WEC: only four points separate Porsche and Toyota

WECHyperCar

Aug 27

With two race wins each, Porsche and Toyota are dominating the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturer’s Championship. Porsche is 4 points ahead of Toyota after the five first rounds of the Championship. With the 24 Hours of Le Mans win, which count for the same number of points as two six hours race wins, Ferrari is 17 points behind Porsche ahead of Lone Star Le Mans (COTA).

Factory and Customer team wins for Porsche

Porsche count two wins ahead of the Austin round. Drivers Championship leaders Kevin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor won Qatar 1812, the first round, and #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with Callum Illott and Will Stevens on board.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Left: winning Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 #6 at Lusail. Right: winning HERTZ Team JOTA Porsche 963 at Spa-Francorchamps.

André Lotterer (Qatar 1812 winner with Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 #6): “I’ve waited a long time for this. Finally my first victory for Porsche! Today we had three No. 6 drivers on top of the podium. This triumph is thanks to every single person in the team. Everyone worked incredibly hard and improved so many things for the new season. It works perfectly. We also experienced some nail-biting moments in the race but we kept out cool and brought home the win. We’d be happy to continue like this.” Source: Porsche

Callum Ilott (6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps winner with Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 #12): “Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable! I knew that we’d be strong this weekend. Our pace was good and we were able to use the red flag perfectly. At the end of the day, we benefited from that. Sometimes things just pay out the way they should!” Source: Porsche

Also two wins for Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Each of the two Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid won a race this season: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries won the 6 Hours of Imola with #7 Toyota GR0101 Hybrid and Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Hirakawa clinched their first victory this season with sister car #8 at Interlagos.

📷 Left: © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Winning Toyota GR0101 Hybrid #7. Right: Courtesy of Toyota Gazoo Racing: winning Toyota GR0101 Hybrid #8 at Interlagos.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver of winning Toyota GR0101 Hybrid #7 at Imola): “It was a very tough race and to win here is absolutely phenomenal. Our car was not the fastest this week but the team performed so well. Mike and Nyck both did a fantastic job to bring the car into contention before I took over. There was big pressure from the start of my stint; I was in the lead on slick tyres in the rain. We made the right call to switch tyres and build a gap, then we kept good pace on the wet tyres. We were not sure about fuel so we started to save energy and I gave everything, it was very tough. The team did a great effort in terms of strategy and that gave us the chance to fight for the win. Thanks to the everyone for their fantastic work here.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Sébastien Buemi (driver of winning Toyota GR0101 Hybrid #8 at Interlagos): “It is an amazing day for us on car #8, winning a race for the first time this year. We had a great car. Tyre management was one of our strengths, particularly the fact we could use the medium compound throughout the race which really helped us have good pace. I’m so happy to finally have a weekend without any issues after a tricky start to the season. We had a strong qualifying with the one-two but car #7 was unlucky with their issue. They were very fast and deserved a much better result than that. We scored good points in the manufacturers’ World Championship, and we will go to the next race aiming to keep that going.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Ferrari Le Mans winner

Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ferrari clinched 50 points, the equivalent of two six hours race wins. The Italian manufacturer is now 17 points behind Porsche.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans 2024. The #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P driven by Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina.

Antonio Fuoco: « We were perfect all weekend, so I think we deserve this victory. It’s been a long wait since last year, so we can enjoy it thoroughly. The result is even better because we finished on the podium with the #51. The atmosphere here is always incredible, starting on the test day when you meet the fans with Ferrari flags. These aspects also provide extra motivation to give your best. Even during the race, at night, with the rain, it was lovely to see a big turnout from the public along the track, in the stands. It’s incredible how much passion you can experience. No words can capture this moment. The second factory Ferrari 499Ps #51 of Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado are third making it a double podium for the Prancing Horse. » Source: Ferrari