• Hardwick, Pera and Lietz steer the Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R to victory in the LMGT3 class
• In the sister car with starting number 90, Au, Bachler and Hartog finish the race in sixth place
• A repair stop prevents a better result for Bovy, Frey and Martin in the Iron Dames 911 in 16th place
• With the race victory, Manthey 1st Phorm claims first place in the LMGT3 championship standings for the first time 

Le Mans. Manthey secured its second consecutive class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Porsche 911 GT3 R with the starting number 92, driven by Ryan Hardwick (USA), Riccardo Pera (Italy) and Richard Lietz (Austria). Antares Au (Hong Kong), Klaus Bachler (Austria) and Loek Hartog (Netherlands) crossed the finish line in sixth place in the number 90 car, which was fielded exclusively at the race on the Circuit de la Sarthe. The Iron Dames Porsche spent a long time in the top ten of the LMGT3 field, but ultimately finished in 16th place due to gearbox problems, with Sarah Bovy (Belgium), Rahel Frey (Switzerland) and Célia Martin (France) at the wheel.

Traditionally, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has started at 4 p.m. on the 13.626-kilometre Circuit de la Sarthe, with a total of 332,000 spectators in attendance. The Manthey 1st Phorm car, driven by bronze driver Ryan Hardwick, entered the highlight of the WEC season from fifth place. After initially losing positions in the LMGT3 starting field, with Silver and Gold drivers behind the wheel, Hardwick and his teammate, Riccardo Pera, steadily worked their way up. Consequently, after just five hours of racing, Pera was able to complete his first kilometres in the lead. Alongside Le Mans veteran Richard Lietz, the trio in car 92 consistently held their place in the top two, defending their lead from the 15th hour of the race until the chequered flag.The Manthey 1st Phorm crew not only secured their sixth class victory overall, but also two out of two possible LMGT3 Le Mans victories for Manthey since the introduction of the new classification in the FIA Endurance Championship.

The Iron Dames and Manthey Porsche also started the race with their bronze drivers Célia Martin and Antares Au from 18th (#85) and 19th (#90) on the grid. Over the twice-around-the-clock race, the driver crews of the two 911s launched a strong comeback: Martin in particular overtook the competition right from the start, moving into the top ten within the first hour and a half. Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy - who stood in for their Iron Dames colleague Michelle Gatting (Denmark) after she was injured in Sunday's practice - also completed flawless stints and moved up to fifth place. However, a shifting problem with the number 85 car forced the crew into the pits for repairs on Sunday morning. Despite the team carrying out the repairs as quickly as possible, this put the crew six laps behind. In the number 90 Porsche, Au and Hartog – both of them making their Le Mans debut with Manthey – together with Klaus Bachler, delivered a commanding performance throughout the race. They therefore crossed the finish line of the 93rd 24-hour race at Le Mans in sixth place, 13 places up from their starting position and ahead of the Iron Dames crew, in 16th place.

With victory in the double-points race, Manthey 1st Phorm moves to the top of the LMGT3 team and driver standings. The Iron Dames crew is currently ranked 17th on the points table.

"This year, we competed at Le Mans with three Porsche 911 GT3 R for the first time. I am very proud of the entire team for mastering this logistically demanding event and creating the right conditions for our drivers. The track is more challenging than its long straights might suggest. Added to this is the whole backdrop with lots of spectators, guests and media appointments, even in the pits. Then there is the huge difference in speed compared to the Hypercars. These are many demanding requirements, which everyone mastered superbly," summarises Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey Racing GmbH. "I am particularly pleased that we were able to secure another class victory with Ryan, Riccardo and Richie after last year, and Manthey's sixth overall. This means we have won the class in our last three Le Mans appearances, if you include the GTE PRO victory in 2022. The fact that the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring is coming up next week is a special challenge for the team. I hope we can build on this weekend's success there."

After two challenging but successful weeks with the DTM in Zandvoort and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Manthey will continue seamlessly with the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (19 June to 22 June 2025), just a stone's throw from the company headquarters in Meuspath. The next race in the FIA WEC will then take place on 13 July in São Paulo.

Quotes on the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2025:

Sarah Bovy, Porsche 911 GT3 R #85: “It's not how we wanted to finish, but that's racing. 24 Hours of Le Mans, it's part of the game and I think we can be very proud. With Iron Dames, I think so far I've finished every single participation, always crossing the line because we never give up. I'm super proud of both my teammates and the entire team. It was an absolute honor to join you for this race. Michi, you know we love you and she was with us the entire time supporting us, but we still missed her.”

