6HSaoPaulo Breaking news, exclusive interviews & reports - Motorsport Week https://www.motorsportweek.com/tag/6hsaopaulo/ Motorsport Week is an independent, FIA accredited motorsport website delivering the latest Formula 1, Formula E, GP2, GP3, WEC, IndyCar, Nascar, Formula 3, WRC, WRX, DTM, IMSA and MotoGP news and results. Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:15:48 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-favicon-1-32x32.png 6HSaoPaulo Breaking news, exclusive interviews & reports - Motorsport Week https://www.motorsportweek.com/tag/6hsaopaulo/ 32 32 Iron Dames undertook ‘bittersweet’ P4 finish in Sao Paulo https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/24/iron-dames-undertook-bittersweet-p4-finish-in-sao-paulo/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/24/iron-dames-undertook-bittersweet-p4-finish-in-sao-paulo/#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2025 14:30:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=217072 The Iron Dames took their first LMGT3 win in the European Le Mans Series

The Iron Dames team felt conflicted when taking their season-best finish in the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo after narrowly missing out on a podium.

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The Iron Dames took their first LMGT3 win in the European Le Mans Series

The Iron Dames team felt conflicted when taking their season-best finish in the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo after narrowly missing out on a podium.

The FIA World Endurance Championship’s all-female driver squad of Celia Martin, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting finished fourth in the LMGT3 category.

It marked the Iron Dames’ best race finish since fourth place in the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours; however, they lost out on their first LMGT3 podium finish by 1.461 seconds to Racing Spirit of LeMan (#10 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 Evo).

“In the end, we got P4, which is our best result in WEC in 2025,” said Frey.

“It’s bittersweet because we definitely had potential for more.

“Since Le Mans, we’ve definitely gained momentum, and we had pace throughout the entire race, but unfortunately, we weren’t faultless (referencing Gatting’s drive-through penalty for overtaking under yellow from P2).

“We’ll keep on working hard and keep on pushing.

“I’m happy with the team’s performance, and we were so close to the podium.

“Next time, we’re going to make it.”

“We got P4, just missing the podium, which is a shame, but that’s part of racing,” added Martin.

“Once again, we demonstrated what we can do.

“We fought hard, that’s what matters. I’m already looking forward to the next race.”

Martin qualified the #85 Porsche 911 GT3.R into Hyperpole before Frey put the car seventh on the grid.

Martin was initially pushed wide at Turn 1, though she beat the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 Evo during their opening stint jostle.

In the final hour, after a swift final pit stop, Gatting continued her impressive fight for the podium, defending to the finish before Eduardo Barrichello overtook her.

READ MORE – Celia Martin saw Le Mans ‘for what it really was’ in her event debut

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Iron Lynx ‘looking at the positives’ on promising Sao Paulo weekend https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/23/iron-lynx-urges-look-at-the-positives-on-promising-sao-paulo-weekend/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/23/iron-lynx-urges-look-at-the-positives-on-promising-sao-paulo-weekend/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2025 14:30:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=216946 Iron Lynx focused on the positives despite a difficult outcome at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

Iron Lynx reflected on the key positives from one of their most promising race meetings in Sao Paulo, despite their poor race results.

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Iron Lynx focused on the positives despite a difficult outcome at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

Iron Lynx reflected on the key positives from one of their most promising race meetings in Sao Paulo, despite their poor race results.

“We have to look at the positives,” said Iron Lynx team principal and CEO Andrea Piccini.

“This weekend we had a much better pace and we made good use of it in qualifying, where we achieved a valuable P4.

“Despite still being a bit off in terms of pure performance compared to Aston Martin and Lexus, we were very consistent, and we had superior tyre management.

“All drivers were making positive steps, despite the fact that most of them were driving for the first time at Interlagos, which is a very technical circuit.

“Today, the pace and strategy could have brought us to the podium.

“We are getting there, and we will continue working ahead of the three final rounds of the season.”

Iron Lynx finished in 18th, last in the LMGT3 category, along with a retirement during the fifth FIA World Endurance Championship round.

