We have reached the final hour of the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. Now, it is without doubt, crunch time. We have no clue who will win. Conceivably it probably should be Toyota #8 as they have a minute over everyone else. With that said, I am not nailing any colors to the mast. Anything can and probably will happen. Porsche #6 in the pit lane. No redemption for Iron Dames. They are out and so is the Isotta Fraschini Hypercar and the #82 TF Sport Corvette. Sports car racing is a full team game and the final pit stops must be faultless. These slow-motion shots and the synthesized music accompanying them, make for a great way to build up the drama.
Alright. Toyota #8 in from the race lead closest to the camera. It is a full set of Michelin medium tires, sticker tires. They are a minute and a quarter ahead of the #51 Ferrari. Sebastien Buemi will take the car to the checkered flag, and we might just see Toyota pull off the W here. I hope I have not spoken too soon, and no, I am not openly cheering for anyone in this particular race. Alessandro Pier Guidi leads over Jenson Button, and they owe us pit stops, the #51 Ferrari and the #38 Porsche. The #5 Porsche, the #12 sister Jota Porsche are both in. It remains all to play for here in the land of the samba. Porsche #12 refueling and recharging the battery and the same for the #5 Porsche. Tires are being changed for the #5, hard compound Michelin's. Callum Ilott is back out and now Alessandro Pier Guidi is the leader. We know he will get three fresh tires.
They feel they should have been allowed to win at the 6 Hours of Spa. That didn't work out of course. Ferrari and Alpine pit. Jenson Button, owing us a pit stop, is the erstwhile leader of the motor race, currently. Toyota #8 cycles back around to second as the Ferrari pits. Oh, jeepers! Callum Ilott is off the road across the green paint that is there to look like grass, but it isn't. It is green painted asphalt or concrete I am pretty sure. He is fresh out of pit lane on stone cold tires I think having come out of the lane behind Matty Campbell. Oh no! The rear wing is missing off the Jota Porsche! He has clanged the wall back there, somewhere.
The rear wing assembly has departed the car. The only aerodynamic appendage on the back that I see is the "shark fin". He got loose, hopped over the curb, spun, and clunked the wall. Oh, dear! That was a big clonk for Callum Ilott, and he was pushing too hard on stone cold Michelin tires. This is going to put their competition in the Hypercar World Cup for the privateer Hypercar teams up a place as we have just 55 minutes left on the board in this race. The sister #38 Jota Sport Porsche 963 leads but requires a final pit stop. 199 laps in the book. 533 miles. Currently the margin is 4.7 seconds to the #8 Toyota.
Easy coming into the pit lane. Be careful. He will be. This is a real tough break for the #12 as Sebastien Buemi is chasing Jenson Button. 4.4 seconds is the gap as the #12 car is taken into the garage for repairs and I don't know if they will get back out. They might. Alessandro Pier Guidi has three tires on the #51 Ferrari, and they should be brand new rather than secondhand scrubbed tires. Jota team boss Saam Hignett looking on. Button, with 53 minutes left on the clock, has only 16% usable energy in the fuel tank and so he will need to pit soon. Toyota #8 are in the pound seats.
In comes the leader and now, Jenson Button cedes the lead to Sebastien Buemi. The gap is now 3.8 seconds in GT3 as Aston Martin are piling on the pressure, pouring on the steam against the Porsche, the #92 Manthey Pure Racing car. We need to see energy levels in GT3 the next time their page for timing and scoring comes up on the screen. Klaus Bachler must be long on tires and short on fuel. Riberas and Sato run second and third in GT3 for Heart of Racing Aston Martin and United Autosports McLaren, the Spaniard and the Japanese racer, next in line. Time is of the essence. The #50 Ferrari must stop on this lap. He is almost out of fuel and will not make it around another lap before the tank runs dry and the thing coughs and sputters.
Fuel into the #12 Porsche. We mentioned the Ferrari. Well, the #20 BMW also needs to stop. For sure we will see the #36 Alpine and the #83 Ferrari make it without stopping again. The leading Ferrari is in, and the Toyota was sliding it into the pit lane from third! The #7 had a massive brake lockup! The leader will take a shorter pit stop. Oh! He slid sideways all the way to the right and almost slammed the pit wall! Blimey! That was insane! Tires changed and fuel added for the #7 Toyota and the #50 Ferrari who beats them out. Three tire change at Ferrari. Four tires for the #7 Toyota. Sheesh! Wow!
