Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman in the #83 AF Corse-run Ferrari 499P claimed their first victory of the season after a dramatic final hour at Lone Star Le Mans, the sixth round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship. The race took place at the Circuit of the Americas and saw a thrilling close race.
Victory seemed destined for Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries in the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010, who were poised to take their second win of the season after taking the lead after five hours. However, their hopes were dashed when Kobayashi was given a drive-through penalty for failing to slow down long enough to wave a yellow flag to recover the stranded #94 Peugeot 9X8.
Completing the podium and placing two Ferraris in the top three was the #50 499P driven by Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Niklas Nilsson.
The top six is filled by the Cadillac Racing V-Series.R in fourth, the No. 35 Alpine of Charles Millesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul Roux Chatin and the No. 6 Porsche Penske of André Lotterer, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor. The trio still leads the championship, but their lead over their nearest rivals has been reduced from 19 to 12 points.
The #8 Toyota was penalised for avoidable contact after a controversial incident between Sebastian Buemi and Estre in the #6 Porsche in the penultimate hour.
The #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 driven by Oliver Rasmussen, Jenson Button and Phil Hansson has won the FIA Hypercars World Cup for the second time in a row.
Heart of Racing Dominates GT Rankings
The #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage claimed its first ever WEC win thanks to a dominant performance from Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas. The team took pole position and led most of the race, finishing ahead of the #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 RSR LMGT3 driven by Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler.
The #92 crew extended their title points lead over sister car #91 Manthey EMA, which finished third.
