It was a battle of strategy and a bit of luck that saved the day. This is the best way to describe how Porsche came out on top during the 2016 6 Hours Circuit of the Americas race of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) held recently.
Despite air and track temperatures standing at a warn 35 and 45 degrees, respectively, the teams managed to give the crowd one exciting race. This was due to the intense battle between Porsche, Audi Sport, and Toyota Gazoo Racing.
The day began with Audi and its #8 R18 driven by Di Grassi,/Duval/Jarvis dominating the first hour. The car, which ran on Michelin Soft Hot Weather Plus tires, showed a strong performance up the bested the Porsche #1 919 Hybrid of Bernhard/Hartley/Weber and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s #6 TS050 Hybrid (Sarrazin/Conway/Kobayashi) that, unlike its German rivals, was fitted with Michelin Soft Hot Weather rubber.
It looked like the R18 was going to take the top step on the podium until it had to take an unexpected stop. This was when the #7 919 Hybrid of sister company Porsche took advantage and went ahead. Fellow teammate car #1 was the last to pit—right before a Full Course Yellow was called to clean up debris on the track. This allowed the car to race to the lead and come home victorious.
The 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship races continues this October 16 at Japan’s Fuji Speedway.
