Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia have won the IMSA GT Challenge at Virginia International Challenge, to further extend their championship lead in the #3 Corvette.

Despite leading the championship, this was their first win all year in the IMSA SportscCar Championship series.

Garcia started the car fourth and remained there until he stopped. Giacomo Altoe, on pole in the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3, lost the lead on the opening lap to #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3’s Neil Verhagen, with his BMW teammate Dan Harper following him through.

This gave the German manufacturer a 1-2 at the front of the field. However, the race was soon neutralised as a sponsorship hoarding had been knocked over by a car going off track.

At the restart, Verhagen kept the lead over Harper, in the #1 Paul Miller BMW. They tried to stretch their lead, but Altoe in third kept them in check.

Garcia was the first to stop, from fourth. The two BMWs also soon stopped from the lead, as did Altoe. This gave Marco Mapelli, in the #9 Pfaff Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, the lead until he too pitted.

Albert Costa, now in the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari, had pitted as well. The two BMWs, with slower stops, rejoined behind both Costa and Sims, who had replaced Garcia in the #3 Corvette.

Soon, Sims was in the lead of the race, from Mike Rockenfeller in the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 and Costa third.

Max Hesse, now at the wheel of the #48 BMW, was fourth. However, he soon was reporting a loss of power from his M4 GT3, dropping down the field as other cars passed him. 

Before he could pit, though, the car dramatically caught fire from the right front exhaust, with the safety crew needing to extinguish the fire. This caused the race’s third full course yellow, which saw the entire field pit under yellow.

At the restart, the order was Sims, Tommy Milner in the #4 Corvette, Costa, Seb Prialux in the #64 Ford having replaced Rockenfeller, and Laurin Heinrich in the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R, ‘Rexy’ to his fans.

However, the race was not green for long, with another fire the cause of the race’s third FCY. This time, Danny Formal, in the #45 WTR Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, had his car catch fire on track. 

This caused the car to spin uncontrollably into the tyre barriers, with Formal escaping quickly with possible light burns to his hands, with the entirety of the rear of the car engulfed in flame.

The next restart saw Sims retain the lead from Milner once again. However, Costa soon got passed the American in the closing minutes of the race, with the Spaniard setting about catching Sims in the lead.

As it was, Costa caught Sims but could not find a way by, with the Briton in the yellow #3 Corvette winning by just over a second from the Ferrari. Third was Milner in the sister #4 Corvette, a further four seconds back.

Fourth and fifth were Priaulx and Heinrich, with Snow in the #1 Paul Miller BMW sixth.

​​”I was just doing my job,” said Sims after the race. 

“Antonio did a fantastic job in his first stint and the team called a great strategy. We went aggressive on the first stop to try and force a situation, and it seemed to work. We could just about hold the gap to the BMW who had a significant fuel advantage on us had it stayed green. 

“We were fortunate with that second yellow but I think we just about had the race anyway. A really great job by everyone. The Corvette was fast today. The Michelin tires held on nicely. In these temperatures they were working hard but held on well. It was a really enjoyable race and it’s great to get our first win of the year.”

In GTD, Philip Ellis and Russell Ward took victory in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG-GT3.

Ward started the car second behind polesitter Jack Hawksworth in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus. However, Hawksworth soon received a drive through penalty, promoting Manny Franco in the #34 Conquest Ferrari into the lead.

However, after a few laps in the lead Franco went off track, dropping down to fifth.

This promoted Formal to the lead in the #45 WTR Lambo, which later caught fire.

From then on, the race was between Philip Ellis and Mario Farnbacher in the #78 Forte Lamborghini. However, late on in the race, he received a 30s penalty for blocking, dropping him well down the field.

So, Ellis took the lead followed by Kenton Koch in the #021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari, with Tom Gamble third in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

The post Sims and Garcia take crucial IMSA victory for Corvette at VIR appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Alberto Costa set the pace in practice 1 for the IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway, in the #81 GTD Pro-entered DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3.

The Spaniard set a 1:45.032 on his fifth lap, with the car completing 34 laps in total.

Second fastest was Russell Ward in the GTD-entered #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, 0.439 off Costa.

Third fastest overall, and second in GTD Pro, was Andrea Caldarelli in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, a further 0.061 off Ward.

