Formula 1 2015 - In-season testing at Barcelona

Day one

Nico Rosberg kept up the momentum from his Spanish GP victory (Copyright: Mercedes AMG)

Momentum is important in any sport, and Nico Rosberg certainly kept his momentum up during the first of two in-season tests for Formula 1 this year, racking up 146 laps on the Tuesday of the test at the Circuit de Catalunya, setting a best time of 1m24.374s, 0.307 seconds quicker than his pole position time for the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.  The time though came from an unmakred tyre compound, as Mercedes, Ferrari Red Bull and Toro Rosso all tested new tyre compounds for Pirelli. 

Marcus Ericsson was in action for Sauber (Copyright: Sauber F1 Team)

Rosberg's best lap was over 2 seconds faster than of Sauber's Marcus Ericsson, with Ferrari Academy driver Raffaele Marciello next up, just 0.024s behind. The GP2 racer had tested at the end of last year in Abu Dhabi with the F14-T, and this was his first chance to drive the new SF-15T

Raffaele Marciello made his 2015 test debut for Ferrai. He last tested at Abu Dhabi last year in the F14-T

Behind Marciello were Red Bulls Daniil Kvyat and Lotus' Pastor Maldonado, with Kvyat 2.530s adrift of Rosberg, and Maldonao 0.434 adrift of the Russian. 

Daniil Kvyat hoped that Red Bull could make good use of the two day test (Copyright: Infiniti Red Bull Racing)

Maldonado had more luck during the test than he had during Sunday's Grand Prix, completing a smooth day for Lotus and managing a solid 60 laps for the team.

Sadly for Pastor Maldonado, the good luck came during testing and not the race (Copyright: Lotus F1 Team)

F1 debutante Nick Yelloly had a good day with Force India, completing 100 laps in the VJM08, and getting his run a day early due to Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein, who was supposed to be in the Force India that day, missing the session due to illness, although he was at the wheel of the Mercedes W06 the following day.

Nick Yelloly made his F1 debut with Force India

GP2 driver and Red Bull protege Pierre Gasly - another F1 debutante - wracked up 131 laps on his way to finishing seventh quickest for Toro Rosso, the 2nd highest lap total of the day, capping off a good day for the F1 newcomers. Gasly then jumped straight into the Red Bull RB11 the following day. 

Pierre Gasly was in action for both of Red Bulls teams over the two days

In contrast to Gasly, Williams's Felipe Massa only managed 54 laps and was just over 3.5s back on Rosberg's best time, with McLaren tester Oliver Turvey bringing up the rear, 4.1s down.

Felipe Massa guides his FW37 through the penultimate corners at the Circuit de Catalunya (Copyright:Williams Martini Racing)

McLaren had been testing a whole raft of new parts, as they continue to try and improve the pace of the MP4-30. Turvey had to take a two hour lunch break, such was the work required on the car from the way it ran in the morning compared to how it ran in the afternoon. 

Oliver Turvey got his hands on the MP4-30 for the first time this year (Copyright: McLaren-Honda)

That was day one. Times and lap totals are below;

Day two

Jolyon Palmer now has three days of running at the Circuit de Catalunya in 2015 (Copyright: Lotus F1 Team)

On the second day of the test, Britain's Jolyon Palmer had something to smile about, as he set the fastest lap time with a 1m26.080s for the Lotus team, although this lap time was still 1.7s slower than what Nico Rosberg had managed the previous day. Palmer has now had outings in pre-season testing, as well as in FP1 sessions in China, Bahrain and Spain, and can now add another test day that that list. No doubt he is enjoying every second he is in the Lotus E23 Hybrid. He completed a respectable 87 laps on the Wednesday.

Pascal Werhlein recovered from a fever to go second quickest on day two (Copyright: Mercedes AMG)

Illness probably wouldn't keep anyone down if you were about to drive a Formula 1 car, and that was the case of Pascal Wehrlein, who bounced back from his illness to complete a full day of testing for the Mercedes team, his best lap time of 1m26.497 was just 0.417s slower than Palmer had done, indeed Wehrlein was fastest right up until the last 18 minutes of the day, when Palmer posted his fastest lap time. Wehrlein completed 137 laps, not bad for a man that wasn't feeling very well!

