For the first time since the winter of 2020, the FIA World Endurance Championship, makes a triumphant return to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for the Lone Star Le Mans. Of course, a lot has changed in the four years that the championship was away from Austin, especially, with respect to the success and massive growth of the new Hypercar prototype category. In 2020, it was Toyota and Rebellion racing against each other in the last vestiges of the legendary LMP1 prototype era. Now we see a slew of brands and different cars in competition. Toyota, Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche, Peugeot, Lamborghini, Alpine, BMW, plus the addition of the GT3 cars in the production car category. Last time, in 2020, it was the old GTE class with a main battle contested only by three makes. Porsche, Ferrari, and General Motors with the Chevrolet Corvette.
Now, in this day and age, if it is a prototype or a GT3 car, it is here. Fans have many to choose from as their favorites. The competition is hot! Each car with its own design characteristics, and with its own distinct engine note produced mainly by V6 or V8 power, turbocharged and naturally aspirated. A feast for the eyes and the ears, endurance sports car racing, globally, is on an upward trajectory. Many nationalities of drivers, but also, of course, cars are here stateside for the first time in about a year and a half. The last time the FIA WEC came to the United States, they ran the 1,000 Miles of Sebring, in March of 2023 in conjunction with the 12 Hours of Sebring for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, the U.S. equivalent.
Many IMSA prototype teams of course, came across the pond to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well. This is a globetrotting championship and a global one in terms of brands with America, French, German, Italian, and Japanese cars, represented. Sports car racing has existed for over a century, since the first 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1923, and has always had an international flavor. That continues, today, at the only FIA approved Grade 1 circuit in the United States. Before we go any further in talking about what is in store for the race today, let's meet the overall and class polesitters.
Ferrari, The Prancing Horse, the spirit of Maranello, are on the pole for the Lone Star Le Mans this afternoon. Antonio Giovinazzi scored the pole sharing the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, the winner of the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, with teammates James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi. On the pole in the LMGT3 class it is The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, car #27. American domiciled Brit Ian James, the team owner, is sharing with Daniel Mancinelli of Italy and Spaniard Alex Riberas.
One car not on the grid here in Texas, is the #11 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6C Hypercar. That was to be expected. The fabled Italian supercar brand of the 1930s making its return to racing, has withdrawn from the remainder of the 2024 FIA WEC season, here in Austin, and in the next two races before the season ends in Japan and Bahrain. Antonio Serravalle, Carl Wattana Bennett, and Jean Karl Vernay are not racing, except for the fact, that Serravalle has been drafted into the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 in place of Harry Tincknell this weekend who is focusing on his duties contracted with Multimatic. He is of course, one of the drivers in the factory Ford Mustang GT3 program in IMSA here in the states.
There are Mustang GT3's of course, entered in WEC also for Proton Competition in LMGT3. But the factory Ford team that runs in IMSA is, I believe, a separate situation. Keep in mind, the Hypercars are all on Michelin tires, which Goodyear is the tire supplier for the GT3 cars. The official motto of the city of Austin is "Keep Austin weird". We are back at COTA for the first time since 2020 and the cursed coronavirus pandemic. We could see hot weather and maybe some rain. A month ago, we were in South America, in Brazil. After today's race, we have two races left, in Fuji, Japan, and in Bahrain.
The Vista AF Corse Ferrari's one is in good shape the #55, but the #54 stalled and has clutch and electronics issues, doing a battery change on the car now. Counterclockwise, 20 corners, 5 and a half kilometers, 3.4 miles. No tire warmers. Despite the heat, the tires could still be cold. Turn 12 will be an overtaking place and so could turns 16, 17, and 18, a triple apex turn where you must preserve the tires. Drivers will be hot and fatigued after their stints. Double stinting is the name of the game. When the body begins overheating, your pace will drop off a lot. Your concentration levels will also fall off and your brain plays tricks on you.
Ben Keating is starting ninth aboard the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 sharing that car with Mikkel Pedersen and Dennis Olsen. Eighth place is the #777 D'station Aston Martin and up from that, the #59 United Autosport McLaren 720S GT3. McLaren scored a podium in LMGT3 in Brazil last time out. We are two hours from Houston, two hours from Dallas. The gulf states are suffering with severe weather. We might catch the edge of rain from Louisiana. Next on the grid, the #81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Tom van Rompuy and company. Then comes Alex Malyhkin in the championship leading #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R.
