Au, Hartog to Make Le Mans Debuts in Third Manthey Porsche

Photo: Asian Le Mans Series

Antares Au and Loek Hartog will make their 24 Hours of Le Mans debuts in a third LMGT3 entry from Manthey Racing, the German squad has confirmed.

Au and Hartog will share the No. 90 Porsche 911 GT3 R with reigning LMGT3 world champion Klaus Bachler for the French endurance classic, which takes place on June 14-15.

Manthey secured an automatic invitation for Le Mans after Au, Bachler and Joel Sturm captured the GT title in last month’s Asian Le Mans Series finale in Abu Dhabi.

The third car will join Manthey’s pair of guaranteed Le Mans entries, acquired through its two-car FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 effort, which kicked off with the Qatar 1812km last weekend.

Bachler is the only driver out of the three to have competed at Le Mans before, having four previous starts under his belt and securing a class podium on debut in 2014.

Last year, gearshift problems curtailed a competitive run for the Austrian, who finished 14th in class in a season that saw him clinch the WEC LMGT3 title a race early alongside Sturm and Alex Malykhin.

Hartog, meanwhile, is the reigning Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion and raced with Au in last year’s Indianapolis 8 Hour.

While Au has not competed at Le Mans before, his 24-hour race experience consists of class victories in both the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as well as the Nürburgring 24. He is also the reigning Intercontinental GT Challenge Independent Cup champion.

The full Le Mans entry list is set to be released by the ACO later on Monday.