Third fastest in GTD Pro and fourth overall was Neil Verhagen in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 0.572 off Costa’s timesheet-topping lap.

Second fastest in GTD was Fred Schandorff in the #70 Inception Racing Ferrari 263 GT3, 0.608 off Costa and just under two tenths off Ward, who set the fastest GTD lap.

Third fastest in GTD was Daniel Serra, in the #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, 0.635 off Costa and 0.015 off Schandorff.

There was just one stoppage, a brief red flag 15 minutes in, for debris at the turn 4-5 complex.

The post Costa fastest for DragonSpeed at VIR in IMSA opening practice appeared first on Motorsport Week.

AO Racing’s PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron won the IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, after late drama and a caution curtailing proceedings early.

Hyett led away from pole in the #99 ‘Spike’ AO Racing Oreca LMP2, from Daniel Goldburg in the #22 United Autosports Oreca. He began to build a gap, with this standing at around 40 seconds when the race’s first full course caution was called, just over an hour into the race.

Hyett handed the car over to Cameron when he stopped during the caution. The latter was able to keep the car in the lead, with an hour and 15 minutes remaining when the race went green.

However, Tom Dillmann had climbed into the #43 Inter Europol Oreca LMP2 at the pitstops, replacing Jeremy Clarke. Clarke had started the car fourth, slipping to fifth midway through the first hour.

After the race went green, then, Dillmann sat fourth, behind Cameron in the lead, Tom Blomqvist in the #22 United car, and Benjamin Pedersen in the #53 PR1 Mathiasen machine.

Dillmann, though, wasn’t happy with this and began storming through the field, passing both Pedersen and Blomqvist before the final hour mark, to be just behind Cameron, leading the race.

At the next round of stops, quick work in the pits from the Inter Europol team meant Dilllmann was able to jump Cameron and take the lead. Things were looking good for the Frenchman, with another caution reducing the time he’d have to fight Cameron.

With 16 minutes remaining, the race restarted. But then, disaster — Dillmann crashed heavily into the tyre barriers at turn 3, putting him out on the spot and Cameron back into the lead.

With not enough time to recover the car and restart the race, Cameron crossed the line and took the chequered flag under caution, winning the race for the #99 AO Racing crew.

Tom Blomqvist, in the #22 United car, took second for himself, Daniel Goldburg, and United Autosports. Third was Felipe Fraga in the #74 Riley Motorsports Oreca, with Ben Hanley fourth in the sister #2 United Autosports Oreca, and Benjamin Pedersen fifth in the #52 PR1 Mathiasen machine.

Dragonspeed win GTD Pro, WTR take victory in GTD

Albert Costa took the win in the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3, with a fuel-save strategy meaning he and teammate Giacomo Altoe making one less stop than their rivals in the class.

Altoe started the car last in GTD Pro, but by only making two pitstops instead of three, they were able to assume the lead and use the race’s second and third caution periods to save fuel and bring the car home and to victory.

This marked DragonSpeed’s first IMSA GTD pro win.

Second was the #4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner. Milner started the car fourth but they weren’t able to beat DragonSpeed’s clever strategy, taking second instead.

Third was the #77 AO Racing Porsche of Lauren Heinrich and Klaus Bachler, who like the Corvette weren’t able to match the fuel save strategy of DragonSpeed.

In GTD, the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini of Trent Hindman and Danny Formal took victory, despite Formal spinning the car the opening lap. He started from fifth, but the spin dropped him almost to the back of the field.

He began to make his way through the field, but the clincher in the win was the team’s decision to leave him out during the second caution period. That meant they were able to gain track position, which they then exploited when the final caution was called for Dillmann’s crash, taking the victory from there.

Second was Philip Ellis in the #57 Winward Mercedes AMG-GT3, along Russell Ward, while third in class went to Jack Hawksworth and Parker Thompson in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.

See the full results on the IMSA website.

The post ‘Spike the Dragon #99 AO Racing Oreca wins after late race drama at CTMP appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Norman Nato, Alex Lynn and Will Stevens have won the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in the #12 Cadillac, giving Cadillac their first ever WEC win.

As well as that, it’s the first win for the Cadillac/JOTA factory partnership between the two, and JOTA’s second overall win in WEC competition, after winning at Spa last year when they ran customer a customer Porsche.

