar Worldwide)
Manthey EMA celebrated two Repco Bathurst 12 Hours victories on Sunday February 18 after Matt Campbell brought the #912 Porsche 911 GT3 R home for the overall win just 2.6 seconds ahead of Jules Gounon in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3.
In the Pro-Am category Alessio Picariello took the chequered flag in the team’s #911 Porsche 991 GT3 R to complete a double victory for the Meuspath, Nürburgring-based team. Picariello, along with team mates Harry King and Yasser Shahin managed to complete the 12-hour enduro despite carrying damage.
For the #912 crew of Campbell, Ayhancan Güven and Laurens Vanthoor, victory on the Mount Panorama circuit was the first time that two members of the trio had stood on the top step of the overall podium at the iconic race, the Australian having won in 2019 alongside Dirk Werner and Dennis Olsen.
The road to victory for both cars was not straightforward. The #912 car was served with a drive-through penalty for a pit-stop infringement near the half-way point while safety car periods in the second half of the race due to rain made the climb back up the field a challenge. For the #911 car, contact near the four-hour mark while Shahin was at the wheel meant that the team’s Pro-Am entry dropped to the back of the class field and had to fight back over the remaining hours.
“We are overwhelmed by this result,” said Manthey Racing, Division Racing Manager Patrick Arkenau. “Of course, when you enter two cars in different classes, you want to win both. But at the end of the day, it is an incredible result that we are very proud of and that is the reward for our hard work and a very good team performance.
“Unfortunately we had a few situations with both cars that set us back a bit – partly through our own fault and partly through no fault of our own. However, we never let our heads drop and always focused on the how to make the best of the situation. In the end, we put ourselves in a position to fight for victory. Both final drivers did an excellent job and took the wins in their classes.
“This is a great achievement for us,” continued Arkenau. “It’s the third time we’ve tried to win the 12 Hours and it finally worked out.”
Manthey Racing Managing Director Nicolas Raeder was delighted at how efficient the team’s pit crews were throughout the 12 Hours.
“This was a really exciting race,” said Raeder. “I’m very proud of the whole team. Although the 912 and 911 suffered setbacks during the race, in the end we were able to secure both the overall victory and the Pro-Am class win. One of the deciding factors was the fastest pit stop of the race by our crew, which put us back into the overall lead.
“After ending the last season on a high with the DTM at Hockenheim, I am delighted that the 2024 season has also started so successfully for us.”
