Mick Schumacher turns a lap of 1:52.633, less than a tenth away from Kamui Kobayashi as points and a top ten finish for both Alpine's. Porsche #5, Matt Campbell, making his last stop and so is the #7 Toyota. Kobayashi fighting the Toyota as Kevin Estre brings the #6 championship leading Penske Porsche 963 into the pit lane. Kobayashi and Shwartzman both to the pit lane now for their final stops. It is true that Kobayashi will do a double stint. For the moment, Antonio Fuoco, also known as "Tony Fire", will cycle to the lead in Ferrari #50 that has had a truly lonely race. Penske Porsche have pitted both of their cars. Robert Shwartzman also comes in for a pit stop. His average lap time has been a 1:56 flat while Kobayashi has run a best average of 1:55.6. Kobayashi, cool as ice even without air conditioning in this heat.
6% energy might be able to get them through two more laps. Just left side tires for the final tires in their 18 tire allocation. Time you lose in the pit lane is impossible to make up on track. Fuoco in the lane fr their final stop. He has only 4% energy remaining. They will put the last two new tires on the car to win back the time loss. Lamborghini in for their final stop and the Cadillac is right there. The car is moving while you locate the wheel nut with the rattle gun, and then, try to get the nut off. Cloud cover giving us respite from the heat of the day as we get close to finishing today's race here in Texas. 50 minutes to go, now with a whole load of track limits warnings and penalties. Drive through penalty for abuse of track limits for Augusto Farfus in the #31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 serving the penalty immediately.
Farfus barely ahead of Marino Sato in the #95 United Autosport McLaren with Richard Leitz chasing down Alessio Rovera for fourth in GT3. Manthey Pure Racing leads the championshup. Heart of Racing if they win, they will gain more but not enough to close the gap on the Manthey Pure Racing Porsche. Sebastien Buemi penalized and serving a drive through penalty for ignoring blue flags. Nico Costa, the Brazilian, pits the #59 United Autosport McLaren 720S GT3. Richard Lietz went off the road in the finalc orner of the circuit, all four wheels off the track over the white lines.
Drive through penalty for the #7 Toyota of Kamui Kobayashi for not respecting yellow flags and will serve a drive through penalty as we see the #20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 in the pit lane as well. The surviving Ferrari's and the #2 Cadillac are right back in it. 159 laps completed, 541 miles. Kevin Estre in the #6 championship leading Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre also has a drive through penalty. Will we get a sixth straight different race winner in WEC in 2024? We just might. Drive through penalty for the #6 for not respecting yellow flags.
Kobayashi will end up behind Robert Shwartzman. Kobayashi has not come in. He is protesting the penalty, the drive through, but knows he has to do it. Maybe he just got the wrong information. He is in fight mode. He wants to avoid a black flag. 42 minutes left on the board. Disaster too, for the #55 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3! 100 second stop and go for a technical infringement for the #55 AF Corse car! Heart of Racing leads the GT3 class over Manthey Pure Racing and Kobayashi is taking maximum risk.
He has 41 and a half minutes to gain back ten to 15 seconds as Robert Shwartzman is on the front straightaway and in the replay, it was the double waved yellows in a straight line when the Peugeot stopped. He was totally safe but maybe came around the hairpin too fast and didn't see the flags. It is 9.9 seconds between Robert Shwartzman and Kamui Konayashi. 40 minutes remaining. 162 laps in the books. 551 miles. Behind Heart of Racing in GT3 it is the two Manthey Porsche's followed by the BMW's and the Mustang's.
Another drive through for the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus as well. Kobayashi has the sister #8 Toyota behind him and now can go on the attack against Robert Shwartzman. Whoops! The #88 Ford Mustang GT3 has spun. Dennis Olsen from Norway at the controls. Local Yellow I think. He has the hazard flashers on but has not restarted the car. So, this moves Marino Sato up a place, and Gregoire Saucy in the sister McLaren has gone by and we could see a Full Course Yellow. 36 minutes and change to go. Dennis Olsen says the steering is broken on the right front.
Box, box, box. So, the #88 Mustang GT3 is out. The orange curbs and slamming over them, has broken the steering. He is stuck. We will have a Full Course Yellow, more than likely, as Augusto Farfus has a drive through penalty for track limits abuse? No. That is a splash and dash full pit stop as the #7 Toyota goes straight through the chicane. Most of the GT3 cars will still need to make their final pit stops. The gap is 9.4 seconds. Oof! Kobayashi went straight off the road and overtook off the course!