There is a BMW between the Toyota and the Ferrari. I want to say that is Dries Vanthoor, the Belgian, in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8. They are slightly ahead of the Toyota. The two BMW's together on timing and scoring. Oh! The #50 Ferrari runs wide and off course onto that green painted concrete we talked about, the concrete deceptively painted green to appear like grass. Cold tires and the same for the #7 Toyota almost collecting the wing from the Hertz Team Jota #12 Porsche 963 of Callum Ilott! The two factory WRT BMWs are seventh and eighth in Hypercar. Keep in mind, WRT and BMW have four cars in this race. Two Hypercars, and two GT3 M4's.
Paul Loup Chatin running behind the #7 Toyota. Chatin has hot tires. Mike Conway is wriggling around on stone cold tires. He does not need his teammate to be passed by this Alpine. Kamui Kobayashi in the points just barely. 48 minutes of racing left. Chatin will need to pit soon. 1.6 seconds now in it between first and second. Seb Buemi in Toyota #8 followed by... dramatic pause... the #93 Peugeot! Huh? Where did he come from? Jean Eric Vergne is at the wheel of it, but, alas, the Frenchman in the French car, well, one of them, will need to pit soon.
Ten long years since the FIA WEC raced in Brazil and many teams, and drivers are racing in South America for the first time. We have seen quite the race today in the return. Porsche #92 still leads Aston Martin #27 in GT3 to the tune of three seconds only. Toyota leads Peugeot now by 53 seconds with 206 laps completed, 551 miles. #7 of Kamui Kobayashi passes #50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, through the triple right hand bends at the top of the hill, turns six, seven, and eight. Ferradura, Curva do Laranjinha, and turn eight which does not have an official name. Toyota #7 are third in the Hypercar standings for the drivers and the battle for teams is between Porsche and Toyota.
So, here is the top six.
1. #8 Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
2. #93 Vergne/Muller/Jensen Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8
3. #6 Estre/Vanthoor/Lotterer Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963
4. #5 Campbell/Makowiecki/Christensen Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963
5. #38 Button/Rasmussen/Hanson Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963
6. #51 Pier Guidi/Giovinazzi/Calado Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P
In GT3, things remain as they have been. Porsche, Aston Martin, McLaren. Nico Costa is not far behind. The leading #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche has now logged 187 laps, exactly 500 and a half miles. Nico Costa is now being bullied by the Hypercar battle between BMW and Alpine! Oh dear! Nico Costa best watch his mirrors because look who is coming. "The Doctor", Valentino Rossi, aboard the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, is looming large. He has the race leader, Sebastien Buemi, behind, in the #8 Toyota. Speaking of WRT BMW, the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 has a massive lockup on the left front. A spot of bother there, look, for the South African, Sheldon van der Linde.
The #15 sister car of Dries Vanthoor, the Belgian, was battling with the #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi for sixth place. 208 laps now completed by the leading #8 Toyota of Sebastien Buemi, 557 miles. He is nearly 56 seconds ahead of Jean Eric Vergne, the Frenchman in the #93 Peugeot. Peugeot will need a pit stop before the end of this race with 41 minutes to go. This race isn't over yet. The second place Peugeot, Jean Eric Vergne is milking this second place for everything he has. This is what it is like to fight at the front. The lap times are very good for Peugeot. Peugeot have made four stops I believe and have yet to do their final stop.
Their last stop will be shorter. Plus, Vergne remains on hard compound tires. This pit stop cycle has brought Peugeot back to the fore and now, the Peugeot pits. They carry loads of speed into the pit lane! Peugeot have been reliable and consistent. They are finding pace. Peugeot has gotten desperate but for those criticizing Peugeot it has not been as bad as it seems. Some people, me included, need to eat our words now I guess, because Peugeot are currently proving the naysayers wrong. The sister #94 Peugeot pits from 11th place as well. #94, they will have a shorter pit stop. #93 was on new hard compound Michelin's at the beginning of this stint. They had used medium compound tires on the other side. They are having to use tires they don't want to use.
