Rapid pace and top-5 result in Austin

With a strong performance and two cars in the points, Proton Competition impressed at the Circuit of The Americas with rapid lap times, confident overtaking and plenty of fighting spirit. At the end of the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship on 6 September, the team’s two Ford Mustang LMGT3 crossed the line in fifth and ninth.

Proton Competition’s potential to challenge for a podium was evident in Saturday’s Qualifying session. Rapid laps from Stefano Gattuso and Eric Powell saw both the #77 and #88 cars progress to Hyperpole. Gattuso continued his impressive qualifying form, taking the Mustang he shares with Giammarco Levorato and Logan Sargeant into the shoot-out for the fifth time this season. In Hyperpole, Ben Tuck and Levorato secured fourth and tenth positions on the starting grid.

Both crews built on this strong qualifying performance in Sunday’s race. Powell made an impressive start in the #77, moving into the lead on the opening lap. However, the crew of Powell, Tuck and Sebastian Priaulx suffered a setback after around 40 minutes when a drive-through penalty dropped them down the order. Undeterred, the trio fought their way back through the field, making up ground with consistently strong pace. As the race entered its closing stages, Tuck delivered a series of committed overtakes to bring the #77 back into contention. He ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth, securing the crew’s best result of the season so far.

“It felt good to lead the race,” said Powell. “My strategy was to manage the tyres and cope with the heat as best I could, and I think we did that. I came out after the penalty and made quite a few overtakes, which was encouraging. My teammates and the entire team did a great job.”

The sister car also made a promising start, running inside the top five before losing ground around 45 minutes into the race. Contact in the opening stages caused damage to the front of the Ford Mustang LMGT3, forcing the crew to make an additional pit stop for repairs. Despite the delay, Sargeant, Levorato and Gattuso showed strong pace throughout, setting consistently fast lap times and making a series of convincing overtakes to fight their way back up the order. The trio ultimately finished ninth at Ford’s home race in Austin, Texas.

“That was certainly a tough day for us,” said Sargeant. “We picked up some damage early and had to do some repairs, and it was incredibly hot out there too. But we recovered well and made the best out of the situation. I think we can be happy that we picked up some points.”

The result sees Proton Competition leave the fifth round of the FIA WEC with twelve points. The team’s next opportunity to score points in the championship comes from 25 to 27 September, when the season’s sixth round takes place at Fuji, Japan. Before then, Proton Competition will return to action in the European Le Mans Series at Silverstone from 11 to 13 September.

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Copyright: Proton Competition (Paola Depalmas)