Porsche beats Toyota to COTA 6 Hour victory

After a lengthy battle with the Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 HYBRIDs throughout the first half of the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, Porsche LMP Team's pair of 919s prevailed, finishing 1-2 once again. The winning car was the championship-leading No. 2 Porsche, which edged ever closer to the title after the rival crew in the No. 8 Toyota finished third.

Unlike the race at Mexico City, there were plenty of on-track scuffles between the two LMP1 factories, including one lengthy duel between Andre Lotterer in the No. 1 and Jose Maria Lopez in the No. 7, the pair swapping places and rubbing through traffic while battling for second place.

• Results

Alternating strategies meant that Toyota held a 1-2 at the head of the field in the first half, but in the final three hours, the two TS050s faded, unable to match the pace of the Porsches which eased away for a formation finish.

By the end of the race it was a foregone conclusion which 919 would take the win. Nick Tandy in the No. 1 let Earl Bamber in the No. 2 through to the lead in the final few minutes to ensure that the winning trio of Bamber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard took the maximum amount of points in America and a fourth straight win.

LMP1 leader position change, #2@Porsche_Teamin P1 and their sister car #1@Porsche_Teamnow in P2.#6hCOTA#WECpic.twitter.com/46MnaPgZJe— FIA WEC (@FIAWEC)September 16, 2017

Behind the No. 8 that finished third, the sister No. 7 Toyota finished a more distant fourth, but unlike Mexico, still on the lead lap.

“It was an awesome race, Toyota kept us honest all the way,” Hartley said after the race. “The No. 1 pushed hard and went off into the distance like a rabbit early, it was a shame for them, our cars were never more than 12 seconds apart towards the end, that was a proper race.

“I’m sure that the next race will be closely fought.”

“We think we’re going to have a few updates to the car for Fuji,” Buemi added. “I think we will be a lot stronger there.”

In the LMP2 class, Signatech Alpine managed to dominate, after a stellar performance from Nicolas Lapierre early in the race to gap the field from pole, and later Gustavo Menezes and Andre Negrao to seal the deal. There was a late scare though for the French team, a late stop in the final 10 minutes forced upon them after the A470’s rear-left brake light failed, prompting race control to call them in to change the rear section.

Thankfully, the Alpine’s lead was so large that even with an eighth stop, it emerged clear of the second-place car, crossing the line 30 seconds ahead. Despite the Alpine’s run, behind, the rest of class was tight throughout, with lots of position changes in the top five places.

“We were in a fuel-save mode at the end, but we needed 15 more seconds at the end though to box,” Menezes said when asked about the scramble at the end of the race to ensure the Alpine could gap the field enough to take an extra stop.

The two Vaillante Rebellion ORECAs completed the podium after a race-long battle with the two Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECAs and the G-Drive Racing 07 Gibson before it suffered from mechanical issues. Rebellion’s No. 13 machine finished ahead of the No. 31.

Crucially, the LMP2 title-leading No. 38 Jackie Chan DC car finished ahead of the sister No. 37 in fourth. Oliver Jarvis admitted that he, Ho-Pin Tung and Thomas Laurent “simply didn’t have the speed.”

GTE Pro saw late drama like LMP2, with the eventual winner – the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari – having a left-front puncture just minutes before the finish. Like the Alpine though, the lead for the 488 of Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado was large enough to withstand the time lost; this too after the team suffered with engine niggles throughout.

Drama continues as puncture issue on #51@FerrariRaces.#6hCOTA#WECpic.twitter.com/jqHAilebsJ— FIA WEC (@FIAWEC)September 16, 2017

“I had to push again after the puncture, just to get a small gap. It worked out, and we won!” Alessandro Pier Guidi exclaimed.

It was close though, with the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR finishing just five seconds behind in second. Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen in the Porsche had a great run throughout the race, Estre pouncing on the two Ferraris after the safety car in the fourth hour to take the lead.

He couldn’t hold it though, and Calado retook the lead shortly after. The No. 71 sister AF Corse Ferrari then followed Calado through to second again, to set up what looked like a straightforward run to the flag for the two Prancing Horses. But Sam Bird and Davide Rigon came away with a third-place finish after Christensen in the Porsche got back past Bird before the end.

The Mexico-winning "Dane Train" No. 95 Aston Martin of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen finished just off the podium after leading for the first hour. The Danish pair were in the mix until late in the race, and will be disappointed not to come away with a podium finish.

Aston’s No. 97 Vantage had a quiet race, rising to fifth ahead of the second Porsche, which lost time due to a stop-go penalty, and the two Ford GTs, which struggled to keep pace with the leaders.

GTE Am was won by the No. 98 Aston Martin Vantage of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda, who took the lead in the championship standings in the process. The Clearwater Ferrari – which led early before Lamy took the lead in the Aston in the second half – came home second, with the Spirit of Race Ferrari taking the final space on the rostrum.

The Spirit of Race Ferrari led at the start, before Keita Sawa in the Clearwater Ferrari stormed through the field to take the race lead in the opening hour. Sawa had contact with the rear of the No. 98 Aston of Dalla Lana on the exit of the hairpin, taking second after the Vantage’s subsequent spin, then later muscled past Francesco Castellacci to take the lead.

“I had no diffuser and no power steering,” Dalla Lana said, when asked about the No. 98’s condition after the collision with the Clearwater Ferrari of Sawa.

The lead didn’t last the entire race though, despite Matt Griffin’s best efforts to create a gap. With 90 minutes remaining Weng Sun Mok was powerless in defending from a hard-charging Lamy, who bolted off and created a 50-second lead by the end of the race for the AMR crew, scoring the trio its second win of the year.

The points leaders in the No. 77 Dempsey Proton meanwhile, looked odds-on for a podium before a late mechanical issue caused them to head to the garage; the 911 RSR eventually limped home fourth, grinding to a halt just meters after crossing the finish line, promoting the Spirit of Race car to third. Crucially though, by crossing the line it scored valuable points.

Drama happens on #77@ProtonRacing@PatrickDempseyCrew, 26 mins left, could they get their car back on the track?#6hCOTA#WECpic.twitter.com/IleSEMwHWi— FIA WEC (@FIAWEC)September 16, 2017

Gulf Racing UK’s day was also one to forget, Mike Wainwright having an off at the hairpin into the barriers in the team’s Porsche 911 which caused the aforementioned safety car period halfway through the race. Wainwright managed to get back to the pits, but the damage was too significant, and the team retired the car.

Next up for the FIA WEC is the first of two rounds in Asia, the series heading to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji on October 15th.