The strategies are completely opposite for both cars. However, Vergne will tumble down the order and yet stay in the top ten. Kevin Estre in the #6 Porsche followed by Matt Campbell in the #5 sister car. Jenson Button is eight seconds behind and Alessandor Pier Guidi seven seconds behind as the #2 Ganassi Racing Cadillac is in. The final stop for the Cadillac stopping from 12th place. They have encountered brake issues all day, or at least earlier in the race with the discs and calipers grinding due to grit on the surface. Vergne cannot let the Porsche pass. Nail your colors to the mast. Hold onto your shirts, boys.
Kevin Estre being told the Peugeot will box next time around and Estre must pass so he has a buffer to his teammate, Matt Campbell. Vergne now in the pit lane. #6 stays ahead of #5. Where will Peugeot end up? They will be in the points and might get their best result of the 2024 season. The #94 Peugeot has not scored points all year so far in 2024 while the #93 finished ninth at Imola, tenth place at Spa as well, and of course, those races were consecutive. Peugeot's cars both look much better here at Interlagos. So, maybe this track suits them or they are unlocking the secrets of the car. Maybe it is combination of those factors.
Estre vs. Campbell, the battle for second, or for the win should things go pear shaped for Toyota. Kamui Kobayashi in the sister #7 Toyota is 13 seconds down on Alessandro Pier Guidi aboard the #51 Ferrari. From third place in the GT3 class it is the #59 McLaren making it's final pit stop, we presume. Excuse me, from fifth place, with Nico Costa taking the car to the end. Valentino Rossi has moved ahead of Marino Sato into third place. Now, the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche is in, with Klaus Bachler driving. He still leads over Alex Riberas. Manthey Pure Racing need a clean stop. Fuel going in. They are changing tires.
Right sides only? Or is it a full set? Just right-side tires. Heart of Racing are coming but the #92 Porsche might stay ahead as the shaows lengthen. How close will Riberas be to Bachler? Manthey Pure Racing lead the GT3 championship standings. They've lost a massive amount of time, 59 seconds, but he has taken 15 seconds out of Heart of Racing. But, Bachler has cold right-side tires. Alex Riberas has two new tires and two used tires on the Porsche #92. The Aston Martin has 90% energy while the Porsche has 66%. One of them short fueled. One of them does not have enough fuel. The gap is 17 seconds between Bachler and Riberas.
Valentino Rossi and Marino Sato are in their own battle. The #46 BMW team need redemption having two big, fat zeros from Spa and Le Mans in May and June. BMW Team WRT #31 is in pit lane. This is their final stop. They finished sixth in Qatar, won at Le Mans, retired at Spa, and finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The #95 McLaren is fourth in GT3, Marino Sato driving. Kamui Kobayashi is catching Alessandro Pier Guidi at a rate of knots. The gap is now ten seconds. Half an hour to go. McLaren #59 finished sixth in GT3 at Imola but score nil points, two big, fat zeroes at Spa and Le Mans. So they too are looking for some sugar here as we approach the second half of the 2024 season.
In terms of pace, Manthey Pure Racing Porsche have been a class act on pace in 2024 thus far. United Autosport and the progress they've made with their brand-new McLaren's has very much been the GT3 story of the season thus far. They are really improving well with each race. Akkodis ASP Lexus looked great earlier in the race and they have faded a little but are still in this fight. Andre Lotterer tells us that the Porsche has definitely come back, the #6. You never give up. They have been on the right tires. The Full Course Yellow put things back in order for them. They had to pit at the right moment and they had trouble with the balance of the car but have improved on it.
Porsche have had a strong unit all year so far. Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, and Laurens Vanthoor won in Qatar, finished second at Imola, finished second at Spa and finished fourth at Le Mans, going for another podium spot. They have had relentless consistency. The battle remains afoot for the 13th position on the road in Hypercar. Stoffel Vandoorne in the #94 Peugeot 9X8 being harried by the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde. The Frenchman vs. the South African. Jean Eric Vergne in ninth is the better of the two Peugeot's as van der Linde wrestles the BMW! Tgat car squirmed at the front!
