Manthey Racing and The Bend continued their strong FIA World Endurance Championship campaign with a second consecutive podium finish at Spa-Francorchamps, taking over the lead in the LMGT3 standings after a dramatic and incident-filled 6 Hours of Spa.
Starting ninth in the No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R and 12th in the sister No. 92 entry, both Manthey cars were immediately thrown into the thick of the action in a chaotic opening phase. The No. 91 car suffered contact with a BMW on the opening lap, dropping down the order and compromising its early strategy.
Further setbacks followed when James Cottingham was issued a drive-through penalty for repeated track limits violations — one of several such penalties handed out during the race. Meanwhile, after an impressive charge through the field by Yasser Shahin, the No. 92 Porsche was sent to the back of the LMGT3 field following contact with a Hypercar, forcing the team into recovery mode.
Despite the adversity, both Manthey crews fought back in a race punctuated by yellow flags, safety car interruptions and fierce wheel-to-wheel battles. Diverging pit strategies helped the two Porsche entries gradually regain lost ground as the race entered its final stages.
After a double stint, Timur Boguslavskiy handed the No. 91 car to Ayhancan Güven in 11th position with roughly two hours remaining. In the No. 92 Porsche, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz alternated single stints while running inside the top five.
Strong closing performances from the final drivers, combined with penalties issued to rival competitors after the checkered flag, elevated The Bend Manthey Porsche to third place — securing the team’s second straight podium finish. The Manthey DK Engineering entry recovered to seventh, adding another valuable points haul following its earlier success at Imola.
The result moves Shahin, Lietz and Pera to the top of the LMGT3 championship standings with 30 points. Cottingham, Boguslavskiy and Güven sit seventh, tied on 18 points with the sixth-placed crew.
Team Reaction
“The second WEC race of the season has once again ended with a podium finish for car number 92,” said Patrick Arkenau, Director Racing at Manthey Racing GmbH. “The race was extremely chaotic from start to finish. Both cars were involved in incidents through no fault of their own early on, which forced us to change strategy and push aggressively through the middle part of the race.
“In the end, that approach paid off. The final stages were incredibly intense in both classes, with constant contact, accidents and yellow flags. We are especially pleased with third place for The Bend Manthey. Car 91 also had podium potential if not for further contact later in the race. Overall, the performance demonstrated the strength of our drivers and the entire team heading into Le Mans.”
Manthey Racing Managing Director Nicolas Raeder also highlighted the scale of the event and the significance of the result.
“With more than 100,000 spectators, Spa once again demonstrated the growing momentum behind the WEC,” Raeder said. “From a sporting perspective, a second consecutive podium for car 92 is an excellent outcome and puts us at the top of the championship standings.
“The comeback after the early setbacks was particularly impressive. At the same time, the result for car 91 does not fully reflect the pace and performance of James, Timur and Ayhancan, especially after incidents caused by competitors that resulted in damage. Our focus now shifts to Le Mans, where we aim to show the full potential of both cars.”
The FIA World Endurance Championship continues with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled for 10–13 June 2026, following the traditional test weekend. Before that, Manthey Racing will tackle another major endurance event: the Nürburgring 24 Hours on 16–17 May.