Francois Heriau is next in the #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Sarah Bovy starts the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 and wearing a fluffy pink cowgirl hat. Ferrari #54 is undergoing a clutch change as we speak. Ian James will start on ple in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. This is the first pole for Aston Martin in GT3. Medium compound Goodyear tires are the choice for GT3 here in Texas with the wet weather tires on standby. Fan engagement has been wonderful. There are fans here in droves. This is a platinum era of endurance sports car racing.
For the Michelin Hypercar tires, we are using medium and hard compounds. In the heat, the hard compound will be the way to go as we look at the #63 Lamborghini SC63. The stints will be long and hard. Phil Hanson starts the #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963. This motor race, in the intense heat, will be punishing. Harry Tincknell starting the #99 Proton Competition FAT Turbo, SALT Porsche 963. Peugeot #94 in 15th place, Stoffel Vandoorne will start the car. These cars are basically a greenhouse with a hot, powerful engine. 18 Hypercars in the field as we look at Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 championship leading Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 factory car.
They had a broken damper in qualifying. Next, the #2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V Series.R of Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber. Next, the #36 Alpine A424 with Mick Schumacher starting. He was stung by a wasp in his qualifying run. Ough! Brendon Hartley is 12th in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. If a driver is struggling with heat, they cannot continue in the race if they aren't feeling well. Next, Nico Muller in the #93 Peugeot 9X8. The teams have set up inflatable kid's swimming pools, not for swimming, but filled with ice, to keep the drivers cool between their stints. Mike Conway starting ninth in the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.
Austin, Texas, is a big music town, a cosmopolitan and international place. Music legend Willie Nelson is from Austin. Next on the grid, the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8. That is one of the two BMW Team WRT car and next up is the sister #20 BMW. Fred Makowiecki is starting the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963. Fifth place, Miguel Molina in the #50 Ferrari 499P. The grid is clearing. The #35 Alpine A424 is fourth with Charles Milesi at the wheel. Third, Earl Bamber in the #2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V Series.R. Robert Kubica is second in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P privately entered yellow car.
On the pole, the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans winning #51 Ferrari 499P with Antonio Giovinazzi at the controls. Best qualifying laps were all in the 1:50 range and Giovinazzi laid down a mega qualifying lap! Will we see Ferrari succeed in Austin? Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! That is the command, the four famous words have been given. The #54 Ferrari is still undergoing a clutch change. They will race but they will be an hour behind. There will be two formation laps as Frankie Muniz, actor and racing driver, waving the Stars & Stripes. He raced in one of the two Ford Mustang Challenge support races, sanctioned by IMSA.
Roger Penske flew into Austin from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, yesterday where IndyCar ran the first of two races they have at The Milwaukee Mile this weekend. 110 degrees is the operating window in Celsius. So, the tires are hot! If you touch the tire with your bare hands, you will get a nasty, nasty burn. We have many potential winners who could take the victory today. Stay with us for the next six hours to find out what happens. Toyota drivers will single stint through the race today. That's the plan. We will have the FIA WEC Full Access program on the blog, about this race, soon.
We are getting set to go green for six hours in round six of the FIA World Endurance Championship. No tire warmers, so all the cars need heat, work heat into the tire working the throttle against the brake pedal. A little weaving is OK. But the throttle and brake method is better. Alright. Here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, the Lone Star Le Mans is underway! Everything is bigger in Texas, including the sports car racing! Get ready, get set, punch it! Let's go! Ferrari #51 leeads. Antono Giocinazzi and Robert Kubica. The BMW is flying past the Alpine of Ferdinand Habsburg. Everyone safe so far.
Lamborghini, Edoardo Mortara, on the putside of the Toyota. Alpine, BMW, Cadillac. Here comes Alex Lynn side by side with one of the two V6 turbo Alpine's and there's contact between them! That's Ferdinand Habsburg and Earl Bamber off the road! Yikes! One of the BMW's off the road, too as the #5 Porsche 963 of Fred Makowiecki passes for seventh. Kamui Kobayashi passes Ferdinand Habsburg. Fred Makowiecki got shuffled back and is into the pit lane early doors. Makowiecki in a spot of bother as Mike Conway barely hangs on over the Alpine. Peugeot in the lane too. Oh dear.
