Richard Lietz ahead of his 100th WEC race: “It’s still great fun”

The World Endurance Championship (WEC) was launched in 2012. And alongside Sébastien Buemi, who contested his 100th race in Barcelona, Richard Lietz has now also reached the ‘100 mark’. The 42-year-old Porsche works driver (since 2007!!) is approaching his milestone race at Monza in the Bend-Manthey 911 – in which he still has a chance of winning the GT3 title in the final round. It would be his third.

“The fact that we still have a chance of winning the title ahead of the final round is a good sign. Three third places and one first is okay – three zeros isn’t. Normally, you become WEC champion if you don’t have any zeros. In terms of speed and performance, the season was fine. Perhaps we were a bit unlucky at times, and we also made a few mistakes. Le Mans hurts particularly badly because we were actually very strong there. But in the second hour, the track rod broke; we lost three laps – that was it. We finished the race in the hope that some of our rivals would retire. All of that accounts for the points gap to Johnny Edgar’s leading Corvette.” Lietz and his team-mates Riccardo Pera and Yasser Shahin trail by 18 points.

And the Lower Austrian explains: “It’s very difficult to be successful at Monza – where weight carries the most weight – with 30 kilos of additional weight for our recent victory in Barcelona. Due to the low temperatures and minimal tyre wear, cars that would otherwise suffer from tyre problems will fare better. On top of that, the cancelled races in Qatar and Bahrain would have awarded one-and-a-half times the points, whereas the replacement races, now lasting six hours, only award the standard points. It is what it is; let’s be glad that we can race here on a traditional circuit, but it would simply have been nicer in the summer.”

Lietz has plenty of experience at Monza: “We tested there for two days in August; the last race was two years ago in the GT World Challenge, and before that in the ELMS, the GT Open and the Supercup.” Even at the age of 43 (on 17 December), Lietz will still be getting behind the wheel for Porsche: at least in the winter in the Asian Le Mans Series, for Manthey of course. And then – doesn’t his Porsche contract actually end this year? “We’ve had some informal discussions. If a team – if Porsche and I – want to, it’ll continue. The opportunity is there. The Asian Le Mans Series came as a surprise and is a good way to keep the rust off over the winter.” There was also a phone call to see if Lietz would be open to Daytona, but nothing’s been finalised yet. Manthey, in any case, is “fully booked” in the US.

Motivation isn’t a problem for him: “I still enjoy being in the car. I’m aware that well-trained young drivers are coming through who also need a job. That’s perfectly normal. But if I’m needed, I’m available. Perhaps Porsche and Manthey have another job for me as well. And if not, I really will have to start working!’, he said with a laugh. “Basically, my situation is like being on holiday: you travel round the world with friends, someone pays for the whole thing, and you get to try and win a race. That really is a rare situation. At Manthey, it’s always a pleasure to meet the people there,” adds Lietz.

After victories at Le Mans, Daytona and World Championship titles, there’s still one goal left: “I’d love to have won at Sebring at least once. We won the WEC race there, but not the traditional 12 Hours. These days, though, I also really enjoy supporting gentleman drivers or young drivers and celebrating successes together. It’s lovely when you realise that your work is appreciated.”