Second was the sister Cadillac, the #38, driven by Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button, and Earl Bamber, just over a minute off the leading car, which in the final stint had Nato at the wheel.

Third was the #5 Porsche of Julien Andlauer and Michael Christensen, a second off Bourdais in the #38 Cadillac at the line. The two fought for second in the last 15 minutes at the end of the race, but Bourdais fended off his countryman in the Porsche.

The race began with Stevens starting from pole in the #12 Cadillac. However, Andlauer passed him in the second sector of the lap, and led for the most part of his initial two hour stint.

Stevens, now in second, was handed a drivethrough for low tyre pressures midway through the first hour, dropping him to fourth behind the #93 Peugeot of Malthe Jakobsen. 

This put Bamber in second onboard the #38 Cadillac. The Kiwi duly set about catching Andlauer, and by the end of the first third of the race, he’d caught him.

Bamber made a small mistake at turn 4 and locked up, but Stevens had caught him and Andlauer and passed his teammate for second. The Briton then pitted at the end of the lap, to be replaced by pole man Alex Lynn.

After the pit stop cycle had shaken out, Lynn led from Michael Christensen, now in the #5 Porsche, replacing Andlauer. Jenson Button, meanwhile, was third in the #38 Cadillac, having replaced Bamber.

Button soon passed Christensen, giving Cadillac a 1-2 at the front of the field.

From then on, for the next almost four hours, the two Cadillacs led the race line of stern, pulling away from the #5 Porsche.

Lynn led trouble-free for his stint, before handing the car over to Norman Nato for the final stint. The Frenchman continued to pull away from his teammate, with the gap standing at 57 seconds at the end of the race.

Bourdais came home second in the sister #38 Cadillac. The car never quite had the pace of the #12 machine, but they were still able to come home second, beating their biggest challengers on the day, Porsche.

Speaking of the German manufacturer, they were the best of the rest in Brazil. Andlauer led early on for the first two hours, but the Cadillacs were able to haul him in and take the lead, despite the penalty for the #12 car.

Once the Cadillacs had solidified the 1-2, it looked as though Porsche would have to settle for third. But, in the final hour, Andlauer, back in the car for the final couple of hours after Christensen’s double stint, was able to catch Bourdais.

The two battled for second in the last hour, but the Porsche driver wasn’t able to find his way around the veteran Frenchman. In the end, he came home third, just under two seconds behind Bourdais.

The sister #6 Porsche finished fourth, with Laurens Vanthoor crossing the line in the car, partnered by Kevin Estre. L. Vanthoor started the car seventh and they were able to make their way through the field through the race to finish fourth, a lap down on the winning #12 Cadillac, overtaking the #20 BMW and both Peugeots through the race to do so.

The #20 BMW of Sheldon van der Linde and Rene Rast finished fifth, 54 seconds off L. Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche. BMW lacked the pace of the cars ahead, but battled both Peugeots and beat both in order to take a top 5 for the German manufacturer.

The two Peugeots were sixth and seventh, with Loic Duval in the #94 car ahead of his teammate in the #93, Mikkel Jensen. While they qualified fourth and fifth, the aforementioned #20 BMW and #6 Porsche were able to overhaul them. But Peugeot will likely take this result, coming off the back of a disastrous Le Mans.

Eighth was the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, the only car from the Italian manufacturer in the top 10. Ferrari lacked pace, the first time this year neither factory car has scored points, but the #83 was able to limit the damage and score points for the drivers’ championship.

Akkodis ASP Lexus take first WEC win

Jose Maria Lopez drove the #87 ASP Lexus to victory in the LMGT3 class, dominating the 6 hour race alongside his teammates Petru Umbrarescu and Clemens Schmid.

Umbrarescu started the car second, behind the polesitting #10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin. He was passed on the first lap by Darren Leung in the #95 United Autosports McLaren, but got this position back a lap later and set about hunting down McIntosh in the lead.

He soon got passed Anthony McIntosh in the Aston, on lap 13, and from that moment on, dominated the race. The ASP Lexus team held a 1-2 for a significant portion of the race, but in the end the sister #78 car finished fifth, in the hands of Finn Gehrsitz, Arnold Robin, and Yuichi Nakayama.

