WEC 2016: Ferrari repeat Silverstone victory at Spa
📷 © Luc Warnotte: The usual ultimate rehearsal (6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps) before the 24 Hours of Le Mans saw the same entries as the previous race at Silverstone for the LM GTE PRO class with 2 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE, 2 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT, 2 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 and the Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK was allowed to increase their refueling restrictor by 4.5 millimeters enabling faster refueling pit stops. Aston Martin was allowed to decrease the minimum weight of their cars by 20 kg making it the lightest vehicle in LMGTE Pro.
Free Practices
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Bruni - Calado at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
LMGTE Pro free practices were led by James Calado in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE even though the Aston and Ford cars were 8-10 kph average faster on the straights. Both Ferrari were gaining back in the tighter sections. Ferrari’s drivers and engineers concluded that tire management would be very crucial in the race.
Qualifying
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Sam Bird and Davide Rigon, with #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE were the fastest LMGTE Pro qualifiers ahead of teammates Calado and Bruni, in the second AF Corse Ferrari.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #97 Aston Martin Vantage V8 ended third, and the two Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK entries rounded out the top five class qualifiers.
The LMGTE PRO race
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Bruni passed teammate Bird to claim the lead, with Ferrari #51, on the first lap as Sam Bird got boxed in by some LMP2 car.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Both Ferrari were evenly matched with only five seconds separating both cars.
Calado was lucky to hand over to Bruni under the yellow flag while Rigon swapped with Bird under the green flag. As a result, #71 Ferrari found itself almost 30 seconds behind #51.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: AF Corse Ferrari’s were the only LMGTE PRO leading the class during the 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
#71 would eventually take the lead for 1, maximum 2 laps because of staggered refueling between the two Ferrari. Bottom line, #51 led 133 laps of the first 139, both cars covered.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage abandoned at lap 60 after an accident for Nicki Thiim.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: The race started well for the #66 Ford GT as Olivier Pla had a strong opening stint, fighting his way through to third place by passing the two Aston Martin.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: # 66 Ford GT of Stefan Mücke, Billy Johnson and Olivier Pla at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2016.
Stefan Mücke, who took over from Billy Johnson, lost control of the # 66 Ford GT after his left-rear tire burst, made heavy contact with the left-hand side barriers at Raidillon, heavily damaging the front-end, and littering debris on the circuit. Mücke stopped in the center of the track, causing the safety car deployment. Mücke was transported to the medical center and was later taken to the local hospital for a precautionary check-up. He would later thank his team for building such a solid car!
📷 © Luc Warnotte: The Bruni - Calado Ferrari #51 duo led the race for 133 laps of the 145 covered by the winning sister car.
Bruni's #51 Ferrari 488 GTE engine failed nine minutes before the race's end, forcing him to enter the pit lane.
The LMGT PRO race epilogue
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #51 Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Sam Bird and Davide Rigon at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2016.
Sam Bird and Davide Rigon in the #71 AF Corse Ferrari took their second consecutive victory in the LMGTE Pro class with a one-lap advantage over second-placed thereby going to Le Mans with a 100% record in the points standings (winning both qualifying and races at Silverstone and Spa).
📷 © Luc Warnotte: # 66 Ford GT of Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2016.
The #67 Ford GT also had a strong start in the hands of Marino Franchitti but 40 minutes into the opening stint Franchitti received a tap from behind that sent him into a spin and to the back of the GTE Pro field. Andy Priaulx took fourth before Harry Tincknell handed the car back to Franchitti in third place (after Mücke retired with #66) for the last stint.
Despite mounting pressure from a charging Aston Martin, Franchitti held on to third and then took second place when the #51 Ferrari abandoned.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team drivers Andy Priaulx, Marino Franchitti and Harry Tincknell clinched their first podium finish in the World Endurance Championship, a good sign for the next race: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #97 Aston Martin with Fernando Rees, Richie Stanaway and Jonathan Adam ended third 1.833” behind the Ford.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen with #77 Depmsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR ended last of class 3 laps behind the winners.
Related articles:
📷 © Luc Warnotte: The 6 Hours of Silverstone 2016 was special as It was the first WEC race for both Chip Ganassi Racing Team UK Ford GT. Read here.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Harry Tincknell, Johnathan Bomarito and Andy Priaulx ended third GTE Pro with their #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT at 1.000 Miles of Sebring 2019. Read here.