The #50 Ferrari is next up. van der Linde carrying more speed than the reat tires could handle through the Senna esses. van der Linde doing all he knows to try passing the Peugeot and down low, on the curbs, still there, still there. You need a spotter with the blind spots on the Hypercars. Tiny side windows, and all the aerodynamic appendages. BMW still right there. The #2 Cadillac is also in this battle in 15th. Valentino Rossi in the garage after his stint and Maxime Martin is taking the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 to the finish. Earl Bamber finishing the race for the #2 Cadillac. They have struggled all day especially with their tires.
Stoffel Vandoorne doing all he can to hang on as he is being monstered by Sheldon van der Linde. van der Linde is upset and vents on the radio. "I cannot pass!" His crew chief replies "copy", so his frustrations are understood. van der Linde's tires are knackered. This battle is for 13th place and now Earl Bamber is all over van der Linde like a cheap suit. One of the Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963's is behind the Cadillac but is not part of the three-way fight we are watching for 13th place. Battles all over the field in the Hypercar class at Interlagos. Alpine #35 stops from tenth. Mick Schumacher taking the sister #36 Alpine to the flag, has an opportunity to make a pass.
23 minutes of racing remaining. It has been great to be back with the FIA WEC in Brazil and South America. Cadillac frustrated with BMW. Every position helps but these positions are not so significant. Bamber dives around the outside, tagging the BMW, moving up to 14th. One more place and there will be a manufacturer point on offer. Cars ahead are in the privateer Hypercar World Cup as Bamber has the horsepower from that massive V8 in the back of the Cadillac with no turbo. Bamber tries to pass the Peugeot and makes contact! Bodywork goes flying! He takes the place away. Contact between Bamber and Vandoorne!
A positional change in GT3 for fifth place as now, Nico Costa has made his way by Maxime Martin. McLaren vs. BMW. 20 minutes to go. The rear left corner of the Peugeot took the damage in the argy bargy with the Cadillac. Sebastien Buemi has over a minute in hand with 222 laps now completed, 594 miles. Almost 600 miles now in the bag for the leaders. We could see this race get close to 1,000 kilometers in distance. But I am not counting any chickens on that possibility. Sebastien Buemi sitting pretty in the race lead over Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell, Jenson Button, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and a rapidly recovering Kamui Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota. Kobayashi wants another position after his long stop to repair a fuel pressure sensor.
Cadillac #2 will not score here in Brazil. Cadillac were disqualified in Qatar for using non homologated bodywork. They finished tenth at Imola, retired from Spa after the car flew and went over backwards, they were seventh at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the only one of three entered Cadillac's that were in contention for that race compared to their sister car and the red Cadillac run by Action Express Racing. The track temperature has cooled down from 36 degrees Celsius earlier down to 22 degrees Celsius currently. The ambient temperature has dropped from 22 degrees Celsius to 16 degrees Celsius. Rovera catching Martin and Costa. McLaren, BMW, Ferrari in GT3 in the last 18 minutes of the race.
Energy percentages indicae the top cars have enough energy save for the #77 Ford Mustang.
Everyone else has 40%, but why do Heart of Racing have 63% and #31 Team WRT BMW have 77%? They have more than enough energy. Too much fuel and too much weight. That could incur a penalty after post-race scrutineering. In third is the #95 United Autosports McLaren. Marino Sato is 17 seconds ahead of Ben Barker and then, 39 seconds is Nico Costa in the second United Autosports McLaren. Sato is a minute and a quarter ahead of the sister car. One possible podium spot guaranteed for McLaren. Now, Jenson Button is ahead of Alessandro Pier Guidi with Kamui Kobayashi closing. Customer Porsche, factory Ferrari, factory Toyota.
Does anyone in Hypercar need a splash and a dash? These battles have been so close together and opportunities for energy top ups and so forth have been tempered. Everyone has been taking the pain on tires and now we have a Full Course Yellow in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. This is for debris from the Peugeot, and everyone is down to 80 kilometers an hour. If you like what you see, make sure to join us in the United States at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for the Lone Star Le Mans coming up in the last weekend in August with the race taking place on September 1st. Tickets also available for the final two races at Fuji in Japan and in Bahrain as well.
