The final race of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship is underway at Interlagos in Brazil, and the action in the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo is hot! Under bright sunshine and in temperatures of 26oC, the 26 cars made a clean getaway as the green flag flew and, until the first round of pit stops which took place just before the end of the first hour, it was Aston Martin Racing in control with a 1-2 in both the LMGTE Pro and Am categories.
However, 61 minutes into the race there was drama for the championship-leading LMP2 G-Drive car which brought out a Full Course Yellow for eight minutes. During this time those GTE cars which hadn’t stopped took the chance to do so and this shook up the order.
Darryl O’Young in the No.99 Aston Martin Vantage V8 is in an intense battle with Davide Rigon in the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari in LMGTE Pro, with less than half a second separating the two and some great battles for position taking place. Third in Pro is the No.92 Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSR which needs a strong finish if it is to help Porsche in its bid to win the FIA Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers. Fourth in class, after leading for almost all the first hour, is the No.97 of Darren Turner which suffered a delay after being knocked wide by the No.51 Ferrari – a move which resulted in the AF Corse car having to make an unscheduled pit stop.
Ferrari has taken the lead of the Am class, with the No.81 AF Corse Ferrari of Stephen Wyatt, but the Italian car is being chased down hard by the No.98 and No.95 Aston Martin Vantage V8s of Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen who are currently second and third in class. There have been no other major incidents in GTE but rain is forecast for the latter stages of the race and anything can happen until then!
Follow the race with live timing right here - http://live.fiawec.com
Race Facts:
14:28:16 Aston #95 under investigation for short-cut on circuit
14:24:08 Track temp now over 29C and still rising
14:22:52 Rebellion #12 has long stop now 24th overall 10 laps behind leader
14:21:12 Ferrari #90 under investigation for pit stop infringement
14:19:21 Ferrari #51 stops for tyres
14:14:52 Audi #2 had power issue at start and Treluyer had to reboot systems
14:13:37 Contact between #51 Ferrari and #97 Aston
14:12:42 Audi #2 took 2nd stop under Full Course Yellow - Fassler now in
14:10:45 Ferrari #81 leads GTE Am after pit stops
14:10:00 Green flag again
14:09:40 Aston #99 leads GTE Pro after pit stops
14:08:03 Barriers being repaired after crash of #26 Ligier
14:05:59 Ligier #26 pushed behind barriers
14:04:43 After 1 hour #95 Aston leads GTE Am from #98 Aston and #81 Ferrari
14:03:34 After 1 hour #97 Aston leads #99 Aston and #92 Porsche in GTE Pro
14:02:25 FULL COURSE YELLOW
14:01:58 But #26 Ligier hits barriers very hard
14:01:17 After 1 hour in P2 Ligier #26 leads by 1.5 seconds from #47 Oreca and #27 Oreca
14:00:11 After 1 hour #20 Porsche leads #8 Toyota by 8 seconds with #14 Porsche in 3rd
13:56:52 All LMP cars have now stopped once
13:56:29 CLM #9 back in pits
13:54:56 Conway now in #7 Toyota
13:54:05 Ligier #26 leads P2 after pit stops from #47 Oreca
13:52:58 Porsche #20 into pits - Webber takes over
13:52:06 Toyota's #7 and #8 into pits also #14 Porsche
13:50:52 Audi #2 into pits and also #26 Ligier
13:50:01 Audi #1 into pits Duval takes over
13:49:29 P2 leader KCMG #47 into pits fuel only
13:47:52 Both Rebellion's have stopped for fuel only
13:46:07 1:18.617 fastest lap for Bernhard in #20 Porsche - new LMP1 lap record for Interlagos circuit
13:44:19 Rebellion #12 leader of LMP1-L into pits
13:41:54 CLM #9 had gearbox problem losing oil but running ok now
13:39:06 Oreca #37 has right front tyre change
13:36:37 SMP Oreca #37 running slowly with puncture
13:35:53 Delayed #2 Audi now up to 6th overall
13:34:56 Ligier #26 now second in P2 after stops for both SMP Oreca's #27 and #37
13:32:58 CLM #9 rejoins having lost 10 laps
13:29:03 1:18.693 fastest lap for Bernhard in #20 Porsche
13:27:33 1:18.740 fastest lap for Bernhard in #20 Porsche
13:26:50 Oreca #27 into pits with puncture
13:26:14 1:18.802 fastest lap for Bernhard in #20 Porsche
13:22:41 Oreca #37 into pits for steering wheel change
13:21:54 CLM #9 pushed into its garage
13:20:59 1:18.902 fastest lap for Bernhard in #20 Porsche
13:18:29 1:18.963 fastest lap for Bernhard in #20 Porsche
13:17:23 CLM #9 into pits
13:15:41 1:19.129 fastest lap for Lieb in #14 Porsche
13:14:39 Buemi in #8 Toyota now only 1.25 secs behind leading #20 Porsche
13:11:44 Leaders now lapping GTE cars
13:09:25 Audi #2 may have suffered minor damage in start incident with #37 Oreca
13:06:01 Aston #97 leads GTE Pro and #95 Aston leads GTE Am
13:04:31 Oreca #47 leads P2
13:03:38 Porsche #20 leads Toyota #8 and Porsche #14 at end of first lap
13:02:41 Lotus #9 and Rebellion #13 touch but continue
13:01:46 Audi #2 running slowly
13:00:54 Green Flag
13:00:21 Track temp 25C Air temp 26.6C
12:57:42 Formation lap
12:57:25 Lamy in GTE Am pole winner #98 Aston
12:56:42 Mucke in pole sitting #97 Aston in GTE Pro
12:56:03 Pla in pole sitting P2 Ligier #26
12:55:24 Di Grassi and Treluyer in Audi's #1 and #2
12:54:41 Lieb and Bernhard in Porsche's #14 and #20
12:53:59 Buemi and Wurz in Toyota's #7 and #8