Pierre Gasly was relishing driving both the Red Bull and Toro Rosso cars (Copyright: Infiniti Red Bull Racing)

Pierre Gasly was a busy boy over the two days, switching to the Red Bull on Wednesday after driving the Toro Rosso on Tuesday, and completing a further 72 laps, his best lap time six tenths of a second adrift of Jolyon Palmer. Its not every day you get to drive two different one cars over two days, it last happened of course in pre-season testing, when Wehrlein drove both the Force India VJM07 and the Mercedes W06 when Nico Rosberg had a trapped nerve in his neck and Lewis Hamilton had a fever.

Jenson Button was much happier with the MP4-30 than he had been during the race on Sunday (Copyright: McLaren-Honda)

Jenson Button was 0.847s down for McLaren and managed 100 laps to be fourth fastest, a good day for the Woking squad and there was no reappearance of the "scary" feelings Button had during the Grand Prix on Sunday. On Wednesday morning Button said the car felt a lot better, the upgrades clearly working and Jenson looking very happy in the garage. The Honda power unit also sounded much cleaner out on the track.

Alex Lynn got his F1 debut in the Williams FW37 (Copyright: Williams Martini Racing)

It was a big day for Alex Lynn, the Williams development driver and GP2 title-contender managed only 52 laps but was withing nine tenths of Palmers best time, and certainly enjoyed the chance to drive some front-running F1 machinery. 

Esteban Ocon had a good day in the Force India VJM08

With Wehrlien in the Mercedes, Force India called upon the services of Esteban Ocon, the European F3 Champion putting in a best lap of 1m27.520s, 1.440s off the pace of Palmer in 6th place.

Esteban Gutierrez made his testing debut for Ferrai

Esteban Gutierrez made his debut for Ferrari, his first run in an F1 car since last years Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after being axed by the Sauber team. The Mexican finished the day in 7th place, with a best time of 1m27.930, and chalking up 119 laps.

Carlos Sainz was in action for Toro Rosso on Wednesday

Toro Rosso's rising star Carlos Sainz finished the day almost two seconds down on Palmers best time, but finished the day with the second-highest number of laps on the board, chalking up 126 of them.

Raffaele Marciello drove both the Ferrai and the Sauber (Copyright: Sauber F1 Tean)

Raffaele Marciello, who drove for Ferrari on Tuesday, switched to Sauber on Wednesday and his day didn't have the best of starts. The Italian slid off at Turn 3 and into a tyre barrier early on in the day, damaging the front-left of the car. He did later return to the circuit but he ended up bottom of the times with a 1m28.829s. Manor Marussia did not take part in the test as they felt they would gain nothing running a car they have ran for nearly a season and a half. Times and lap totals from day two are below;

So there we are then, Formula 1's first in-season test is all done and dusted. Next stop, Monaco! Until next time folks, ciao.

Jolyon Palmer heads onto the start/finish straight at the Circuit de Catalunya to complete another lap in the Lotus E23 Hybrid (Copyright: Lotus F1 Team)

Formula 1 2015 - Rosberg Strikes Back

If you're going to silence your critics, make sure you do it in style. Nico Rosberg certainly did last Sunday, dominating the weekend, leading every session bar FP2 and Q1 in Barcelona, Spain and taking the ninth win of his career and stopping the Lewis Hamilton Juggernaut. He had been written off by many, but if you think its wise to write of the man who was the first to out qualify Hamilton over an entire season, and to take the title fight right up to the end last year, then think again... 

Nico Rosberg on his way to victory in Barcelona (Copyright: Mercedes AMG)

It is safe to say Rosberg was under pressure to perform. Hamilton had won all races bar Malaysia and had taken pole position in all of them, Nico not even able to finish ahead of Hamilton when Sebastian Vettel won in Malaysia. People began to question his motivation and skill, but after putting on a fine showing in Bahrain, he came to Barcelona and nailed it, beating Hamilton to pole and dominating the race. Rosberg's task was made easier at the start when Vettel's Ferrari got ahead of Hamilton into turn 1, with Hamilton lucky to fend off an aggressive Valtteri Bottas as well.

Rosberg leads the field into turn 1, Vettel getting into 2nd place and Bottas almost nabbing 3rd from Hamilton

Ferrari were expected to make a big leap forwards but it didn't happen. The team said the updates worked, evident throughout the weekend as Kimi Raikkonen ran the old spec car and Vettel the new one, the new spec easily better, but Mercedes had improved themselves and maintained their position at the top of the pecking order. 

