Porsche had an unfortunate end to its 2019 campaign in Bahrain, dropping out of podium contention due to mechanical issues for both cars.
The #91 of Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz suffered a puncture, caused by a loose wheel nut, while the #92 of Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre spent time in the pits with a broken shock absorber, leaving the cars fifth and sixth and class respectively.
"Our car was strong, the team worked perfectly and we drivers did our job," said Christensen. "A top result would have been possible at Bahrain. Unfortunately this time technology threw a spanner in the works.
Things like this can happen, although of course it painful for us, particularly at this race where so many points were up for grabs.”
The setbacks have caused Porsche to lose ground in the GTE Pro standings. Estre and Christensen sit second behind the #95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen, with Bruni and Lietz third. Porsche sits second in the manufacturers standings, eleven points behind Aston Martin.
“Initially the race went well for us. With this track layout, it was hard to find an opportunity to overtake," added Kevin Estre. "But at some point it worked and I was in the lead.
As a result, I was able to build a decent lead, but then bad luck struck. The left rear shock broke. We lost a lot of time in the pits and couldn’t catch up. We’ve lost a lot of ground in the drivers’ standings.”
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