Toyota stolen victory for dominant Ferrari

WECHyperCar

Sep 2

The AF Corse Ferrari 499P #83, driven by Robert Shwartzman, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye won Lone Star Le Mans (COTA), sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship after the leading Toyota GR010 Hybrid was handed a late penalty for a yellow flag incident – which the Toyota Gazoo Racing team’s data indicates was repeated by the winning Ferrari who went unpunished!

#83 Ferrari 499P with Robert Shwartzman, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #83 Ferrari 499P with **Robert Shwartzman, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye**.

Customer Ferrari dominates the race

Robert Shwartzman, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye lead the Lone Star Le Mans race during 62,8% to the total laps covered (115 out of 183) to win the six hours race by a 1.780 seconds margin.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P last pit stop with driver change with Robert Shwartzman, taking over from Yifei Ye.

At the start, Giovinazzi, driving the #51 499P, maintained first position ahead of Kubica in the #83, but a collision with a Lexus during lapping caused damage to a rim and subsequently to the driveline. The damage then led to the car’s withdrawal. Kubica took over the lead before handing over to Yeffe Ye and Robert Schwartzman who lead 90% of the next 105 laps until they were challenged by Toyota #7, which had to serve a drive-through penalty 45 minutes before the end.

At the chequered flag, Shwartzman crossed the finish line first in the Giallo Modena-liveried Ferrari, capping off a perfect day for the AF Corse team. Source Ferrari

Yifei Ye, 499P #83: : I can’t describe what I am feeling. We began the weekend in the best possible way with a strong qualifying performance, and the race itself was flawless, with no mistakes from the team or us drivers. They are proud to be part of this extraordinary day for Ferrari, which has won in the FIA WEC and Formula 1 here in America and Italy. We have finally gained payback after the unfortunate race at Le Mans. This win repays us for so much effort and gives us confidence heading into the season’s final two races.”

Robert Shwartzman, 499P #83: “I am delighted; today, we have written a page of history for Ferrari and our team. It was a very difficult race. Toyota was a tough opponent and put us under a lot of pressure. However, in the end, we maintained our lead and achieved an outstanding result. I want to thank the entire team for their outstanding work and my teammates, who were really strong. After our retirement at Le Mans, where we were big contenders for so long, I’ve been waiting for a moment like this. Stepping onto the podium filled me with a unique emotion.” Source Ferrari

Terrific fight back from TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries fought through the field with a perfect performance and looked set to win. However, a late penalty for a yellow flag incident – which the team’s data indicates was repeated by its direct competitors who went unpunished – changed race result and left the #7 GR010 HYBRID crew second.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries with the #7 GR010 HYBRID.

Mike Conway started ninth in the #7 GR010 Hybrid and moved into the podium fight as he was sixth, just a few seconds away from third, heading into the first pit stops at the one-hour mark. When Mike Conway returned to the wheel early in the third hour, the #7 was in second thanks to a storming stint from Nyck de Vries. As half distance approached, Mike Conway increased the pace, setting a new fastest lap as he closed on the leading #83 Ferrari.

At half distance, further driver changes saw Nyck de Vries closing to the rear of the leader midway through the fourth hour.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. Even Kobayashi's return on the left rear rim with damaged bodywork did not disrupt the #7 Toyota's march to victory. It took a penalty from the stewards to jeopardise a perfectly run strategy.

An aggressive strategy call brought the #7 into the pits slightly early at the end of the fourth hour, giving Kamui Kobayashi clear air and a chance to take the lead. That paid off when the #83 emerged from its own pit stop a lap later, two seconds behind Kobayashi.
After a final pit stop, Kobayashi was comfortably clear at the front until, with 40 minutes remaining, a race-deciding drive-through penalty – when stewards judged he did not respond appropriately to a yellow flag –dropped him to second, nine seconds behind the #83 Ferrari.
Kamui Kobayashi pushed hard to recover the time lost, not helped by a full course yellow, but fell just short and he crossed the line in second, just 1.780secs behind the winning #83 Ferrari.

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “Coming into the race we didn’t feel like we had a chance of winning but as the race evolved we had strong pace; every stint we seemed to be gaining with good tyre wear and consistency. We ended up in a fight and we thought we were going to win, but unfortunately the penalty killed our chance, although Kamui fought all the way to the end. It was a great job by everyone, from the engineers, the pit crew and my team-mates. The result is better than expected and we scored good points for the championship so we will keep pushing and go to Fuji hoping for a positive result.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Le Mans winning Ferrari third.

Miguel Molina started fifth in the #50 Ferrari 499P moved quickly to third. Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen secured third place, completing a triumphant day for Ferrari.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari 499P.

Nicklas Nielsen, 499P #50: “We secured third place, which, while leaving us with some regret as we were aiming for the top spot, still allowed us to gain valuable points for the standings. Now, we turn our focus to the next race at Fuji in a fortnight. Although the Japanese track may not be the one that best suits our 499P, we'll give it our all to keep our championship challenge alive.” Source Ferrari.

Cadillac records best result of WEC season

Fourth place in the 18-car Hypercar field for the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Lynn and Earl Bamber in the steamy six-hour encounter was reward for the entire team’s efforts in the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season.

The result is the best in a challenging and often frustrating second year of Hypercar competition. Fourth place in the opener in Qatar was vacated after FIA stewards ruled on a post-race technical infraction and other promising starts fizzled.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber in #2 Cadillac V-Series.R.

Earl Bamber in the #2 Cadillac started the race from P3 but a contact with the #35 Alpine in Turn 12 of Lap 1 dropped the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R to seventh in the 18-car running order, and Race Control handed the Alpine Hypercar a drive-thru penalty for causing the incident.

The team quickly implemented an alternate pit stop strategy designed to return the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R to contention. Bamber and Lynn – the lone tandem among Hypercar competitors – traded driving duties on each pit stop, navigated traffic and were unscathed from further contact while the Chip Ganassi Racing-led crew performed flawlessly on each service stop.

Following the final round of stops with under 54 minutes left, Lynn drew tantalizingly close to the third place-running #50 Ferrari AF Corse. But the restart after the third full-course caution of the race with 33 minutes left blunted his progress.

Alex Lynn: “Our goal was a podium at home. That would have been our A-plus result. I think we came home with a solid A result. We finished only behind Ferrari and Toyota and we know they are very strong. To be P4 is a rally good day and we should be proud. It’s something to build upon 100 percent. We learn a lot and it was our first race where we could really work on the detail and dig into when we’re fighting for one-tenth every single lap what do I need in the car, etcetera. Just a solid day.” Source: Cadillac Racing