Get ready to say goodbye to long finger nails because nerve-jangling, carrot-dangling title torment is about to torture the strategists and mathematicians in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
After the on-track drama of Fuji comes the analysis of the points situations as the 2015 WEC reaches boiling point.
With two races to go (approximately 2000kms of racing) each category has its own unique story. As many experienced racers will tell you; “It is difficult to predict anything in racing’ but in endurance racing ‘it is impossible!’
Photo: FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (FUJI, OYAMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), 6 HOURS OF FUJI, SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER 2015. The battle between Audi and Porsche was intense throughout.
LMP1 – Audi v Porsche clash of the Titans
The FIA World Endurance Drivers Championship could not be closer as Judgement Day draws nearer for the 2015 championship contenders.
After team orders came into play at Fuji for both Porsche and Audi, the points' table sees Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley lead for the first time. But that lead is slender...just one point covers the No.17 Porsche 919 Hybrid trio and Audi’s Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer.
It just goes to show that the extra point for qualifying can make all the difference when it comes to having WEC bragging rights as points' leaders.
What will be interesting in the final two races next month will be what role the No.18 Porsche and No.8 Audi will have to play in attempting to take points from their rivals in the title chase.
The very important and prestigious FIA World Endurance Manufacturers Championship appears to be under Porsche's spell as the Stuttgart giant enjoys a 53 point advantage over Audi, with a maximum of 88 to play for.
Photo: NURBURGRING (NURBURG, GERMANY), 6 HOURS OF NURBURGRING, SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2015. KCMG and G-Drive drivers filled the podium here, but in what order will they finish the LMP2 title battle?
LMP2 – A new deep rivalry between KCMG and G-Drive
If the rivalry and ambition of G-Drive and KCMG was smouldering before Fuji, it ignited into a white-hot inferno afterwards.
The spectacular racing between both G-Drive Ligiers and the electric-blue KCMG ORECA 05 wowed and shocked many with its intensity.
Prior to Fuji, Sam Bird, Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal trailed Richard Bradley and Matt Howson by 14-points. Six hours later and they led by 12, a perfect turnaround by the in-form trio.
The LMP2 race was fraught with controversy as incidents and contacts between KCMG and G-Drive ended in visits to the Stewards for all concerned.
Don’t forget too that the all-South/Latin American crewed No.28 G-Drive car with young Pipo Derani, Gustavo Yacaman and Ricardo Gonzalez is holding a watching brief, just three points behind, after a wonderfully consistent season.
The chase for the FIA Endurance Trophy for LM2 Teams mirrors that of the Drivers.
Photo: FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (FUJI, OYAMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), 6 HOURS OF FUJI, SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER 2015. Ferrari and Porsche are closer than ever in the LMGTE Pro standings.
LMGTE Pro – Battle of the classic manufacturers Porsche v Ferrari
They fought tooth and nail in the 1960s and 1970s. Now history is repeating itself as the Prancing Horse and Stuttgart’s most famous export go head to head in a no-holds barred scrap for supremacy.
Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander’s second LMGTE Pro win of the season at Fuji pushes them back into contention to defend their deserved crown of 2014 FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers.
There is still much work to do, however, as Richard Lietz still enjoys a 16.5 point advantage over the Italian/Finnish alliance.
AF Corse has a double chance of retaining the title again as the No.71 Ferrari 458 Italia line-up of James Calado and Davide Rigon is only seven points shy of Lietz, who stands alone at the head of the points table on 110pts after Porsche Team Manthey moved their line-up around on several occasions this season to accommodate other championship commitments.
The FIA Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers sees just 13 points between Ferrari in front and Porsche who attempt to hunt down Maranello’s finest. The big GT prizes are very much up for grabs.
Photo: CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS (AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA), LONE STAR LE MANS 6 HOURS OF COTA, SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2015. The LMGTE Am podium has seen the SMP Racing crew visit the top step three times this season.
LMGTE Am – Russian revolution, crafty consistency or Dempsey dream?
The FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers looks to be in the hands of SMP Racing, despite the Russian squad having had a disappointing run to fifth place at Fuji. This result came after three consecutive wins at Le Mans, Nurburgring and COTA for Andrea Bertolini, Victor Shaytar and Aleksey Basov. Still, they have a healthy buffer of 29pts and can afford to play the percentage game at both Shanghai and Bahrain.
Attempting to chase down the SMP Ferrari is the No.63 AF Corse squad of experienced Emmanuel Collard, Francois Perrodo and Rui Aguas. This team has been a model of consistency in 2015, scoring podium points in every round.
After a breakthrough win in Japan last weekend the Dempsey-Proton Racing team has positioned itself as an outsider, but at 36pts behind the leaders, and with 52 to play for, it would have to take the significant misfortune of the two teams above them to send Patrick Dempsey to dreamland in his first World Endurance Championship campaign.
Sam Smith
