After the lengthy post-Le Mans break, the WEC resumed action at Nürburgring in Germany, where Patrick Long and his teammates Patrick Dempsey and Marco Seefried went on to claim 4th place in GTE-AM. The #77 led over long stretches of the 6-hour race, but a late pitstop for a door change denied the team a podium finish. During Long’s last stint, the suction from a passing LMP car pulled the door window out of the #77, and by rule all GTE cars must have windows, necessitating a late stop.
Long said, “I really managed to enjoy my stints. They ran perfectly. The consistency and the balance of our 911 RSR were good and our strategy worked well. Unfortunately the extra pit stop put a spanner in the works. Still, despite our lead, it would have been difficult to win. However, a podium result would probably have been possible.” Next up for Long and the WEC is the series’ sole visit to North America, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX September 17-19. 