Edoardo Mortara is motoring! The Lamborghini getting after it early doors. Stoffel Vandoorne having trouble with a tire in the Peugeot. Phil Hanson and Will Stevens, the two Jota Porsche 963's side by side. Holy cow! Phil Hanson always starting the #38 car. The Toyota #8 of Brendon Hartley wants a bite of the cherry. Mike Conway up to eighth. Brendon Hartley down to 13th spot. Blimey! This is a wild motor race so far! We've been racing for five minutes. Three Ferrari's follow by two BMW's, a Peugeot, and the lone Cadillac. Porsche #5 brought in due to the pitot tube needing to be unstuck. That measures the airspeed. They forgot to take off the safety tape on the grid. That is an aircraft device for measuring air speed.
Look at the onboard camera and you will see a metal thing sticking out of the front by the windscreen. That's the pitot tube. In GT3, the Aston Martin leads the Ferrari, the Lamborghini, and the Corvette. Speaking of Lamborghini, Edoardo Mortara has the SC63 up to tenth place. Will Stevens in the Jota Porsche 963 is glued to his tail. We could see tire strategies revolving around right side tires. This is a counterclockwise circuit here at COTA as Mtthieu Vaxiviere in the second #36 Alpine should have been farther up the grid.
But of course, Mick Schumacher, on his qualifying lap, was fighting a wasp in the cockpit. Matthieu Vaxiviere says he is having trouble with the handling. The new tarmac, the new pavement, is fresh from the end of the lap to the first sector. Earl Bamber and Ferdi Habsburg's shemozzle is under investigation by the stewards. The track has gotten grippier as the race weekend has progressed. Slippery surface/debris flags at the second turn. Hmmm. Is there fluid down on the road? In GT3, it is Francois Heriau vs. Tom van Rompuy. Sarah Bovy is up t0 second behind the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin.
Each driver category has a minimum drive time of curse. There is damage on the left rear of the #94 Peugeot as we see Heriau outbraking himself at the top of the hill in turn one. Marco Wittmannn is now chasing Miguel Molina for third. Ferrari vs. BMW. Robert Kubica in the #83 Ferrari 499P has one new hard compound left rear Michelin tire. Stoffel Vandoorne in the #94 Peugeot 9X8 did the same thing. 18 tires allocated, four and a half sets, allocated to the Hypercar teams. Turn three here, going light over the brow is like Druids corner at Brands Hatch in England, a place where the World Endurance Championship raced in the 1980s.
Marco Wittmann is racy today right in the slipstream of the #50 Ferrari. Watch for that BMW. He can stay right with the Ferrari. 3 liter turbo V6 in the Ferrari. 4 liter turbo V8 in the BMW. Earl Bamber is fretting about the handling of the Cadillac. He will have to adjust the antirollbars inside the cars. It is a common suspension package between the Hypercars and the GTP cars in IMSA here, because the cars are basically the same with the Hypercar/LMDh platform. Could we see a full-fledged Hypercar in IMSA? Aston Martin will have the Valkyrie. Will Ferrari enter stateside? We'll see.
Wittmann continuing to harry Molina. BMW have had some good finishes this year at Imola and Brazil. One of the critical areas is to keep your car close to your rival ahead. Earl Bamber is harrying Nico Muller and now he pokes his nose inside. 15 minutes of racing now on the board. Clear air will allow for brake cooling and for the radiators to work and cool the engine. Listen to the sounds of the Hypercars, each one sounds different. Oh my! Mike Conway pulls the switchback over Earl Bamber and he hangs on. He may have gone off the track but was forced off and now, Nico Muller gets passed by Ferdinand Habsburg in the Alpine.
Habsburg for contact earlier has copped a drive through penalty from the stewards. Will Stevens pulling out to pass the Peugeot. Peugeot have suffered clutch problems during Free Practice. Are they OK? Will The Lion have a competitive edge? Ooh! Oh boy! Stevens absolutely steamrolls a couple more cars making the pass. The poor old GT3 drivers are being swarmed by the Hypercars jumping into gaps you had no clue existed! Blimey O'Reilly! Alpine back out of the pits, the #35 car.
The sports car drivers are absolutely fearless. Ferdinand Habsburg was responsible for the opening lap contact and hence his penalty. Alex Lynn is chasing Mike Conway. Conway is monstering the BMW's. 20 minutes into a six hour race. Mike Conway now sixth. Edoardo Mortara in the lime green Lambo chasing down Nico Muller in the Peugeot. Oof! The Toyota runs wide past Ben Keating in the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3. The #6 Porsche Penske Porsche 963 factory car is in recovery mode, Laurens Vanthoor at the wheel of it. Early delays can absolutely crush your race. You need the whole race duration to claw back 30 seconds.
