They have led the 2016 championship since the very first race at Silverstone over six months ago, but the AF Corse trio of Emmanuel Collard, François Perrodo and Rui Aguas are now close to sealing the deal and being crowned champions.
Two wins, including a maximum WEC score at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and four second places have underpinned their season with the venerable and reliable Ferrari 458 Italia. The French/Portuguese alliance has built a 33-point lead going into the final two rounds which means that a win again this weekend, irrespective of what their closest rivals achieve, would see them crowned.
Indeed, if the Aston Martin Racing trio of Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda and Pedro Lamy take pole and the class win this weekend, the AF Corse can merely finish third and still take the trophies.
It has been a supremely consistent season for the No.83 AF Corse crew, and the most experienced of the drivers – Emmanuel Collard believes that team spirit and a willingness to help one another has paid dividends.
“It has been a good season and it is a season in which we have played a cool game and improved a lot,” said the two time Le Mans class winner. “I take satisfaction from working with François (Perrodo) and in the last few years we have made very good progress. There have been very few mistakes this season, and if we are able to win it this season it would be fantastic because we were quite close last year.”
While the three Ferrari drivers are not being complacent, it would take big problems for them to not take the crown this season. The Aston Martin Racing squad of Dalla Lana, Lamy and Lauda will be aiming for a fifth win of the season to heap pressure on their rivals until the final race in Bahrain.
“We just have to keep doing what we are doing and get poles and wins,” says Dalla Lana. “The points that were lost at Le Mans take a lot of making up but, since COTA, we have had excellent races. We will just keep our heads down and concentrate on finishing the season as best we can. Then we will see where everyone is in the (points) tables.”
Also in with a mathematical possibility of taking the title are Khaled Al Qubaisi and David Heinemeier-Hansson. The Abu Dhabi Proton Racing duo enjoyed a fine win at Mexico City but a problematic Fuji race has seen them 41 points behind the leaders and clinging onto the need for an unlikely set of circumstances in order to challenge.
One thing is for sure, the LMGTE Am class will be as competitive as ever with a fascinating mix of professional and amateur racers battling it out head to head in China and Bahrain.