Second at the flag was the #81 TF Sport Corvette of Charlie Eastwood. Eastwood stormed through the field in the final couple of hours, passing the #78 Lexus, #85 Iron Dames Porsche of Michelle Gatting, and the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin of Valentin Hasse Clot to finish second. Teammate Tom van Rompuy started the car seventh in class, and they and their teammate Rui Andrade were consistent and methodical in their journey to second.

Third was the polesitting car, the #10 Aston Martin, which Eduardo Barrichello brilliantly took to pole position the previous day. Unfortunately their race pace did not quite stack up to their qualifying pace, but Barrichello was still able to take a podium position at home in Brazil by passing Michelle Gatting in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche late on, to the cheers and jubilation of the crowd.

With Gatting fourth in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche, alongside her teammates Rahel Frey and Celia Martin, fifth went to the sister #78 Lexus of Gehrsitz, Robin, and Nakayama.

The post #12 Cadillac takes first Cadillac WEC victory at Interlagos appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Button, in the #38 Cadillac, is roughly 20 seconds ahead of Norman Nato in the #12 Cadillac. Third is Michael Christensen in the #5 Porsche, 44 seconds off the lead.

Button got into the car at the two hour mark, and sat second in the race behind the #12 Cadillac, with Alex Lynn at the wheel, for most of his stint. Button got in at the same time as Lynn, and while he initially lost second in the pit cycle over Christensen, he quickly retook the position and has stayed there ever since. Button is, however, expected to stop imminently, relinquishing the lead to Nato.

The #5 Porsche led earlier in the race with Christensen’s teammate Julien Andlauer at the wheel, but the Cadillacs caught and passed him. Ever since Christensen has fallen further and further back, with his teammate Kevin Estre in the #6 Porsche now behind him.

Estre started the race seventh and has climbed through the field, passing the two Peugeots and making it a Porsche 3-4.

Paul Di Resta is fifth in the #93 Peugeot, with a surprising run for the French manufacturer after a very disappointing run for the team at Le Mans.

Sixth is the #20 BMW of Marco Wittmann. The car has had a trouble-free run but does not have the pace of the leaders.

The two Ferraris and two Toyotas are struggling for pace, with both the #7 and #8 Toyota out of the points in a race they won at a canter last year. The Ferraris are doing a little better, with the #51 car, Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel, is seventh. The sister #50 car is 12th with Nicklas Nielsen at the wheel.

In LMGT3, the two Akkodis ASP Lexus cars are dominating proceedings. Clemens Schmid leads in the #87 Lexus, with his teammate Yuichi Nakayama second in the #78 sister car. They started second and third and have solidified a lead, albeit with a small gap to Michelle Gatting in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche.

Polesitter in LMGT3, the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin, is fourth. While they took pole yesterday with Eduardo Barrichello at the wheel, the car doesn’t have the race pace of the Lexus cars, and is around six seconds off Gatting, with Valentin Hasse Clot at the wheel.

The post Jenson Button leading Cadillac 1-2 at Interlagos with under 2 hours to go appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Alex Lynn leads for Cadillac at Interlagos with two hours gone, as Porsche and Cadillac battle for the lead in Brazil, the fifth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Second is Jenson Button in the #38 Cadillac, who moments ago overtook Michael Christensen in the #5 Porsche for the position.

Lynn’s teammate Stevens, alongside the other Cadillac, the #8 which had Earl Bamber at the wheel for the first two hours, were some 20 seconds or so back at the start of the second hour, but they caught and passed the Christensen’s teammate Julien Andlauer, who was in the car at the start, by the end of the second hour.

Fourth is Malthe Jakobsen in the #94 Peugeot, almost a minute adrift of Lynn in the lead.

Fifth is Andlauer’s Porsche teammate Laurens Vanthoor, onboard the #6 machine. However, the #12 Cadillac, which had Stevens at the wheel for the first third of the race, is slightly out of sequence and has pitted early, relinquishing the position.

The other Peugeot, the #93 of Paul Di Resta, is fifth.

Stevens started from the lead in the #12 Cadillac. He was passed by Andlauer in the second sector of the Interlagos track, with Bamber behind Stevens making a Cadillac 2-3.

The order stayed this way for most of the first hour, until Stevens got a drivethrough penalty for low tyre pressure. He then pitted soon after to lose the tyres, and set about catching Andlauer and Bamber.