Rahel Frey, Porsche 911 GT3 R #85: “So that's a wrap on the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2025. It was a pleasure. Our rookie, Célia did super well. I was super happy that Sarah jumped in last-minute for Michi. Honestly speaking, that's not that easy. But we made it once again as Iron Dames, another finish. Not how we wanted to finish, but that's racing. We say thank you very much Manthey and Iron Dames, but also our partner TotalEnergies. We will come back stronger.“

Célia Martin, Porsche 911 GT3 R #85: “Michi, I was not expecting to race without you. I was planning on it. I was looking forward to it. I was very sad, but then I was very happy to have Sarah racing here. Honestly, the girls did amazing. I drove a bit more than expected. I was suffering for the first time so I really saw what this race was. I have even more respect and I'm even more proud to be a part of it and to have made it to the finish line and to have done this first adventure for me with these girls.”

Antares Au, Porsche 911 GT3 R #90: “First time here, and we've certainly had our fair share of challenges, but I’m really glad we finished in one piece. We almost achieved a top-five result, albeit just missing out on P5, so we are not the happiest. Still, it was a good effort, and I am looking forward to coming back to this wonderful place with this wonderful team in the future.“

Klaus Bachler, Porsche 911 GT3 R #90: “Le Mans is over and sixth place was a solid result for us. Unfortunately, we couldn't do any better, even though we fought hard. In the end, we're happy that we got through without any problems or incidents – it's certainly a great achievement for Loek and Antares to finish their first race at Le Mans. Huge congratulations to the sister car, who did a great job defending Manthey's class victory from last year so confidently. I hope that I can win the race here someday. Unfortunately, it didn't work out this year, but let's see what the future brings.”

Loek Hartog, Porsche 911 GT3 R #90: “Sixth place in the end – I think this is the result we deserved. At one point we were last, but we managed to stay on the lead lap and move up the tally. In terms of strategy and driver performance, we executed everything we could. We kept it clean and finished, so both Antares and I can be proud of this first time at Le Mans. Klaus was an amazing teammate to work with, and I’m very thankful to be among the Manthey team.”

Ryan Hardwick, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “I am truly lost for words. I joint Manthey with the purpose to try to win the 24 hours of Le Mans one day and also the FIA WEC. But I had no idea how long a goal like that would take to reach. To accomplish this win in the first year with Manthey is truly unbelievable. The team is unreal – we were very well prepared and I am just really honored to be a part of this team of great engineers, mechanics and everyone back at the workshop in Germany. There are so many people putting in so much work to prepare for a race like this and I believe that no other team in the paddock prepares in the same way as Manthey does. They are now back-to-back 24h Le Mans winners and I am just super grateful to be a part of this 2025 winning-team.”

Richard Lietz, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “It was a great 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025. We got off to a strong start with Ryan. He drove fantastically. Fortunately, there were few safety cars, so the gap Ryan carved out was really valuable. Thanks to him, we had a cushion right up to the end, which we were able to defend to the finish line. Of all my Le Mans starts so far, I think this race was one of the fastest I've ever driven – with the right Le Mans spirit, endurance racing at its best, without many safety car phases. That was our strength, because we had a tyre that worked over three stints. In a race with lots of interruptions, it would have been much more difficult. We are extremely satisfied and have won Le Mans back-to-back – that's something special.”

Riccardo Pera, Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: “This is one of the days I will never forget – it was mega. We were leading since the early morning. I am super proud of the team – they did an amazing job. The car was so fast and well balanced. I am also proud of the great performances of my two teammates Richard and Ryan and I am super happy that we bring home this brilliant result.”

Results 24 Hours of Le Mans 2025:

LMGT3 Class
1. Hardwick/Lietz/Pera (USA/AUT/ITA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92
2. Heriau/Mann/Rovera (FRA/GBR/ITA), Ferrari #21
3. Van Rompuy/Andrade/Eastwood (BEL/AGO/IRL), Corvette #81

6. Au/Bachler/Hartog (HGK/AUT/NLD), Porsche 911 GT3 R #90

16. Bovy/Frey/Martin (BEL/CHE/FRA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #85