The LMGTE categories of the FIA World Endurance Championship never fail to deliver when it comes to tension and on-track excitement and today proved to be no exception. In the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, Aston Martin Racing’s No.97 Vantage V8 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke won the Pro class for the first time this year after a hard-fought battle with Porsche, while the British marque also took a 1-2 in the Am class to complete a fantastic day.
A small sprinkle of rain on the grid before the start of the Lone Star Le Mans event proved to be minor compared to the heavy storm which hit the track just over 90 minutes into the race. With numerous cars skating off the track, a decision was made to suspend the race for 55 minutes and, when it was re-started, several laps were completed behind the safety car while the track continued to clear of standing water. Green flag racing resumed at 7:40 pm and went without interruption to the chequered flag.
Aston Martin Racing’s No.97 was always in contention for the victory from the moment that Mücke overtook the pole-sitting AF Corse Ferrari at the start of the race. Both he and Turner performed brilliantly through day into night, surviving the torrential weather conditions through careful driving. A particularly scintillating battle took place between the Aston Martin and the Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSRs with the lead changing hands time after time in the final hour. The No.92 911 RSR of Frederic Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet took second place nine seconds behind the leader, with the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander another nine seconds behind in third place having lost time in the wet while on slick tyres.
At one stage it looked as though Porsche would take a 1-2 in class but the No.91 911 RSR of Jorg Bergmeister and Nick Tandy was delayed for two laps with a starter problem following a pit stop, and the No.71 sister AF Corse Ferrari was also delayed due to alternator issues. The Aston Martin Racing No.99 of Alex MacDowall/Darryl O-Young/Fernando Rees finished sixth in class, while the No.65 Corvette Racing C7.R of Jordan and Ricky Taylor/Tommy Milner had a particularly tough introduction to FIA WEC racing. Caught in the pits as the red flag fell, the regulations required that the team sit and wait for clearance to exit which caused both frustration and delay for Team America.
Also taking its first win of the year - and a first ever FIA WEC victory for Canadian Paul Dalla Lana – was the No.98 Vantage V8 he shared with Pedro Lamy and Christoffer Nygaard. The trio headed a 1-2 in the class for the British manufacturer as the Silverstone and Le Mans winning No.95 of Kristian Poulsen/David Heinemeir Hansson and Richie Stanaway came home in second place. This class too had its share of ups and downs, and one of those to ultimately benefit from the re-started race was the No.88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR of Christian Ried, Klaus Bachler and Khaled Al Qubaisi whom led the field away and eventually came through the six hours to finish on the podium in third place.
50,334 fans over two days witnessed the Lone Star Le Mans event and witnessed the sights and sounds of international sportscar racing at its best. Circuit of The Americas first race into the night should not be remembered for the rain but for some great racing and some great winners.
23:06:34 : Aston #98 wins GTE Am from #95 Aston and #88 Porsche
23:05:41 : Oreca #47 wins LMP2 from #27 Oreca and #30 HPD
23:04:52 : Aston #97 wins GTE Pro from #92 Porsche and #51 Ferrari
23:03:35 : Rebellion #12 wins LMP1-L
23:03:01 : Chequered Flag - Fassler in #2 Audi wins LMP1 from #1 Audi and #8 Toyota
22:59:48 : Leader #2 on his last lap
22:53:54 : Leading #47 Oreca in P2 has missing number panel light
22:49:32 : Stanaway in #95 Aston takes 2nd in GTE Am from #88 Porsche
22:48:53 : Fuel only for #2 - now leads by 40 seconds from Di Grassi
22:47:56 : Porsche #14 reported to have lost full engine power
22:46:34 : Fassler into the pits
22:45:45 : Buemi retakes Lieb for 3rd place
22:43:53 : Aston #98 now leads GTE Am from #88 Porsche
22:43:12 : Buemi drops to 4th behind Lieb
22:42:29 : Buemi into pits - Di Grassi into 2nd place
22:39:28 : Lieb also now passed by Di Grassi for 3rd
22:38:33 : Turner back into the lead of GTE Pro after Pilet pits
22:36:25 : Buemi up to 2nd passing Lieb
22:33:00 : Fassler leads by 1min 9 secs from Lieb with 10 secs back to Buemi
22:30:16 : Turner pits from lead of GTE Pro - Pilet retakes lead
22:21:37 : Fassler leads by 58 seconds but has one more stop to make
22:18:07 : Fuel only for #14 Porsche
22:17:36 : Leader Lieb into pits - Fassler retakes the lead
22:16:35 : Aston #97 retakes lead in GTE Pro from Porsche #92
22:15:10 : Porsche #14 leads by 0.877 of a second from #2 Audi
22:12:46 : Di Grassi pits and remains 3rd
22:01:14 : 27 of 29 starters still running with one hour to go (#13 Rebellion and #37 Oreca in their pit garages)
21:58:38 : Oreca #47 retakes 2nd in P2
21:53:08 : Porsche #14 retakes lead after #2 stops
21:47:29 : Buemi now in Toyota #8
21:46:57 : Davidson in #8 into pits and loses 3rd to Di Grassi
21:45:03 : HPD #30 pits from lead of P2 #27 Oreca retakes lead
04:39:59 : Ferrari #71 also has long pit stop
04:36:20 : Porsche #91 into its garage
04:35:46 : Aston #97 takes lead in GTE Pro after long stop for #91 Porsche
04:30:43 : Porsche #88 takes lead in GTE Am from #95 Aston
Full results can be found HERE