Bamber, too, was on a charge and closed the gap to Andlauer, taking the lead at turn 1 shortly before the second round of pitstops.

They all then pitted, putting Lynn in the lead from Button and Christensen.

It’s a Lexus 1-2 in LMGT3, with Jose Maria Lopez in the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus leading Arnold Robin in the sister #78 car. Third is Martin Berry in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes AMG-GT3.

The post Lynn leads Cadillac 1-2 with two hours gone at Interlagos appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Alex Lynn took an emphatic pole position for Cadillac at Interlagos, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, with his teammate Sebastien Bourdais ensuring it was a second consecutive front row lock out for Cadillac.

Lynn set a 1:22.570 to go quickest, with Bourdais a tenth off in second.

Porsche’s Julien Andlauer was best of the rest in the #5 machine, over two and a half tenths adrift of Lynn.

However, before the pole position shootout was the 12 minute qualifying session to decide the 10 cars who would go into Hyperpole.

Lynn was, once again, quickest in the #12 Cadillac, setting a 1:22.829, with the two Peugeots second and third. 

But the big shock was the two factory Ferraris not getting through to Hyperpole. 

That’s the first time this season neither Ferrari has qualified for the top 10 Hyperpole shootout.

Antonio Giovinazzi, in the #51 Ferrari, could only take 17th, a second off Lynn at the top of the timesheets.

His teammate Antonio Fuoco fared a little better, under a tenth faster than Giovinazzi but, due to the closeness of the field, was a few positions ahead in 14th.

The Le Mans-winning satellite Ferrari, the #83 AF Corse car, was the only Ferrari tio get through, in the hands of Robert Kubica. The Pole set a 1:23.595, 0.766 off Lynn.

At the other end of the sheets, Lynn and the two Peugeots, Malthe Jakobsen in the #94 second, 0.379 off Lynn. Paul Di Resta in the #93 took third, under a tenth slower than his teammate.

Julien Andlauer took fourth in the #5 Porsche, with Dries Vanthoor in the #15 BMW fifth.

Going out, then, was the two Aston Martin Valkyries, with Alex Riberas in the #009 Valkyrie 11th and teammate Harry Tincknell in the sister #007 13th. In between them was the #99 Proton Porsche ofNico Varrone, in 12th. Both Alpines, both Ferraris, amd the #7 Toyota also went out.

Lynn fastest again in Hyperpole

Into Hyperpole and Porsche set the first representative laps, with Julien Andlauer in the #5 Porsche beating Kevin Estre in the sister #6 car to the top spot early on.

But this top spot was soon stolen by Lynn in the #12 Cadillac. He initially set a 1:22.788 to go fastest, and then improved on this by just over two tenths, his final fastest lap for pole being a 1:22.570.

With Lynn safely on pole and unbeatable in the 10 minute Hyperpole session, his Cadillac JOTA teammate Sebastien Bourdais took second in the #38 Cadillac, a tenth exactly off Lynn to lock out the front row for Cadillac and JOTA.

Andlauer took third in the #5 Porsche, with Malthe Jakobsen a surprise fourth for Peugeot in the #94 car. Fifth was Sheldon van der Linde in the #20 BMW, with Paul di Resta sixth in the sister #93 Peugeot.

Estre took seventh in the #6 Porsche, unable to match his countryman and teammate in third. Eighth was Dries Vanthoor in the #15 BMW, while Robert Kubica could only manage ninth in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, with Ryo Hirakawa rounding out the top 10 in the #8 Toyota.

Barrichello takes LMGT3 pole at home race

Home hero Eduardo Barrichello took pole in LMGT3, putting Aston Martin and the Racing Spirit of Leman top of the pile at Interlagos.

He set a 1:33.849 to go quickest, just a couple of hundredths faster than #87 ASP Lexus Clemens Schmid. Third was his teammate Finn Gehrsitz in the sister #78 car.

In the initial qualifying session preceding LMGT3 Hyperpole, Petru Umbrarescu was fastest in the #87 ASP Lexus RC F GT3. The Romanian set his lap time, a 1:34.488, early on and stayed top through the 12 minute session to go quickest.