We have just 15 minutes to go in round five of the 2024 season here in Brazil. Things are beginning to shape up and might get spicy here in the waning moments. Alessandro Pier Guidi has now closed right up on Jenson Button in the battle for fourth. He closed right in on the privateer Porsche just as we went to Full Course Yellow. The #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 lifted and Pier Guidi very nearly clobbered the tail of the Jota Sport Porsche! Yikes! If Pier Guidi's move is legal, he has had his bacon saved from battling with Kobayashi. In this replay, Button is being cautious. Full Course Yellow ends in 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Green flag. They have a visual countdown on the dash or on the flag in the cockpit screen.
OK. Green flag. Car #27 under investigation for a Full Course Yellow infringement! This is the second place GT3 Aston Martin for Heart of Racing! This might just be manna from heaven for the McLaren team. Jenson Button and the #38 Jota Porsche team as the #27 Aston Martin is under investigation for a Full Course Yellow infringement. As far as #38, they have just had a single finish in the points in 2024. They finished fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In GT3, it is McLaren, BMW, and Ferrari. Oh dear. #38 had eighth at Le Mans but they will have a stop and go penalty for a technical infringement! What a tough break!
The battle for fifth in GT3 could very well turn into the battle for third in class. Nicolas Costa vs. Maxime Martin vs. Alessio Rovera. The Brazilian, the Belgian, and the Italian. McLaren vs. BMW vs. Ferrari. We have not found out what the result of the investigation for the #27 Aston Martin will be. Alex Riberas has a penalty in his future. Glum faces in the Hertz Team Jota garage. Phil Hanson and Oliver Rasmussen cannot believe it. The gaps are close. Nine minutes to go. Toyota #8 over a minute ahead completing 229 laps, 613 miles.
Sebastien Buemi a minute in front. Now we see a battle for 15th spot in Hypercar and the overall between the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 of Julien Andlauer, and the #94 Peugeot 9X8 of Stoffel Vandoorne. Yikes! This is a tight squeeze! Andlauer gets biffed off the road, briefly. He does recover and makes the pass. However, it will not be allowed to stand. There is just no way. Double yikes! The BMW is going the long way around the outside threading the eye of the needle between GT3 traffic! That is the BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar for Team WRT and the team #46 GT3 BMW M4 GT3 is also in this fight.
The GT3 battle is the #59 McLaren for United Autosport of Nico Costa, the native Brazilian finishing his home race vs. Maxime Martin. Nico Costa has potential for a third-place finish but not if Maxime Martin has anything to do with it. Martin is being hassled as well by Alessio Rovera at the wheel of the #55 Vista - AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. You cannot forget Ben Barker either. He is zooming in on this lot aboard the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 as well. This is for fourth place innthe GT3 class as the sun begins setting at Interlagos. The second and third place Porsche's working their way through the GT3 leaders.
BMW and Porsche watching both battles. McLaren don't yet have a Hypercar. They want one. But we are not at all sure if such a program is going to come to fruition or not. Kobayashi is still closing in on Pier Guidi. Robert Shwartzman from Israel in the #83 Ferrari continues battling Paul Loup Chatin for position in the #35 Alpine. This is for 11th place. Shwartzman goes down the inside of the Alpine. The Alpine is fading to the tail of the top ten, but both of their cars have run great today. An Alpine, a Peugeot, and a BMW, all in the top ten places in Hypercar. Who'd have thought we'd see that? They will all be pleased with that.
Alpine have a brand-new car from the ground up. BMW are new to the FIA World Endurance Championship even though the M Hybrid V8 raced last year in 2023 in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Not much crossover between Spa Francorchamps or Interlagos or such American circuits as Daytona and Road America. The Peugeot in 2024 is heavily revised mainly in terms of parts on the car but is still called a 9X8 but it should really have a different name with all the new components. The tailless wonder ran it's final race at the season opener in Qatar. Oh dear! Alex Riberas pinged by the stewards with a drive through penalty for a Full Course Yellow infringement with just six minutes to go!
That will drop them out of second place in GT3! That will be a tough pill to swallow, a team that finished second in Qatar. They have a larger gap than I thought at 1 minute and 12 seconds. Well, that large gap could save their bacon in the end here. It's going to be incredibly close. They wont drop down farther than third. Marino Sato and Alex Riberas are ahead of the other GT3 battle and now Kamui Kobayashi has to deal with the Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, #50, and the Porsche of Jenson Button, #38. Egad! Button goes underneath the McLaren and into the pit lane! What was that about? Oh, wait. Never mind. That is for Button to serve a penalty.
