Porsche/Michelin victory in rainy Texas
The #6 Porsche 963 of Estre/Vanthoor/Campbell claimed Sunday's FIA World Endurance Championship win at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, USA. It was joined on the podium of the WEC's 99th fixture by the #50 Ferrari 499P and #94 Peugeot 9X8 as the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Wet reveled in the day's appalling conditions.
The first two free practice sessions for the 2025 Lone Star Le Mans took place in extreme heat and track temperatures in excess of 50°C. In contrast, the American round turned out to be one of the wettest in FIA WEC history, with an hour and 40 minutes run behind the Safety Car, plus a further 40-minutes-long red flag interruption!
Heavy rain persisted right up until the last hour, but the Hypercars were able to benefit from the performance of the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Wet which not only delivered outstanding grip in the poor weather but also proved exceptionally long-lasting. The #007 Aston Martin even completed 102 laps (562km) on a single set in the course of the race!
The #6 car shared by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell earned Porsche's first win of the season after taking the lead on Wets as the line started to dry in the closing stages.
“Our partners ran the medium MICHELIN Pilot Sport slick in damp conditions during qualifying and today stayed out on Wets as the track was drying,” reported Pierre Alves, manager of Michelin Motorsport's endurance-racing programs. “That's a clear sign that our bespoke tires for today's Hypercars form a coherent range, in addition to their versatility.”
The #50 Ferrari (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) and #94 Peugeot (Duval/Jakobsen/Vandoorne) were second and third over the line in Austin, chased by the latter's #93 sister prototype which gave the French make its best collective result since its return to endurance racing. The #51 Ferrari rounded out the top five, but the similar #83 car dropped time during a pit-stop.
Unsurprisingly, the dreadful weather led to a number of spins and crashes, including that of the #36 Alpine not long after the start.
After Ferrari's domination of the early part of the season, followed by Cadillac's triumph in São Paulo, it was Porsche's turn to enjoy success before the championship travels to Fuji, Japan, for the FIA WEC's 100th race in three weeks' time.