Brendon Hartley giving Phil Hanson all he can handle. Toyota #8 vs Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 #38. Robert Kubica is on the march early doors and we are seeing some wild replays of the start. Miguel Molina was inside the white line having to fend off the Alpine with a block pass, parking the car on the apex of turn one. Be careful so you aren't bullied off the road. Conway twitched and was biffed by the #5 Penske Porsche 963. No puncture for the Porsche and of course Ferdniand Habsburg in the Alpine was muscled off the road. Crunch! The Peugeot had contact from Phil Hanson in the #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963.
Half an hour, almost, into the race, and Antonio Giovinazzi leads Robert Kubica by 1.6 seconds. Ian James leading Sarah Bovy and Tom van Rompuy in GT3. We have several different cars. Aston Martin, in the lead. Clkement Mateu, Ahmad Al Harthy, and one of the McLaren's, James Cottingham, I think. No. That is Josh Caygill in the sister #95. Al Harthy right on Caygill's six. Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 vs. #95 United Autosport McLaren 720S GT3. Lap times at the top of the shop are ebbing and flowing. Toyota and BMW have freer air around them and are able to lap faster.
Everyone else bunched up in a tight formation, a conga line. 13 laps in the book. 44 miles. Porsche 963 #5 was in the lane for a splash of fuel. Yasser Shahin, the Australian, warned for track limits in the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3R in LMGT3 sharing with Morris Schuring and Richard Lietz. We have had a McLaren on pole, the Inception Racing car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That was one of the IMSA entries that came over for Le Mans I believe. The McLaren's transmission was destroying the mandated torque sensors. Go online and do a search for torque sensors to see what those are.
Great battle between Ahmad Al Harthy and Josh Caygill with the second Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 #31 in the hands of Darren Leung. On the inside, Ahmad Al Harthy chops the nose off the McLaren for ninth with Josh Caygill now tenth. The GT cars are so different. The McLaren, streamlined, and the BMW M4 GT3, a sports coupe. The GT3 cars have antilock brakes of course. It is the same as having dead power steering. You have to be able to feel it and it is strange if a driver has not used it.
Robert Kubica, the ex-Formula 1 driver, he is chasing another Formula 1 driver, formerly, Antonio Giovinazzi. Marco Wittmann in the first BMW ahead of the sister car of Rene Rast. Antonio Giovinazzi is told to stick to the plan and focus on his own race. Keep the tires alive and don't overstress the car. Earl Bamber is coming back at Mike Conway. Toyota with the 3.5-liter twin turbo V6 and Earl Bamber in the Cadillac V Series.R with the massive 5.5 liter naturally aspirated V8. On the marbles through turn six the leading Ferrari's pass one of the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R's.
The crew of the yellow Ferrari looks very strong. 17 laps now on the board. The energy levels have now been cut in half before first pit stops. Below half, actually. We'll have to see how the fuel strategies come out in the wash, 34 minutes now elapsed with 18 laps completed. Ferrari #83 under investigation for a technical infringement. Antonio Giovinazzi is worried. His engineer says "believe me, we won't let him by. Focus on your race, sunbeam." Ferrari #83 goes by! How weird. Kubica has found his way past Giovinazzi. Antonio Giovinazzi knew that he had to back out of the throttle but he was clearly upset asking his engineer "why do I have to back off? That's insane!"
Robert Kubica channeling his anger, whistling off into the distance. Now, Rene Rast in the second BMW is chasing Ealr Bamber in the Cadillac. Bamber down to seventh after being muscled out of the way by the other Hypercars. Around the #777 D'station Aston Martin of Clement Mateu, Brendon Hartley is trying to escape Laurens Vanthoor as Clement Matheu was simply nudged out of the way by the #38 Jota Porsche 963. What will the stewards say? #777 stays on track with no damage. Brendon Hartley being reeled in by Laurens Vanthoor. Only the top ten score points. 25 points for a win in a six hour economy mode race.
We have two more races, the 6 Hours of Fuji in Japan and the 8 Hours of Bahrain, after Austin is done and dusted. Packed racing in both classes. Seven Hypercars covered by 11 seconds. Marco Wittman not giving up the chase, running Harry Flatters vs. Miguel Molina. Both of the BMW M Hybrid V8's are up there. Vincent Vosse, the boss of Team WRT, the man with the flat cap, looking on. Ge asi gas tge two BMW M4 GT3's in GT3. Thomas Flohr in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 is back on track, finally, 40 minutes late. He will have to serve a penalty for not joining the start of the event.