I got a tad too excited there for just a second. Now, this is mano e mano for fourth place between Ferrari #51 and Toyota #7! Up the inside and the Toyota makes the pass headed for the Senna S! That is a late send if I ever saw one! Porsche 963 #12 for Hertz Team Jota for a tech infringement and a final public warning for track limits for the #777 D'station Aston Martin. The #7 Toyota put the stamp on the envelope and gave it full send! There was no lift and coast there. Lift and coast? Lift and coast? In your dreams! Can the #7 Toyota get to the podium. Three minutes remain as Kamui Kobayashi runs fourth, 15 seconds behind Matt Campbell in third place.
I just don't think he will be close enough. Heart of Racing maintains third spot. Hertz Team Jota Porsche #12 stone last in Hypercar. They have a penalty, but it means zippo. Three and a half minutes to go. Heart of Racing in GT3 are comfortably ahead. McLaren #95 in third and Nico Costa in the #59 is next. In GT3, the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R now leads by 35 seconds over the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. Marino Sato third, followed by Nico Costa, Maxime Martin, Alessio Rovera, and Ben Barker.
What a great return it has been to Interlagos for the FIA WEC in a decade. Now we see the battle on the road we have been looking for. McLaren #59 vs. BMW #46 vs. Ferrari #55. Nico Costa, Maxime Martin, and Alessio Rovera as we said. Rovera is a multiple GTE Am champion for AF Corse Ferrari when he drove with Frenchman Francois Perrodo. McLaren look for third and fourth with a minute and 45 seconds to go. This should be the last lap. GT3 are really becoming a part of the show here. Nico Costa in his home race is showing what he has with local knowledge.
With Heart of Racing dropping down the order due to a Full Course Yellow infraction, Manthey Pure Racing Porsche have shown they've ruled supreme here in Brazil. We could have seen a ding dong battle but Manthey Pure Racing come out of this one smelling like a rose. Now, of course, the Iron Dames Lamborghini did retire from the race with radiator and cooling system failure. Rovera right on Martin's decklid as the #50 AF Corse Ferrari Hypercar, the first of the 499P's makes a move. This is the last lap as Maxime Martin slams the door in Alessio Rovera's face. Sebastien Buemi on his last lap and the same is true for the GT3 cars.
Buemi leads by over a minute to the two Penske Porsche 963 factory cars of Kevin Estre and Matt Campbell. They are five seconds apart. Kamui Kobayashi is fourth aboard the #7 Toyota ahead of Alessandro Pier Guidi in the sister #51 Ferrari. Antonio Fuoco another half a minute behind in Ferrari #50, the winner last month at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari earned 50 points at Le Mans. Ferrari's championship challenge blunted by the factory Penske Porsche 963's who will come home on the podium on this Sunday afternoon in Sao Paulo. Toyota preparing to celebrate.
Ferrari will lose out to both of their archrivals in the constructor's championship. Toyota #8 will win the 6 Hours of Brazil! Toyota were on the podium in 2014, a decade ago when FIA WEC raced here last. But now, they are on the top step of the podium with victory in Interlagos! The first win of the year for the #8 car of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa! The #7 sister Toyota of Mike Conway, Nyck de Vries, and Kamui Kobayashi won at Imola, Italy, back in April. So, they each have a win apiece now.
Porsche will finish second and third with Toyota, and the two Ferrari's. In the GT3 class, Heart of Racing are second with Heart of Racing Aston Martin, second and now, Nico Costa ahead of Maxime Martin and Alessio Rovera. The GT3 winners will be the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R of Klaus Bachler, Alex Malykhin, and Joel Sturm, win again! They increase their championship lead.
Third place in GT3 is the #95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 of Marino Sato, Josh Caygill, and Nico Pino.
Overall/Hypercar: #8 Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
LMGT3: #92 Malykhin/Sturm/Bachler Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R
The two Toyota's led this race the whole way. #7 recovered after their troubles. So, the first FIA WEC race in Brazil in a decade is now complete. Next time we speak to you we will be in the United States, at Circuit of the Americas, deep in the heart of Texas, in Austin, Texas, the live music capitol of the world, for the Lone Star Le Mans. Goodbye everyone. Até logo, from the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We'll see you in Texas on September 1st. So long and take care.
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