Lone Star World Endurance This Weekend
It’s Porsche vs Ferrari vs Toyota in Texas on Sunday
It’s all eyes on Austin this weekend of the first of September, as the World Endurance Championship descends on the United States of America for the Texas Lone Star Six Hour.
The championship arrives in the ‘States poised on a knife’s edge with Porsche leading Toyota and double Le Mans winners Ferrari a short head adrift. So it’s all to play for, for the WEC big three.
Of them. Porsche has not been headed in this year’s chase. But its rivals are now closer than they have ever been in 2024. And while Ferrari has won twice at Le Mans, it has still not yet won another WEC race.
Ferrari Will Want a Better Balance in Texas
The Italian team will be hoping for a better Balance of Performance break in the US, following a somewhat mute performance last time out, in what proved something of a 6 hour sprint race at Interlagos. Toyota and Porsche will however be praying for more of the same.
Porsche Penske Motorsport leads the 2024 World Endurance Manufacturer’s Championship on 126 points, just four clear from Gazoo Toyota Racing on 122 and Ferrari, still close enough behind on 109 points.
Newcomers for ‘24, Alpine and BMW are tied in fourth on 25 points apiece, from troubled Peugeot, single car Cadillac, and Lamborghini. Pointless Isotta Fraschini has cried enough and fled the 2024 WEC.
Is Porsche in Complete Control of the WEC?
Hertz Team JOTA’s Porsche meanwhile leads the separate privateer’s 2024 World Endurance Team’s Championship from Proton Competition Porsche and the yellow privateer AF Corse Ferrari team.
In the Hypercar Driver’s Championship, Porsche number 6 crew André Lotterer, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor lead the way to Texas, but with Le Mans winning 50 Ferrari trio, Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in second, with 7 Gazoo crew, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck De Vries a short head adrift.
Number 5 Porsche Frédéric Makowiecki, Matt Campbell and Michael Christensen sit fourth from the 8 Toyota crew, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi. JOTA Porsche pilots Callum Ilott, Will Stevens and Mike Conway are next, from 51 Ferrari trio Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio and James Calado. Jose Maria Lopez and Norman Nato Follow from Ferrari 83 three Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye.
Porsches Also lead in GT3 LM to texas
It’s a Porsche benefit in GT3 LM, where the Manthey team’s Aliaksandr Malykhin, Klaus Bachler and Morris Schuring’s 911 leads Richard Lietz and Yasser Shahin in the sister EMA car. Augusto Farfus, Darren Leung and Sean Gelael sit third in the best of the WRT BMW M4s .
Alex Riberas, Daniel Mancinelli and Ian James, Heart of Racing Aston Martin and AF Corse Ferrari trio Alessio Rovera François Heriau and Simon Mann are next up from Valentino Rossi, Ahmad Al Harthy and Maxime Martin and in the second WRT BMW M4.
All of which makes for a most intriguing weekend of World Endurance Racing in Texas this weekend. The race will be streamed live via wec.tv, and also on various leading local networks around the world. The weekend starts with practice Friday, more on Saturday before qualifying, and the race starting 1 pm Texas time. Or 20h00 European time.
Images: WEC