São Paulo: BMW secures victory at 6 Hours of São Paulo
BMW Triumphs in Hypercar Class
The BMW M Team WRT entry, driven by Kevin Magnussen, secured a victory at the 6 Hours of São Paulo. The race began with a damp track, which led to an early incident for Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid Hypercar, requiring a front bodywork change. Will Stevens initially led the race, establishing an early five-second lead over Magnussen’s BMW after Magnussen overtook the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R of Earl Bamber.
Magnussen reported a lack of power early on but later regained pace, running second behind the #35 Alpine A424 piloted by Ferdinand Habsburg. The Alpine team opted for short-stinting to gain track position, taking the lead in the second hour before dropping back after Habsburg handed over to António Félix da Costa. Stevens encountered issues during his first pit-stop, losing approximately 15 seconds due to a stuck front-right wheel nut, which cost the American Hypercar eight places. Despite this setback, Stevens mounted a recovery drive, overtaking rivals including the #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley and the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi.
At the two-hour mark, the #12 car was running second behind the leading BMW. The highest-placed Ferrari was the #83 entry, with Yifei Ye battling back from a five-second stop-and-go penalty for a starting infringement to run third, ahead of the #94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 driven by Loïc Duval. Giovinazzi’s #51 Ferrari was in fifth position after an eventful first two hours, enduring multiple contacts and facing an investigation for a clash with the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 entry.
The #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R recovered to the top six after losing time during its first pit stop. The #17 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 was in seventh place, having survived a significant collision with the #8 Toyota. The #8 Toyota later had to pit for repairs following contact with the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Marco Sørensen and the #19 Genesis of Daniel Juncadella, rejoining the race 13 laps behind the leader. A brief Full Course Yellow occurred after 70 minutes for debris on the track, but the race otherwise ran under green flag conditions.
LMGT3 Class Highlights
In the LMGT3 category, the Proton Competition pair of Ford Mustangs initially dominated the opening hours, running in the top two positions. Stefano Gattuso in the #88 car overtook Petru Umbrărescu in the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus for the lead. Eric Powell in the sister #77 Mustang followed, placing both Fords at the front for the first 80 minutes of the race.
Following the initial scheduled pit stops, the Akkodis ASP Team Lexus regained the lead through short-fuelling, with Umbrărescu heading the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette at the two-hour mark. Pole-sitter Gray Newell had a difficult start, being swamped by the pack, which allowed Johannes Zelger of Iron Lynx and then Umbrărescu to take the lead before the Fords moved to the front. Intra-team contact between the Mustangs occurred after 90 minutes when Gattuso and Powell made contact at the exit of the Senna S corner, forcing Powell wide and costing him momentum.
However, the Proton pair recovered to run one-two again after two hours, though the net lead was held by the Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette. This car took the lead between pit stops due to a strong double stint by Salih Yoluç, who then handed over to Peter Dempsey. Ian James in the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage completed solid stints before preparing to hand over to Zacharie Robichon. Alexander West spun the #58 Garage 59 McLaren after his first pit stop but rejoined the race.
Local Drivers Compete at Home Event
Local driver Pipo Derani, from São Paulo, expressed his delight at competing in his home round of the FIA World Endurance Championship after an 11-year wait. Derani, driving the #17 Genesis GMR-001 alongside Andre Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert, attended the 2014 event with aspirations of joining sports car racing in the championship. Despite Interlagos not being a consistent fixture on the WEC calendar, Derani was happy to race on home soil. The Genesis team also achieved a milestone by topping a practice session for the first time, with Mathieu Jaminet setting the pace in the sister #19 car during FP2.
Qualifying proved challenging for Derani, as two of his flying laps were deleted due to the car’s powertrain exceeding the prescribed limit, leaving him with one attempt to reach Hyperpole, where he secured 12th place. Jaminet, however, qualified for the final shoot-out, placing sixth quickest before receiving a one-place grid penalty for impeding. Derani noted that despite the qualifying difficulties, the car appeared to have good race pace. He aimed for both Genesis cars to finish in the points to give the Brazilian fans something to celebrate. Another Brazilian driver, Augusto Farfus, lined up ninth in the LMGT3 division in the #32 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO, which featured a special livery of the Brazilian flag. Farfus sought a strong result at home after previous finishes of tenth and 12th places.
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Source: fiawec.com
Nathan Crowley is the Sports News Writer at NewsUK, covering rugby union, golf and boxing with six years of reporting experience. He moved from regional newspapers into digital sport. He holds a degree in Journalism from Cardiff University and completed an NCTJ diploma. Based in Cardiff, he plays amateur rugby and follows the Six Nations closely. “Speed and accuracy are not a trade-off in sport news.”
