WEC News: Ferrari AF Corse conquers COTA
Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Robert Shwartzman in the #83 AF Corse-run Ferrari 499P secured their first victory of the season, with a dramatic final hour of Lone Star Le Mans, round six of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship held at the Circuit of the Americas, which saw a thrilling close finish.
Kubica picked up the lead in the first hour when he overtook pole sitter Antonio Giovinazzi in the No.51 Ferrari 499P. The Italian looked to be a contender until a spin while lapping Stoffel Vandoorne’s Peugeot and then technical issue ended his and teammates James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi’s race.
Victory seemed destined for Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries, in the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR010, who were poised to claim their second win of the season after taking the lead in the fifth hour. However, their hopes were dashed when Kobayashi was handed a drive-through penalty for failing to slow sufficiently for a yellow flag waved to recover the stranded #94 Peugeot 9X8.
Completing the podium and making it two Ferraris in the top three was the #50 499P driven by Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco, and Nicklas Nielsen.
The top six was rounded off by the Cadillac Racing V-Series.R in fourth, the #35 Alpine of Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Paul-Loup Chatin, and the #6 Porsche Penske of André Lotterer, Kévin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor, with the trio still leading the championship, but with their advantage in the standings over their closest opponents shrinking from 19 to 12 points.
The #8 Toyota was penalized for avoidable contact following a controversial incident between Sébastien Buemi and Estre in the #6 Porsche during the penultimate hour.
The #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963, driven by Oliver Rasmussen, Jenson Button, and Phil Hanson, claimed their second consecutive FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams victory.
Heart of Racing dominates GT ranks
The #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage achieved its first-ever WEC victory after a dominant display from Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, and Alex Riberas. The team converted pole position and led the majority of the race, finishing ahead of the #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 RSR LMGT3, driven by Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm, and Klaus Bachler.
The #92 crew extended their title points lead over the sister #91 Manthey EMA entry, which finished in third position.
