Monza 4 Hour Report: Toyota Takes Control; No.23 United Autosports Heads LMP2; Corvette Racing Snatch Lead in LMGTE

Hypercar: Leader – No.7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid 

• Jose-Maria Lopez asserts Toyota's authority in the third and fourth hours at Monza as Argentinian expands the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid's lead at the front 
• Lopez overtook the No.50 Ferrari AF Corse in third hour to get the net lead of the race and then opens up a 45-second lead over the No.50 Ferrari of Nicklas Nielsen 
• But the No.51 Ferrari jumps the sister Ferrari as James Calado takes over from Alessandro Pier Guidi just before the fifth hour arrives 
• In fourth position is the No.5 Porsche Penske which heads the No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar and the No.6 Porsche Penske 963 
• The No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid fights back from its earlier incidents to place seventh 
• Remarkably at the end of the third hour the No.99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 of Neel Jani leads briefly during the pit stop cycle-throughs 
• Glickenhaus place ninth after excellent race so far for Oliver Pla, Nathanael Berthon and Romain Dumas. Berthon completes majority of mi-portion of the race and runs as high as fourth at one stage 
• Cadillac Racing places 10th  after accruing a penalty for a pit stop infraction earlier in race 
• Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 fall back after a steering related issue in the third hour. But team fix issue and car returns to action albeit in 11th  position in Hypercar 
• Floyd Vanwall is 12th  ahead of the No.94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 which had a lengthy pit stop in third hour after a technical issue 

65,000 of you (over the weekend) thing to spend the 6 Hours of Monza trackside with us… Grazie Monza ♥️ #WEC #6HMonza pic.twitter.com/7H5r2V0zc0

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) July 9, 2023

LMP2: Leader – No.23 United Autosports  

• No.23 United Autosports start to stamp authority on LMP2 race as Joshua Pierson and then Oliver Jarvis build gaps over opposition  
• After Giedo van der Garde takes over a battle with the No.31 Team WRT Oreca-Gibson and Jota car rages at the front 
• At four hours the No.22 has a 1.2s lead over the Ferdinand Habsburg driven WRT and the Oliver Rasmussen occupied Jota 
• The sister No.22 United Autosports car loses positions after incident at first Lesmo corner when Phil Hanson and Luis Perez Companc in No.83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari spin after contact. Incident is adjudged to be a racing incident 
• Third hour begins with second Safety Car after clash between the No.9 Prema and No.10 Vector Sport LMP2 cars  
• Gabriel Aubry ends it in the Lesmo 1 barriers and is declared a retirement as a result. Bent Viscaal is given a 60-second stop/go penalty 

A great fight for the lead in LMGTE AM. #WEC #6HMonza pic.twitter.com/rLuIYcL5Dh

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) July 9, 2023

LMGTE Am: Leader – No.33 Corvette Racing  

• All change in LMGTE Am as the GR Racing run Porsche 911 RSR-19 pushes in to the lead after Riccardo Pera takes the lead after he takes over from Michael Wainwright in second hour 
• Pera gets to the front to lead the similar No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19 driven by Mikkel Pedersen for mid part of the race 
• In third place is the No.33 Corvette of Nicolas Varrone who takes over the cockpit from Ben Keating 
• Varrone clears previous leaders, the Iron Dames Porsche for third position and currently in-line to seal the LMGTE Am championship with two rounds to spare 
• But just before the fifth hour arrives the top three are nose-to-tail and they scrap for positions as the clock ticks to four hours Varrone takes the lead from Pera 
• Disaster for the No.54 AF Corse Ferrari as Thomas Flohr stops the car at exit of first chicane and loses a lap before getting going again and returning to the race with Davide Rigon aboard 
• No.21 AF Corse Ferrari and No.60 Kessel Racing Ferrari collide at Lesmo 1 to trigger full course yellow period but collision adjudged to be a racing incident  

Find full results  HERE