Vettel was outdone by Hamilton's 3 stop strategy

All credit to Vettel, he held onto P2 for around 75% of the race, but was outdone by Hamilton's 3 stop strategy, as opposed to his 2 stop one. Vettel bagged his 4th podium out of 5 races, but the Scuderia will be keeping a close eye now on Williams.

Valtteri Bottas races through turns 2 and 3 on his way to a fine 4th place (Copyright: Williams Martini Racing)

That's because Williams have made a step forward with relatively few upgrades, and have closed the gap slightly to Ferrari. Felipe Massa drove a fine race to finish in 6th after a poor qualifying left him 9th and Valtteri Bottas again showed his class by qualifying and finishing 4th, beating Raikkonen and not getting flustered. The team are bringing in more upgrades over the next few races and if they can get on level terms with Ferrari, podiums will no doubt come there way. They are miles ahead of any of their competitors, and just need to keep on developing the FW37. I wouldn't rule out a first win for Bottas this year just yet...

Daniel Ricciardo battles with Pastor Maldonado (Copyright: Infiniti Red Bull Racing)

In stark contrast to Williams, Red Bull don't appear to be going anywhere right now. Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in 7th place but that was down to the Lotus cars of Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean having trouble. His team mate Daniil Kvyat only managed 10th place, after last lap wheel banging with Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso, capping off another disappointing weekend for the Milton Keynes squad. The Renault power unit is clearly the major issue but the team must take some of the blame for the RB11, the car clearly not as good as last years RB10 at hiding some of the Renault's issues. God knows when and if the team will make it to the podium this year...but don't expect them to give up without a fight.

Pastor Maldonao leads Jenson Button (Copyright: Lotus F1 Team)

Now Lotus should have had a very good race. They qualified 11th and 12th but both Maldonado and Grosjean were scything through the lower end of the top 10, the pair running 7th and 8th at one point. However, Maldonado was delayed in the pits when the team removed the right hand side of his rear wing which was damaged when he closed his DRS after passing Max Verstappens Toro Rosso. This dropped him way down the order and Grosjeans race was compromised with gearbox issues, although he still managed to finish in  8th place. The E23 is clearly a very good car and arguably better than the Red Bull, the team just isn't having all the luck it needs with Maldonado. When his luck does arrive, you would expect him to score well as he in general has driven very well this year. Either way, its good to see the Enstone boys having a good year again.

Max Verstappen had a tough race, qualifying a fine 6th but finishing only 11th (Copyright: Scuderia Toro Rosso)

After Toro Rosso qualified 5th and 6th, you can understand their disappointment at only finishing 10th and 11th on Sunday. Verstappen didn't have the pace of Sainz, and dropped out of the points just a few laps from home, his team mate managing to bang his way past Kvyat on the final lap. The car is very good (dare I say it, better than the Red Bull?) its just that lack of power from the Renault engine holding the team back. However, Verstappen and Sainz continue to impress, and they said the inexperience would hinder the team...

Jenson Button on his way to a "scary" 16th place (Copyright: McLaren-Honda)

McLaren arrived in Barcelona with a new livery, new parts and more power. However, none of that appeared to work as although both cars made it into Q2 for the first time this year, neither scored points. Fernando Alonso retired with brake issues (after nearly taking out the front jack man at his second pit stop) and Jenson Button had the "scariest 30 laps" of his life at the start of the race. He said "whenever I pressed the throttle, the rears just lit up". He even said he "didn't expect points all year after a race like that". That was probably an exaggeration on Buttons part, but there is clearly still a lot of work for McLaren to do. The team and drivers however remain upbeat, Honda's Yasuhusa Arai even saying they want "a podium by Silverstone and to challenge Mercedes by the end of the year". Lets wait and see what happens.

Sergio Perez fends off Jenson Button

Force India had another nightmare race, qualifying 17th and 18th and finishing the race 13th for Sergio Perez and 15th for Nico Hulkenburg. The B spec car won't make an appearance until at least Austria, and if it races there only one driver will get the chance to race it. The team will be hoping to get as many points as they can until then, when hopefully they will be back in the points consistently.

Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson didn't have the best of races for Sauber (Copyright: Sauber F1 Team)

Sauber's race wasn't much better than Force India's, with the cars qualifying 15th and 16th and finishing 12th for Felipe Nasr and 14th for Marcus Ericsson. No upgrades were bolted to the C34 over the weekend and Nasr said there would be "no upgrades for the next few races", so after a strong start to the year, things might get a little tougher now for the Swiss team. It would be a shame for that to happen, as they have done a sterling job so far this year and have well and truly but the memories of an awful 2014 season to rest. Ericsson and Nasr have impressed this year and hopefully the team will develop the C34 well enough to allow them to continue to shine.

