Porsche take 1-2 in COTA; Ferrari fight hard through to GTE victory

Porsche take third straight 1-2 in COTA   Porsche LMP Team continued its winning momentum at the 6 Hours of COTA with a third consecutive 1-2 on Saturday at the sixth round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. Earl Bamber, in the No.2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, crossed the finish line just 0.276s ahead of stablemate Nick Tandy in the No.1 car to claim a fourth consecutive victory for he and teammates Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley.  The trio extend their title advantage and helped Porsche to pull away further from Toyota in the Manufacturers' standings.  Held in challenging hot and humid conditions, the race was an epic strategic contest which saw the rhythm of the race swing from Porsche to Porsche. The 2017 rule change, which brought down the allocation of six sets of tyres to four for qualifying and the race, saw the teams challenged with choosing when to double-stint their Michelin tyres in the hot temperatures. To read the whole report CLICK HERE For all provisional results CLICK HERE Retrouvez ICI tous les articles de notre site en version française

Ferrari fight hard through to GTE victory Ferrari No.51 488 GTE won today’s 6 Hours of COTA in +33oC Texan temperatures, but it was no easy run for Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado on the way to their second victory of the season.  The duo had a race-long fight with the No.95 Aston Martin Vantage, the No.92 Porsche 911 RSR and the sister No.71 Ferrari 488 GTE, with the lead changing between them due to tyre strategies.  The No.51 survived a scare with 11 minutes to go when Pier Guidi was forced to take the risk of returning at high speed to the pits due to a puncture. The risk paid off and quick pit work by AF Corse saw the Ferrari driver come out just ahead of Michael Christensen’s Porsche which eventually finished 5.6s behind in second place – the No.92’s best result of the season so far. To read all the GTE news and details CLICK HERE

Signatech Alpine Matmut wins LMP2 despite late scare Reigning LMP2 champions, Signatech Alpine Matmut, took a North American double as the French team followed up their Mexico City podium with victory at COTA. For Lapierre and Menezes it was also a second victory in Texas in as many years.  Menezes, the sole American driver in the field this year, was especially delighted to claim another maximum score on home ground.  There was a late scare for Les Bleues though as they were forced to change the rear bodywork section with just 12-minutes of the race remaining. Gustavo Menezes though had enough in hand and was able to take the chequered flag with a comfortable margin ahead of the Vaillante Rebellion pair of ORECA-Gibson entries.  The title leading No.38 Jackie Chan DC Racing of Oliver Jarvis, Thomas Laurent and Ho-Pin Tung took fourth position.

Aston Martin claim LMGTE Am victory In LMGTE Am, Aston Martin Racing’s No.98 Vantage of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda won for the second time this season, 50s ahead of nearest rival, the No.61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari.  After a dramatic first few hours to the race, the trio came through to a solid finish to keep the lead of the LMGTE Am Drivers’ championship battle, four points ahead of the No.77 Dempsey Proton Racing crew who had a difficult American race.  Clearwater Racing maintained its consistently strong form to take more valuable points, while Spirit of Race’s No. 54 Ferrari 488 GTE came home in third place in class. For Francesco Castellacci, Thomas Flohr and Miguel Molina, it was their best result of the season and their first WEC podium.  The next round will be the 6 Hours of Fuji on the 15th October. CLICK HERE for provisional results, HERE for championship classifications and HERE for race facts.