Welcome to Mexico City, Mexico, and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. We are set to bring you the final two hours of the fifth race of the FIA World Endurance Championship. How did we get here? Here are some of the highlights of what has happened so far. The #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, and Earl Bamber, started from the pole position. This track is named for Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez, the patron saints of Mexican motorsport. Not much happening up front with Porsche leading after starting from pole with team mates Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer, and Nick Tandy. The LMP2 championship leading #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca has dropped to ninth after clutch issues.
Sam Bird and Davide Rigon have led for Ferrari in LM GTE Pro. In LM GTE Am, Matteo Cairoli and his team mates Christian Ried and Marvin Dienst have led the race since it started. Rain has been washing the track all weekend, but there has been no rain. Andy Priaulx and Kevin Estre are scrapping. Ford vs. porsche. Wow. Priaulx is defending ahead of Kevin Estre. Estre is flying at the moment. The battle in LM GTE Pro has been crazy, all day. Ooh! The leading Porsche has to phs its way through this mess. Yikes! Neel Jani had no open doors. Oh man! Don't go wide! This is hard racing right now around the twists and turns in Mexico City!
Julien Canal leads LMP2 by 33 seconds. Watch for Ben Hanley in the #24 CEFC Manor as Alex Brundle and Nelson Piquet Jr. have their own battle to run through. But, it is the LM GTE race that we have to watch. There just hasn't been as much action in LMP1 today. Julien Canal passes the GTE cars and so has Anthony Davidson in one of the Toyota's. Estre slides and almost crashes! Wow! The driver drives the car. If you let the car drive you, it won't work. This is the #92 Porsche that is leading with Frederic Makowiecki at the wheel of it. Alex Brundle has cut the gap in half between himself and Nelson Piquet Jr.
Ben Hanley is being chased by Xandi Negrao. That's the Signatech Alpine vs. the G-Drive Oreca. Hanley is in the G-Drive machine, with his team mate Jean Eric Vergne. Xandi Negrao passes Davide Rigon who is second in LM GTE Pro, with Niki Thiim in the Aston Martin right on top of him as car #38 of Thomas Laurent is going for it. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is the shortest track on the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule at just 2.67 miles. Gustavo Menezes, and Andre Negrao started second in class. There have been zro yellow flags in over four hours of racing. Wow. Amazing. Pierre Thiriet and Alex Brundle have battled, and now it is Alex Brundle and Nelson Piquet Jr.
Their dads raced each other in Formula 1. Nelson Piquet vs. Martin Brundle. Matt Griffin is the traffic in the #54 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 Italia. Brundle hits the pit lane for service. Bruno Senna will take over the LMP2 leader from Julien Canal, soon. The #97 Aston Martin will pit soon. Andy Priaulx passes Matthias Lauda. Kevin Estre now has to catch Andy Priaulx. We have an hour and 40 minutes to go. Porsche leads LMP1, Ferrari leads LM GTE Pro, Porsche and Dempsey Proton lead LM GTE Am. Problems for the #97 Aston Martin today.
There was contact at turn 12 between Ferrari #51 and Ford #66. The Ford will be penalized. The stewards decidcd the driver did not return to the track safely. There's some debris in turn four. Andre Negrao pits the #36 Alpine handing over to Nicolas Lapierre. Pierre Thiriet is now pushing for second in LMP2. Signatech has fuel, and new tires. Plus, their fastest driver. Release the bearded wonder. The beast is on the road, ready to race. Someone threw a baseball onto the road.
James Calado and Olivier Pla get together, and the two of them hit each other a few times, causing a flat tire on the Ferrari and suspension damage on the Ferrari. Pla crossed the median line to the lane. That was avoidable contact. No force majeur. Moments ago, there was a lead change as Bruno Senna gets passed by Ben Hanley. It's been a good while since the lead changed. Anyone want to play baseball? We have a full course yellow, slowing the cars to pit lane speed, while the marshals retrieve the baseball. Swing, and a miss. Strike one. Manor has gone through a driver change. Tor Graves and Jonathan Hirschi were replaced by Ben Hanley and Matt Rao. No runs, no hits, no errors, as the full course yellow will be dismissed by Race Director Edoardo Freitas in a moment.
