VISTA AF Corse looked to have pulled off a last-gasp LMGT3 category win with its Ferrari 296 in the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas today, but a late sting in the tail handed victory to United Autosports’ #95 McLaren instead.
For much of the race, qualifying star Proton Competition was in charge with its #77 Ford Mustang, but the drying conditions in the closing stages prompted several teams to roll the dice on strategy by trading in their wet tyres for slicks. With less than five minutes to go, Davide Rigon sliced past Ben Barker to grab the lead, but contact incurred the Italian a five-second penalty – and secured McLaren its maiden FIA WEC success.
Proton’s gamble to stay out on wets in the final stint came agonisingly close to clinching the German outfit – which had locked out the front row of the grid the previous day – its maiden FIA WEC triumph, but the track ultimately dried out just too quickly for Barker to hold on. The Brit consequently slipped from first to sixth over the closing few laps, two spots ahead of the sister #88 Mustang, which was never able to reproduce its stellar Saturday pace on Sunday.
VISTA AF Corse’s joy was also short-lived, as Rigon’s penalty for the clash with Ford dropped the #54 Ferrari to third in the final classification and promoted the delighted #95 United Autosports crew of Sean Gelael, Marino Sato and Darren Leung to the top step of the podium.
“Our tyre strategy in the end was ultimately the right call, but at the time it was really 50/50,” reflected Sato, who drove the final phase of the race. “From five laps before we decided to pit, I was on the radio button discussing every corner with the team about where it was drying off – I think I was busier talking than driving!
“The first few laps on slicks were very tricky, but we managed to make it work and after the phenomenal job that everybody at United has done all season, this is their deserved reward.”
Both McLarens featured towards the sharp end of proceedings throughout, with the sister #59 entry – runner-up in the Qatar curtain-raiser back in February – eventually winding up fourth, while the other big winner from the changing conditions was BMW. The #46 M4 LMGT3 Evo shared by Ahmad Al Harthy, Kelvin van der Linde and motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi climbed the order to scoop the runner-up spoils – matching the trio’s season-best from Imola.
Like the #77 Mustang, the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche elected not to change tyres late on – and the championship leaders paid the same price, taking the chequered flag directly behind in seventh, although with none of their major title rivals scoring well either, Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera actually extended their advantage at the summit of the standings to 19 points.
On Corvette’s home soil, meanwhile, there was no joy for the pair of TF Sport-entered Z06 LMGT3.Rs on a troubled day that saw neither of the two American machines finish inside the top ten.
The season continues with the 6 Hours of Fuji – the penultimate round of the campaign – in the shadow of Japan’s most famous landmark on 26-28 September.
Check out the full results from the race.
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