Race Highlights and Early Incidents
The Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo began with a damp track, leading to an early incident for Mike Conway. During his reconnaissance lap, the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans winner made contact with the pit wall, necessitating a front bodywork change on the #7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid Hypercar.
At the start, Will Stevens took an early lead, establishing a five-second advantage over the #15 BMW M Team WRT entry, driven by Kevin Magnussen. Magnussen had overtaken the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R of Earl Bamber, which started on the front row. Despite initial complaints about a lack of power, Magnussen regained pace and ran second behind the #35 Alpine A424, piloted by Ferdinand Habsburg.
The first pit stop proved problematic for Stevens, who lost approximately 15 seconds due to a stuck front-right wheel nut. This incident caused the American Hypercar to drop eight places. Stevens then mounted a recovery drive, overtaking rivals including the #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley and the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi. At the two-hour mark, the #12 car was running second behind the BMW driven by Magnussen.
The #83 AF Corse Ferrari, with Yifei Ye at the wheel, was the highest-placed Ferrari. Ye had 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 during the initial two stints. Giovinazzi’s #51 Ferrari was in fifth position after an eventful first two hours, enduring several contacts and facing an investigation for a clash with the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 entry.
The #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R also faced setbacks, losing time at its first stop due to being out of position upon entry to the pits, but managed to fight back into the top six. The #17 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 was involved in a significant clash with the #8 Toyota. The #8 Toyota subsequently pitted for repairs after contact with the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Marco Sørensen and later with the #19 Genesis of Daniel Juncadella, rejoining the field 13 laps behind the leader.
LMGT3 Class Developments
In the LMGT3 category, the Proton Competition pair of Ford Mustangs initially dominated, running one-two after a strong start. Stefano Gattuso in the #88 car took the lead from Petru Umbrărescu in the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus after approximately 30 minutes of racing. Eric Powell in the sister #77 Mustang followed, placing both Fords at the front for the first 80 minutes.
Following the initial scheduled pit stops, the Akkodis ASP Team Lexus regained the lead through short-fuelling, with Umbrărescu heading the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette as the two-hour mark approached. Pole-sitter Gray Newell had a challenging start, being overtaken by Johannes Zelger of Iron Lynx and then Umbrărescu before the Fords moved to the front.
Intra-team competition between the Mustangs became contentious after 90 minutes when Gattuso and Powell made contact at the exit of the Senna S corner, causing Powell to lose momentum. However, the Proton pair eventually returned to a one-two position, though the net lead was held by the Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette, which moved to the front between pit stops due to a double stint by Salih Yoluç.
Local Drivers’ Experiences
Pipo Derani, a São Paulo native and driver for Genesis Magma Racing, expressed his delight at competing in his home round of the FIA World Endurance Championship after an 11-year wait. Derani had attended the 2014 event with aspirations of securing a drive in sports car racing, but the Interlagos circuit had not been a regular fixture on the WEC calendar since then. He is racing the #17 Genesis GMR-001 alongside Andre Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert.
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 campaign. However, qualifying proved difficult for Derani, as two of his flying laps were deleted due to the car’s powertrain exceeding the prescribed limit. He ultimately qualified in 12th place, while Jaminet secured a spot in the final shoot-out, finishing sixth quickest before receiving a one-place grid penalty for impeding.
Another Brazilian driver, Augusto Farfus, lined up ninth in the LMGT3 division in the #32 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which featured a special livery incorporating the Brazilian flag. Farfus conveyed his pride in racing on home soil with the national livery. He aimed for a strong result after previous finishes of tenth and 12th places in the last two years at Interlagos.
A brief Full Course Yellow was implemented after 70 minutes of racing due to debris on the track, but the race largely proceeded under green flag conditions.
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Source: fiawec.com
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Joel Kavanagh is a Sports News Writer at News-GB. He started on a Midlands sports desk. He focuses on rugby union, golf and boxing and is known for clear, deadline-driven reporting. He holds a degree in Journalism from De Montfort University and completed an NCTJ diploma. Now based in Leicester, he plays amateur rugby and follows the fight calendar. “In sport news, the first ten minutes decide everything.”