Roberto Merhi leads his team mate Will Stevens...something that lasted only 12 laps (Copyright: Manor Marussia F1 Team)

Finally, Manor had another successful race, with Will Stevens again out-qualifying and outracing Roberto Merhi. This will be a bit of a worry for Merhi, as he does not have a full seat for 2015 and beating Stevens may have given him a permanent deal with the team for the remainder of the year. That didn't happen though, and Stevens did a great job again to beat his highly rated team mate, potentially sealing Merhi's fate, as another, better financed driver could get the nod for the rest of the season. Whatever happens with the drivers, the team are doing a great job, with the cars proving to be very reliable. No doubt Will and Roberto (if he is still in the car) can't wait to get their hands on the bespoke 2015 machine.

Nico Rosberg celebrates the ninth win of his Formula 1 career in Parc Ferme (Copyright: Mercedes AMG)

Whilst the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix may not have been full of wheel to wheel excitement (is it just me or is this not the most exciting start to an F1 season?) but it proved to be a vital race in the title fight. Nico Rosberg got his revenge in fine style, dominating the weekend to claim win number nine of his career, and where are we going next? Monaco. A race that for the past two years, Rosberg has taken pole at (controversially last year), won and lead every single lap of the race. Can he make history and take 3 wins on the trot at the principality? Not since Ayrton Senna did in 1991,'92 and '93 has a driver achieved that (Senna in fact took victory in 1990 and 1989 as well). Monaco could be a hell of a race. Until next time folks. Ciao.

Fernando Alonso didn't get to see the checkered flag, retiring at his second pitstop with brake issues (Copyright: McLaren-Honda)

DTM 2015 - Hectic Hockenheim

The start of race 1

The 2015 season started last Sunday at Hockenheim and didn't fail to disappoint, with two great races following the change to the DTM race format. It saw new drivers and even a new team, in the form of ART joining the Mercedes teams, and it saw drama aplenty, with a high speed duel in the dry on Saturday, followed by a rain affected thriller on Sunday.

Race 1

#53 Paul Di Resta (GB, HWA AG, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM)

On Saturday, Jamie Green took a brilliant pole position for race 1, and then he never looked back, taking his first win in two years and his first win for Audi. Green utterly dominated the event and was never challenged for the 40 minute race, despite there being two safety cars.  Despite his dominance though there was plenty of action behind, and a great duel for 2nd place.

#3 Paul Di Resta (GB, HWA AG, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM)

Paul Di Resta's return to DTM in 2014 had been largely disappointing, thanks to the awful car Mercedes had built but he did manage to put in a few great drives, and his 2015 season started out just how he would have wanted it with a strong qualifying and race, rewarded with a podium. He passed 2nd place man Pascal Wherlein early on but break issues near the end meant he lost the place but he still held on to third and the scrap between Di Resta and Wherlein was very entertaining.

#12 Daniel Juncadella (ESP, Muecke Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM)

Greens race was made a bit harder thanks to the two safety cars. The first one was for Daniel Juncadella crashing at the Sachs Kurve, the second safety car being for a collision between Gary Paffert, Martin Tomczyk and Lucas Auer. Tomcyzk spun at the hairpin and took both the ART Mercedes out, Paffet saying it was a "stupid" move. Green though was unfazed by all this, and cruised to victory at the front, followed by Wherlien and Di Resta. The full race results are below.

Race 2

The start of race 2

Race 2 was a slightly less straight forward affair, but it ultimately ended with Mattias Ekström taking what in the end was a dominant win, but he had to work hard for it, as he had to pass Marco Wittmann in the opening stages whilst the track was dry, and then Eduardo Mortara in the wet conditions. After that however he made it look relatively easy but once again the action was fast and furious behind, despite the slippery conditions!

#53 Jamie Green, Audi RS5 DTM, #2 Gary Paffett, Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

The most impressive performance of the day, maybe even the weekend, came from Gary Paffet. He started at the back of the grid after being excluded from qualifying, but drove a storming race to finish in 3rd place. He capitalized on an earlier switch to wet tyres and never looked back, showing just how good the Mercedes car was in the wet and also on how improved the manufacturers car is. He couldn't catch Mortara, who was in a race of his own for 2nd but it was a great drive.

