Porsche LMP Team dominated Saturday’s Six Hours of COTA at the Circuit of the America’s to finish 1-2, with the No. 2 919 Hybrid of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, and Earl Bamber taking victory over the No. 1 of Neel Jani, André Lotterer, and Nick Tandy.
The result was not without its controversy, however, with Tandy twice being forced to slow down and give way to the No. 2 machine, which is currently leading the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The first order came in the second-to-last stint, when Nick Tandy slowed and moved aside in Turn 15 to allow Earl Bamber through. Yet, the move was negated after the final pit stop sequence, which saw Tandy cycle back into the lead.
However, in the final minutes, Tandy was again ordered to slow and allow Bamber through into the lead, with the move getting completed on the front straight away.
LMP1 leader position change, #2 @Porsche_Team in P1 and their sister car #1 @Porsche_Team now in P2. #6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/46MnaPgZJe
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
Though controversial, the move does see Bernhard, Hartley, and Bamber extend their championship lead. Behind the two Porsches, the No. 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid for Toyota Gazoo Racing finished third with drivers Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin, and Kaz Nakajima.
#6hCOTA Chequered Flag out. 🏁@Porsche_Team take 1-2 at @COTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/f67oWy149A
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
In LMP2, the No. 36 Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 Gibson rolled to victory with drivers Nico Lapierre, Andre Negrao, and Gustavo Menezes. However, the final minutes were somewhat stressful as the team needed to pit for a damaged rear light.
#36 @alpine_cars is now back in to the pit for having their car rear light fixed. #KeepPushing #spirit #6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/Q57Ya1p1hz
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
Still, the car, in the hands of Menezes at the end, had a large enough lead over second-place that it maintained the lead. The victory is also the second in a row for Signatech Alpine Matmut.
#36 @alpine_cars claims second consecutive victory as @NegraoAndre @Nico_Lapierre @followgustavo take maximum weekend score. #6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/RBCHfSkKqF
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
In second was the No. 13 Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 Gibson of Mathias Beche, David Heinemeier Hansson, and Nelson Piquet Jr. Their teammates Julien Canal, Bruno Senna, and Nico Prost finished third in the sister No. 31 entry.
In GTE-Pro, a thrilling battle saw the two AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE machines battle with the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR from Porsche GT Team and the No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage from Aston Martin Racing. In the end, it was the No. 51 of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi taking victory over the No. 92 machine of Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre.
However, like LMP1 and LMP2, GTE-Pro saw late drama as the No. 51, in the hands of Pier Guidi, suffered a left-front tire puncture in the dying minutes. In fact, as he limped back to the pits, Pier Guidi nearly collected the eventual LMP2 winner Menezes in the process.
Drama continues as puncture issue on #51 @FerrariRaces. #6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/jqHAilebsJ
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
Pier Guidi exited the pits directly in front of Christensen, but was able to build the gap back up as they worked through traffic to eventually win by 5.6 seconds. The victory is also the first of the year for the AF Corsa team.
Ferrari rule in GTE Pro after ultra-close race sees 2nd win of the season for #51 @FerrariRaces of @Ale_PierGuidi @CaladoJames.#6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/PFIODgZCdP
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
GTE-Am also saw its winner overcome drama, though this one occurred early on. The No. 98 Aston Martin Vantage, then in the hands of Paul Dalla Lana for Aston Martin Racing, suffered a spin after contact with the No. 54 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE of Francesco Castellacci in the early laps of the race. Though Dalla Lana quickly regrouped and continued on, the contact damaged the rear splitter of the Aston Martin, forcing it into the pits and briefly into the garage for repairs.
Contact between #61 @Clearwater_Race and #98 @AMR_Official, #98 span. #6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/0ijRJ3RWTx
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
However, the team and driver trio of Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, and Mathias Lauda used the rest of the race to make up for lost time, eventually regaining the lead and winning by just over 50 seconds, their second victory of the 2017 season.
GTE Am falls to #98 @AMR_Official trio of @PedroLamyRacing #MathiasLauda #PaulDallaLana as they take 2nd victory of the season#6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/jtNYr2qEe8
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
In second was the Clearwater Racing Ferrari of Weng Sun Mok, Keita Sawa, and Matt Griffin. Third place went to Spirit of Race, with drivers Castellacci, Thomas Flohr, and Miguel Molina.
A relatively clean racing was only slowed once by a safety car following a spin and wall contact from the No. 86 Gulf Racing Porsche of Mike Wainwright. Though he made it back to the pits, a safety car was needed to repair the barriers.
#86 @Gulf_Racing into the wall but made to continue again. #6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/irj8l1BoVY
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
Safety car out for a ride so that the damanged wallk could be fixed. #6hCOTA #WEC pic.twitter.com/UhORB4w9Q9
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 16, 2017
The next event for the FIA World Endurance Championship is the Six Hours of Fuji at Fuji Speedway in Japan in October 15.
RACE RESULTS: Overall, Class Results