Bathurst winners claim Le Mans

BATHURST 12 Hour winners Manthey EMA Motorsport have continued their remarkable season by claiming victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Driven by Australian Yasser Shahin, teenager Morris Schuring and Porsche legend Richard Lietz, the team powered their Porsche 911 GT3 R - the same specification as the car that claimed Bathurst in February this year - to a one-lap victory in the around-the-clock epic in France.

They led home fellow 12-hour competitors BMW Team WRT, who finished second, and a Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3, who scored a podium on its 24-Hour debut.

The Manthey-EMA victory continued their remarkable year which commenced at Mount Panorama with a double victory in Australia's International Enduro, taking the big trophy in both the outright and Bausele Watches Pro-Am classes this year.

Shahin was part of the Pro-Am winning duo that included Harri King and Alessio Picariello that also finished ninth outright.

Manthey EMA then recently finished third in the rain-sodden 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, which doubled as the second round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge that commenced at Mount Panorama.

They also lead the FIA World Endurance Championship standings in the GT3 category at the half-way point of the season, having now won at Spa Francorchamps and Le Mans.

Ferrari claimed victory in the Le Mans epic while Bathurst 12 Hour winners Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor had slightly more challenging days aboard their respective Porsche Penske Motorsport entries.

Vanthoor, partnered with Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer, led chunks of the race but ultimately missed the podium by under two seconds, while Campbell finished sixth in his sister Porsche 963 entry.