WRT BMW achieved its second victory of the FIA World Endurance Championship season at the 6 Hours of São Paulo. The No. 15 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor, finished ahead of the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. The Hertz Team JOTA Cadillacs, which started from the front row, encountered various issues during the race.
The No. 15 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 crossed the finish line 2.254 seconds ahead of the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, piloted by Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and James Calado. This result marked an unexpected first Interlagos podium for the Italian manufacturer. The top-performing Cadillac V-Series.R, the No. 12 machine of Will Stevens and Norman Nato, secured third place.
Race Developments and Cadillac’s Challenges
Stevens initially held the lead from pole position, with Magnussen in the No. 15 BMW making an early charge. Magnussen quickly passed the No. 36 Alpine A424 of Frederic Makowiecki and later split the two Cadillacs in the first hour with a move at Ferradura, as Earl Bamber faced traffic.
However, the race began to unravel for the JOTA squad due to extended first stops for both Cadillacs. The No. 38 crew experienced issues when Bamber locked up entering his pit box, requiring mechanics to adjust their positions. Subsequently, Stevens encountered a wheel nut failure on the No. 12 car, costing nearly 10 seconds and allowing the BMW to take the lead.
Magnussen and then Marciello maintained the lead through the middle stages of the race, apart from brief periods when the No. 35 Alpine A424, running an off-strategy, held an advantage. The Cadillacs continued to struggle, with Stevens receiving a penalty for contact with the No. 87 Lexus RC F GT3, and Nato having a brief spin at Turn 7 while battling the No. 83 AF Corse satellite Ferrari.
These delays, combined with traffic issues for the V-Series.Rs, allowed the No. 51 factory Ferrari to move into contention. Calado took the lead in the fifth hour during pit stops, despite making contact with barriers upon exiting the pit lane and picking up part of an advertising sticker. Despite the damage, Calado continued to lead until Vanthoor in the BMW overtook him during the final round of stops, securing the German manufacturer’s second win of the season.
A late threat of rain created a tense conclusion for BMW, but Vanthoor managed to maintain his lead over Calado. The Cadillacs ultimately finished third and fourth. They briefly swapped positions with 15 minutes remaining to see if Jack Aitken in the No. 38 could challenge the Ferrari, but they reverted to their original order with a couple of laps left.
LMGT3 Race and Penalties
In the LMGT3 category, TF Sport secured its second consecutive win, following its success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 34 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, driven by Salih Yoluc, Peter Dempsey, and Charlie Eastwood, triumphed in Brazil. They finished 8.108 seconds ahead of the No. 69 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson, and Dan Harper.
The Corvette team employed an alternate strategy, with FIA Silver-graded Yoluc starting before handing over to Bronze Dempsey, while other teams began with their Bronze drivers. The No. 87 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 initially led, but the Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 EVOs took over in the first hour.
The No. 34 Corvette moved into the lead by the end of the third hour, with Eastwood guiding it to the victory. Seb Priaulx in the No. 77 Mustang attempted to make one fewer stop but struggled on used tires and was passed by Harper in the No. 69 BMW with approximately 20 minutes remaining. Priaulx then fell behind the No. 92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Richard Lietz and the sister Mustang of Logan Sargeant, further compounded by a drive-through penalty for track limits.
The Porsche faced pressure from Sargeant in the final laps, but Lietz secured a third third-place finish of the season alongside Ricardo Pera and Yasser Shahin. The sister No. 91 car overtook Sargeant in the closing minutes for fourth, leaving Proton with a fifth-place finish. The points-leading No. 33 Corvette of Ben Keating, Nico Varrone, and Jonny Edgar finished eighth despite late contact and carrying maximum success ballast.
In other incidents, Robin Frijns in the No. 20 BMW attempted to pass Antonio Fuoco in the No. 50 Ferrari at the Senna Esses, resulting in the Ferrari spinning. The No. 83 satellite AF Corse Ferrari of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson capitalized on this, moving into fifth place. The No. 20 BMW, driven by Frijns, Rene Rast, and Sheldon van der Linde, initially finished sixth but received a five-second post-race penalty for the incident, dropping it to eighth in the points standings.
The No. 50 Ferrari slipped to eighth behind the No. 007 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie, before both were promoted a place due to the BMW’s penalty. The top ten was completed by the No. 009 Aston Martin and the No. 35 Alpine, whose offset strategy did not pay off after a late slow puncture. Toyota had a challenging event, with the No. 7 TR010 Hybrid finishing 12th after multiple penalties, and the No. 8 machine losing 12 laps in the pits for repairs following contact.
The No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari, piloted by Hanson, was also set to serve a 10-second penalty at its next pit-stop after a clash with the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 entry of Kobe Pauwels.
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Source: sportscar365.com
As CasinoNews's Sports News Writer, Mason Leclair reports on the CFL, golf and combat sports for readers across the country. He moved from regional papers into digital sport. He holds a degree in Journalism from Carleton University. Mason lives in Ottawa, where he follows the PGA Tour and mixed martial arts. “Get the facts down first, then add the context.”