Iron Lynx represent Mercedes-AMG as the latest manufacturer to join the WEC
Iron Lynx represent Mercedes-AMG as the latest manufacturer to join the WEC – Credit: Julien Delfosse / DPPI

Despite achieving similar results as the Qatar 1812 km season-opener, the finishing results told only half the story.

The team showcased competitive form by matching their best qualifying effort for the #61, since they also qualified fourth for the previous round, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Iron Lynx misses out after ‘promising weekend’

During the race, both the #60 and #61 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 Evos achieved satisfactory tyre management.

Iron Lynx opted for an aggressive strategy with the #61 Mercedes-AMG, which started in fourth place, early in the race.

Bronze-graded Martin Berry kept the car within the top five before switching to Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maxime Martin, who put the car up to second position whilst others opted to eat into the Bronze-graded driving time of 1 hour 45 minutes.

Lin Hodenius continued in the middle of the race after serving penalties for Full Course Yellow infringements as Martin was keen to secure at least a points finish.

An untimely technical issue retired the #61 Mercedes-AMG in the sixth and final hour, whilst the #60 machine finished last with its relatively new driver line-up.

“It was definitely a promising weekend,” added Martin.

“We have been quite competitive for the whole weekend, and it’s again a good step from race-to-race.

“We are happy with that; we had a good qualifying and a good beginning of the race – we were in the top positions.

“Unfortunately, a technical issue forced us to retire. It’s a good lesson, it’s promising, we’re getting better, so we look forward to the next race.”

READ MORE – #12 Cadillac takes first Cadillac WEC victory at Interlagos

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Peugeot: ‘Solid result’ at Sao Paulo, tyre degradation key setback https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/17/peugeot-solid-result-at-sao-paulo-tyre-degredation-key-setback/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/17/peugeot-solid-result-at-sao-paulo-tyre-degredation-key-setback/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:30:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=216342 Peugeot stood out when they qualified on the second and third rows at Sao Paulo

Peugeot took a double-points finish at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo as tyre degradation made it difficult to convert their impressive qualifying.

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Peugeot stood out when they qualified on the second and third rows at Sao Paulo

Peugeot took a double-points finish at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo as tyre degradation made it difficult to convert their impressive qualifying.

The French Hypercar team turned heads when they secured their place in the Hyperpole qualifying session in second and third positions, before finalising grid spots of fourth and sixth.

They converted their best qualifying performance of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season into their season-best race finishes in sixth and seventh, though Peugeot accepted what hindered them from an even stronger race result.

Loic Duval successfully held fourth place on the opening lap for the fifth FIA WEC round of 2025
Loic Duval successfully held fourth place on the opening lap for the fifth FIA WEC round of 2025 – Credit: Fabrizio Boldoni / DPPI

Seven of the 18 Hypercar line-ups used two drivers across both cars, but a selection was due to the clash with the FIA Formula E event in Berlin – concerning Sebastien Buemi’s absence in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, Jean-Eric Vergne in the #93 Peugeot 9X8 and Stoffel Vandoorne in the #94 Peugeot.

“Our race pace was as expected,” said Olivier Jansonnie, Peugeot Sport Technical Director, “but we may have underestimated the speed of our three direct competitors, who were very fast.

“We could have finished P5 and P6 – it’s a shame, but we lost time under FCY.

“We’ll need to analyse why. The gaps are getting tighter, and there will be more opportunities to perform well before the end of the season.”

Tyre degradation pushes first pit stop forward

“A pretty calm start for me and a good first stint,” added Loic Duval, who co-drove the #94 Peugeot with Malthe Jakobsen.

“I struggled more in my second stint due to heavy rear tyre degradation, which forced us to bring our pit stop forward,” having run both cars in third and fourth before the first pit stop on the 40th lap.

“As a result, our final stint was a bit longer than that of our competitors, and on top of that, we were unlucky with the FCY, which cost us around fifteen seconds.”

Mikkel Jensen, co-driver of the #93 Peugeot with Paul di Resta, said:

“The advantage of a two-driver line-up is that you learn a lot from the first double stint and can adjust accordingly at the end of the race.

“In this race, tyre degradation management was crucial, and I did a better job of that during my final stint.

