The BMW M Hybrid V8 of Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen won the 6 Hours of São Paulo this Sunday, giving the German manufacturer a perfectly controlled victory.
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Starting from fourth position on the grid in the hands of the former Danish Formula 1 driver, the BMW No. 15 of Team WRT gradually took control of a relatively calm race, despite some incidents and offbeat strategies that animated the six-hour event.
Magnussen laid the foundations of this victory from his initial stint. Tasked with starting the race, the ex-Haas driver quickly gained ground on a circuit he particularly enjoys, having secured the only pole position of his F1 career there in 2022.
Cadillac then Alpine in the mix
At the end of the first hour, the Dane was already in second place behind the Cadillac No. 12 of Norman Nato and Will Stevens, who started from pole position. But the American prototype’s race became complicated during its first pit stop. A problem with the front right wheel cost precious time to the Cadillac, which dropped down the order. The other car from the American manufacturer, No. 38, also lost ground after a poor positioning in front of its garage.
The BMW No. 15 then had to deal with the Alpines, which tried offbeat strategies with their two cars. A gamble that ultimately did not pay off. Long in the lead thanks to this strategy, the Alpine No. 35 of António Félix da Costa, Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg was notably delayed by a slow puncture in the last third of the race.
The No. 36 of Jules Gounon, Frédéric Makowiecki and Victor Martins, meanwhile, encountered difficulties in warming up its tires, especially during the restart following the first Full Course Yellow.
Ferrari for the ultimate challenge
On a circuit historically unfavorable to the 499P, Ferrari nevertheless managed to place one of its cars on the podium. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado finished in second place with No. 51 right on the heels of the winning BMW.
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The race could however have had a very different outcome when James Calado lost control of the Ferrari exiting the pits on cold tires, as the track temperature was dropping. Fortunately, the British driver was able to continue with only part of an advertising board attached to the front left of his car.
After locking out the front row at the start, the Cadillac No. 12 of Norman Nato and Will Stevens and No. 38 of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Sébastien Bourdais ultimately had to settle for third and fourth places.
Toyota and Peugeot outside the top 10
In the world championship, BMW also made an excellent move. Robin Frijns and René Rast take the lead in the drivers’ standings after their sixth place in São Paulo, achieved alongside Sheldon van der Linde.
They notably benefited from a difficult weekend for Toyota. Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the No. 7 of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries could do no better than 12th. The Brazilian round was also much more challenging for Peugeot, whose two 9X8s finished 14th and 16th.
The World Endurance Championship will continue on September 6 in Austin (Texas) for the Lone Star Le Mans at COTA, the fifth round of the competition.
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