WEC: Toyota Wins WEC Race in Sao Paulo as Porsche Penske Secures Double Podium

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08 BUEMI Sébastien (swi), HARTLEY Brendon (nzl), HIRAKAWA Ryo (jpn), Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota GR010 – Hybrid #08, Hypercar, celebrating their win during the 2024 Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, 5th round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, from July 12 to 14, 2024 on the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Brazil – Photo Julien Delfosse / DPPI

Toyota Gazoo Racing has won round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, after the Japanese manufacturer claimed its best result of the season so far with two top four positions.

On the WEC’s first return to Brazil in over a decade, the No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar driven by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa took the overall win at Interlagos, which was attended by 73,205 fans over the weekend.  It also marked the first podium of the year for the No. 8 car.

The winning trio took advantage of a fuel pressure sensor problem for the early race-leading sister No. 7 Toyota driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. This mid-race issue cost the team three minutes in the pits, dropping the No. 7 to the back of the Hypercar field but the crew did a stellar job of clawing back time to eventually finish fourth.

Porsche Penske Motorsport had another strong weekend after securing a double podium with its pair of Porsche 963 Hypercars.  The No. 6 car suffered a puncture in the opening hour but Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer drove a superb race to finish 1m08s behind race winners Toyota to take the runners-up spot.

Completing the podium was the No.5 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar of Michael Christensen, Matt Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki – the trio would have likely finished in P2 had it now been for a change to the 963’s rear mid-race. Porsche Penske’s double podium sees the German marque continue its lead in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship with a total of 126 points, while Toyota (122 points) moves ahead of Ferrari (109 points).

The No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse driven by James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi rounded out the top five, the 499P Hypercar pipped to the post by Kamui Kobayashi who made a star overtake in the race’s closing laps to finish 3.824s ahead of the Prancing Horse.

Sixth overall was the No. 50 Le Mans winning Ferrari 499P Hypercar driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen.  Finishing seventh was the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA crew driven by Jenson Button, Phil Hanson and Oliver Rasmussen – the trio pinged with a stop-and-go for a technical infringement in the race’s final hour which dropped them out of fourth position.

Peugeot TotalEnergies had an encouraging weekend after the revised No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 driven by Mikkel Jensen, Nico Mueller and Jean-Eric Vergne had a clean race to claim eighth position. Ninth overall was the No.15 BMW M Team WRT run BMW M Hybrid V8 while rounding out the top ten and claiming the final point in the Hypercar standings was the No.36 Alpine A424.

Elsewhere, Cadillac Racing had a difficult weekend as the No. 2 V-Series R finished 13th because of brake issues while Lamborghini Iron Lynx ended the race in 17th place – the SC63 hampered by a puncture and extra pitstop. Finally, Isotta Fraschini and the Tipo 6-C retired from the race due to engine problems.

In the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams, Hertz Team JOTA took first and third place with Proton claiming second.

99 JANI Neel (swi), ANDLAUER Julien (fra), Proton Competition, Porsche 963 #99, Hypercar, action during the 2024 Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, 5th round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, from July 12 to 14, 2024 on the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Brazil – Photo Javier Jimenez / DPPI

Manthey PureRxcing dominates LMGT3 category in Sao Paulo

Manthey PureRxcing has taken its second win of the FIA WEC season as the No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 driven by Alex Malykhin, Joel Strum and Klaus Bachler took the chequered flag at the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo.

The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo was hot on the heels of the Manthey Porsche in the race’s closing stages but a late drive-through penalty ended the closely-fought battle. The Aston Martin shared by Riberas, Ian James and Daniel Mancinelli eventually finished a lap down on the No. 92 Porsche, scoring their best result of the season so far with P2.

British outfit United Autosports secured its first podium of the season with the No. 95 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Marino Sato, Nico Pino and Josh Caygill while the sister No. 59 car driven by home hero Nicolas Costa, Gregoire Saucy and James Cottingham finished fourth. United Autosports’ third place finish this weekend marks the sixth different manufacturer to finish on the podium in LMGT3 so far this year.

Vista AF Corse, pitstop, arrêt aux stands, pitlane, during the 2024 Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, 5th round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, from July 12 to 14, 2024 on the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Brazil – Photo Fabrizio Boldoni / DPPI

The top five was completed by the Team WRT and the No. 46 BMW M4 LMGT3 car shared by Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi and Ahmad Al Harthy.

Elsewhere, it was heartache for the pole-sitting No. 85 Iron Dames crew which saw the all-female line-up take an early lead out of the 18-strong GT3 field.  The Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 was hauled into the pits after two hours or racing due to fluid leaks, eventually causing the car to retire from the race.

The only other LMGT3 car to retire from the race was the No. 82 TF Sport entry as Daniel Juncadella was forced to stop the Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R at the Ferradura corner due to a mechanical issue.

With the sister Manthey Porsche of Yasser Shahin, Richard Lietz and Morris Schuring finishing outside the points, the No.92 crew have now taken a 25 point lead in the FIA Endurance Trophy for GT3 Teams standings with three WEC rounds still remaining. Manthey EMA have a total of 75 points with Team WRT one point behind on 74.

92 MALYKHIN Aliaksandr (kna), STURM Joel (ger), BACHLER Klaus (aut), Manthey Purerxcing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, LM GT3, ambiance during the 2024 Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, 5th round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, from July 12 to 14, 2024 on the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Brazil – Photo Julien Delfosse / DPPI

The FIA WEC season will now take a short summer break before the championship returns to the USA for round six of the season, the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas (30 August – 1 September).

By Rachel CAVERS WEC