The first round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 6 Hours of Silverstone, UK, has favoured Toyota, as the Japanese firm scored the top two positions. Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Nicolas Lapierre from the No.8 car, took top honours for the TS040 HYBRID in changeable conditions, thanks to their brilliant tyre strategy during the dramatic opening hour. The race was cut short by 30 minutes due to deteriorating weather.
Newcomers Porsche, had a mixed race in its maiden appearance at Silverstone as the car driven by Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, took the final podium position while the other Porsche failed to finish the race. But it was Audi who had a race to forget following double retirements at its first WEC race of the year. Less than an hour into the race, Lucas DI Grassi lost control of his R18, sending the car into the barriers. While trailing behind the Toyotas, Audi’s Benoit Treluyer made an error when his R18 caught the white line at the entrance to Copse corner, hitting the inside barrier hard before spinning out into retirement.
Former Formula One driver, Mark Webber, enjoyed his maiden race in sportscar endurance racing. “The level of commitment is high for both (F1 and Sportscars). F1 is very fast and quick, so I had to get used to that and I am quite low on experience in this type of car compared to Timo, Romain [Dumas] and Neel [Jani], but we are working exceptionally well as a team.” said Webber.
“Pushing for two or three laps was a unique experience for me, it has just been one for me for the last 13 years, so I enjoyed it.” adds Webber.
Meanwhile, the LMP2 honours went to the OAK-run G-Drive Racing Morgan-Nissan. On the GT categories, Porsche dominated the GTE Pro class, while Aston Martin won the GTE Am class.
The WEC moves to the legendary Spa in Belgium next, and we will see if Audi plots its comeback against Toyota and Porsche.
[Source: Crash, Image Source: Toyota Motorsport GmbH]
