Project 1 rounds off season in style with Bahrain WEC victory

Project 1, partnered by Acronis, rounded off its World Endurance Championship season in style as the Mentos-Porsche number 56 of Egidio Perfetti, Jörg Bergmeister and Larry ten Voorde took the chequered flag in Bahrain.

It was a brilliant performance from the 56 team, ten Voorde taking the lead in the last of eight hours of racing and holding on to the finish.

“Wow! What a race and what a conclusion!” reflected the Dutchman after the race. “Our strategy worked. And despite an unintentional collision in the early stages of the race, our hour still struck. I thank the whole crew for the hard work and for the opportunity.”

The triumph is also a flagship for project 1’s promotion of young talent, the sister car of Dylan Pereira, Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen coming home sixth when an untimely safety car cost them the chance of a podium.

“We have been preparing Larry (ten Voorde) for professional sport for many years. This year he won the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, the Carrera Cup Germany and now another World Championship race. Of course, this makes you very proud,” said team leader Axel Funke, who is also responsible for the future Project 1 Speed Academy.

Finish line at the FIA WEC finale in Bahrain! 🏁 And our three customer teams delivered finale worthy racing action! 😈 Give it up for Team Project 1 on P1 and Dempsey Proton Racing on P3 👏🏻 #PorscheCustomerRacing #WEC #8HBahrain pic.twitter.com/zD5lSwMDyp

— Porsche.CustomerRacing (@Customer_Racing) November 15, 2020

A successful season has also seen victory in Round 4 in Bahrain for the #57 team as well as podiums in Shanghai and Fuji, and also another podium for the #56 team at the Lone Star Le Mans.

“We’ve been through a lot, but in 2020 everything was turned upside down,” added team founder Hans-Bernd Kamps. “We owe it to the whole Project 1 family, including friends, colleagues and of course our business partners, that we were able to race and even win. Special thanks are due to our crew, who have worked so tirelessly for success throughout the season.”