The #83 AF Corse Ferrari took the Hypercar win in FIA WEC Lone Star Le Mans race in COTA, with #27 Heart of Racing doing so in LMGT3.
Hypercar –
Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman took a first victory of the season for the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari team after a dramatic final hour at COTA saw them win by just 1.7s. The victory for the yellow Ferrari 499P ensured that there has been six different winners from each of the 2024 FIA WEC rounds so far this season, with just two races remaining on the schedule.
65,089 fans watched the thrilling action unfold at COTA as Shwartzman defended the lead from a flying Kamui Kobayashi in the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hypercar and held on to win by just 1.780s, the second closest finish between rival manufacturers in WEC history. The remarkable finish occurred because former leader Kobayashi was adjudged to have not slowed sufficiently for yellow flags that were deployed to retrieve the stranded Peugeot 9X8 of Paul di Resta late in the race.
That meant the Japanese driver had to complete a drive through penalty meaning he dropped back behind the AF Corse Ferrari of Shwartzman, who then had to stay cool as Kobayashi hunted him down to the chequered flag. The 1.7s gap between the two was the second closest between two rival manufacturers in WEC history.
The yellow AF Corse Ferrari became the first customer Ferrari to win an internationally recognised sportscar race for over 50 years on a day when the Prancing Horse also celebrated winning its home Grand Prix at Monza. Kubica picked up the lead in the first hour when he overtook pole sitter Antonio Giovinazzi in the No.51 Ferrari 499P. The Italian looked to be a contender until a spin while lapping Stoffel Vandoorne’s Peugeot and then technical issue ended his and teammates James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi’s race.
The sister Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar of Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina spent most of the race in third position, which they maintained until the chequered flag. The 15-points ensured that the trio closed in on season long points leaders Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor who finished the race in sixth place.
There was further disappointment for Toyota as the No.8 GR010 Hypercar driven by Sebastien Buemi was given two penalties, the most severe of which was a 30-second stop/go penalty after an on-track altercation with Kevin Estre’s Porsche.
Taking fourth position was home favourites Cadillac Racing as Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber take their best result of the season, while Alpine also claims its best score as the No.35 car of Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin secure fifth position.
The triumphant No.83 AF Corse Ferrari squad also took the FIA Hypercar World Cup trophy to close the gap to the No.12 Hertz Team Jota team which suffered several technical issues throughout the Lone Star Le Mans.
- Victory looked as if it was on its way to Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries take victory in the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing
- The Toyota trio, who were set to claim their second win of the season after getting the lead in the fifth hour, saw their hopes dashed when Kobayashi was given a drive-through penalty for not slowing sufficiently for a waved yellow flag to recover the stranded No.94 Peugeot 9X8
- Completing the podium and making it a Ferrari 1-3 in Texas was the No.50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P of Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen
- The top six was completed by the Cadillac Racing V-Series.R in fourth, the championship points leading, the No.35 Alpine of Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin and the No.20 BMW M Team WRT car of Robin Frijns, Rene Rast and Sheldon van der Linde
- No.6 Porsche Penske of Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor takes seventh and sees its points lead in the title fight reduced
- No.8 Toyota is penalised for avoidable contact after controversial incident between Sebastien Buemi and Kevin Estre in No.6 Porsche in penultimate hour
- No.38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 of Oliver Rasmussen, Jenson Button and Phil Hanson takes their second FIA World Cup victory in succession
LMGT3 –
Alex Riberas took the chequered flag in the #27 Heart of Race Team to claim his and his teammates, Ian James and Daniel Mancinelli, debut FIA WEC win. It was also the first win for the Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 and for the American team. The grid was missing one car after the no54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 stopped on the formation lap, Thomas Flohr managing to get back to the pits but a clutch issue forced the team to push the Ferrari into the garage.
The car did emerge for a short stint well into the race but retired not long after. Ian James had started at the front of the LMGT3 field after claiming pole in the no27 Aston Martin and led the field into T1. The Anglo-American driver moving ahead of the rest of the field as they scrambled for position.
The no85 Iron Dames Lamborghini and the no55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari had swapped places at the start, with Sarah Bovy challenging Francois Heriau for second place. The Belgian driver eventually got ahead of the Ferrari, with Tom Van Rompuy in the no81 TF Sport Corvette also moving up to third.
Once Bovy was up into second she started to close the gap to the leading Aston Martin, but James was able to keep the no85 Lamborghini at bay. For lap after lap the two cars were separated by less than a second. However, after the second set of stops Daniel Mancinelli was able to pull away in the no27 Aston Martin.
The no81 TF Sport Corvette of Rui Andrade was now up to second spot and was being challenge by Rahel Frey in the no85 Lamborghini, but the Swiss driver lunged up the inside at T12 and there was contact resulting in damage to the rear right of the Huracan, forcing Frey into the pits and into the garage. The no81 Corvette was able to continue with slight bodywork damage, with the no85 Lamborghini being penalised later for causing the collision.
There was a short Full Course Yellow to collect the debris from the accident. Mancinelli handed over the lead car to Alex Riberas with a comfortable 18 second lead, which the Spanish driver started to increase. The no92 Manthey Purerxing Porsche had moved up the order and Klaus Bachler was 20 seconds ahead of the no59 United Autosports McLaren, with Richard Lietz in the no91 Manthey EMA Porsche in 4th and closing on the McLaren.
Bachler started to close the gap to the leader but Riberas managed to keep a healty lead. The no88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang stopped on track and a second FCY was declared to move the car to safety, with racing resuming after just three minutes. The no46 Team WRT BMW M4 slowed on track with power steering failure with 16-minutes left on the clock. Maxime Martin brought the car back to the pits into retirement.
The no91 911 GT3 R moved up to third but Richard Lietz over 20 seconds behind his teammate Klaus Bachler in the no92 Manthey PureRxing Porsche. At the chequered flag the no27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 crossed the line 20.5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, with the two Manthey Porsches taking the remaining podium places.
Result: https://www.fiawec.com/en/race/result/4867
[Note: The story is as per press release]