Once again, our motorsport customers have won the LMGT3 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and that in front of an impressive crowd of over 320,000 fans.
The Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R (#92) claimed victory in the LMGT3 class after 341 laps, finishing with a lead of 33.259 seconds. The storied Porsche team Manthey has now secured back-to-back wins at Le Mans.
Veteran driver Richard Lietz, making his 19th start at Le Mans, celebrated his sixth GT class victory with Porsche. He shared the cockpit of the #92 with Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera. The trio delivered a flawless performance throughout the race, executing their strategy with precision and composure. Congratulations to the team in Meuspath!
Of the 24 GT3 race cars on the grid, seven were equipped with KW V6 Racing dampers. In customer racing, leading manufacturers such as Aston Martin, BMW, and Porsche trust KW Solid Piston dampers—engineered and manufactured by KW automotive—for their GT3 programs.
The Heart of Racing Team finished fourth overall in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with their Aston Martin Vantage AMR Evo #27. Drivers Mattia Drudi, Ian James, and Zach Robichon managed to stay clear of the chaos during the yellow flag phases.
The Manthey Porsche #90 finished in sixth place, while the second Aston Martin Vantage AMR (#10, Racing Spirit of Le Mans) crossed the line in 13th. The Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R (#85) secured 16th place.
For much of the race weekend, it seemed the new BMW M4 GT3 Evo was poised to dominate the LMGT3 class at Le Mans. Already in qualifying, the car, introduced for the 2025 season, set the pace and established itself as the benchmark.
In Qualifying 1 and Hyperpole 1, the BMW M4 GT3 Evo with car #46 set the fastest time twice and secured third on the grid in Hyperpole 2. But Le Mans is Le Mans, and as is well known, 24-hour races always write their own stories.
The two BMW M4 GT3 Evo entries from ‘The Bend Team WRT’ (#31, driven by Timur Boguslavskiy, Augusto Farfus, and Yasser Shahin) and ‘Team WRT’ (#46, with Ahmad Al Harthy, Kelvin van der Linde, and Valentino Rossi) led the race for long stretches.
During the night, car #46, with Kelvin van der Linde at the wheel, slid into the gravel trap. According to BMW, the incident was caused by an unresolved electrical issue. Although the M4 GT3 Evo (#46) managed to return to the pits under its own power, the team ultimately had to retire the car from the race. The second BMW M4 GT3 Evo (#31) suffered a similar fate.
While running in the top eight, car #31 suffered a wildlife-related incident. A collision with a hare on the track caused severe damage to the radiator and bodywork, making repairs in the pits impossible.
On the weekend of June 21–22, 2025, our motorsport customers will take on the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. We’re proud to equip over one-third of the entire grid—47.14 percent—with our KW Racing dampers.
If you’d like to learn more about our KW Racing dampers, you’ll find in-depth background articles on our blog—or visit the motorsport section on the new KW suspensions website.
Photo credits: Aston Martin, BMW, Porsche, Nick Dungan, Drew Gibson Photography, KW
