Porsche took a surprising win at the FIA WEC 6 hours race in Mexico.
The winning car with the defending World Champions Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard outtricked Audi and Toyota, and won the race, even though they didn’t have a perfect race.
Audi #8 started from Pole Position but outbraked itself at turn one which led Audi #7 to skip past. For a long time we had Audi #7 leading the race, but then they were struck by technical problems, and later in the race Audi #8 had to go for repairing in the pits too. A wheel bearing send Oliver Jarvis spearing into the wall at high speed, but he managed to get it back to the pits for the mechanics repaired the car and finished 7th in the LMP1 category.
Porsche #1 even got a drive-through penalty in the middle of the race because of a non-compliant entry to the pitlane, but still they had the stability to get first place at the end.
Audi #7 battled back to 2nd position while Toyota had to accept 3rd place, even when they had the perfect race. Audi had the 2 fastest cars, but in Endurance Racing the fastest car doesn’t always win the race.
In LMP1 for privateers we saw a comfortable win for Rebellion Racing #13, after Bykolles hit technical problems early in the race and lost 20 laps. Both cars completed the race and were classified. As mentioned some time ago, Rebellion Racing #12 will not compete anymore this season.
Photo: JJ Media
LMP2 was once again a mix of happiness and frustation. G-Drive Racing #26 long looked like winners of the race, but in the last hour of the race, their front brake disc exploded and they had to go for the pit, and only managed to finish in 8th position. Instead it was the local heroes at RGR Sport by Morand #43 that won the race. They had the speed for it and came back after a spin early in the race and was in fact pushing G-Drive Racing before their problems. Signatech Alpine #36 finished in 2nd position ahead of Extreme Speed Motorsport in 3rd.
In GTE-Pro we saw first Aston Martin Racing victory of the year. #97 with Darren Turner and Richie Stanaway took the win after long time leaders #95 made a driving error and had to go to the pits for a repair. AF Corse #51 jumped past #95 and took 2nd place across the line. Ford wasn’t a contender at all this weekend. Many had expected otherwise because of their turbo engine and the high altitude of the track at more than 2000 meters above sea level.
In GTE -Am we saw another Porsche victory. Abu-Dhabi Proton Racing #88 lead the race most of the way, and only small differences in pitstops mixed it up a little during the race. But when the 6 hours elapsed it was Patrick Long, Khaled AL Qubaisi og David Heinemeier-Hansson that was on top of the podium. AF Corse Ferrari #83 finished 2nd ahead of KCMG #78 Porsche.
Photo: JJ Media
Porsche #2 is leading the LMP1 Championship ahead of Toyota #6 and Audi #8.
Signatech Alpine #36 leads LMP2 ahead of RGR Sport by Morand #43 and ESM #31.
Darren Turner leads single-handedly in GTE-Pro ahead of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen and AF Corse #71 with Sam Bird and Davide Rigon. Turner, Thiim and Sørensen started the season in the same car, but after Le Mans they were split up into 2 separate cars.
In GTE-Am we have AF Corse #83 still in the lead ahead of Abu-Dhabi Proton Racing #88 and Aston Martin Racing #98. The latter lost a lot of ground this weekend, since Paul Dalla Lana didn’t reach the minimum required drive time, and therefore the car wasn’t classified even if they crossed the finishing line after the 6 hours.
The next time we will see FIA World Endurance Championship on the track will be in 14 days, when the 6 hours at COTA will be held on the track in Texas.