Second was the #59 United Autosports McLaren 720 GT3 Evo of James Cottingham, over four tenths off the leading Lexus. Third was Stefano Gattuso in the #88 Proton Ford Mustang GT3.

However, eight cars went out as they weren’t able to make it through to Hyperpole. This included, rather unexpectedly, both Ferraris and both BMWs. 

Ferrari’s two bronze-rated drivers, Thomas Flohr in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 and Francois Heriau in the sister #21 car, plus Ahmad Al Harthy and Yasser Shahin in the two BMWs, the #46 BMW M4 GT3 and the latter in the #31 car, were unable to put in a time fast enough for the top 10.

Barrichello claims pole 20 minutes from home

Going into Hyperpole, Iron Dames’ Rahel Frey held at the top spot early on in  the #85 Porsche 911 GT3R. However, this was soon taken off her by a succession of drivers. With a few minutes to go, Eduardo Barrichello was fastest in the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage GT3, but the two Lexuses were looking fast.

Clemens Schmid, behind the wheel of the #87 ASP Lexus, went just slightly slower with 2 minutes left, just 0.008 off Barrichello. Schmid’s teammate Finn Gehrsitz was also quick, putting in a lap in the sister #78 Lexus, but his lap was just over a tenth slower than Barrichello, taking third.

Barrichello was on a faster lap right at the end of the session, but got pinged for track limits. However, no one was able to put in a faster lap, giving second generation racer Barrichello on pole at his home race, with a 1:33.849.

Schmid was just 0.024 in the end, after Barrichello improved his time on his second to last lap. Gehrsitz was third giving Lexus a 2-3.

Fourth was Linn Hodenius in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3. Fifth was Sean Galael in the #95 United Autosports McLaren, with his teammate Sebastien Baud sixth in the sister #59 McLaren.

Seventh was Frey in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche, while Gianmarco Levorato in the #88 Proton Ford Mustang eighth. Ninth and tenth were the two TF Sport Corvettes, Jonny Edgar in the #33 ahead of Rui Andrade in the sister #81.

The post Alex Lynn fronts Cadillac front row lock out at Interlagos appeared first on Motorsport Week.

For the second successive session, Porsche topped the timesheets at Interlagos, with Kevin Estre going fastest in second practice for the FIA WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, taking place this weekend.

The Frenchman, behind the wheel of the #6 Porsche, set a 1:25.673 to go quickest, just over a tenth up on his countryman and Porsche teammate Julien Andlauer, in the sister #5 Porsche.

Third fastest was the #15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor, less than a hundredth off Andlauer.

Fourth went to Alex Lynn in the #12 Cadillac, just under two tenths off Estre and well under a tenth off D. Vanthoor.

Fifth was the #007 Aston Martin of Harry Tincknell, just slightly under half a second off Estre, in what is not only Aston Martin’s first top 5 with the Valkyrie in WEC competition, but first time with both cars in the top 10. The #009 sister car sat eighth, with Alex Riberas setting the car’s best lap.

The session was very close, with under a second separating all eight manufacturers.

In LMGT3, Valentin Hasse Clot topped the session, to go fastest in the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage. He set a lap time of 1:35.736, just 0.067 faster than Yuichi Nakayama in the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3. The other ASP Lexus, the #87, was third fastest, with Jose Maria Lopez, who was fastest in practice 2, around half a second slower than Hasse Clot.

The session ran cleanly, with only two brief local yellows interrupting green flag running all the way through the session.

Qualifying begins Saturday 12th July at 14:45 local time.

The post Kevin Estre puts Porsche top at Interlagos in second WEC practice appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Laurens Vanthoor topped the first practice session for the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, at Interlagos, the fifth round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.

The # Porsche driver set a 1:25.176 to quickest, 0.084 ahead of Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco, in the #50 Ferrari. 

BMW’s Rene Rast was third in the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, 0.154 off L. Vanthoor. Fourth was Toyota’s Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota, with fifth going to the sister BMW of Raffaele Marciello in the #15 car.

All eight manufacturers were within three tenths, which indicates qualifying and the race could be close as Ferrari may struggle to maintain their dominance, on a track that doesn’t entirely suit the 499P.

