Sunday’s WEC race at Interlagos will likely be remembered for a lot of causes. It was the FIA WEC’s first race on South American soil in a decade, attracted an enormous crowd of greater than 70,000 followers and produced a historic end result, with Toyota’s Sebastien Buemi turning into the primary driver to achieve the 25 general win mark.
The Swiss nonetheless stands alone as the driving force with probably the most wins within the championship’s historical past after a dominant efficiency from the Japanese model, which seemed again to its previous self for the primary time in 2023.
It’s a really exceptional achievement for Buemi, who has carved out a prolonged and profitable profession in sportscar racing since his departure from System 1 on the finish of the 2011 season and can certainly go down as one of many endurance racing’s greats when he hangs up his helmet.
It was additionally the primary race of the season wherein a workforce has run away and brought a snug victory. Toyota was a gasoline concern for the No.7 GR010 away from a dominant formation end. It can have felt virtually ominous for the remainder of the groups within the paddock. Had you squinted your eyes through the race, you’ll have been transported again to the 2023 season, the place nearly all of races have been managed and received by Toyota.
However this can be a season which has been something however a procession. No pole-sitting automobile, in both class, has received a race but, and 5 completely different Hypercars have received the primary 5 races of the season. We’re within the midst of a chapter within the championship’s historical past that appears destined to go away us all wanting extra when the checkered flag falls in Bahrain in November.
And when that day comes on the finish of the season, we could look again on the 2024 6 Hours of Sao Paulo very in a different way. We could consider it because the turning level within the season, wherein the No. 6 Penske and No. 92 Pure Rxcing crews seized the second and solidified their world championship title hopes.
In Hypercar, the efficiency from Laurens Vanthoor and later Andre Lotterer and Kevin Estre in response to the puncture brought on by the conflict with the No. 12 Jota Porsche on the run all the way down to Flip 4 early within the race was merely excellent.
When the primary hour got here to a detailed the No. 6 Porsche was nineteenth general and a lap down. 5 hours later, it had risen to second and completed on the identical lap because the No. 8.
In dialog with RACER after the rostrum celebrations, Lotterer was visibly shocked by the end result.
“We impressed ourselves as a result of when you might have an incident like that in a aggressive subject you assume it’s going to be a tricky day and exhausting to recuperate,” he stated.
“We didn’t surrender, Laurens fought again instantly, then I received in and took us to P4, a full course yellow helped us after which Kevin received in and all of it went clean. It’s actually good to attain factors like this as a result of we aimed to carry the lead within the standings.”
By ending second, the No. 6 trio now maintain a 19-point lead on the prime of the desk over the No. 50 Ferrari trio of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen who struggled to supply a worthy encore after their well-known Le Mans win only one month in the past.
Pure Rxcing’s efficiency in LMGT3 deserves simply as a lot reward and recognition, however for a really completely different cause. This was not a fightback by the sphere to salvage a robust end result from a dire place, as an alternative, it was an all-conquering Tour De Drive from a workforce which all through its debut season has stood out from the group in an especially deep class.
Leaving apart the truth that Pure Rxcing’s Porsche discovered a method to win so comfortably whereas carrying success ballast, the victory may have felt candy for Alex Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler as a result of it got here on a day wherein its closest title rivals faltered.
It was a catastrophic day for the EMA crew, which was dealt a penalty early after which ended up within the storage after an incident with the No. 54 Vista Ferrari at Flip 1. Having been joint prime within the standings going into the assembly, they’re now 25 factors again.
The No. 31 WRT BMW’s day wasn’t significantly better. A penalty, adopted by a scarcity of tempo was a mix that produced a Tenth-place end. Solely a single level was scored and its drivers at the moment are 26 factors adrift.
Each automobiles will want a rip-roaring run by COTA and Fuji and Bahrain to make sure the race for the championship goes all the way down to the wire.
And that’s the principle focus now. Gone are the times when groups have been continuously targeted on the Le Mans 24 Hours and designing a automobile extra suited to the distinctive traits of the Circuit de La Sarthe. Simply have a look at Ferrari and its new 499P “Joker” bundle. It’s received Le Mans twice in two years, but it’s pushing for extra, not simply extra success at Le Mans, however extra success on the shorter WEC races.
If the 2024 season has taught us something thus far, it’s that the world championship lastly feels prefer it issues. With so many manufacturing facility groups and star drivers now concerned, every occasion has felt like an enormous deal and since Qatar every race has been held in entrance of a bumper crowd.
With three races to go it’s benefit Porsche, in each lessons. Can anybody topple the German big? It’s going to be a number of enjoyable discovering out…
