Hartley, Bamber on the podium again
Kiwi Porsche drivers Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber extended their lead in the World Endurance Championship after another win in Texas,
Palmerston North’s Hartley and his team-mates Bamber of Whanganui and German Timo Bernhard, who won Le Mans in July, won the six-hour race in the sixth round of the series at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin yesterday.
It made for a Porsche one-two on the podium with their sister car finishing second.
The team lead the series on 242 points after four wins in the series, ahead of nearest rivals Toyota, who are on 168.5 points. There are three rounds remaining and the seventh round is in Fuji, Japan on October 15.
Hartley’s team edged in front of their sister car in the closing stages in extreme heat that meant drivers could only do 80-minute stints.
The sixth round of the series was a hot six-hour race with up to 33 degree Celsius temperature and 40 degree track temperatures.
‘‘Our sister car No 1 had the edge on us today,’’ Bamber said. ’’They did a fantastic job with no mistakes and we also had a big challenge from Toyota.
‘‘I’m sure they will be very strong in Fuji, so we have to keep working. Our car was good today, we had great stints and some battles to enjoy.’’
In the other Porsche car, the reigning world champion Neel Jani (Switzerland), Andre Lotterer (Germany) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) finished second.
This trio had started from pole position and led for most of the race, before letting the sister car ahead in the closing stages, because they are better placed in the championship.
‘‘The result is an awesome team effort,’’ Hartley said. ‘‘Both our cars were always close together and Toyota kept us honest for the entire race.
In the drivers’ rankings, Bamber, Bernhard and Hartley (159 points) have extended their lead over the best-placed Toyota drivers (108 points).
Jani, Lotterer and Tandy lie fourth (90 points).