“Overall, it was a good weekend for the team, with strong performances in qualifying and a solid final result.

“Now we need to focus on tyre degradation.”

READ MORE – #12 Cadillac takes first Cadillac WEC victory at Interlagos

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Jenson Button leading Cadillac 1-2 at Interlagos with under 2 hours to go https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/13/jenson-button-leading-cadillac-1-2-at-interlagos-with-under-2-hours-to-go/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/13/jenson-button-leading-cadillac-1-2-at-interlagos-with-under-2-hours-to-go/#comments Sun, 13 Jul 2025 18:42:29 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=215958 Jenson Button leads for Cadillac at Interlagos with two hours remaining, heading a 1-2 for the British-run American team. 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 […]

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Jenson Button leads for Cadillac at Interlagos with two hours remaining, heading a 1-2 for the British-run American team.

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.

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Lynn leads Cadillac 1-2 with two hours gone at Interlagos https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/13/lynn-leads-cadillac-1-2-with-two-hours-gone-at-interlagos/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/13/lynn-leads-cadillac-1-2-with-two-hours-gone-at-interlagos/#respond Sun, 13 Jul 2025 16:46:22 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=215952

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, […]

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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.

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Alex Lynn fronts Cadillac front row lock out at Interlagos https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/12/alex-lynn-fronts-cadillac-front-row-lock-out-at-interlagos/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/12/alex-lynn-fronts-cadillac-front-row-lock-out-at-interlagos/#respond Sat, 12 Jul 2025 19:19:15 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=215830

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 […]

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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

10 BARRICHELLO Eduardo (bra), McINTOSH Anthony (usa), HASSE-CLOT Valentin (fra), Racing Spirit of Léman, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo #10, LM GT3, action during the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo 2025, 5th round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, from July 11 to 13, 2025 on the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil – Photo Julien Delfosse / DPPI

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.

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Kevin Estre puts Porsche top at Interlagos in second WEC practice https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/11/kevin-estre-puts-porsche-top-at-interlagos-in-second-wec-practice/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/07/11/kevin-estre-puts-porsche-top-at-interlagos-in-second-wec-practice/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2025 20:55:26 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=215709

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 […]

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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.

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United Autosports’ Caygill on his first LMGT3 podium: ‘I haven’t stopped smiling’ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/07/16/united-autosports-caygill-on-his-first-lmgt3-podium-i-havent-stopped-smiling/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/07/16/united-autosports-caygill-on-his-first-lmgt3-podium-i-havent-stopped-smiling/#respond Tue, 16 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=172212

United Autosports #95 McLaren 720S LMGT3 EVO driver Josh Caygill was delighted to finish on the podium at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. The fifth round of the 2024 FIA WEC saw United Autosports claim their first podium finish since their partnership with McLaren begun alongside the birth of the […]

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United Autosports #95 McLaren 720S LMGT3 EVO driver Josh Caygill was delighted to finish on the podium at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo.

The fifth round of the 2024 FIA WEC saw United Autosports claim their first podium finish since their partnership with McLaren begun alongside the birth of the LMGT3 category.

Furthermore, their sibling entrant – the #59 – finished one lap behind the #95 to finalise a personal best finish of third and fourth places for the team.

“I haven’t stopped smiling … it’s absolutely mega,” said Caygill who achieved the feat with #95 co-drivers Marino Sato and Nico Pino.

“We were fast in every session and fighting to be at the front all weekend.

“I was happy with my two stints in the car.

“I was pushing hard, we had some good racing out there.

“Marino and Nico spend a lot of time with me to make me faster, so thank you to those guys.

“It’s nice to get a result for me personally … but this is for everybody in the team.

“We are all pushing so hard, so it’s amazing when it pays off.

“At this level, it’s such a big deal. There is no easy podium.

“So to get this one … the first for me, the first for United Autosports and McLaren in the new WEC LMGT3 era. I’m buzzing.”

During qualifying, Caygill and Cottingham of the #59 both asserted front-running pace in the LMGT3 category, with only Sarah Bovy of the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 EVO2 able to threaten the pair by eventually claiming pole position.

