Red was the dominant colour in LMGTE as the Italian AF Corse team took victory in both the Pro and Am categories in today’s WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship. The race took place in bright sunshine and clear skies, although with cool temperatures, and in front of a substantial crowd which numbered 46,000 over the weekend.
2013 GTE World Champion Gianmaria Bruni and his Finnish team mate in the No.51 F458 Italia put on a dominant display to secure the team’s second consecutive victory at Spa and their first of the 2014 season. Until the final 25 minutes of the race it looked as though AF Corse would be able to celebrate a 1-2 finish, but a hard-charging Patrick Pilet in the No.91 Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSR used his fresher tyres to good effect and passed Davide Rigon in the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari for second place.
Pilet and his team mate Jorg Bergmeister had taken on new Michelin tyres at their final stop whereas Rigon, who nevertheless celebrated his first LMGTE Pro podium with new team mate James Calado, had elected to double stint the rubber on his Ferrari. Just 11 seconds separated the second and third placed finishers at the chequered flag.
Also on a strategy of double-stinting tyres during the whole race were the two Aston Martin Racing entries, and both the No.97 of Turner-Mucke-Senna and the No.99 of Rees-O’Young-MacDowall figured strongly at the front of the field at different points in the race. The No.92 Porsche Team Manthey of Makowiecki-Holzer would also have been a contender in the final stages if it hadn’t been for a power steering issue which delayed them in the pits and on track.
The No.61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Marco Cioci, Mirko Venturi and Luis Perez-Companc was always a strong contender for victory in the LMGTE Am category, and started the race from the class pole position and led for nearly the entire race. Challenging hard for two thirds of the race were the two Aston Martin Racing entries – the No.95 Vantage V8 of Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemeier Hansson and Richie Stanaway seizing the second step of the podium in the final minutes of the race as their team mates in the No.98 (Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Christoffer Nygaard) had to make a final pit stop for a splash of fuel.
The next round of the FIA WEC is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14/15 where Ferrari will be looking to maintain its strong form and repeat its 2012 LMGTE Pro victory.
Full results can be found HERE
Championship positions after Round 2 can be found HERE
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO HERE
Fiona Miller
Final 90 minutes Live Text:
20:36:42 In GTE Am #61 Ferrari wins from #95 Aston and #98 Aston
20:35:41 In GTE Pro #51 Ferrari wins from #91 Porsche and #71 Ferrari
20:34:31 In LMP2 #26 G-Drive Morgan wins from #38 Jota Zytek and in 3rd #47 KCMG Oreca
20:33:27 In LMP1-L #12 Rebellion is the only finish
20:31:35 Chequered Flag for #8 Toyota to win for 2nd time this season
20:29:46 Last Lap
20:28:13 Close for 3rd in GTE Am #95 Aston catching #98 Aston - less then 3 seconds behind
20:22:47 Audi #1 leads Toyota #7 by 9 seconds in 2nd place
20:18:43 Rebellion R-One #13 has been retired
20:13:57 Porsche #14 into pits for splash and tyres
20:10:07 Audi #1 5.8 seconds ahead of #7 Toyota after final stops
20:08:27 Audi #1 in pits for final stop
20:07:30 Porsche #91 takes 2nd in GTE Pro from #61 Ferrari
20:01:23 Toyota #7 into pits for final stop
19:57:09 Tincknell into #38 Zytek
19:56:04 Jota Zytek #38 stops and #26 Morgan retakes lead in LMP2
19:53:53 Jota Zytek #38 retakes lead from #26 Morgan as Pla stops
19:51:19 Porsche #14 has off at end of Kemmel straight but rejoins
19:46:10 Leading Toyota #8 comes in splash of fuel
19:43:53 Ferrari #61 retakes lead in GTE Am from #95 Aston as it pits
19:41:44 Aston #95 takes lead in GTE Am from #61 Ferrari
19:40:16 2:10.112 fastest LMP2 lap of race for Pla in #26 Morgan
19:37:15 Porsche #92 had long stop of 6 minutes to refill hydraulic steering liquid
19:34:48 GTE Pro leader #51 into pits - Bruni stays in
19:33:58 Into the last hour of the race
19:29:36 Toyota #8 holds on to lead
19:28:01 Leader #8 Toyota into pits on lap 140 - Lapierre into car
19:22:07 Audi #1 into pits - Duval stays in and stays ahead of Sarrazin in #7 by about half a second!
19:19:02 2:10.197 fastest lap in LMP2 for Pla in #26 Morgan
19:18:06 Rebellion #13 makes it back to pits and has minor fire in pitlane
19:16:27 Rebellion #13 back out but running slowly - has only completed 46 laps
19:15:10 Toyota #7 into pits - Sarrazin into the car
19:12:10 Jota Zytek #38 into pits - #26 Morgan retakes lead
19:08:26 LMP2 leader #26 into pits - Pla takes over - #38 Jota Zytek takes lead
