Lietz: Manthey Chasing “Relief” of Strong Result in Imola

Photo: Javier Jimenez/DPPI

A strong result for Manthey Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s second round at Imola would provide the team with “relief” after a tough start to the season, according to Richard Lietz.

Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick finished 12th in the LMGT3 category during the season-opening Qatar 1812km, with the pair of Manthey-operated Porsche 911 GT3 Rs the two final cars in the class to be classified.

The No. 92 car ended the race one spot higher than the No. 85 Iron Dames machine, which crossed the line in 13th.

The Qatar outcome stood in stark contrast to the team’s fortunes a year ago, when victory for Alex Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler kickstarted a championship-winning campaign for the decorated German outfit.

Imola has thus far provided a better early picture for the No. 92 crew this weekend, which featured inside the top ten for each of the three Free Practice sessions at the Emilia Romagna circuit.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Lietz said he’s hoping for a better result for the team at Imola, not just to regain lost ground in the championship, but also to lift the team’s spirits after a disappointing start to the campaign.

“The championship context is one part, but also I think for the team and for everyone involved working so hard and then being really off in Qatar is mentally really hard,” Lietz said.

“You also need a good result as a relief for the team, I would say. We did the Asian Le Mans Series together so we know each other and we had good results there.

“We did show potential so this is already one good step, [starting] a new driver combination and a new season together like this.

“But definitely also in the WEC you need to have at least one good result to have the relief, you know, that everybody is happy and more relaxed.”

Lietz also hoped that the Imola circuit characteristics would be a better suit to the Porsche than the flat, smooth Lusail International Circuit that hosted the season opener in February.

“For me, the biggest difference is that Imola is an old school circuit,” said Lietz.

“A lot more bumps, a lot more corners. The Porsche has been good in the corners.

“Our difficult part is the straight line and therefore in Qatar there is nothing to do, not enough corners and in Imola it’s tricky to drive.

“We have our local hero Ricky Pera here, living one hour away. Good track knowledge also from Ryan who did already like six races here.

“All together the car performed well and always did perform well in corners. So that’s why we are there, or closer there.

“I still think that, to be honest, there is a bit missing. But definitely a step in the right direction which I think is most likely because the track fits our cars more.”

Lietz, Hardwick and Pera were notably the only LMGT3 trio to tackle the Asian Le Mans Series season together over the winter, with the Iron Dames also competing but with Sarah Bovy in place of Rahel Frey.

Zooming on that campaign, Lietz described it as a “key” cornerstone to the team’s WEC preparations, also pointing out it that it formed a different approach compared to the extensive testing program that the team carried out with Yasser Shahin and Morris Schuring last year.

“There are different ways to prepare yourself for the season,” Lietz said.

“Testing was the way to go last year with Yasser and Morris. We had a lot of tests. I think Manthey did 50 hours of testing before the season.

“So that’s why we were really prepared with the driveshaft and understood the tires from the beginning.

“Now with Ryan to fly always to Europe and do the tests, it was not so easy for him from the business side.

“Then the decision to do like an Asian Le Mans [season] where the schedule was really interesting was then possible and we said, ‘Let’s go racing instead of testing.’

“We learn also important stuff for us. We have a seat which is ready to go when we start the next season. We have to not prepare our driver change stuff.

“We are already in working conditions when the season starts. I think we were well prepared in Qatar, to be honest.”