In Hyperpole, Caygill secured P3 with a 1:34.860 lap time which was narrowly +0.056 seconds ahead of the #59, although his best qualifying performance was second for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

During the race, the fight for the win was between the two front-row cars, the #85 Lamborghini and the championship-leading #92 Manthey PureRxing Porsche 911 GT3.R and so they did fight with the Porsche taking the upper hand.

The Iron Dames team suffered mechanical misfortune after their car suffered a water pump issue which forced the #85 into the garage. Despite returning to the race, the team was unable to recover in pursuit of a satisfactory result and so they retired from the race.

With the #92 retaining their lead with consistency and a mistake-free drive, United Autosports were able to capitalise on the #85 woes although not without the pace of the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3.

As the Aston Martin comfortably took second, United Autosports claimed third and fourth having been close to the front before at the 6 Hours of Spa although were not able to continue their form, especially impacted by their necessity to refuel after the race restart.

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Manthey Purerxcing’s Bachler, Sturm and Malykhin dominate at Interlagos in LMGT3 https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/07/14/manthey-purerxcings-bachler-sturm-and-malykhin-dominate-at-interlagos-in-lmgt3/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/07/14/manthey-purerxcings-bachler-sturm-and-malykhin-dominate-at-interlagos-in-lmgt3/#respond Sun, 14 Jul 2024 21:34:52 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=172070

#92 Manthey Purrxcing Porsche’s Klaus Bachler, Joel Sturm, and Alexander Malykhin took victory in the LMGT3 class at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, dominating proceedings after leading for 5 of the 6 hours. Malykhin started the race second behind the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini’s Sarah Bovy. However, he didn’t allow Bovy to pull away, […]

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#92 Manthey Purrxcing Porsche’s Klaus Bachler, Joel Sturm, and Alexander Malykhin took victory in the LMGT3 class at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, dominating proceedings after leading for 5 of the 6 hours.

Malykhin started the race second behind the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini’s Sarah Bovy. However, he didn’t allow Bovy to pull away, instead sticking with her throughout the first hour and taking the lead midway into the second hour of the race, after closing a small gap. 

The team then utterly dominated the class, steadily pulling out a gap that went from 5 seconds, to 10, to 15, to over 20 over the course of the next couple of hours.

Bovy and her teammates, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey, though, were still in the hunt and had maintained second from the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin and the two United Autosports McLarens, with a 30 second gap to a fluctuating third place. 

However, after a season of misfortune and mad luck for the Dames, it struck again. When Frey pitted from second to hand over the car to Gatting, the car dramatically overheated, steam pouring from car on the pit apron and then dripping water off the bodywork as it condensed. The car was pushed back into the garage and duly retired, in another race of heartbreak for the team.

The Porsche continued unabated but the battle for second was now on. The #27 Aston, of Mancinelli, Ian James, who’d started the car, and Alex Riberas, who finished, looked odds on to take it as Mancinelli and Riberas gradually extended a gap over the two McLarens in third and fourth, with the gap between second and the third placed #95 United Autosports McLaren of Marino Sato, Nico Pino, and Josh Caygill standing at around 40 seconds with two hours to go.

This gradually extended to well over a minute, but then disaster: the Aston received a drive through penalty for a full course yellow infringement earlier in the race. However, with the pitlane taking around 40 seconds to drive through, the gap they’d created was well-used, and the car remained second, with Riberas crossing the line almost 50 seconds behind the winning Porsche of Bachler.

Third was Sato in the #95 McLaren, with fourth going to the teamcar of home hero Nicolas Costa in the sister #59 car, alongside his teammates James Cottingham and Gregoire Saucy.

And fifth was the #46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi, and Ahmad Al Harthy. After a poor qualifying from Al Harthy meant a lowly starting position of 12th, the team used their race pace to move forwards, sixth after stopping in the first hour with a great stint from the Oman racer. Martin and Rossi then maintained that position for the rest of the race, and while they didn’t have the pace to win, they managed to take home good points.

