IVRA Endurance Series

Fischer Motorsport battles adversity in 12 Hours of Spa

by Fischer Motorsport PR

October 11, 2020 04:30 AM CET 682 Views

It was a wild, drama-filled season opener for the IVRA Endurance Series on Saturday. Both Fischer Motorsport Porsche found trouble at different points in the race and it all came down to a battle against adversity. In the end, the No. 284 Porsche finished ninth unofficially in GT PRO and the No. 385 Porsche in GT AM salvaged a top-five.

Manuel Mayer and Pascal Theis showed they have what it takes to compete in the GT PRO class, setting the field’s pace at times and running in the top-five for large parts of the 12 hour endurance event at Spa.

Fischer Motorsport’s entry in the GT AM category, the No. 385 Porsche 991 RSR GTE with Nathan Manning behind the wheel got off to a terrible start. On lap 18 Manning found himself get hit in the rear by another GTE car at Campus, relegating the team to last place.

Just 28 laps later, it was Fischer in the car, looking to let a faster LMP AM class car through at Stavelot. Instead, there was contact between the two cars, sending Fischer into a wild spin into the gravel and into the tire barriers. The car sustained some rear wing damage in the process, but Fischer was able to go on.

The No. 385 Porsche team with Nathan Manning and Benjamin Fischer left its mark in the 12 Hours of Spa, despite a late crash

The Leipzig, Germany driver showed he was rattled a bit, however and on lap 76 made a mistake in the braking zone for the bus stop chicane, clipping the rear end of a fast approaching LMP PRO class car. While the incident did not add damage to the Fischer Motorsport car, it did not help the team’s progress in the race.

“It definitely wasn’t my best race. Too many mistakes. That’s all I can say.”, Fischer explained.

The 36-year old later on had another two close calls, where he briefly lost control, but was able to avoid adding any damage to the car on both occasions.

The 12 Hours of Spa started 10 am local time and lead into the late afternoon hours eventually, with teams and fans preparing for the sunset hours to approach soon.

On lap 228, it was Mayer in the No. 284 Porsche 991 RSR GTE who suddenly came to an unexpected halt at Campus due to mechanical problems. During the following full course yellow flag, the car had to be towed back to the pits, dropping the team two full laps behind the GT PRO class leaders.

Lap 228: Manuel Mayer in the No. 284 Porsche comes to a stop at Campus, because of mechanical failures that dropped the team down by two laps

“We had an issue with the wheel. A pin inside the steering wheel connector got loose and I couldn’t shift gears anymore. Luckily we were able to fix it, replace the wheel and keep going. But it was very frustrating nonetheless, because it really threw us behind at a time when things were really starting to look good for us.”, a visibly frustrated Mayer commented on the situation.

Thanks to a late-race full course yellow, Mayer regained one of the two laps, putting the team in the mix to fight for a solid top ten finish, but there wasn’t enough time left to get back on the lead lap.

By the time the race was reaching its final hour, the legendary Belgian track was covered in complete darkness and the night had arrived. Nathan Manning in the No. 395 Porsche put on quick lap after quick lap, as the race setup came to live in cooler track conditions.

Running in second position with only one pit stop to go, disaster struck the No. 385 Porsche team when the No. 182 LMP AM class prototype of PND Racing struck the rear of Manning’s car on the exit of Blanchimont, sending the Fischer Motorsport machine hard into the wall. The incident completely destroyed the car.

Two laps before the finish: In a close position battle with the No. 283 Kinetic Racing Corvette, Mayer spins off the race track

“I’m okay, but man that was a hard hit. I don’t know what the hell that guy was thinking. I was just running my line, minding my business and there he comes and completely destroys our race. It just sucks, you work this hard for 11 hours and have it taken away in a stupid accident like that. It’s extremely frustrating, really.”, a visibly upset Manning commented.

Unofficially, the No. 385 Porsche was still scored in P5 of the GT AM class competition at the conclusion of the race.

After an overall rough day Fischer Motorsport, a fitting icing on the cake occurred with two laps to go in the event. Looking for a consolation price, Manuel Mayer battled with the No. 283 Corvette C8.R of Kinetic Racing for eighth position in GT PRO.

Between Campus and Stavelot the two cars touched. Mayer spun out and recovered the car safely and managed to stay away from the barriers and oncoming traffic. But the incident meant the Teisendorf, Germany native and team-mate Pascal Theis had to settle for P9 in GT PRO, unofficially.

Official race results and point standings are expected to be announced by IVRA in the coming week.

Round 2 of the IVRA Endurance Series 2020-21 season will take place on November 7th in Australia, for the 4 Hours of Phillip Island.

Unofficial Results: GT PRO Class

Unofficial Results: GT AM Class