There was a 90% chance of rain, but there has been zero rain. We have an hour and a half to go. As talked about here on this blog, there is a proposal to turn the FIA World Endurance Championship to a winter series. There will be a rethink of LMP1 after Porsche pulls out of LMP1 at the end of the year. Porsche will debut in Formula E, but continue in the GT classes. Loads to come in the FIA WEC. Stay tuned for all of it. Alex Brundle might pick up a few spots trying to get by Nicolas Lapierre. In LM GTE Pro, Kevin Estre and Andy Priaulx continue their scrap. The Thiriet vs. Brundle battle is for fifth in the overall.
Thiriet and Brundle are separate by a small margin. The LMP2 battle should catch the LM GTE Pro scrap. Rain is coming in the distance. Both Jackie Chan DC Racing cars run together. Alex Brundle vs. Thomas Laurent. Aston Martin is back in the lead. I said it wouldn't rain, but it probably will now. I am taking the same approach as Fox Sports' Bob Varsha, and will not try to predict the weather for the rest of this race. You can see these drivers and cars at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in two weeks. More on that race at the end of this blog post.
The only issue is that it will be the final race at Circuit of the Americas for the foreseeable future. Manor has never won in the FIA WEC and neither has Vaillante Rebellion. Ben Hanley continues to lead Bruno Senna in LMP2. Hanley is losing ground to the leaders in LMP2. #31 is having some issues with it's turn indicator or one of it's position marker lights. Jean Eric Vergne is suiting up for his next stint. We have less than an hour and a half to go. An hour and fifteen minutes. James Calado passes Kevin Estre. Estre is now 9/10ths of a second behind Andy Priaulx. Will we get rain in the next 75 minutes? Hanley and Senna still battle for LMP2.
All four pole time records were reset in every one of the four classes. Anywhere from half a second to a full four seconds in LMP2. Priaulx and Makowiecki are close together and Davide Rigon is still fastest in LM GTE Pro. Ferrari vs. Porsche vs. Ford as the Porsche pits. Kevin Estre stays in the car. Manor vs. Rebellion has nothing in their battle in terms of pace. Ben Hanley vs. Bruno Senna. Jean Eric Vergne won't get into the Manor car just yet. Turbulent airflow does not flow through like linear air does, and here in Mexico City, there is altitude for these cars and their drivers to contend with.
The LMP2 battle continues between Hanley and Senna with their two Oreca chassis powered by Gibson engines. Toyota runs third and fourth in this race, and Porsche will end their LMP1 program. Toyota will be the only factory team in the FIA WEC which puts the championship itself in jeopardy. Remain calm if it rains. Uhhh, I can't remain calm if it rains, dude. The series may not be a world championship. Toyota may want to run three times. We have a full course yellow to avoid having debris on the road. Sebastien Buemi will take over the car.
Toyota is looking at a three race schedule around Le Mans. Toyota will announce their future, next month. To the fans at the race, stay dry. TDS Racing will pit and now, Porsche will do likewise with Timo Bernhard finishing this race out. AF Corse and Aston Martin both pitted. Niki Thiim is fueled to the finish. Other GT contenders will finish. Bernhard stays in at Porsche. Sebastien Buemi stays in for Toyota. No tires for Davide Rigon in the Ferrari. Once you declare a yellow, you have to allow anyone to come in. We're going back to green.
Can the hhybrid powered Prototypes go an hour on fuel? 61 minutes to go. Can we finish this race before the raindrops fall? If not, there will be wet weather tires available. Less than an hour to go. Alex Brundle's car is absolutely dancing on it's toes. Someone locks the breaks into turn one. Ooh. #31 of Bruno Senna, spins the car and ran wide. Bruno Senna has lost some time to Nicolas Lapierre after his spin. Rain will come. Let's look at some of the highlights. A big crowd came.