In LMGT3, it was an Akkodis ASP Lexus 1-2, with Jose Maria Lopez fastest in the #87 ASP Lexus RC F GT3, with a 1:35.010. Second was his teammate in the #78 car, Finn Gehrsitz, 0.124 off. Third went to Daniel Juncadella in the #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Fourth was Valentin Hasse Clot in the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage GT3, while Charlie Eastwood took fifth in the sister #81 TF Sport Corvette.

After an almost-20 minute delay due to a timing malfunction, the session ran cleanly, with a single full course yellow for the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.

Practice 2 takes place at 15:45 local time at Interlagos, with qualifying on Saturday at 14:45 local time.

The post L. Vanthoor quickest for Porsche in opening WEC practice at Interlagos appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura have won the IMSA Six Hours of Watkins Glen, after a messy race featuring ten cautions and a crazy finish featuring a penultimate lap pitstop for the erstwhile leader, handing Blomqvist the win.

The duo started third and dodged the chaos throughout the race to take the chequered flag in the lead. 1.880 seconds behind was Louis Deletraz, in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. 

Third was the sister #10 Wayne Taylor Cadillac of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, with the Portuguese veteran behind the wheel at the finish.

Tom Blomqvist finished third in the sister #60 MSR Acura, alongside his teammate Colin Braun.

Van der Zande started the #93 Acura from pole, and initially retained it over Aitken in the #31 Cadillac. However, even before the end of the first lap, the rain started coming down, at first over the back part of the circuit. Soon it enveloped the entire circuit, getting heavier.

Aitken and van der Zande battled for the lead, but Felipe Nasr in the #7 Porsche fought through the field and was third as the rain increased. Van der Zande, leading, went wide and Aitken took the opportunity to claim the lead, but he didn’t hold it for long. Nasr then found some grip on the damp track and went round the outside of Aitken’s Cadillac.

Nasr held the lead and extended a small gap, but as he hit traffic Aitken found more pace and caught the Dutchman up again. The Briton subsequently retook the lead, with van der Zande also taking second off Nasr as Porsche’s lack of pace became apparent.

Three full course cautions in two hours

The first of 10 full course cautions were then called, with another falling shortly afterwards as LMP2s and GTDs collided. It was now raining much harder, with a short, sharp monsoon-like shower causing chaos on track.

At the second restart, van der Zande led from Dries Vanthoor in the #24 BMW and Nasr in the #7 Porsche. However, a clash between Ricky Taylor,in the #10 WTR Cadillac and Aitken, who’d had trouble in the pits and been dropped to the back of the GTPs, created on-track debris.

At the third restart, van der Zande still led from Vanthoor and Nasr. The Brazilian soon took second off Vanthoor, before the Belgian reclaimed it, with the two around four seconds off van der Zande in the lead.

The third caution was called with exactly four hours remaining. Romain Grosjean, in the #63 Lamborghini, had pitted moments before the FCY was called and the pit lane closed, in a stroke of luck for the Italian team. This meant when the GTPs pitted en masse under yellow, Grosjean stayed out and assumed the lead.

The Frenchman led from Kaku Ohta, who’d replaced van der Zande in the #93 Acura, and Philipp Eng in the #24 BMW. 

A succession of full course yellows were then called for various incidents, one involving the #5 Proton Porsche of Nico Pino, who’d collided with the #80 Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Campbell leads at half way point

After the sixth FCY, just after the half way point in the race,Matt Campbell in the #6 Porsche led from Albuquerque, in the #10 Cadillac, and the #60 Acura of Nick Yelloly.

With Porsche’s lack of pace now obvious to everyone, Campbell soon dropped to fourth behind Albuquerque, Yelloly and Jordan Taylor in the #40 WTR Cadillac.

Two FCYs were called, with the first one restarting with an hour and 57 minutes to go. Bamber, in the #31 Cadillac, led from Tandy, in the #7 Porsche, Campbell, and Albuquerque.

Campbell was soon passed by Albuquerque on the way to the bus stop in the lap of the restart. Bamber meanwhile, in the lead, retained the lead from Tandy, who nonetheless looked vulnerable to Albuquerque, now behind him in third.

The eighth FCY meant the race restarted with an hour and 39 minutes to go. Tandy was still second at the restart but was soon demoted to fith by Albuquerque, Deletraz in the #40 WTR Cadillac, and Yelloly.