Marco Wittmann leads Mike Rockenfeller

 Two drivers who didn't have the race they were hoping for were Mike Rockenfeller and the champion Marco Wittmann. Witmann initially lead but couldn't match the pace of the guys who at first were behind him, eventually finishing a solid but probably disappointing 5th. Rockenfeller had started from pole, after a great final lap in qualifying but by the end of the race he had dropped to 6th place, a disappointing result for the 2013 champion. The full race results are below.

Ekström had left them trailing in his wake, two wins for Audi at the start of the year, a much better start for them as they only managed to win in the last two races of 2014. It leaves the drivers championship looking like this.

A great opening weekend for DTM and its new format. Here's hoping the rest of the season is just as exciting. Until next time folks. Ciao.

All photo's copyright of DTM

#53 Jamie Green (GBR, Audi Sport Team Rosberg, Audi RS 5 DTM)

All images copyright of the DTM Championship

MotoGP 2015 - Lorenzo dominates in Jerez

After being largely oblivious and overshadowed by his Yamaha team mate, Jorge Lorenzo took his first win since Aragon 2014 with a dominant win in Jerez, beating Honda's Marc Marquez (who had an injured finger) and Valentino Rossi. Lorenzo had not had a great start to the 2015 season and was clearly not enjoying himself but at Jerez he dominated the practice and qualifying sessions and lead every lap of the race to claim a superb win. Sadly though, the race was not the thriller of Argentina or Qatar.

The only real bit of excitement came when Rossi started to close on Marquez for 2nd place, people sliding to the edge of their seats in the hope it would pave the way for a great battle between the two riders, however, Marquez then started to pull away again, having kept plenty of pace in reserve to keep the Yamaha behind him

It was a great ride from Marquez who had been suffering with his finger all weekend, having had to have a metal plate inserted into it. It is hard to tell though whether he would have had the pace to challenge Lorenzo had his finger been alright, but with the pain no doubt being better for Le Mans and Dani Pedrosa hopefully back on the other bike, things are looking better for the Repsol Honda team.

Ducati had said the Jerez race would not be a good one for them and they were right. Andrea Iannone qualified 3rd but selected a wet weather mapping setting by accident for the start, the subsequent bad start dropping him down the order and he finished the race in 6th place. Andrea Dovizioso didn't suffer much better, starting solidly but a mistake at the last corner dropped him right to the back of the pack. He had to settle for 9th place come the end of the race.

Cal Crutchlow put in a solid ride on his LCR Honda to claim fourth place, after a great dice with the Suzuki Aleix Espargaro and his brother Pol on the Tech3 Yamaha. LCR is Cal's third team in three years but he is looking more and more at ease with the Honda as the races go on, and no doubt is looking forward to Le Mans. Fellow Briton Bradley Smith finished in a solid 7th place, with Yonny Hernandez rounding off the top ten.

Sadly Jerez was not the best of races, but with Lorenzo seemingly finding his mojo again, and with Ducati's GP15 better suited to the upcoming tracks, the excitement will no doubt come back for the next round at Le Mans. A bit of me though feels that this year it will be a head to head between the old legend Valentino Rossi, and the new superstar Marc Marquez. Until next time folks. Ciao.

World Endurance Championship 2015 - Spectacular Spa

The start of the race

Sunday saw the second round of the FIA WEC, and once again the series served up another incredible race. Audi took the fight to Porsche who locked out the top 3 positions on the grid in qualifying and once again it was the #7 Audi that took the victory, again ahead of the #18 Porsche. 6 hours of racing, and the gap at the end between P1 and P2 was less than 15 seconds.

Car #7 / AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST (DEU) / Audi R18 e-tron quattro Hybrid / Marcel Fassler (CHE) / Andre Lotterer (DEU) / Benoit Treluyer

Porsche held the advantage at the start of the race, with a 1-2-3 but the #19 car, driven at the start by Nick Tandy, collided with the Porsche 911 GT car of Kevin Estre. This resulted in not only a drive through for the 911 but a 3 minute visit to the pits for the #19 919, putting it several laps down. This was bad news for WEC debutante and Force India F1 driver Nico Hulkenburg, who sadly would not be able to show what he could do in the car. Hopefully more luck will come the way of the Hulk and his team mates. Out in front though Brendon Hartley continued to lead in the #17 car, from the sister #18 car.