It was time to race. At the start, it's an all Porsche front row, with Brendon Hartley leading. Action began immediately as G-Drive went off the road. There was a scrum between the two Toyota's and Sebastien Buemi asserted himself. Bruno Senna went into thye class lead in the first 15 minutes. Dempsey Proton led LM GTE Am and then Aston Martin came calling. The LMP2 battle has gone back and forth through the whole race. Four wide as the Toyota's split a GTE Pro Ferrari. The Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 car had clutch issues. Lots of cars have abused track limits at turn 11.
We saw Olivier Pla and James Calado playing dodge 'em cars and damage to both automobiles. Pla dove across the bow of the Ferrari. The #77 Dempsey proton Porsche and the #98 Aston Martin were scrapping. Timo Bernhard in the Porsche #2 has led most of the race despite having a fuel meter problem that had to be changed out on a pit stop. Christian Ried, Matteo Cairoli, and Marvin Dienst lead LM GTE Am. The thinner air at 7,000 feet up, affects the aerodynamics and the power of these sports cars.
Race Control has dictated a time penalty for speeding under the full course yellow. That is the Davide Rigon/Sam Bird driven car. Rigon will be dropped down from the lead in GTE Pro and Niki Thiim will assume the lead as the final stops take place for all the LMP2 cars. Will the LMP1 cars need a splash and dash before the end? There's still a chance of rain before this one is done and dusted with 45 minutes to go. Niki Thiim is still closing up. Dark clouds loom overhead. Ben Hanley is making a move on one of his LMP2 rivals. Manor is back in fifth in class. Excuse me. Fifth overall. If it rains, everyone is on the wrong tires.
In LMP1, Timo Bernhard leads Neel Jani, Kamui Kobayashi, and Sebastien Buemi. Alex Brundle is in the lane as the wind seems to be moving faster. 15-20 knots won't be a problem. Track limit abuses for Paul Dalla Lana, the Canadian in the Aston Martin. Track and weather conditions remain dry. Again, a reminder, in two weeks, there will be the WEC race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and we'll have it for you on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. Timo Bernhard continues to lead this one in Mexico City. Information to the pit wall. It may start raining at any moment. Those are the words of Race Director Edoardo Freitas.
Bruno Senna is in the lane, and he will continue to drive the car. Tires are there, wet weather tires. No tires though. He'll stay on the same set. The Rebellion will remain the LMP2 leader with 35 minutes left in this one, folks. It's intense. It's going to be a wild finish! Niki Thiim is pushing and closing up on Davide Rigon. 34 minutes left. Ooh! A Porsche GT car is dive bombed (almost) by a Toyota! Ben Hanley and Nicolas Lapierre raced as tam mates in the European Le Mans Series. 1.8 seconds is the gap Lapierre to Hanley. Will Kamui Kobayashi unlap himself? Maybe. Neel Jani in Porsche #1, odds are, he will let Kobayashi go.
Davide Rigon wants by Ben Barker in the Gulf Oil LM GTE Am Porsche. That's Nick Foster, pardon me. Paul Dalla Lana is quicker than is Nick Foster. Nikki Thiim is getting on terms with Davide Rigon right now though. Wow. The curbs here in Mexico are not tall, but they still upset the car a little bit should you hit them. Rain is still predicted. Could we get a deluge before the end of this race? Another penalty for the #66 Ford GT for speeding under full course yellow. Paul Dalla Lana is in traffic, trying to catch Matteo Cairoli. We could see a Porsche 1-2 in LM GTE Am. Ben Hanley lunges, and Nico Lapierre has to take evasive action. There was no contact. Hanley maybe forced Lapierre off the road. He may have to give a spot back.
Some argy bargy, here in Mexico. Ah. Car #36 must give the place back, according to Edoardo Freitas. Lapierre has to give it up after shooting straight across the chicane. Will we see lightning and hear thunder here in Mexico? The race is drawing to a dramatic close. The clock has run down to the final 24 minutes of this race. Moments ago, Kamui Kobayashi pitted for fuel and tires. Sadly, Kobayashi will be fourth and last in LMP1. The Hanley/Lapierre LMP2 battle continues. We could see raindrops at any moment. Porsche #2 leads Porsche #1 with the #8 Toyota of Sebastien Buemi in third spot.