Bamber, meanwhile, was opening up a gap to Albuquerque in a Cadillac 1-2-3. The Kiwi looked to have the legs on his Portuguese Cadillac stable mate, heading into the closing part of the race.

Tandy bins #7 Porsche while pushing hard

The caution-fest wasn’t done yet, though — not by a long way. Tandy, who had been pushing Porsche hard to make up for the 963’s fundamental lack of pace at Watkins Glen, pushed too hard and spun his car at turn 1. He careered into the barriers on drivers’ right at high speed, before bouncing across the track, hitting the barrier on drivers’ left at turn 1, and coming to rest on the run off to the left of the kerb, near the barrier.

Incredibly — a testament to the safety of modern race cars — Tandy climbed from the destroyed Porsche unaided.

The race went green again with an hour remaining, after the GTPs had pitted under yellow. Bamber retained the lead over Yelloly and Albuquerque, and was extending his gap.

But, of course Watkins Glen had a final twist throw in a crazy, messy race. With under 10 minutes to go, the final caution of the race — the 10th — was called for a GTD car which had stopped at turn 1.

The race went green again for two laps, but Bamber was running out of fuel despite having earlier saved fuel to try and make it to the finish without stopping.

The Kiwi stopped as he was coming onto his final lap, handing Tom Blomqvist the lead in the light blue #60 Acura machine.

Blomqvist was also low on fuel, but somehow made it last to the end, crossing the line almost on fumes. Behind him was the #40 WTR Cadillac of Louis Deletraz, with Filipe Albuquerque a few seconds further back in the sister #10 WTR Cadillac.

Jaminet salvages fourth for Porsche

Mathieu Jaminet finished fourth in the #6 Porsche, salvaging a decent result on a day when the Porsches had no pace around Watkins Glen. Bamber finished fifth after his last gasp pit for a splash of fuel, with Nick Yelloly sixth in the polesitting #93 Acura. 

Romain Grosjean finished seventh in the #63 Lamborghini, with Philipp Eng eighth in the #24 BMW. Ninth was the #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Roman de Angelis, while 10th went to Tijmen van der Helm in the #85 JDC Miller Porsche.

Di Resta claims LMP2 victory

In LMP2, Paul di Resta took the win in the #22 United Autosports Oreca, drivin g alongside Daniel Goldburg and Rasmus Lindh.

Goldberg started the car third, with PJ Hyett on pole in the #99 AO Racing Oreca. Steven Thomas, in second, was in the #11 TDS car, but Thomas was taken out of contention in the early hours of the race after colliding head on with the spun #52 PR1 Mathiasen Oreca of Rodrigo Sales.

This accident wrecked the #11 TDS Oreca, tearing the windscreen from the car and severely damaging other front end parts of the car.

From then on, the battle for LMP2 was a straight fight between United Autosports and AO Racing. In the end, United Autosports prevailed, with Dane Cameron, in the #99 AO car for the run to the flag, unable to overhaul di Resta.

Third  in class was Malthe Jakobsen, in the #04 Crowdstrike by APR Oreca.

Harper wins GTD Pro, Heart of Racing’s Gamble victorious in GTD

In GTD Pro, Dan Harper took the victory in the #48 Paul Miller BMW M4 GT3, after starting the race second. 

Polesitter Andrea Caldarelli, in the #9 Pfaff Lamborghini, ran well at the start, keeping the lead over Harper and extending a gap when he could. However, when he handed over to IMSA debutant Sandy Mitchell, Pfaff’s race unravelled.

Mitchell crashed the car 2 hours into the race, and although he was able to reverse out, the car was clearly damaged. He’d later pull up at the side of the road, causing two IMSA cautions on his debut in the series.

From then on, Harper and his teammate Max Hesse were able to largely control the race, fending off challengers from Corvette and Ford to take the win. In second was the #3 Corvette of Alex Sims and Antonio Garcia, while third went to Chris Mies and Fred Vervisch in the #65 Ford Mustang GT3.

Finally, Tom Gamble took the win in GTD in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin. His teammate Zach Robichon started the car from pole and the two were able to avoid the chaos to take the flag first in class. Second was Frederik Schandorff in the #70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, while third was Kenton Koch in the #32 Korthoff Mercedes AMG GT3.

The post Blomqvist and Braun win at Watkins Glen after fuel save finish appeared first on Motorsport Week.