• The Bend Manthey celebrates its first victory of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season at the penultimate round in Spain
• Challenging race for Manthey DK Engineering ends in 16th place after repair stops
• Yasser Shahin receives the Goodyear Wingfoot Award, presented by FIA WEC fans

Barcelona. The Bend Manthey claimed victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 debut race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Following a strong qualifying performance of the team and a second-place starting position, Yasser Shahin took the lead of the LMGT3 class after around half an hour of racing with an overtaking move on the pole-sitting McLaren (#10). Together with Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz, he controlled the race from the front despite several Safety Car periods and changing track conditions. After six hours of racing, the No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R crossed the finish line in first place, securing Manthey’s first LMGT3 class victory of the 2026 FIA WEC season. In addition, Yasser Shahin was awarded the Goodyear Wingfoot Award, presented by the fans to the most outstanding LMGT3 driver of the race.
 
The race proved far more challenging for the sister car of Manthey DK Engineering. Shortly after the start from 12th on the grid, the No. 91 Porsche suffered damage following contact with another GT3 car. After a second incident just over an hour into the race, James Cottingham was forced to bring the Porsche 911 GT3 R into the pits for repairs. The car returned to the track six laps down. Timur Boguslavskiy and Ayhancan Güven were unable to recover the lost ground over the remainder of the race and eventually finished 16th after an additional stop in the garage to rule out further damage.

With the victory in Barcelona, The Bend Manthey moves up to second place in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams ahead of the season finale in Monza. With 74 points, the team reduces the gap to the championship lead to 18 points and remains firmly in contention for the title. Manthey DK Engineering now sits eighth in the standings with 54 points after the penultimate round of the season. The FIA World Endurance Championship season finale will take place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza from 6 to 8 November.
 
"We are extremely happy to have finally stood on the top step of the FIA WEC podium for the first time this season. Unfortunately, as has often been the case in recent races, only one of our two cars was able to bring home a strong result. The No. 91 suffered incidents early in the race. The necessary repairs initially cost us five laps before we had to return to the pits later on to rule out any consequential damage. With an eight-lap deficit, a strong result was simply out of reach. We have experienced similar setbacks with the No. 92 earlier in the season. Now it is important to learn from these situations, draw the right conclusions and come back stronger in Monza with James, Timur and Ayhancan", explains Patrick Arkenau, Director Racing at the Manthey Racing GmbH. 

"The No. 92, on the other hand, had an excellent race. Yasser started in still-damp conditions, immediately established himself at the front and took the lead shortly after an early Virtual Safety Car period. Despite several Safety Car interventions, he was able to maintain the lead and repeatedly build a gap to the cars behind. He fully deserved the Wingfoot Award for that outstanding drive. Riccardo and Richard then shared the remaining four hours of the race and controlled proceedings from the front. The advantage Yasser created gave us the flexibility to react perfectly to every strategic situation and ultimately secure victory in a controlled manner. After the difficult races in Austin and Fuji, it is especially satisfying to see the No. 92 bounce back with a win. At the same time, the result has moved us up to second place in the championship. Even though the No. 91 has lost some ground, everything is still possible heading into the season finale in Monza. We will do everything we can to finish the season strongly with both cars."

Quotes on 2026 '6 Hours of Barcelona':

James Cottingham, Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: "The weekend started very positively for us, and we showed strong pace throughout the practice sessions. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite able to convert that into a better result in a very competitive qualifying, which left us starting the race from 12th on the grid. After the first corner, I was involved in unavoidable contact that unfortunately shaped the course of our race. A second incident later on increased the damage and forced us into the pits for repairs. From that point on, our race was effectively over. That was obviously very disappointing. Despite the result, I'm looking forward to Monza. Our pace was strong and the teamwork within the crew has been outstanding. I feel sorry for everyone in the team because they deserved a much better outcome. A huge thank you to all of them for their hard work and, as always, their excellent job throughout the weekend."

Timur Boguslavskiy, Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: "We knew that the Porsche would be competitive in Barcelona, and as a team we prepared very thoroughly for the weekend. Personally, I have continued to adapt to the Porsche over the course of the season with the support of Ayhancan and our engineers, and I feel that I have consistently improved. Throughout the practice sessions in Barcelona, I was able to build even more confidence in the car and gain a better understanding of the circuit. That makes it all the more disappointing that we were unable to realise our full potential in the race. Our full focus is now on the season finale in Monza. I hope we can come back stronger there and fight at the front."

Ayhancan Güven, Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: "Congratulations to the entire No. 92 crew on their first victory of the season. It was a fantastic race from them and they made the most of the potential of our car. Unfortunately, things did not go our way from the very first corner. We suffered damage almost immediately, which was then made worse by a second incident. The car had to be repaired, and although the mechanics did a great job, we were six laps behind by the time we returned to the race. From that point onwards, we focused on gathering data and making sure we didn't interfere with the battles of other competitors. Naturally, the result is disappointing because we had a strong car and a good opportunity today, but that's motorsport."

Yasser Shahin, The Bend Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "We had a fantastic start to the season with two podium finishes before Le Mans turned into a major disappointment. We had genuine opportunities there and strong pace, but unfortunately things didn’t work out. Even after that result and the setbacks in Austin and Fuji, nobody in this team ever stopped believing. We lose together, we learn together, and eventually we win together again, just like we did today. I’m incredibly proud to be part of this team and very happy to celebrate this victory in Barcelona, as well as receiving the Wingfoot Award. I’m proud of the entire Manthey crew and also very satisfied with my own performance this weekend. I’m already looking forward to the season finale in Monza."

Riccardo Pera, The Bend Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "It was a great weekend for us in Barcelona and one that I really enjoyed. After a run of difficult races, it feels great to return to winning in FIA WEC. It was special to spend so much of the race at the front and to help convert the strong performances of Yasser and Richard into a victory. A big thank you to the entire Manthey team and to my team-mates for a successful weekend. This win means a lot to me. Our focus already shifts to Monza now, and I’m highly motivated to finish the season on a high."

Richard Lietz, The Bend Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R #92: "It was a challenging race in Barcelona with changing weather conditions and multiple Safety Car periods. Yasser laid the foundation for this victory today. I'm delighted that he received the Wingfoot Award because he absolutely deserved it. I'm very proud of his performance. In the end, everything simply came together for us. We were able to build gaps at key moments, and as always, the team executed brilliantly both strategically and in the pits. Once again, I'm proud and grateful to be part of this team and this success."