I think too, that is why the GT3 car was lifting. This is going pear shaped for Kamui Kobayashi and Tyota as the #77 Ford Mustang GT3 of Ben Barker pits and so does one of the other GT3 cars. Full Course Yellow in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I think we are going to see a Ferrari 1-2, with perhaps, Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber in the #2 Cadillac on the podium. So, we'll just have to see what on earth is going t happen here i the next half hour. Overtaking under a double waved yellow is a massive no no. If you are penalized for the second time for the same offense, you are in a world of pain.
The #88 Ford Mustang GT3 is being craned away. Robert Shwartzman is in turn 19 and Kamui Kobayashi is behind in turns 15-18. Full Course Yellow now removed. Green flag. Kobayashi has gained a little bit back on Shwartzman. THere are tire marbles everywhere. Full attack mode is all that can be accepted. AF Corse looking cool, calm, and collected. Coming up to put a lap on the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8. Kobayashi told to be circumspect and think about the championship instead of the race victory.
Kobayashi is pushing under braking. Pit stop time for the #46 BMW M4 GT3. What will the stewards decide? Kobayashi apologized for what has happened, but he is perplexed. Alex Riberas leading the GT3 class and in second and third, the two Manthey Porsche's are leading the championship. Maxime Martin will finish the race in the #46 BMW M4 GT3. Vincent Vosse runs the BMW Hypercar program and Kurt Mollekens runs the GT3 program. Heart of Racing Aston Martin, from pole, have driven a very clean race.
Joel Sturm at Manthey Pure Racing says that for now they are looking good in second but don't quite have the pace for the lead. They are getting there, picking up the points. Julien Andlauer in the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 passes Jean Eric Vergne in the #93 Peugeot 9X8. Charles Milesi in the #35 Alpine is in fifth place. A great run for Alpine and for BMW. This will be Alpine's best finish of the year. The #36 scored points finishing tenth last time out at Interlagos, at Sao Paulo in Brazil. The last driver change for the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini. Claudio Schiavoni handed over to another driver. I am not sure who though.
Michelle Gatting helping Claudio Schiavoni out of the car. Rest In Peace, Luca Persiani, who was killed in a horrible off roading accident. Michelle Gatting was helping Matteo Cressoni into the car. Rest In Peace, Luca Persiani. 20 minutes to go. The #81 TF Sport Corvette has retired along with the #777 Aston Martin, the #54 AF Corse Ferrari, the #51 Ferrari 499P and the #94 Peugeot 9X8. Yifei Ye tells us, back i the lead, he had a great race and Robert Kubica started the race very well. The #7 Toyota had better pace but the #83 has had a clean race with no penalties.
The lead in Hypercar is 6.2 seconds. In GT3 it is nearly 27 seconds. 173 laps, 588 miles completed by the Hypercar leader. In GT3, 154 laps, 524 miles. New talent is emerging in the Hypercar class. Team WRT, car #46 of Maxime Martin shown as stopped and that must be a glitch. It is game over for the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 and of course the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 retired. I tink it is a timing glitch that has now disappeared for the #46 BMW M4 GT3. Rahel Frey in the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini cops a drive through penalty for abusing track limits.
BMW #46 going very slowly. Dropping like a stone, Maxime Martin could be low on fuel. 16 and a half minutes left. United Autosport could potentially win this race. Game over for the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3. They have had a horrendous 2024 season. Trouble again, for the #12 Porsche 963 on the outlap. I cannot believe they keep sending it out of the pit lane and the litany of woe continues. They keep getting themselves in trouble. Andre Lotterer considers that they have made a comeback from 14th to seventh. They have a good race car and made good strategic decisions.
Kevin Estre will finish the race with less than 15 minutes to go. Andre Lotterer looking ahead to racing in Japan in two weeks, his second home, where he lived for 15 years. He has won Super Formula and Super GT races at Fuji Speedway but has never won in FIA WEC. Kobayashi, 3.7 seconds behind Robert Shwartzman. Target acquired. Sheldon van der Linde trying to get on terms with Charles Milesi. A battle for fourth between BMW and Alpine. Robert Shwartzman being told to push. Ben Barker in the #77 Ford Mustang GT3 being closed on by Marino Sato in the #95 McLaren 720S GT3.
