Can Porsche still defend the driver’s title in the long-distance World Cup (WEC) this year? After Ferrari was unbeatable in the first half of the season and was able to win the first four races of the year, the Zuffenhausen team has impressively fought their way back in the last three races.
Another podium in Japan was followed last weekend. And because the leaders of Ferrari stayed at Ferrari, Kevin Estre and Lauren’s Vanthoor suddenly were only 21 points behind James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi in the WEC overall ranking.
“With the current result, we were able to postpone the championship decision until the season finale,” smiles Jonathan Diuguid, Senior Director Porsche Penske Motorsport after the race in Fuji. “The crew of our number 6 Porsche did a great job and reached a podium.”
Porsche in Fuji with a successful catch -up hunt
Estre and Vanthoor only came from 17th place after a failed qualifying. Start pilot Laurens Vanthoor was able to make up ten positions in the first half hour, but an incident with the competition and an early pit stop including exchange of the rear wing threw back the duo for the time being.
A full-course yellow phase around two hours before the end of the race then played the defending champions into the cards: Estre, now in seventh place, struggled forward with a furious remaining start to second position.
A five-second penalty for an incorrect pit stop threw the Porsche back to third place when handing over to the final driver Vanthoor. The final attack of the Belgian on Peugeot #93 (Di Resta/Jensen/Vengne; 2.) was unsuccessful in the end.
Estre and Vanthoor with a realistic World Cup chance
“We started very far back, so third place is a good result – I’m proud of us,” sums up Estre. “Maybe a little more would have been within reach, but Peugeot and Alpine were just too fast on the straight to overtake.”
“We took as many points as possible today,” the Frenchman recalls that everything is suddenly possible again at the final in Bahrain (November 8). The gap to the leaders is still 21 points, but at the 8-hour race in Sachir, a full dot are awarded again.
Because there are 38 points for victory. Should Estre and Vanthoor triumph in the final, Calado, Giovinazzi and Pier Guidi would have to be at least fourth in order not to lose the title on the home stretch. There is also a risk of competition from your own ranks.
Porsche in the World Cup fight as a laughing third?
Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye (AF-Corse-Ferrari #83) are in second place in the overall ranking with a deficit of only 13 points. Estre and Vanthoor, on the other hand, can rely on the shooting aid of their teammates, who no longer have a chance of the title.
In Japan, Julien Andlauer and Mathieu Jaminet raced to fourth place behind the current world champion. “We implemented our possibilities well,” says Andlauer. “The team delivered a great job, Mathieu Jaminet was sitting in the car for almost four hours.”
Only at the beginning of the race did the Porsche duo fought with understeer. “This made me mistake that brought us through a passage penalty,” admits Andlauer. “Nevertheless, we were able to fight back in fourth place. In the end, we lacked the pace for a podium result.”
“But together with the sister car we collected important points for our main goal, the manufacturer’s ranking.” There, too, Porsche is only 39 points behind Ferrari. The declaration of war on Ferrari is therefore clear: “Now we are concentrating on the season finale in Bahrain.”