The rain has drifted off to our west. One errant cloud could produce raindrops. This is getting very interesting. Lapierre can only hope that Senna's tires will start to fade and become knackered. Matthieu Vaxiviere is chasing Alex Brundle. Traffic is critical. A second or a second and a half is all that could be in it. Vaxiviere may have fresher tires than Brundle. Alex Brundle has more experience in a sports car than does Matthieu Vaxivieire. They move past Niki Thiim. Brundle is blaked, but there's no way they can get by until now. But Thiim is passed. Thomas Laurent in the sister Jackie Chan DC Racing car is seven laps down. Vaxiviere wants by Brundle, but no dice, because his tires are too dirty.
Davide Rigon in the Ferrari is balking the two LMP2 cars. Rigon says, "don't hit me, whatever you do!" Bruno Senna is moving up, and it looks like the bad weather might go right by us here in Mexico City. All the LMP2 cars run on the same compound of Dunlop tires. Alex Lynn wants to go after Nicolas Lapierre. TDS has made three driver changes, while Jackie Chan DC Racing went through all three of their drivers during this race to waste a minimum amount of time in this race. Matteo Cairoli leads LM GTE Am, a minute clear of Paul Dalla Lana. Just fifteen minutes now remain in the 6 Hours of Mexico.
Matteo Cairoli has the LMP2 cars right in his mirrors. Bruno Senna passes the #38 car. Sebastien Buemi is in this scrap in the #8 Toyota TS050 as well. Ooh. This is getting rough. The gaps are closing. Vaxiviere tries to pass in turn four, and now, he gets by Brundle. Whew! This is crazy! Brundle has no oomph off the corner, because of the busted tires on Brundle's automobile! Deary me! The LMP2 battle is starting to lose steam. Ben Hanley's potential fly in the ointment has evaporated. Aye carumba! We have run 232 laps (619.4 miles). This race is closing in on the finish, and fast. There aren't many laps left to run.
Final splashes of fuel come for the LMP2 cars. We;re very, very close to the end of this race. Ben Hanley is faster than is Bruno Senna. Hanley is getting held up behind Alex Brundle. Manor will get their best finish ever in FIA WEC if they stay where they are. Niki Thiim is within just a few seconds of Davide Rigon, who has a time penalty for ignoring the yellow flag. Porsche #1 in the lane for a splash and dash. Does Timo Bernhard in the sister Porsche need petrol to get to the end in a few minutes? A spin for Ben Hanley! Wow! He loops it into the stadium section going after Bruno Senna. Nicolas Lapierre has now gone to second in class. Ben Hanley wanted a win, but he won't get it.
Porsche #2 in the lane. Brendon Hartley wanted to go a lap longer at the beginning of this race. But there is a splash and a dash. #2 is down and away as there are tiny drops of rain. No deluge in this race until we vacate the commentary box door and close the microphones. There is a flash of lightning in the distance. Niki Thiim won't get back by the Ferrari. We are on the 240th and final lap of this race. Aston Martin will have the advantage. The die is cast. Aston Martin will catch the Ferrari. Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley will win, and they will surpass Benoit Treluyer, Andre Lotterer, and Marcel Fassler. Race done. Bernhard wins in the #2 Porsche!
Victory in LMP2 for Bruno Senna, Julien Canal, and Nicolas Prost. In LM GTE Pro, Aston Martin win it, and Dempsey Proton wins LM GTE Am. Niki Thiim and Marco Sorenson win in class. Porsche now has the most wins in FIA WEC with 33 with the overall and the class win in LM GTE Am. Christian Ried, Marvin Dienst, and Matteo Cairoli are the winning drivers. So, your winners in Mexico:
Overall/LMP1: #2 Bernhard/Hartley/Bamber Porsche 919 Hybrid
LMP2: #31 Prost/Canal/Senna Oreca 07 Gibson
LM GTE Pro: #95 Thiim/Sorenson Aston Martin V8 Vantage
LM GTE Am: #77 Ried/Dienst/Cairoli Porsche 911 RSR
Again, the next race on the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule, will be the final edition of the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, coming up in less than two weeks.
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