Richard Lietz Wins 100th WEC Race at Monza Season Finale

Monza Season Finale Victory

Richard Lietz secured a victory at the FIA World Endurance Championship season finale in Monza driving the Porsche 911 GT3 R for The Bend Manthey team, motorsport-xl.de reported.

Driving alongside teammates Yasser Shahin and Riccardo Pera, the Austrian Porsche factory driver celebrated the win during his 100th race in the championship. Despite taking the top step of the podium in Italy, the crew missed out on the GT3 title by just eight points, according to motorsport-xl.de.

Richard Lietz stated: Auch wenn wir gerne Meister geworden wären, hatten wir eine wirklich gute Saison und immer viel Spaß zusammen. Richard Lietz noted about his teammates and crew: Ich bin unfassbar gerne Teil des Teams und schätze die Zusammenarbeit mit Riccardo und Yasser sehr.

Richard Lietz Faced Strong Competition and Success Ballast

“To be honest, the race and the final minutes were very hard, and the pressure was a bit greater than I had hoped,” Richard Lietz said, as reported by motorsport-xl.de. “The competition in the World Endurance Championship is simply very strong.”

Speedweek.com reported that Lietz headed into the Monza weekend facing a demanding track layout carrying 30 kilograms of success ballast following a prior win in Barcelona. Low ambient temperatures and minimal tire degradation altered the dynamic, aiding cars that typically struggled with tire wear.

Richard Lietz explained that succeeding in Monza while carrying 30 kilograms of success ballast on a track where weight weighs most heavily is very difficult. He also noted that cancellation adjustments meant replacement races only offered regular points rather than the one-and-a-half times points initially set for Qatar and Bahrain, while adding that driving on a traditional track was welcome even if summer weather would have been nicer.

Lietz brought plenty of track knowledge to the venue, having completed two days of testing there in August alongside prior outings in the GT World Challenge, ELMS, GT Open, and Supercup.

Le Mans Retirement Affected the Manthey Championship Campaign

The Manthey crew entered the Monza weekend with mathematical championship chances after recording consistent early-season points finishes. Speedweek.com noted their campaign included three third-place finishes alongside one victory, though a costly retirement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans hurt their points haul.

A broken track rod in the second hour of the endurance classic cost the team three laps, effectively ending their victory bid at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Those dropped scores left the team 18 points behind the leading Corvette driven by Johnny Edgar.

Future Plans in Endurance Racing

Looking past the Monza finale, Lietz discussed his future plans and contract status with Porsche. “I still have fun in the car,” Richard Lietz said, according to speedweek.com. “If I am needed, I am available.”

Lietz described his overall position by noting: Im Prinzip ist meine Situation wie Urlaub: Du fährst mit Freunden rund um die Welt, jemand bezahlt das Ganze, und du darfst versuchen, ein Rennen zu gewinnen. Informal conversations also touched upon whether Lietz might be open to driving at Daytona, though nothing has been finalized yet because Manthey is fully booked in the United States.

Beyond driving, Lietz acknowledged that Porsche and Manthey might eventually find a different job for him, joking that otherwise he would finally have to start working.

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