Davide Rigon now at the controls, and we now have all 36 cars entered, in the race. Ben Keating in fourth aboard the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 just behind Alex Malykhin in the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. The Heart of Racing is testing with the new Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar that we will see here in the WEC next year and in IMSA. Ian James also wants to race the GT3. Looking forward to seeing the Aston Martin Valkyrie and we are going to see more manufacturers coming. Porsche vs. Alpine have not battled each other since the late 1970s and their scraps at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between the Porsche 936 and the Alpine A442.
Why would you not want to be here? Sports car racing is in a golden era right now. The best, since the 1980s. The rulebook is fairly open within weight, aero, and power parameters. The Aston Martin Valkyrie will sound and look great. A 6.5 liter naturally aspirated, non-hybrid V12. A variety of cars but every car looks and sounds different. This is why sports car racing is so wonderful! This is why I write about it with such vigor, zeal, and passion. The BMW has seven percent more energy than Ferrari #83 of Robert Kubica who is stretching his lead over Antonio Giovinazzi currently.
Was the change of position warranting a penalty between Ferrari's #51 and #83? Nope. It was just good, hard, clean, fair racing. Clean and fair. That's the key. No trickery. No malice. Mike Conway has made it up to sixth in the #7 Toyota while the sister #8 continues languishing down in eighth spot. We are only 47 minutes into the motor race. We have a long, long way to go here in Austin this afternoon. #83 reprimanded for tire pressures by the stewards. Harry Tincknell chasing Ferdinand Habsburg. That #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 has a white a lime green paint scheme, reminiscent of the early 1990s and the Joest Racing Porsche 962's in the later days of Group C.
Ian James leads over Sarah Bovy, Tom van Rompuy, Ben Keating, Francois Heriau, and Alex Malykhin. Aston, Lambo, Corvette, Mustang, Ferrari, Porsche. Six different cars in the top six. Vincent Vosse, WRT team boss is confident but quietly so because there is such a long way to go. They are making the best of what they've got. Vosse, the cat in the flat hat. Left front corner dive plane damage on the #2 Cadillac, copping a whack from a Porsche and an Alpine. It has blunted the car aerodynamically and they will need a new nose.
Earl Bamber is now having to reel Mike Conway back in as they wrestle between the GT3 traffic. 26 laps now on the board, 88 miles. Drag is the biggest factor for Earl Bamber with the dive plane being busted. He will hve to do bigger lift and coasts before the team can fix the nose and replace it with a new one that isn't blemished. D'station #777 Aston Martin, Manthey EMA #91 Porsche, Akkodis ASP Lexus #78 in for energy replenishment. Translation, refueling. Incident responsibility penalty as we see the legality planks on the bottom fo the car bottoming out over the bumps. Miguel Molina in the Ferrari being harried by Marco Wittman and Rene Rast in both BMW's.
Car #36, the Alpine, has hard rear tires and medium fronts, with Matthieu Vaxiviere driving. We have seen one of the Peugeot's in and the top running GT3 cars also pitting for fuel and tires I believe. Ben Keating now leads his home race aboard the #88 Ford Mustang GT3. Alex Lynn takes over the #2 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Just two drivers in the car. You get a debrief, a prep period, and a short time trying to cool down and rehydrate. Rene Rast needs some water to pour down his overalls. He needs an ice bath or somethng.
Ford Mustang GT3 #88 is in the pit lane. Ben Keating will do a double stint. Marco Wittmann in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 is in massive fuel save mode in clean air. Save fuel for later. That is the plan. The #6 Penske Porsche 963 is in the same boat as Robert Kubica is in the ane. Fueling up, as Alex Lynn got left side tires on the #2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V Series.R. Rene Rast still has 11% energy in the tank. We see the two Alpine's, Ferdinand Habsburg and Matthieu Vaxiviere have found each other as Edoardo Mortara will be penalized for an illegal overtake in the #63 Lamborghini SC63. Five seconds added to Mortara's next pit stop.
So, we are coming to the end of the opening hour. 31 laps on the board, 105 miles. Left hand tires for Alex Lynn in the #2 Cadillac and we will see the BMW go to the lead with the #50 Ferrari pitting.
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