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Autosport

WEC Sao Paolo: Cadillac claims 1-2 in first series victory

Cadillac Alex Lynn Norman Nato Porsche WEC Will Stevens Aston Martin BMW Ferrari Earl Bamber

Will Stevens, Alex Lynn and Norman Nato led home a Cadillac 1-2 at Interlagos as the US manufacturer notched up its maiden World Endurance Championship victory.

The two Jota-run factory Cadillac V-Series.R LMDhs dominated the Brazilian round of the series in which only Porsche offered a brief challenge in the initial stages of the six-hour race on Sunday.

Nato took the chequered 57s up on the sister car shared by Earl Bamber, Jenson Button and Sebastien Bourdais, which in turn was 1.8s ahead of the best of the Penske factory Porsche 963 LMDhs shared by Julien Andlauer and Michael Christensen.

The winning Cadillac came back from an early penalty for a tyre-pressure infringement to claim the breakthrough win for Cadillac, a marque that had finished no better than third since joining the WEC in 2023.

Lynn moved into the lead at the second round of pitstops a third of the way through the Sao Paulo 6 Hours.

He had taken over the car seven laps before Bamber handed over to Button, emerging with a 15s lead courtesy of the undercut. Button had four new Michelin tyres compared with Lynn’s two and was able to reduce the deficit to under 10s before the leader extended his advantage over the second half of their double stints.

A lead that stood at just over 20s before the final driver changes grew dramatically after Nato and Bourdais took over their respective Caddys.

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, Will Stevens (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

The third-placed Porsche led the early going in Andlauer’s hands. The Frenchman took the lead on the opening lap and was able to stretch his advantage to as much as 4.5s, but the Cadillac proved superior over a double stint, Bamber and Stevens closing him down as the second round of stops approached.

Bamber got ahead with an around-the-outside move into Turn 1 shortly after Stevens had pitted.

After the stops were complete, Christensen was over a second down on Button, the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry never looking like a contender for victory again. But Andlauer, on the fresher tyres at the end, was able to close down on Bourdais as the clock counted down.

Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre took a distant fourth, a lap down on the winner, in the second of the PPM entries. Estre had qualified down in seventh, and the two hours it took to clear the pair of Peugeot 9X8 2024 Le Mans Hypercars left it out of contention for a podium.

BMW took fifth after a late charge from Sheldon Van Der Linde in the M Hybrid V8 LMDh he shared with Marco Wittmann. The BMW came back from a penalty for speeding under a Full Course Yellow and made it past the best of the Peugeots driven by Loic Duval and Malthe Jakobsen in the closing stages.

The sixth-place Peugeot was followed home by the sister car of Paul di Resta and Mikkel Jensen.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

Ferrari salvaged eighth place for the Le Mans 24 Hours-winning entry shared by Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye. The 499P LMH proved uncompetitive around the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace after taking a double hit under the Balance of Performance ahead of the race.

Alpine and the Proton customer Porsche team filled out the remainder of the top 10, Mick Schumacher, Frederic Makowiecki and Jules Gounon heading home Nico Pino, Neel Jani and Nicolas Varrone.

They kept the two factory Ferrari 499Ps out of the points paying positions for manufacturers. The championship-leading entry of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi was running 10th in the final hour before Pier Guidi was penalised for a move on Varrone as they battled for position.

The Italian crossed the line in 11th place after taking a drive-through, one position ahead of the sister car driven by Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina, which lost time to a rear end change after a collision with an LMGT3 car.

Toyota failed to get a car home in the points for the first time in the Hypercar era that started in 2021. The GR010 HYBRID LMH, like the Ferrari, wasn’t in the game around a circuit at which it dominated 12 months previously.

The BoP — it was running heavier and with less power than in 2024 — combined with the resurfacing of the Interlagos circuit that took place ahead of last year’s Formula 1 race combined to remove the advantage it enjoyed in 2024. Mike Conway, Nyck de Vries and Kamui Kobayashi crossed the line in 14th, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa 15th.

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez (Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI)

Lexus celebrates maiden LMGT3 class win

In a day of firsts, Lexus took a maiden victory in the LMGT3 class.

Jose Maria Lopez, Clemens Schmid and Razvan Umbrarescu led for the majority of the duration on the way to a 37-second victory that came in spite of a penalty for pitlane speeding.

Charlie Eastwood moved the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R he shared with Rui Andrade and Tom van Rompuy up into second with 10 minutes of the race remaining. The Chevy factory driver overtook Michelle Gatting in the Manthey-run Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3-R to seal the runner-up spot.

Gatting, who was partnered with Rahel Frey and Celia Martin, then lost third with less than three minutes left to Eduardo Barrichello in the Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in which he was teamed with Valentin Hasse-Clot and WEC debutant Anthony McIntosh.

