Toyota No. 8 wins Portimao WEC tactical duel

Toyota claimed a victory in its 100th World Endurance Championship race at Algarve in the inaugural FIA WEC 8 Hours of Portimao, after a topsy-turvy race-long fight with Signatech Alpine.

The No. 8 GR010 HYBRID of Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley took the win over the No. 7 sister car, after team orders played a huge part in the closing laps.

The race, up and down the field, was all about fuel mileage and tire degradation in the heat. Up front in the Le Mans Hypercar category, the No. 8 Toyota was on a fuel-saving strategy throughout the race, allowing it to hold an advantage into the final stint, saving a stop.

The No. 7 was expected to finish second long before the final stint, but a late full-course yellow for the High Class LMP2 ORECA stopping out on track in the final hour put the result into doubt as it allowed the No. 7 to take a splash under the caution period. This turned what should have been a simple end to the race, into a complex one. Instead of the No. 8 taking a comfortable victory, it was a messy finish with multiple interventions from the pit wall proving to be the deciding factor.

Initially Buemi took the lead after Jose Maria Lopez’s fuel stop, but the Toyota pit wall allowed the No. 7 to retake the top spot and according to a team source, "prove it was faster." Lopez was unable to gap Buemi though, so the team reversed its decision and then allowed the No. 8 to retake the lead and therefore the win with 10 minutes remaining. As a result the No. 8 now holds a commanding championship lead heading into the third round of the season at Monza next month.

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“It was a tough race. We had a different strategy to car 7 -- we saved a lot more fuel and avoided the splash," related Buemi. "They got lucky with the full-course yellow. But we had internal rules which fell in our favor. I had a tough end, though, with a lot of cramp in my arms. It’s a long story, but I’m happy with how it turned out,” Buemi said after the race.

Where was the competition? This strange finale came after Signatech Alpine spent a large portion of the race in the lead during each pit cycle, before fading away at the end.

The Alpine had single-lap speed to beat the Toyotas, but not the consistency. JEP/Motorsport Images

The Alpine was faster over a single lap than the Toyotas, but was unable to convert pole into a win as it couldn’t run as long on fuel. The team knew it had to make at least one additional stop going in, and needed to create a lead large enough to allow it to win with extra time in the pits. Failing that, Alpine needed to benefit from a very lengthy safety car or FCY period, which ultimately didn’t quite come.

Despite the best efforts from Nicolas Lapierre, Andre Negrao and Matthieu Vaxiviere, Alpine’s A480 came home third after 300 laps of racing, a minute off the winners in the No. 8. They did, however, finish far ahead of Glickenhaus’ new 007, which had a troubled WEC debut but did at least make the finish. The American-flagged machine suffered a clutch issue that forced it into the garage after Ryan Briscoe was involved in a collision at the Turn 5 hairpin at the end of Hour 2. It came home 30th overall.

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The Team PR summed it up neatly. “We crashed once, touched once, and accidentally burned through and changed one clutch, yet we still finished our first WEC race.”

Glickenhaus has a lot to learn, and a lot more running to complete with its new chassis. But this was a strong effort with a car still in its early development phase, which according to Richard Westbrook during the race, was strong on pace for a few laps, but really struggled on tire life.

In LMP2, JOTA scored a memorable 1-2 finish, seeing off the challenge from United Autosport, Racing Team Nederland and Team WRT to take the victory. The No. 38 took the win after a late dive-bomb by Antonio Felix da Costa on teammate Tom Blomqvist, who with his teammates staged a big recovery drive after Blomqvist who started on pole, was hit into a spin by the No. 38 on Lap 1 and fell to the very back of the field.

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“It’s a team effort -- we had a lot of set backs but we went longer than everyone, saved fuel and trusted the process,” local hero Felix Da Costa explained, after his first career win on home soil. “The team ensured we were up there at the end. I had contact with Tom on Lap 1, I felt sorry for it, I was boxed in. So I’m glad we had a clean fight at the end. Respect to him.”

United took third with its No. 22 ORECA, ahead of Team WRT which came home fourth, just off the podium, after the team’s race was disrupted by penalties for speeding in pit lane and ignoring blue flags.

Perhaps the team that will leave here most disappointed is Racing Team Nederland, which looked strong early with Giedo van der Garde at the wheel and in with a chance at a podium, but would finish a lowly 13th after Job van Uitert made a mistake in traffic, damaging the car’s suspension and driveshaft after clattering a curb.

In LMP2 Pro Am, RealTeam Racing inherited the win late after the aforementioned High Class Racing ORECA lost power while leading the sub-category. It was a welcome reward for the Swiss outfit after a day filled with drama and contact with other runners.

Easier on tires than its rivals, the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado surged to victory in GTE Pro. Motorsport Images

In GTE Pro it was, unsurprisingly, also a story about tire degradation. AF Corse’s Ferrari 488 GTEs were simply better over the course of a stint in the Portuguese heat than their rivals in the Porsche garage. The two factory Porsches were shredding their rear tires throughout, and as a result were nowhere on pace.

The No. 51 led home the No. 71 Ferrari, with the two Porsches, the No. 92 leading the No. 91, crossing the line 45 seconds and a whole lap down respectively.

“We lacked pace in Spa and finished second. The Porsche was quickest here over a lap but this was the best possible outcome. We scored good points,” GTE Pro winning driver James Calado concluded.

GTE Am, meanwhile, was a tussle throughout, with so many teams and drivers taking the top places during the race. It was the most entertaining category hands down, with so many memorable battles and surprises right until the end.

Consistency was key for Cetilar Racing and its Ferrari 488 GTE EVO driven by Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Antonio Fuoco, who took their first GTE Am victory. Motorsport Images

Cetilar Racing emerged victorious for the first time in the FIA WEC after eight hours of hard racing. Longtime Cetilar driving partners Roberto Lacorte and Giorgio Sernagiotto, along with Antonio Fuoco were deserving winners here, running consistently in the top three throughout.

“It’s very special, a long time working for a big result, after four years working. This is our big day, I’m so happy for the drivers and the team. Today is the day,” an emotional Lacorte said.

The Italian team, which now leads the Am title race, finished just five seconds ahead of the No. 56 Team Project 1 Porsche. The 911 looked odds on for the win throughout but had 20 seconds added to its final stop for hitting the Realteam ORECA and therefore had to settled for second.

The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari completed the podium after it too had a strong race all round. Just off the rostrum was the No. 98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage and the Kessel Racing Ferrari that completed the top five.

RESULTS

UP NEXT: The 6 Hours of Monza on July 18th, which is the final dress rehearsal for the delayed 2021 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours in August.