Porsche "barely had a chance" against Corvette, Ferrari in Monza WEC

The German manufacturer propped up the five-car GTE Pro field in the 6 Hours of Monza, with the best of the two 911 RSR-19s finishing nearly a minute down on the race-winning #64 Corvette C8.R.

It followed a pre-race BoP change that handed Ferrari a small power boost, allowing the Italian manufacturer to dominate its home race until it was forced to bring both its cars to the pits for a fuel top-up with less than three minutes to run.

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Porsche’s head of WEC operations Alexander Stehlig believes the BoP change severely compromised the chances of its two Manthey-run factory cars, costing the team both a podium and the lead of the GTE Pro standings.

“Our cars had a great set-up, the drivers did their utmost and the tyre choice was ideal,” said Stehlig.

“But that was the end of the good news, the rest was a big disappointment.

“Before the race weekend, the cars were reclassified. We didn’t agree with this change to the Balance of Performance right from the outset – and rightly so, as we clearly saw in the qualifying and race.

“Because of this rating, we barely had a chance. Under these conditions, we weren’t able to achieve more than fourth and fifth place.”

Following a penalty for the #51 Ferrari, Kevin Estre was involved in a tense battle with Alessandro Pier Guidi for the final spot on the podium, with the pair colliding a number of times under braking for the first and second chicanes.

#92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR - 19 of Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre, #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado

Photo by: Morgese / Gandolfi

Estre was eventually handed a drive-through penalty for contact with Pier Guidi as well as an earlier incident with the Jota LMP2 car of Jonathan Aberdein, leaving he and team-mate Michael Christensen fourth in the #92 Porsche.

Estre questioned the stewards' decision to hand him a penalty for what he felt was “tough but respectful racing”, but conceded that the Porsche simply didn’t have the pace to keep up with its rivals at Monza.

“I fought as hard as I could [but] we simply didn’t have the speed it took,” said the French driver.

“But we pulled out all stops and were able to keep within striking distance for long stretches. Pulling out all stops, we managed to stay within striking distance over long stretches.

“I don’t agree with the pitlane drive-through penalty towards the end of the race – that was tough but respectful racing. It wasn’t enough for a podium result today.”

The #91 Porsche of Gianmaria Bruni and Frederic Makowiecki briefly took the lead at the midway point of the race after electing not to pit under the safety car that followed a major crash for the TF Sport Aston Martin GTE Am car at the second chicane.

Makowiecki, who replaced Richard Lietz at Monza after the Austrian driver tested positive for COVID-19, admitted that the strategy gamble ultimately failed to pay off as it finished a lap down on the leader in fifth.

The result dropped Bruni a point behind Ferrari duo Pier Guidi and James Calado to second in the championship.