Second and third-place finishes catapulted Penske Porche into the WEC manufacturer’s lead.
SAO PAULO, Brazil—Toyota Gazoo Racing took its second hypercar World Endurance Championship race of the season on Sunday at the famed Interlagos circuit. Sebastian Buemi, Brendon Harley, and Ryo Hirakawa took advantage of their sister’s car, which had an issue midway through the race. On the Manufacturer’s side, Penske Porsche regained the lead in the championship by taking second and third place on the podium.
Manthey Purerxing continued their success in the LMGT3 division, winning another event this season following a disappointing last round at Le Mans. Aliasandr Malykin and his teammates Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler went on to win the race ahead of the Heart of America squad, who nearly lost their place on the podium when they were issued a last-minute stop-and-go penalty. Third was the United Autosports McLaren, who stood on the podium for the first time this season.
Mike Conway started the race strong in the number seven Toyota. After Hartley overshot the opening turn, he could never catch Conway, as the Briton held the race’s lead over seven seconds. Midway through the race, a fuel system issue caused their mechanics to take about three minutes to fix, losing the team’s chances. But the group did recover enough to finish fourth overall, even overtaking the strong AF Corse Ferrari, who were first and third at the last race.
Manthey was not the strongest team in the LMGT3 class; the Iron Dames team held the lead early on. But like Conway and probably in worse conditions, a fuel system leak ruined the team’s chances of going any longer, and the car had to retire from the race. Manthey took over the lead and never gave up right to the finish.
Teams will take a summer break before returning to North America in the U.S. for the race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. That circuit will host this event for the first time in three years on the first weekend in September.
