Porsche returns to victory lane
Porsche returns to victory lane
After returning to LM P1 competition in 2014, Porsche has finished off the year in the best possible way by taking victory in the Six Hours of Sao Paulo in Brazil.
Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Leib took the No.14 Porsche 919 Hybrid to victory in what was a a bittersweet day for the German manufacturer. Pole sitter Mark Webber crashed the No.20 Porsche with 26 minutes remaining, bringing out the safety car and and early end to the race.
The Australian ex-Formula 1 racer is being held in hospital overnight in Brazil after crash which also involved the GTE Ferrari of Matteo Cressoni.
Newly crowned World Champions Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi took second while Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen stepped away from sportscar competition into retirement with a podium in his final race for Audi alongside Lucas di Grassi and Loic Duval.
“It is great we have won that race for Porsche, but, of course, it was a lot more important to know that Mark was okay,” Dumas said.
“My first stint today ended early due to a right rear puncture. I don’t know what caused it, but maybe some debris. When I was back in the car later in the race I had a much better time. The grip level of the track had improved and we had changed the tyre pressure in the rear. The car was really good.”
Porsche had scored four pole positions in 2014 but hadn’t tasted victory until today’s final round in Brazil.
“This was a tough race – every lap in qualifying mode and good battles with the number 8 Toyota,” Jani said.
“That it worked out in the end is almost unbelievable. Together with Romain and Marc we achieved the first pole position for the 919 Hybrid and now the first win. To me this was a dream season.
“The next dream would be to win the World Championship and to take Le Mans. We hope this is what the future brings. We are now even third in the drivers’ championship – who would have believed that?”
In LM P2 the Nissan-powered Ligier of G Drive Racing suffered heartbreak with Olivier Pla crashed after suffering a mechanical issue on the run into the first corner. This opened the door for Russian Sergey Zlobin to claim the championship after finishing second today behind the KCMG squad which claimed its third LMP2 victory of the season with its ORECA-Nissan 03R shared by Alex Imperatori, Matt Howson and Richard Bradley
In the GTE PRO and AM ranks Aston Martin reigned supreme with Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke taking the Pro victory and Pedro Lamy, Christoffer Nygaard and Paul Dalla Lana winning the AM class.
//www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bfsjz_fiawec-6-hours-of-sao-paulo-race-highlight_auto
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