The recent FIA World Endurance Championship race at Autódromo de Interlagos marked a significant return to Brazil after a decade-long hiatus, drawing an impressive crowd of 73,205 passionate fans, with local hero, and LMGT3 championship contender, Augusto Farfus at the wheel of Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 #31. Kicking off the second half of the season, it was the first time the Belgian squad competed at this iconic track.
On the BMW M Team WRT side, car #15, driven by Raffaele Marciello, Dries Vanthoor, and Marco Wittmann, scored its first points of the season with a nice recovery after being hit by a competitor at the start of the race and losing track position. Meanwhile, the BMW M Hybrid V8 sister car, driven by Robin Frijns, René Rast, and Sheldon van der Linde, finished in P14.
In the LMGT3 garages, both cars earned points but fell short of expectations. Car #31, previously second in the championship standings, showed strong form by qualifying sixth in the Hyperpole session, thanks to bronze driver Darren Leung. Unfortunately, their efforts did not deliver the expected results with a final 10th position. Meanwhile, car #46 of Augusto Farfus, Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi, who starting from 12th, secured a fifth position in class.
Up next, the FIA WEC heads to the United States for an exciting race at the Circuit of the Americas on September 1st.
FIGURES
Number of cars on the grid: 36 (19 Hypercars, 17 LMGT3s)
Manufacturers: 14
Number of WRT cars: 4 (2 Hypercars, 2 LMGT3’s)
236 laps in total for Hypercar winner, 214 laps for LMGT3 winner
FACTS
Qualifying HYPERCAR:
Car #15: P14
Car #20: P8
Hyperpole HYPERCAR:
Car #20: P10
Qualifying LMGT3:
Car #31: P10
Car #46: P12
Hyperpole LMGT3:
Car #31: P6
Starting drivers:
#15: Marco Wittmann
#20: René Rast
#31: Darren Leung
#46: Ahmad Al Harthy
Race – 1st hour:
Clean start for #20
#15 hit by a competitor at T1, lost positions
Good start from LMGT3 cars: #31 from P6 to P5, #46 from P12 to P9
FCY – debris on track
#31 Driver change to Augusto Farfus
#46 Driver change to Maxime Martin
End of 1st hour: #20 in P11, #15 in P14, #46 in P6 (class), #31 in P9 (class)
Race – 2nd hour:
#31 Drive-through: FCY infringement
#46 Driver change to Ahmad Al Harthy
#31 Driver change to Darren Leung
#20 Driver change to Robin Frijns
End of 2nd hour: #15 in P11, #20 in P18, #46 in P7 (class), #31 in P11 (class)
Race – 3rd hour:
#20 hit by a competitor
#15 Driver change to Raffaele Marciello
#31 Driver change to Augusto Farfus
#46 Driver change to Maxime Martin
End of 3rd hour: #15 in P9, #20 in P18, #46 in P6 (class), #31 in P11 (class)
Race – 4th hour:
#31 Driver change to Sean Gelael
#46 Driver change to Valentino Rossi
FCY – LMGT3 stopped on track
End of 4th hour: #15 in P9, #20 in P13, #46 in P5 (class), #31 in P10 (class)
Race – 5th hour:
#20 Driver change to Sheldon van der Linde
#15 Driver change to Dries Vanthoor
End of 5th hour: #15 in P10, #20 in P12, #46 in P6 (class), #31 in P9 (class)
Race – 6th hour:
#31 Driver change to Augusto Farfus
#46 Driver change to Maxime Martin
FCY – debris on track
End of 6th hour: #15 in P9, #20 in P14, #46 in P5 (class), #31 in P10 (class)
RACE RESULTS
Hypercar
1. Buemi – Hartley – Hirakawa (Toyota GR010 – Hybrid), 236 laps
2. Estre – Lotterer – Vanthoor (Porsche 963), +1.08.811s
3. Campbell – Christensen – Makowiecki (Porche 963), +1.15.993s
4. Conway – de Vries – Kobayashi (Toyota GR010 – Hybrid), +1.23.571s
5. Calado – Giovinazzi – Pier Guidi (Ferrari 499P), +1.27.395s…
9. Marciello – Vanthoor – Wittmann (BMW M Hybrid V8), +1 lap…
14. Frijns – Rast – van der Linde (BMW M Hybrid V8), +2 laps…
LMGT3
1. Bachler – Malykhin – Sturm (Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3), 214 laps
2. James – Mancinelli – Riberas (Aston Martin Vantage AMR), + 1 lap
3. Caygill – Pino – Sato (McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo), + 1 lap
4. Cottingham – Costa – Saucy (McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo), + 2 laps
5. Al Harthy – Martin – Rossi (BMW M4 LMGT3), + 2 laps…
10. Farfus – Gelael – Leung (BMW M4 LMGT3), + 3 laps…
QUOTES
Vincent VOSSE, Team Principal BMW M Team WRT: « Our drivers and teams did a flawless job during this tough weekend. With the Hypercars, we see that we still have much work ahead of us, which we continue to approach with high motivation. I am very dissatisfied with the race in the LMGT3 class. If we only finish fifth with #46 despite an error-free performance, then something is not right with the speed compared to our competitors. But we fought and collected points. That was all that was possible under the circumstances. »
Raffaele MARCIELLO, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8: « We did an error-free job today and were rewarded with points for it. So we can be very satisfied with ourselves. As for the car’s pace, we need to continue working hard to improve and catch up to the top. »
Robin FRIJNS, #20 BMW M Hybrid V8: « It was a difficult race. We just didn’t have the pace to attack at the front. We did our job without errors, but unfortunately, we weren’t rewarded with points. I was turned around by a Ferrari once, which cost us about 15 seconds. That obviously set us back. It is what it is. Now we look forward and try to do better in Austin. »
Valentino ROSSI, #46 BMW M4 GT3: « After the past races where we had a lot of bad luck, fifth place is an important and good result for us. We realised early in the weekend that we were not fully competitive here, but we fought and improved the car with the race in mind. Ahmad and Maxime did a very good job, and I also managed well in my stints. All in all, we can be satisfied. »
Augusto FARFUS, #31 BMW M4 GT3: « I have mixed feelings. Unfortunately, the drive-through penalty halfway through the race put us back to where we finished. We couldn’t do more. The balance of power between the different vehicles doesn’t seem right to me. That’s especially a shame for the fans. From a personal perspective, it was of course fantastic for me to race in front of my home crowd. From a sporting point of view, we are now focusing on COTA. »