Aston Martin Racing has reigned supreme in the LMGTE Am category this year, with either the class title winners in the No.95 Vantage V8 or the No.98 sister car taking victory at seven of the eight rounds. In a thrilling 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, the final round of a thrilling FIA World Endurance Championship season, it was today the turn of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Christoffer Nygaard to mount the top step of the podium.
It was the trio’s third win of the year and, had it not been for failure to finish the double points-scoring 24 Hours of Le Mans, the final outcome of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers might have been considerably closer. As it was, the Canadian/Portuguese/Danish combination proved to be highly consistent and reliable and from the moment the race started at Interlagos, under bright sunshine and in front of 55,000 enthusiastic fans, the No.98 was always in the hunt.
Finishing second today was the No.95 ‘Dane Train’ which had an uncharacteristically troublesome race. A drive through penalty for abusing track limits, a spin and a puncture all contributed to their woes, but the very rapid Nicki Thiim, David Heinemeier Hansson and Kristian Poulsen never gave up and crossed the finish line just 5 seconds behind their team mates.
Third in class today, and only another 10 seconds behind, was the No.81 AF Corse Ferrari which took its third podium of the season in the hands of Michele Rugolo, Andrea Bertolini and an ever-improving Stephen Wyatt. This was the best placing for Ferrari in the Am class as the sister No.61 AF Corse entry – which for the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo featured none other than legendary Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi alongside Alessandro Pier Guidi and Jeff Segal – had a challenging race.
Pier Guidi and Segal made a solid start until just over the mid-way point in the race when 67-year-old Fittipaldi, who had only been in the car for some 10 laps, had to crawl back to the pits with a gearbox issue. The Ferrari lost an agonising 44 minutes in the pits but returned to the action eventually only to have to serve a penalty later in the race for a pit lane infringement.
Ahead of the No.61 therefore, but not without their own issues were the No.88 Proton Competition and No.75 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 RSRs, the second of which was also in trouble with the Stewards for causing a collision with the No.90 Ferrari.
The race result was almost overshadowed by a dramatic accident which occurred 27 minutes before the chequered flag between the No.20 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Mark Webber and the No.90 8Star Motorsports entry of Matteo Cressoni. Both drivers were taken to the circuit’s Medical Centre and, after initial examination, to the local Hospital Bandeirantes for further checks but their condition has been reported as satisfactory. The race finished behind the Safety Car for safety reasons.
The 6 Hours of Sao Paulo was a typically exciting, enthralling and dramatic race, in what has been a hugely competitive year of FIA World Endurance Championship racing in 2014. The 2015 season will begin on the 27/28 March with the official Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard. Please join us for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship - we look forward to seeing you there!
Full results can be found HERE and championship points HERE.
Race facts:
19:07:54 SMP Racing #27 wins FIA WEC Trophy for LMP2 teams
19:06:54 Sergey Zlobin wins FIA WEC Trophy for LMP2 drivers
19:04:23 Ferrari win FIA WEC Cup for GT manufacturers
19:03:40 Toyota win FIA WEC Manufacturers championship
19:02:40 249 laps completed by the winner
19:02:03 In GTE Am #98 Aston wins from #95 Aston and #81 Ferrari
19:01:04 In GTE Pro #97 Aston wins from #92 Porsche and #71 Ferrari
19:00:10 In P2 KCMG Oreca #47 from #27 SMP Oreca
18:59:27 Rebellion #13 wins LMP1-L from #12 Rebellion
18:58:43 Porsche #14 wins from #8 Toyota and #1 Audi
18:56:57 Race will end behind the safety car
18:56:32 5 minutes to go
18:51:23 10 minutes to go
18:51:00 Rear bodywork change for Audi #2
18:50:35 Rebellion #12 into pits
18:48:59 Audi #2 back out
18:47:54 Audi #2 into its garage
18:42:10 Webber reported to be ok
18:40:00 Webber in #20 being attended to
18:39:29 Cressoni out of car and appears ok
18:35:35 Ferrari #90 was involved
18:34:24 Posche #20 involved with Ferrari
18:33:27 Safety car
18:30:28 Stops for #51 Ferrari and #99 Aston
18:27:51 Stop and go for #61 Ferrari for pit lane infringement
18:26:43 Oreca #27 back out - only has to complete 70% of P2 winners distance to win FIA WEC championship for team
18:25:12 Fastest lap for Pilet in GTE Pro in #92 Porsche with 1:30.101
18:24:06 Aston #95 takes 2nd in GTE Am from #81 Ferrari
18:22:52 Sarrazin now in #7 Toyota
18:22:27 Drive through penalty for #91 Porsche after incident with #99 Aston
18:21:37 Toyota #7 into pits
18:20:39 Porsche #14 retakes the lead
18:20:09 Toyota #8 stops
18:19:27 Porsche #20 stops
18:19:00 SMP Oreca #27 has been in pits for 11 minutes
18:13:46 Audi #1 stops - should be last pit stop of career for Tom Kristensen
18:12:35 Davidson takes lead in #8 Toyota
18:11:53 Leading Porsche #14 into pits
18:10:33 Stop for leading #71 Ferrari in GTE Pro - Calado in - #97 Aston takes lead
18:09:17 Toyota #7 takes 4th from Audi #2
18:08:38 Porsche #92 stops #97 Aston takes 2nd in GTE Pro
18:06:00 Ligier #26 incident much earlier in race was caused by a locking brake
18:05:14 After 5 hours #98 Aston leads by a lap from #81 Ferrari and #95 Aston
18:03:52 Stop for #91 Porsche after incident with #99 Aston - Lietz gets in
18:03:06 After 5 hours #92 Porsche leads GTE Pro by 12 seconds from #71 Ferrari and #97 Aston
18:01:56 In P2 after 5 hours #47 Oreca leads #27 Oreca by 8 laps
18:01:01 Touch between #2 Audi and a Ferrari
18:00:24 After 5 hours #14 Porsche leads by 1 second from #8 Toyota and Audi #1
17:58:41 Aston #99 drops to 6th in GTE Pro
17:57:41 Collision between #91 Porsche and #99 Aston
17:54:28 Porsche #75 into pit to replace flat spotted tyre
17:53:05 Porsche #75 has a big lock up
17:50:43 Aston #95 takes 2nd in GTE Am
17:48:56 Ferrari #81 pits from 2nd in GTE Am
17:43:26 Porsche #92 takes GTE Pro lead after stop for #97 Aston - Mucke now in
17:42:33 Porsche #20 now a lap behind 2nd place #8 Toyota
17:34:46 Jani in #14 Porsche takes lead from #8 Toyota and #1 Audi after penultimate pit stops for LMP1s
17:33:14 Porsche #20 pits - Webber gets in
17:32:31 Both Rebellions now back out - #13 leads LMP1-L
17:30:49 Hartley in #20 takes the lead
