Race Start and Early Challenges
Race Start and Early Challenges
The Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo began on a track that was slightly damp, leading to an incident involving Mike Conway. The recent 24 Hours of Le Mans winner made contact with the pit wall during a reconnaissance lap, necessitating a change to the front bodywork of the #7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid Hypercar.
At the start, Will Stevens took an early lead, establishing a five-second advantage. This was ahead of the #15 BMW M Team WRT entry, driven by Kevin Magnussen, who had overtaken the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R of Earl Bamber. Magnussen initially reported a lack of power but later regained pace, running behind the #35 Alpine A424 piloted by Ferdinand Habsburg.
The Alpine team opted for short-stinting to gain track position, taking the lead in the second hour. However, they dropped down the order after Habsburg handed over to António Félix da Costa during the second pit stop, approximately one hour and 45 minutes into the race. Stevens, the initial leader, experienced a delay of around 15 seconds during his first pit stop due to a front-right wheel nut issue, causing his Hypercar to lose eight positions.
Following this, Stevens mounted a recovery drive, overtaking several competitors, including the #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley, the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi, and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Yifei Ye. At the two-hour mark, the #12 runs second behind the Magnussen. The #83 Ferrari was the highest-placed Ferrari, with Ye having recovered from a five-second stop-and-go penalty for a starting infringement to run third ahead of the #94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 driven by Loïc Duval in the initial two stints. Giovinazzi’s #51 Ferrari was under investigation for contact with the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 entry, driven by Martin Berry, just before the two-hour mark.
The #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R also made a recovery after losing time at its first stop due to an out-of-position entry to the pits. The #17 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 was running seventh after an incident with the #8 Toyota. The Aston Martin Valkyries were eighth and ninth, with the sister Genesis rounding out the top 10 after being forced off track by the #54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari of Thomas Flohr, who received a 10-second stop-go penalty. The #8 Toyota had to pit for repairs after contact with the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Marco Sørensen and later the #19 Genesis of Daniel Juncadella, with Hartley rejoining 13 laps behind the leader. A brief Full Course Yellow occurred after 70 minutes for debris on the track.
LMGT3 Developments and Local Interest
In the LMGT3 category, Proton Competition’s Ford Mustangs initially performed strongly, holding the top two positions. Stefano Gattuso in the #88 car overtook Petru Umbrărescu in the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus for the lead after approximately 30 minutes. Eric Powell in the sister #77 Mustang followed, placing both Fords at the front for the first 80 minutes of the race. Following the first scheduled pit stops, the Akkodis ASP Team Lexus regained the lead through short-fuelling, with Umbrărescu leading the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette as the two-hour mark approached.
At the start, pole-sitter Gray Newell was overtaken by the pack, allowing Johannes Zelger of Iron Lynx and then Umbrărescu to take the lead before the Fords moved to the front. However, contact between Gattuso and Powell at the exit of the Senna S corner after 90 minutes caused Powell to lose momentum. The Proton pair later returned to the top two positions, although the net lead was held by the Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette. This car had moved to the front between pit stops due to a double stint by Salih Yoluç, who then handed over to Peter Dempsey. Ian James in the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage completed several steady stints before preparing to hand over to Zacharie Robichon. Alexander West spun the #58 Garage 59 McLaren after its first pit stop but rejoined the race.
Local driver Pipo Derani, from São Paulo, expressed his satisfaction at competing in his home round of the FIA World Endurance Championship after an 11-year wait. He attended the 2014 event with aspirations of joining sports car racing in the championship. However, Interlagos was not a regular fixture on the WEC calendar, preventing him from competing on home soil in the category until now. Derani, driving the #17 Genesis GMR-001 alongside Andre Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert, stated his happiness to be racing at Interlagos. He noted that the 2015 season, when he signed to race in WEC with G-Drive Racing in LMP2, was the first year Interlagos was not on the calendar.
The Genesis team achieved a milestone by topping a practice session for the first time, with Mathieu Jaminet setting the pace in the sister #19 car during FP2. Derani acknowledged the team’s surprise at their competitiveness in the car’s debut season. Qualifying presented difficulties for Derani, as two of his flying laps were deleted, leaving him with one attempt to reach Hyperpole, where he secured 12th place. Jaminet, however, qualified for the final shoot-out and was sixth quickest before receiving a one-place grid penalty. He added that the car appeared to have good race pace and hoped for a points finish for the Brazilian fans. Another Brazilian driver, Augusto Farfus, was set to start ninth in the LMGT3 division in the #32 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which features a special livery with the Brazilian flag. Farfus aims for a strong result on home ground.
Farfus highlighted his pride in racing with a Brazilian livery but emphasised the goal of winning and maximising championship chances. He described Interlagos as a place he enjoys visiting to see friends, despite past race results not being as favourable as off-track experiences. He mentioned that significant effort was put into preparation for this year, including testing a month prior and competing in a local GT championship race to gain more experience.
The FIA World Endurance Championship event at Interlagos marked a significant return for Brazilian drivers competing on their home circuit.
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Source: fiawec.com