WEC: Discover the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in detail

With two former F1 drivers, Toyota wins in the main category. Victory in the GT3 category went to the Porsche 911 of Manthey Purerxcing

It succumbed to Toyota on its return from the WEC at Interlagos. After securing the front row in qualifying on Saturday, the Japanese manufacturer gave its rivals no chance and dominated the race from start to finish. The No. 8 car, with two former Formula 1 drivers in its trio (Brendon Hartley and Sebatien Buemi, sharing the cockpit with Ryo Hirakawa), took the win.

The only other car that dreamed of winning the race was the other Toyota, the number 7, which started from the pole but ended up having problems and found itself far from the fight for the win in the first half of the race. It recovered, however, and finished the race in an honorable 4th place, behind the two Penske Porsches.

In the GT3 category, victory went to the trio of Porsche #92, from the Manthey Purerxcing team. Fighting for the lead was the trio of women’s Iron Dames, who crashed out along the way with mechanical problems, making life easier for the Porsche of Klaus Bachler, Aliaksandr Malykhin and Joel Sturm.

The race featured two Brazilians, both in the GT3 category. Nicolas Costa, racing the United McLaren 720S, finished 4th. BMW’s Augusto Farfus saw his trio finish 10th.

Watch the description of the race that marked the return of the WEC to Brazil after a decade-long hiatus.

The Brazilian flag was waved at 11:30, under the strong Interlagos sun. Toyota managed to maintain the lead with its two cars. The #7, driven by Mike Conway, ahead of the #8, with Brandon Hartley. Also on the first lap, the #35 Alpine, with Paul-Loup Chatin, went off the track and ended up in last place of the hypercars.

The GT3 pole-sitters Iron Dames also maintained their lead and stayed ahead of the #92 Manthey Purerxcing Porsche. Also in the opening minutes, a general yellow flag (yellow all round) came out after Thomas Fhlor, the #54 AF Vista Ferrari, spun on the Senna S. Shortly before, the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche crashed into the #81 Corvette, both in the GT3 category, at the Curva do Lago.

Two of the protagonists of the chaos returned to the spotlight about an hour later, when the #91 Porsche crashed into the #54 Ferrari. Both were able to return to the pits. The Porsche underwent repairs that cost it a lap from the class leader, while the Ferrari lost 15 laps.

The No. 6 Penske Porsche was injured in a collision with the No. 12 Jota Porsche. The factory team car (No. 6) had to make an unscheduled stop to replace a flat tire in the first 40 minutes of the race.

After the first round of pit stops, about 55 minutes into the race, Toyota maintained its two-car lead. Ferrari managed to pass the #50 and move it into third place. It didn’t take long, however, for the #5 Porsche Penske to make up ground and regain its previous podium position.

In GT3, the Iron Dames stopped before their competitors. With newer tires after the modifications, the #92 Manthey Purerxcing Porsche caught and passed the pink Lamborghini that had led the class from the start.

The race-leading #7 Toyota was required to complete a drive-through penalty for violating the yellow flag procedure early in the race, costing the lead to the #8 of Brendon Hartley.

The problems with the #7 continued: due to a fault in the electronic control unit, the car that started from pole had to make an unscheduled stop and fell to 18th place. Porsche Penske took advantage of this and placed its two cars on the podium. The #6, damaged at the start of the race, had already taken the

The first half of the race was quite hectic, with the three hours flying by like a hypercar on the pit straight. Disputes occurred at virtually every point in the field, accentuated by heavy traffic – due to the short Interlagos course, which kept the 36 cars close together at all times.

Toyota started the second half of the race in the lead with the No. 8 car, with a full 40 seconds over the No. 6 and No. 5 Porsche Penske. The positions of the two German cars were reversed when the #5 dived inside at Lago Curve and took over 2nd place.

The #92 Manthey Porsche led the GT3 field, about 20 seconds ahead of the Iron Dames, who continued to receive support from the Interlagos crowd. The #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin put pressure on the Dames, but was unable to take second place.

But unfortunately for the girls of the Iron Dames the affection of the public was not enough. At 3:40 from the start of the race, the Lamborghini #85 opened its nose. Car in the pits and end of the rosy dream of the pole position holders.

The #46 WRT BMW, Valentino Rossi’s car, inherited a podium spot as the Iron Dames departed. The Italian, another crowd favourite, took over the car just as the Iron Dames were abandoning it. With one more pit stop to make, the #46 would soon find itself behind the #95 McLaren.

The second yellow of the entire course was presented when the No. 82 Corvette broke down on the banks of the Laranjinha, near the fourth hour of the race.

The race proceeded with the #8 Toyota comfortably in front, with the two Porsches (#6 and #5) more than a minute behind, walking close to each other. Alpine, Peugeot and Ferrari appeared momentarily on the podium because they were using different strategies.

While the top three seemed to be consolidating, the rest of the positions remained open. The #38 Porsche Jota, with Jenson Button at the wheel, was in 4th place, just ahead of the #51 Ferrari. The battle lasted just a few laps, with Alessandro Pier Guidi unable to overtake the Englishman.

In GT3, Manthey also continued undisturbed, with a wide margin over the Heart of Racing Aston and even more so over the McLaren #95. As in Dypercar, it was a real fight for 4th place: the McLaren #59 (with Nicolas Costa), the BMW #46 (Valentino Rossi) and the Ferrari #55.

After everyone has completed their stops and the field heads for the checkered flag, there is another yellow route less than 15 minutes away, to clear debris from the track.

Despite appearing “harmless”, the interruption of the action was damaging for Button and the #27 Aston: both were punished with a drive through for violating the correct procedure. Button found himself far from the fight for 4th place. Aston was luckier, as they had enough margin to pay the penalty and return to 2nd place in their category.

In the final stages, the #7 Toyota recovered and overtook the #51 Ferrari, moving into fourth place, which Jota #38 had occupied until shortly before.

The 6 Hours of Sao Paulo ended with the victory of the #8 Toyota GR010, of the trio composed of Sebastian Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa. The 2nd place went to the #6 Porsche Penske 963, owned by Kevin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor. The last step of the podium went to the #5 Porsche Penske, owned by Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki.

In LMGT3, Manthey Purerxcing, in the #92 Porsche 911 GT3R driven by Klaus Bachler, Aliaksandr Malykhin and Joel Sturm, took the win. Next up was the #27 Heart of Racing Aston of Alex Riberas, Ian James and Daniel Mancinelli. Rounding out the podium was the #95 United McLaren 720S, owned by Marino Sato, Joshua Caygill and Niclas Pino.

Among the Brazilians, Nicolas Costa’s trio came close to the GT3 podium, finishing 4th. Augusto Farfus’ car only finished 10th in the same category.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.