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Motorsport

Kevin Estre wins a wild WEC Lone Star Le Mans at COTA for Porsche Penske

Kevin Estre Porsche Ferrari Penske Porsche Penske WEC Aston Martin BMW Miguel Molina Cadillac

Porsche claimed its first World Endurance Championship Hypercar victory of the season in Austin as Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell and Kevin Estre triumphed in a chaotic wet-weather race.

Estre took the lead in the #6 Penske-run Porsche 963 LMDh with one hour and 45 minutes to go immediately after the sixth safety car of the race when he was able to put the Porsche’s nose alongside Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 factory Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar at Turn 1.

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campell (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

The lightest of contacts was made as the Frenchman completed the move and resulted in a front left puncture for the AF Corse-run Ferrari Pier Guidi shared with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.

It was unclear if the incident was investigated by the stewards, though another touch at the final corner as the safety car peeled off was, though Estre only received a warning for the contact.

Estre had the pace on Ferrari in this portion of the race, driving away from the #50 factory 499P with Miguel Molina at the wheel.

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi (Photo by: James Moy Photography via Getty Images)

He moved into a 10s lead before another safety car, but was immediately able to eke out some breathing space and re-establish a clear advantage on the way to an 8.6s victory after the frontrunners all made late stops for fuel.

The Ferrari Molina shared with Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco claimed the runner-up spot, but Molina had to work hard for the position.

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

He dropped behind Stoffel Vandoorne in the #94 Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMH at the final splash-and-dash stops for fuel, but was able to take back second with just six laps remaining.

That meant Peugeot narrowly missed out on scoring its best ever result since joining the WEC in 2022, but it was still a good day for the French manufacturer.

Behind the #93 car Vandoorne shared with Loic Duval and Malthe Jakobsen, the sister #94 entry driven by Jean-Eric Vergne, Paul di Resta and Mikkel Jensen claimed fourth position.

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

The #51 Ferrari recovered to fifth in Pier Guidi’s hands, which meant he and his teammates extended their lead at the head of the championship.

Cadillac bounced back from a disappointing qualifying when it ended up at the back after its gamble to qualify on wet tyres backfired.

Earl Bamber, who flew up the order in the early running in a Cadillac shared with Sébastien Bourdais and Jenson Button ended up sixth despite a monster spin for Bourdais when the conditions were at their worst and then an extra stop to replace the windscreen wiper.

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button (Photo by: James Moy Photography via Getty Images)

The sister car shared by Will Stevens, Alex Lynn and Norman Nato looked like a victory contender in the penultimate hour after Lynn propelled the car up to third, but Nato could only take the chequered flag in eighth.

Lynn battled with Molina for second, but the car dropped down the order after an early final stop to hand over to Nato and was jumped by the two Peugeots, the #51 Ferrari and its sister car.

Incidents and notable retirements

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson (Photo by: James Moy Photography via Getty Images)

The bright yellow, pole-winning Hypercar entry from the AF Corse Ferrari squad ended up seventh between the Cadillac teams.

It led the early going in Philip Hanson’s hands, but lost the lead to #51 shortly before the first round of pitstops in hour three. Hanson was then unable to pull up correctly at his pitstall when he stopped to hand over to Yifei Ye, the delay dropping the Ferrari to fifth at that stage.

Robert Kubica then struggled after taking over and lost time with a spin.

He drove into the pits believing he had a puncture, only to be waved through by the team.

#007 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble (Photo by: Andreas Beil)

Toyota again endured a difficult weekend, with both of its GR010 HYBRID LMHs spinning multiple times.

Sébastien Buemi brought the #8 car shared with Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa up to ninth at the finish, but the sister #7 entry ended up four laps down in 14th position after Jose Maria Lopez, standing in for the injured Mike Conway, beached the car after a spin.

Both Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH cars ran a strong pace in the top six over the course of the race, though neither saw the finish.

The two cars run by The Heart of Racing team stopped in the final hour when track debris clogged the radiators, leading to engine issues.

Wet weather (Photo by: James Moy Photography via Getty Images)

The race was red flagged after an hour — before the race had turned a single green flag lap — after an organizational miscue when a second safety car was deployed after the first needed to refuel.

Some cars ended up following the second course vehicle into the pits when it was recalled, race control opting to halt the race so it could re-establish the correct order.

New winners in LMGT3

#95 United Autosports Mclaren 720S LMGT3 Evo: Darren Leung, Sean Gelael, Marino Sato (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

LMGT3 honours went to McLaren and United Autosports for the first time, with Marino Sato, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung taking the victory in a super-exiting climax.

In the end, Sato crossed the line in the #95 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO in second position behind the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr.

#77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Bernardo Sousa, Ben Tuck, Benjamin Barker (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

The Ferrari, however, had five extra seconds on its elapsed race time — added after the chequered flag — for contact in the closing stages as Rigon passed Ben Barker in the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 for the lead.