WEC Sao Paolo 6 Hours - results

1 - 2
Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Retirement	Points
1	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	12	A. Lynn N. Nato W. Stevens	Cadillac V-Series.R	242	6:00'19.732		6
2	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	38	E. Bamber S. Bourdais J. Button	Cadillac V-Series.R	242	+57.016 6:01'16.748	57.016	5
3	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	5	J. Andlauer M. Christensen	Porsche 963	242	+58.882 6:01'18.614	1.866	5
4	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	6	K. Estre L. Vanthoor	Porsche 963	241	+1 Lap 6:00'47.676	1 Lap	5
5	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	R. Rast M. Wittmann S. Van Der Linde	BMW M Hybrid V8	241	+1 Lap 6:01'42.059	54.383	6
6	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	94	L. Duval M. Jakobsen	Peugeot 9X8	240	+2 Laps 6:00'23.184	1 Lap	5
7	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	93	P. di Resta M. Jensen	Peugeot 9X8	240	+2 Laps 6:00'40.955	17.771	5
8	AF Corse HYPERCAR	83	R. Kubica Y. Yifei P. Hanson	Ferrari 499P	240	+2 Laps 6:00'56.572	15.617	5
9	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	J. Gounon F. Makowiecki M. Schumacher	Alpine A424	240	+2 Laps 6:00'57.326	0.754	5
10	Proton Competition HYPERCAR	99	N. Jani N. Pino N. Varrone	Porsche 963	240	+2 Laps 6:01'40.434	43.108	5
11	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	239	+3 Laps 6:00'26.730	1 Lap	6
12	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco M. Molina N. Nielsen	Ferrari 499P	239	+3 Laps 6:00'42.389	15.659	6
13	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	009	A. Riberas M. Sorensen	Aston Martin Valkyrie	239	+3 Laps 6:01'04.673	22.284	5
14	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	M. Conway K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	239	+3 Laps 6:01'20.329	15.656	5
15	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	239	+3 Laps 6:01'21.870	1.541	5
16	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	007	H. Tincknell T. Gamble	Aston Martin Valkyrie	238	+4 Laps 6:01'00.107	1 Lap	5
17	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	D. Vanthoor R. Marciello K. Magnussen	BMW M Hybrid V8	222	+20 Laps 6:01'23.383	16 Laps	5
18	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	R. Umbrarescu C. Schmid J. Lopez	Lexus RC F GT3	216	+26 Laps 6:00'54.573	6 Laps	7
19	TF Sport LMGT3	81	T. Rompuy R. Andrade C. Eastwood	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	216	+26 Laps 6:01'32.289	37.716	6
20	Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3	10	A. McIntosh D. Barrichello V. Hasse-Clot	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	216	+26 Laps 6:01'37.138	4.849	6
21	IRON DAMES LMGT3	85	C. Martin R. Frey M. Gatting	Porsche 911 GT3 R	216	+26 Laps 6:01'38.599	1.461	7
22	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	A. Robin F. Gehrsitz Y. Nakayama	Lexus RC F GT3	216	+26 Laps 6:01'42.288	3.689	6
23	Manthey 1st Phorm LMGT3	92	R. Hardwick R. Pera R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	215	+27 Laps 6:00'34.980	1 Lap	6
24	TF Sport LMGT3	33	B. Keating J. Edgar D. Juncadella	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	215	+27 Laps 6:00'41.425	6.445	7
25	United Autosports LMGT3	59	J. Cottingham S. Baud G. Saucy	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	215	+27 Laps 6:00'41.642	0.217	7
26	United Autosports LMGT3	95	D. Leung S. Gelael M. Sato	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	215	+27 Laps 6:00'55.775	14.133	8
27	TEAM WRT LMGT3	46	A. Al Harthy V. Rossi K. van der Linde	BMW M4 GT3	215	+27 Laps 6:00'57.512	1.737	6
28	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	215	+27 Laps 6:01'12.575	15.063	6
29	The Bend Team WRT LMGT3	31	Y. Shahin T. Boguslavskiy A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3	215	+27 Laps 6:01'29.019	16.444	6
30	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	21	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	215	+27 Laps 6:01'43.139	14.120	6
31	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James Z. Robichon M. Drudi	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	214	+28 Laps 6:00'50.966	1 Lap	7
32	IRON LYNX LMGT3	60	A. Gilbert L. Nicolas Hanafin F. Rueda	Mercedes AMG GT3	214	+28 Laps 6:02'29.910	1'38.944	7
33	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	P. Chatin F. Habsburg C. Milesi	Alpine A424	200	+42 Laps 6:00'50.068	14 Laps	6
dnf	IRON LYNX LMGT3	61	M. Berry L. Hodenius M. Martin	Mercedes AMG GT3	184	+58 Laps 5:11'21.327	16 Laps	8	Retirement
dnf	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	B. Sousa B. Tuck B. Barker	Ford Mustang GT3	169	+73 Laps 4:45'01.108	15 Laps	6	Retirement
dnf	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	S. Gattuso G. Levorato D. Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	86	+156 Laps 2:27'03.189	83 Laps	3	Retirement
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