Meanwhile, the #46 BMW M4 GT3 Team WRT have the bonnet up and it is potentially a terminal issue, and they are a lap up only on the Iron Dames. Power steering failure for the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3. Oh boy. Robert Shwartzman over slipping the rear tires and getting almost tangled up with one of the Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3's! Kobayashi might be able to make a pass and passes by a GT3 car but loses time in traffic and speed onto the straight after being trapped behijnd the Lexus. Antonio Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari has more usable energy than is required.
Robert Shwartzman is about to put a lap on the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 in ninth, Dries Vanthoor. He has already lapped past the #36 Alpine of Mick Schumacher. Sheldon van der Linde in the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 is under investigation for a technical infringement by the stewards. Six laps to go with 3.8 seconds the gap. No lift and coast necessary for Robert Shwartzman. Win it or bin it. Trophy or trees. Robert Shwartzman from Israel, the driver with the least experience, in his first season in WEC.
Kamui K9bayashi has not had the rub of the green in traffic. The gap is now out to three seconds. Eight minutes to go. 178 laps completed, 605 miles. The last time a world championship race was run by a privateer Ferrari, it was a long time ago. We have seen a privateer Porsche win. That was Jota Sport at the 6 Hours of Spa. Race Control could have something in store for the #7 Toyota and a warning flag for Robert Shwartzman who overtakes the Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. Kobayashi goes the lng way around the Lamborghini and he is still catching Shwartzman.
One lapse of concentration, one lockup, Kobayashi will pounce. Three laps to go after this one. The gap is 1.9 seconds. Sheldon van der Linde cops a 100 second stop and go penalty for a tech infringement in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 for BMW Team WRT moving the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 up the order. Five minutes to win it for Robert Shwartzman or for Kamui Kobayashi. Shwartzman passes Alex Riberas, the GT3 leader who is 25 seconds clear of Manthey Pure Racing's Porsche. Kobayashi has to pass Shwartzman immediately or he'll be stuck.
Thw BMW in the lane for the stop and go and Kobayashi goes off the road into the marbles through turn 16 and 17. There is just no way for Toyota to have a go at a race win. Three minutes to go. Kobayashi overcooks it again. Robert Kubica could join a very short list along with Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix and a World Endurance Championship race. Final lap with clear sailing for Robert Shwartzman. The #15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor is ahead but is going quickly enough that I don't think he will need to be caught.
Kobayashi is not within shooting distance. AF Corse Ferrari and their privateer Ferrari 499P, the #83 yellow Ferrari will guide AF Corse to a victory! In Texas, it is the first win for the #83 AF Corse Ferrari winning by under two seconds with the #7 Toyota second and the #50 Ferrari third! Yifei Ye, Robert Shwartzman, and Robert Kubica are race winners in the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The Heart of Racing, Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, and Alex Riberas win in GT3 in Texas!
Overall/Hypercar: #83 Kubica/Shwartzman/Ye AF Corse Ferrari 499P
LMGT3: #27 James/Mancinelli/Riberas The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR
GT3
In two weeks, it is the next FIA WEC race, the penultimate race of the 2024 season, the 6 Hours of Fuji at Fuji Speedway in Fuji, Japan. Join us there. So long, from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, as we see the sixth different winner in six FIA WEC races in 2024! The first win for the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, their tenth WEC class victory in GT and 53rd overall Aston Martin winner in WEC. They are also the second brand after Porsche to win in three different GT classes. Cadillac fourth and Alpine fifth. BMW Team WRT faded at the end.
That was a remarkable race! We'll see you in Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji. From Austin, Texas, this is also the second closest FIA WEC finish in history after 2017 here at COTA with the Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 cars swapping places. Congratulations to AF Corse, the first win for a Ferrari 499P outside of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023 and 2024. Absolutely incredible. Each of the Ferrari's have now won a race this year and I think too that Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman are possibly the youngest driving duo to win. A Polish driver, an Israeli driver, and a Chinese driver.
Aston Martin win their first race in GT in WEC since Fuji, 2022, 15 races ago. Alex Riberas is only the second Spanish driver to win in a GT class race. Robert Kubica is also the third Formula 1 driver to also win not just in F1 but in FIA WEC along with Aussie Mark Webber in LMP1 for Porsche and Fernando Alonso when he drove in LMP1 for Toyota. Miguel Molina at Ferrari was the first. Holy cow! What a race! What a race! We'll see you in Japan, everyone. Goodnight, from Austin, Texas.
• Breaking Barriers - Episode 01: Revol...
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