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Buemi, Hirakawa and Hartley win at Interlagos as Toyota control race https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/07/14/buemi-hirakawa-and-hartley-win-at-interlagos-as-toyota-control-race/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/07/14/buemi-hirakawa-and-hartley-win-at-interlagos-as-toyota-control-race/#respond Sun, 14 Jul 2024 21:05:32 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=172067

#8 Toyota’s Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa have won the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, after the Japanese-German manufacturer controlled the race from the getgo. In second was the #6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, and Laurens Vanthoor, while sister #5 car made it a Porsche 2-3, in […]

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#8 Toyota’s Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa have won the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, after the Japanese-German manufacturer controlled the race from the getgo.

In second was the #6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, and Laurens Vanthoor, while sister #5 car made it a Porsche 2-3, in the hands of Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, and Fred Makowiecki.

Toyota started on pole with Mike Conway in the #7 car, with Hartley in the #8 Toyota alongside him. Conway soon started building a gap to Hartley, and by the end of the first hour, it stood at xx seconds. Toyota’s march continued relentless, with a pace advantage over their challengers, mainly in the form of Porsche, but also Ferrari.

However, the 1-2 at the front was dented in the second hour as the leading #7 car, which Conway had brought in to the pits to hand over to Nyck de Vries, needed the control unit for the fuel system repairing. While the work was relatively quick at 3 mins, with the exceedingly close Hypercar field this sunk the #7 Toyota to 17th position, and would require a mighty recovery drive to get a good result.

This put the #8 Toyota, now in the hands of Ryo Hirakawa, into the lead of the race — one the car wouldn’t really relinquish, except for brief periods at pitstops.

Behind them there was a battle between the two Penske-run factory Porsches, and the #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi. Giovinazzi had started the car from ninth and worked his way up over his stint in the car, climbing out of the car in fourth position, although he briefly inherited the lead during the pitstop cycle.

However, try as they might, Ferrari couldn’t quite overcome the challenge from Porsche. Giovinazzi’s replacement in the #51, Calado, also managed to take the lead during the pitstop cycle, but the Porsche 963’s pace was just too great. By the sixth hour, with Pier Guidi now in the car,, he was defending from Campbell in the #5 Porsche, but lost this at the pitstops and dropped to fourth on the road.

However, the #7 Toyota, with great pace and having its neck wrung, had climbed back up the order and was now challenging the top 5. When the #38 JOTA Porsche of Jenson Button received a 5 second stop go for a technical infringement late in the race, Kamui Kobayashi, now in the #7 car, took fifth, and then took fourth of Giovinazzi to cap and remarkable recovery.

This wasn’t the race’s only remarkable recovery. The #6 Porsche was beset by a right rear puncture early on, after a battle with Will Stevens in the #12 JOTA Porsche, with Stevens pushing Laurens Vanthoor off track. The Briton would later receive a stop/go penalty for the incident.

With the #6 Porsche now at the back of the field, a comeback was needed. And the team did just that, with Vanthoor, then his teammates Andre Lotterer and Kevin Estre, all contributing to a second placed finished, a minute and eight seconds behind the winning Toyota.

With the #5 Porsche in third, #7 Toyota fourth and #51 Ferrari fifth, sixth was taken by the #50 Ferrari of Antionio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, and Miguel Molina. Much like the team car, they just didn’t have the pace to truly challenge at Interlagos, and finished a lap down to the victorious Toyota.

The #8 JOTA Porsche of Button, Oliver Rasmussen and Phil Hanson finished seventh after a late race penalty destroyed their hopes of a top 5 finish. They’d run well all race, in the top 5 for much ofg it, including a fantastic battle between Rasmussen and Peugeot’s Mikkel Jensen which lasted multiple laps and ended with the gold Porsche finally getting past the Peugeot, to take fifth. However, after staying in the top 5 for the remainder of the race, the penalty dropped them to seventh, where they’d finish.

Eighth went to the aforementioned Peugeot, the #93 car, of Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Nico Muller, who climbed out from qualifying outside the top 10 to claim points in an improved performance for the French manufacturer.

Ninth was the #15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann, while 10th went to the #36 Alpine of Mich Schumacher, Nico Lapierre, and Mathieu Vaxiviere.

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