6 Hours of Imola: the huge WRT/Manthey battle for GT3 victory
The end of the race was breathtaking. While there was little suspense to decide the winner in the Hypercar class, the battle in the GT3 class went right down to the wire.
There was enough to give you chills. Most spectators and viewers likely had to sit up in their seats. Porsche and BMW offered the public an immense battle for victory at Imola.
Dominant, the BMW #46 from WRT made a mistake that most likely cost them the victory. Towards the end of the stint, Valentino Rossi sent the Ferrari #21, which was leading the category, into the wall at the final turn of the circuit. An action that earned him a stop-and-go penalty.
Falling quite far in the rankings, the GT3 managed to climb back up the hierarchy thanks to an insane pace. While it wasn’t even expected to finish on the podium, it was able to fight for the victory in the final hour.
See also: 6 Hours of Imola – Race: The Ferrari #51 performed flawlessly
Returned like a bullet towards the #92 Porsche from Manthey Racing, the BMW was about to make short work of the blue car. But that was without counting on Richard Lietz.
“It was very exciting and extremely close! And it was a stressful race. The others made a few mistakes, but our six-hour race was perfect. That was the decisive factor. One more lap would have been difficult for us in the fierce and passionate duel we had with BMW,” admitted Richard Lietz.
The Austrian, in the manner of a Sébastien Buémi earlier in the race, held off the attacks of a furious Kelvin van der Linde. In the final laps, the Porsche had a moment of respite thanks to a Peugeot unlapping itself. But the pause was short-lived as the BMW took only a few corners to get back on its tail.
With perfect pressure management – experience above all – the Porsche #92 managed to cross the finish line first. Thanks to this fierce defense, Richard Lietz gave the Stuttgart brand its first victory of the season in WEC. With a gap of 316 thousandths at the moment of crossing the checkered flag, the smallest delta between first and second at the end of a WEC race was broken.
At the same time, Manthey made an excellent move in the standings. With a score of zero before this round, the team scored 25 points and is now in fourth place.
A FIGHT TO THE LINE IN LMGT3 🏁
But @manthey_racing 1st Phorm take the win! #WEC #6HImola #Porsche pic.twitter.com/MFFYTo7Ljw
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) April 20, 2025