Car #17 / PORSCHE TEAM (DEU) / Porsche 919 Hybrid Hybrid / Timo Bernhard (DEU) / Mark Webber (AUS) / Brendon Hartley (NZL) - FIA WEC 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps at Stavelot - Route du Circuit - Belgium

Disaster then struck the #17 car. Hartley earned a 15 second stop go penalty for using a run off area near a group of marshals, after missing the last corner, dropping the car to 2nd. Then, as Mark Webber prepared to take over from Timo Bernhard, the car suffered a right rear suspension issued and went three laps down. This left an incredible battle between the #7 Audi and #18 Porsche, the two cars going wheel to wheel and making contact at the unnamed right hander, with Andre Lotterer in the #7 then going round the outside of Neal Jani in the #18 at Fagnes. The #7 and #8 Audis were running the lower downforce bodywork, with the #9 Audi running the higher downforce package and that car could not keep up with the other two, the #7 and #8 still having great grip and downforce to pull of those kind of moves on the Porsche.

Car #7 / AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST (DEU) / Audi R18 e-tron quattro Hybrid / Marcel Fassler (CHE) / Andre Lotterer (DEU) / Benoit Treluyer

A late pit stop for the #7 with Benoit Treluyer at the wheel provided a bit of tension, but Treluyer brought car home to secure the win for Audi after another incredible race. the #18 Porsche was 2nd and the #17 car was 3rd after a great comeback drive from its issues. The #8 Audi of Oliver Jarvis, Loic Duval and Lucas Di Grassi, delayed earlier on by ECU problems, crashed into the barriers at Stavelot on the final lap of the race. The #9 high downforce Audi of Filipe Albuquerque, Rene Rast and Marco Bonanomi finished in a fine fourth place, after battling with the Toyota's.

The #2 Toyota leading the #9 Audi

Speaking of Toyota, they had an awful race. The TS040's were woefully of the pace and finished in 5th and 6th places, the #1 car of Anthony Davidson and Sebastian Buemi leading home the #2 car of Mike Conway, Alex Wurz and Stephan Sarazin. Kazuki Nakajima couldn't race after being injured in an accident during Friday practice involving the #8 Audi. That really was the start of Toyota's issues and from then on they couldn't recover.

Car #38 / JOTA SPORT (GBR) / Gibson 015S - Nissan / Simon Dolan (GBR) / Mitch Evans (NZL) / Harry Tincknell (GBR)

In LMP2, the Jota Sport Gibson #38 car, driven by Mitch Evans, Harry Ticknell and Simon Dolan put in a stonking drive to win in the category.  Evans, racing normally in GP2 with the Russian Time squad, was very impressive, putting in a great move for the lead on the #26 G-Drive car at the final chicane. The team took the win after a great comeback from a jump start by Harry Ticknell. It was the teams 4th podium at Spa and their 2nd win for the reigning LMP2 Le Mans 24 hour champions.

Car #99 / ASTON MARTIN RACING V8 (GBR) / Aston Martin Vantage V8 / Alex MacDowall (GBR) / Fernando Rees (BRA) / Richie Stanaway (NZL)

In GTE Pro, the #99 Aston Martin of Richie Stanaway, Fernando Rees and Alex MacDowall took the win, after a great battle with the AF Corse Ferrai of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander throughout the race. Bruni was just over a second behind the Aston Martin as the race reached its closing stages when he was forced to take a stop-go penalty of one-minute for a pitstop infringement that dropped the car to fourth. A tyre during the cars last pit stop ran out into the path of an incoming 911, the mechanic grabbing it but it wasn't the safest thing to have happened.

Car #98 / ASTON MARTIN RACING (GBR) / Aston Martin Vantage V8 / Paul Dalla Lana (CAN) / Pedro Lamy (PRT) / Mathias Lauda (AUT)

Aston Martin also took victory in GTE AM, the #98 car of Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda and Paul Dalla Lana rounding off a perfect day for the Aston Martin Racing squad, and the #98 car taking its second consecutive win.

The #7 Audi takes the win as the fireworks go off

The WEC again served up another 6hour thriller, with record times being smashed in the race and qualifying and the winning #7 Audi completed 1,232.704 km, an all time record for a 6 hour race! The next race of course is the big one...Le Mans. With Nissan joining the battle in LMP1, expect yet another thriller from the FIA WEC. Until next time folks. Ciao.

The podium for LMP1

Photo's copyright fiawec.com and Toyota Racing