GR Racing 2021 WEC Season Round-Up

The 9th WEC season the first time the former Gulf Racing team competed under the new GR Racing name. A new name, new black and gold livery, a new Porsche 911 RSR 19 and new driver. 19-year-old ELMS LMP3 champion Tom Gamble replaced last year's Andrew Watson.

It wasn't just GR Racing mixing it up. The 6-race calendar featured long-awaited changes. These covered cars, regulations, and the introduction of a new Hypercar category. Joining Gamble were team principal Mike Wainwright and veteran Gulf Racing driver Ben Barker.

8 Hours Of Spa Francorchamps

Spa was the ideal track to start the season. The prologue saw increasingly faster times as the teams got used to the changes. By the end of the prologue barely more than a second separated the top 10 GTE Am competitors. Mike Wainwright took the No 86 car to qualify 8th in class on a punishing track.

Spa claimed several cars over the course of the event. 10 minutes before the green flag dropped, the No 86 car crashed during the outlap, leaving GR Racing out of the running before the race started. A week filled with blood, sweat, tears and ultimately disappointment. But the team refocused their efforts for the next race in Portugal.

8 Hours of Portimão 2021

The team raced as guest entrants in the prior season's 4 hours of Portimão ELMS. GR Racing knew this race would be tough. The hot, tight track at Portimão requires tactical racing. With track temperatures pushing 50 degrees C, this was going to be a serious challenge.

Qualifying was close with an average of just over a second separating each of the top 10 teams. GR Racing qualified in a respectable 10th place. Team principal Mike Wainwright closed out the first hour in 9th position after 35 laps. Ben Barker took over. As temperatures creeped up, the stress on tires only grew.

After halfway the cooling track opened up for GR Racing. New team member Tom Gamble set exceptional times over 99 laps in the No. 86 Porsche. After 8 hours and over 1200km of racing, the No. 86 car crossed the line at Portimão in 9th place. A solid performance in the new car.

6 Hours of Monza 2021

After GR Racing's solid performance at Portimão, the No. 86 was ready for action at Monza. GR Racing crossed the line in 13th in a close fought qualifier.

Nearly an hour in, driver Mike Wainwright reached 11th place. GR Racing broke into the top 10 by the time Ben Barker took over. Further ahead a catastrophic high-speed tyre failure on the No. 33 TF Sport sprayed debris across the track. While other teams used the safety car's slower pace for a low-cost stop, GR Racing drove on. When Tom Gamble took over duties, the team were in 5th place. Gamble achieved remarkably fast lap times throughout his shift.

Faults plagued the race. In addition to TF Sport's blow-out, Toyota's No. 8 was taken out. Disaster struck Toyota again as a power failure forced their No. 7 car to stop on track. Glickenhaus also suffered. Finally it was GR Racing's turn. A splitter failure forced the No. 86 into the pit for an extended stay. Tom Gamble emerged from the pit in 7th place.

With 40 minutes to go, Mike Wainwright took the final stint from 8th position. A final full course yellow left GR Racing crossing the line in 9th place. In a race beleagured by faults and drama, GR Racing scrapped like hell for every last point.

24 Hours of Le Mans 2021

The season's most important event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans at Sarthe. After a 9th place finish at Monza, GR Racing were ready for the endurance event of the year.

The team reached 2nd in class in early pre-qualification sessions. Ben Barker continued with a stormer of a lap during qualifying, earning a front row grid start beside the No. 88 Dempsey-Proton Porsche.

The heavens opened up 30 minutes before the start of the race. With 61 Cars on the grid, the 24 hours race spent the first two laps behind the safety car. Ben Barker opened for GR Racing, handling the treacherous conditions well. After the first hour the track started to dry, but was still damp.

3 Hours in, track damage forced the No. 86 into the garage. Less than 40 minutes later the car was back on track. At 61st and 4 hours in, there was a lot of hard-fought race to run. Tom Gamble took over and started making gains.

By 4am the team reached 49th position in the field. After repairs the No. 86 left for the pre-dawn light. After a dark and damp evening the early morning fog cleared leaving a warm, dry and well-lit track. Even with 6 hours left to go only 30 seconds separated the GTE AM class. With a solid performance, GR Racing crossed the line 43rd on track.

6 Hours of Bahrain 2021

The season would finish with a Bahrain double header. The team put in over half the race laps distance in practice sessions before qualifying 12th in class. Mike Wainwright opened the race for GR Racing, fighting head to head with Cetilar Racing's No. 47 car. After taking the position from Cetilar, GR Racing's No. 86 climbed to 9th in class in the race's first 30 minutes.

An hour into the race, Ben Barker took over, battling stiff competition. At the end of the 2nd hour a bodywork failure spread debris from the then leading No. 777 car across the track. A full-course yellow came out, slowing the race. Tom Gamble took over in the third hour maintaining a relentless pace before handing over to Wainwright.

With 2 hours to go, Mike Wainwright handed over to Ben Barker. Barker and Gamble made progress in a difficult race under searing conditions. Crossing the line in 6th place, GR Racing had their best result of the season.

8 Hours of Bahrain 2021

The season's last race was a final opportunity to score championship points. In a short qualifying session, Mike Wainwright set a personal best lap time, qualifying 12th in class.

The first Bahrain race was under earlier blistering heat. The second in cooling conditions. Cooler weather required different strategies. GR Racing opened with Mike Wainwright, who climbed to 9th place in the first 10 minutes. Throughout the first hour GR Racing fought aggressively for 9th place. After the first hour a damper broke due to a mechanical failure.

With repairs completed, Ben Barker came out onto the track in force. An incredible performance set the fastest pace in class, even matching GTE Pro lap times. Barker handed over to Tom Gamble to take the first evening session. Gamble put joined the 3 fastest drivers in class with exceptionally quick lap times.

After 1200 km of driving and 224 laps, GR Racing's No. 86 car crossed the finish line 10th in class. GR Racing put in a solid performance over a memorable season, reflected in some of the best times seen yet.