Proton Competition’s virgin Porsche 963 completed the 6 Hours of Fuji, collecting valuable experience and data in their second FIA WEC Hypercar race. The new chassis arrived in Japan sans testing, while the Monza chassis remains in America for the team’s IMSA campaign.
Proton Competition’s number 99, piloted by Gianmaria Bruni (Italy), Harry Tincknell (Great Britain) and Neel Jani (Switzerland), looked strong in the first hour of the race, running in fifth place before an issue with the seat belt forced a trip to the pits. The team was able to repair the belt and return to track, but could not recover the valuable laps lost. They eventually finished in 9th place.
The team is happy to have completed the race and hope that they can capitalize on their experience at the next race in Bahrain.
Voices after the race:
Michael Ried, team owner and technical director Proton Competition: “It was important that our Porsche 963 was able to finish the race. Every kilometer with the new car brings the driver and team further.”
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 963 #99): “We are still at the very beginning with our new car. Of course we want to finish as high as possible in every race, but in this learning phase the result is of secondary importance. It is much more important that we gain experience and draw the right conclusions. I see us on the right track.”
The next event for Proton Competition in the WEC is the eight-hour race in Sakhir/Bahrain on November 4th.