Returning Vanthoor leads Audi 1-2-3 in Sepang 12 Hours

Laurens Vanthoor returned from a two-month injury layoff to lead an Audi 1-2-3 in the Sepang 12 Hours GT race.

While leading the Blancpain Sprint Series, Vanthoor sustained a double fracture of the hip during the Misano round in early October. Having been sidelined since, the Belgian returned in Malaysia as Audi dominated a rain-affected race.

Vanthoor qualified the WRT Audi he shared with Stephane Ortelli and Stuart Leonard in second place, behind the Clearwater Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni, James Calado, Matt Griffin and Weng Sun Mok. The Ferrari, which has won the last two 12-hour races at the home of Formula 1's Malaysian Grand Prix, was involved in an early clash while Bruni was lapping a Lotus. It led to a pair of punctures and rear suspension damage, while an ECU failure eventually ended Clearwater's race.

The first storm arrived four hours into the day and when the race was red flagged, the Phoenix Audi of Markus Winkelhock, Nicki Thiim and Niki Mayr-Melnhof was at the head of the field.

Racing resumed nearly two hours later and Winkelhock maintained that lead through a double stint into the evening, when the race was then stopped for another hour due to more torrential rain.

After a further hour behind the safety car, Winkelock was overhauled by Vanthoor with two hours remaining.

Having been delayed when the second WRT Audi failed to start during the previous round of pit stops, Christopher Mies took the lead during the final stops by staying on the same wet tires when Vanthoor opted to take a fresh set. The slower stop ultimately paid dividends for Vanthoor, who hauled in and passed Mies – sharing his Audi with Christopher Haase and Enzo Ide – with 40 minutes remaining. Vanthoor eventually won by 8.33 seconds, with Winkelhock one minute behind.

The top non-Audi finisher was the McLaren of Alvaro Parente, Andrea Caldarelli, Andrew Watson and Hiroshi Hamaguchi in fourth, ahead of the #8 Bentley driven by Andy Soucek, Maximilian Buhk and Maxime Soulet.

The #9 Bentley of Guy Smith, Steven Kane and Vincent Abril finished 10th, having lost time due to a gearbox problem after the first stoppage.

Originally on Autosport.com