José María López made history in last weekend’s Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo (12-13 July), becoming the first driver to win in both of the current FIA World Endurance Championship categories as the former world champion played a major role in clinching Lexus and Akkodis ASP Team’s maiden victory in the series.
Much like Interlagos Hypercar winner Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Akkodis had been threatening to top the podium all season with its Lexus RC F – the oldest car on the LMGT3 class grid. The #78 took the chequered flag fourth in the Qatar curtain-raiser and third at Imola, with rising star Finn Gehrsitz subsequently qualifying on pole position at Spa-Francorchamps.
Heading to Brazil, the sister #87 entry had similarly tallied a brace of top five finishes from the opening four races of the 2025 campaign, and around the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, both cars were right on the pace throughout.
López and Gehrsitz topped the timesheets in FP1, before Yuichi Nakayama in the #78 and Clemens Schmid in the #87 lapped second and third-quickest respectively in FP2.
The pair of Lexuses remained firmly ensconced inside the top six in FP3 in the high-calibre, 18-strong LMGT3 field, and after Petru Umbrărescu (#87) and Arnold Robin (#78) progressed safely through the first part of qualifying – the Romanian going fastest of all – Schmid and Gehrsitz secured second and third spots on the grid in Hyperpole, separated by only nine hundredths-of-a-second as the former missed out on pole position by a scant 0.024s.
Despite a sluggish getaway when the lights went out the next day, Umbrărescu rapidly recovered second prior to relieving Anthony McIntosh of the race lead approaching the 20-minute mark. By the end of the opening hour, it was a Lexus one-two.
The #87 had established an advantage of more than half-a-minute when Schmid had to serve a drive-through penalty for a pit-lane speeding infraction incurred during López’s stint behind the wheel, but such was the crew’s dominance, it did not affect the end result. The Argentine went on to cross the finish line 37.7 seconds clear of Akkodis’ closest pursuer, with the #78 car winding up fifth, barely five seconds shy of making it a double rostrum celebration.
“It’s been a long journey,” acknowledged López, after cementing his 16th career win and first since Fuji in 2023. “We started from scratch with this team last year and we’ve come from really far, so this is very special for all of us. We’ve had to fight really hard, but we kept believing, kept working hard and kept making progress and now, finally, we have the pace.
“There were a few times this season where we could have achieved a podium if not more, but somehow there was always something – mistakes or bad luck – that got in the way, so to achieve this victory in the race closest to my home, honestly, it’s very emotional.
“This is a team effort, and Jérôme [Policand – Team Principal] and everybody at Akkodis ASP have done an amazing job. We had the fastest car in Brazil, and Petru and Clemens have been great all year – it's much easier when you have two guys like that alongside you. Having been part of this project since the beginning, it’s very satisfying to prove that the old lady (the Lexus) is still capable of winning. I’m really happy.”
For Schmid, the result was redemption for what happened 12 months ago, when he was unable to start the race in São Paulo following an accident for Robin in free practice that ruled the car out of the remainder of the weekend.
“It’s amazing!” he enthused. “We’d come really close already this year but had some issues or driver mistakes that we are not so proud of, but I think we did an incredible job the whole weekend in Brazil.”
“It’s surreal,” echoed Umbrărescu, whose stellar early stint laid the groundwork for the milestone victory as he became the first Romanian driver to triumph in FIA WEC. “Winning a race in the FIA World Endurance Championship is a real dream come true and I can barely contain my emotions. It’s unbelievable.”
Key to the outcome, recognised Policand, was the introduction of Goodyear’s new hard-compound tyre in Brazil, and the team’s focus on careful tyre management in the race, as Akkodis successfully turned what has hitherto been its Achilles’ heel to its advantage.
“One year ago, we were nowhere,” reflected the Frenchman. “Having won almost every GT3 championship in the world, coming into FIA WEC, we had very high ambitions so it was a big shock to be a backmarker.
“We concentrated on making the car quicker, and thanks to the support of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing over the winter, we entered 2025 knowing we had the performance over one lap, but from the beginning of the season, we struggled with tyre degradation. In the second stint, we usually lost some pace and positions, but on the harder compound in Brazil, we managed to stay in front.
“It’s an honour to have a driver of José María’s calibre in our line-up, and after all the hard times, it’s a great pleasure to give him this gift. I first ‘met’ Clemens on the phone before Spa last year when one of my drivers was sick. I checked the FIA list and said, I have to find the best ‘Silver’. I saw his name, I called him and now he’s on the top of the podium!
“With Petru, we have a long history together, because he competed with us in the GT World Challenge. He nearly stopped racing, but I pushed him to come back. I told him, ‘man, you have to drive this championship’, and what he has achieved here is just great!”
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