The penalty dropped the Ferrari to third behind the #46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo shared by Valentino Rossi, Kelvin van der Linde and Ahmad Al Harthy, which came back from two penalties.

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Kelvin Van Der Linde (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

Rigon had moved into the lead in the final hour, only to drop back to fifth when AF opted to send him out after his final stop on slicks.

The Ferrari driver made the most of a drying track, able to fight back in the dying minutes of the race as he lapped up 5s quicker than the cars ahead of him that had opted to stay on wets.

The McLaren and the BMW were also on the Goodyear slick at the finish, the top finisher on wets being the Ford Mustang that Barker shared with Ben Tuck and Bernardo Sousa.

Photos from Austin - Race

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campell

1 - 2
Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Retirement	Points
1	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	6	K. Estre L. Vanthoor M. Campbell	Porsche 963	120	-		4
2	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco M. Molina N. Nielsen	Ferrari 499P	120	+8.625 8.625	8.625	4
3	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	94	L. Duval M. Jakobsen S. Vandoorne	Peugeot 9X8	120	+9.541 9.541	0.916	4
4	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	93	P. di Resta M. Jensen J. Vergne	Peugeot 9X8	120	+15.149 15.149	5.608	6
5	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	120	+22.619 22.619	7.470	5
6	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	38	E. Bamber S. Bourdais J. Button	Cadillac V-Series.R	120	+42.517 42.517	19.898	5
7	AF Corse HYPERCAR	83	R. Kubica Y. Yifei P. Hanson	Ferrari 499P	120	+56.955 56.955	14.438	5
8	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	12	A. Lynn N. Nato W. Stevens	Cadillac V-Series.R	120	+1'10.896 1'10.896	13.941	5
9	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	120	+1'14.615 1'14.615	3.719	4
10	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	5	J. Andlauer M. Christensen M. Jaminet	Porsche 963	120	+1'16.117 1'16.117	1.502	3
11	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	P. Chatin F. Habsburg C. Milesi	Alpine A424	120	+1'40.766 1'40.766	24.649	6
12	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	D. Vanthoor R. Marciello K. Magnussen	BMW M Hybrid V8	119	1 lap		6
13	Proton Competition HYPERCAR	99	N. Jani N. Pino N. Varrone	Porsche 963	118	2 laps		4
14	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	J. Lopez K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	116	4 laps		4
15	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	J. Gounon F. Makowiecki M. Schumacher	Alpine A424	116	+4 Laps 1'15.622	1'15.622	5
16	United Autosports LMGT3	95	D. Leung S. Gelael M. Sato	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	115	5 laps		4
17	TEAM WRT LMGT3	46	A. Al Harthy V. Rossi K. van der Linde	BMW M4 GT3	115	+5 Laps 0.256	0.256	6
18	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	115	+5 Laps 2.705	2.449	6
19	The Bend Team WRT LMGT3	31	Y. Shahin T. Boguslavskiy A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3	115	+5 Laps 3.848	1.143	5
20	United Autosports LMGT3	59	J. Cottingham S. Baud G. Saucy	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	115	+5 Laps 6.457	2.609	5
21	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James Z. Robichon M. Drudi	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	115	+5 Laps 14.831	8.374	4
22	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	B. Sousa B. Tuck B. Barker	Ford Mustang GT3	115	+5 Laps 21.293	6.462	4
23	Manthey 1st Phorm LMGT3	92	R. Hardwick R. Pera R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	115	+5 Laps 21.758	0.465	5
24	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	S. Gattuso G. Levorato D. Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	115	+5 Laps 39.882	18.124	6
25	IRON LYNX LMGT3	60	A. Gilbert L. Nicolas Hanafin F. Rueda	Mercedes AMG GT3	115	+5 Laps 55.567	15.685	5
26	Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3	10	D. DeBoer D. Barrichello V. Hasse-Clot	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	115	+5 Laps 1'10.741	15.174	7
27	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	21	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	115	+5 Laps 1'15.031	4.290	8
28	TF Sport LMGT3	81	T. Rompuy R. Andrade C. Eastwood	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	114	6 laps		5
29	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	A. Robin F. Gehrsitz B. Barnicoat	Lexus RC F GT3	114	+6 Laps 7.812	7.812	9
30	IRON LYNX LMGT3	61	M. Berry L. Hodenius M. Martin	Mercedes AMG GT3	85	34 laps		6
31	TF Sport LMGT3	33	B. Keating J. Edgar D. Juncadella	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	76	43 laps		6
32	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	R. Umbrarescu C. Schmid J. Hawksworth	Lexus RC F GT3	72	47 laps		5
33	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	R. Rast R. Frijns S. Van Der Linde	BMW M Hybrid V8	13	106 laps
34	IRON DAMES LMGT3	85	C. Martin R. Frey M. Gatting	Porsche 911 GT3 R	113			7
35	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	009	A. Riberas M. Sorensen	Aston Martin Valkyrie	106	13 laps		5
36	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	007	H. Tincknell T. Gamble	Aston Martin Valkyrie	102	17 laps		4
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