Henri Dubois · Endurance Correspondent
The No. 8 wins the first 6 Hours of Barcelona ahead of its sister car, clinching the manufacturers' world title for Toyota with a round to spare. In LMGT3, the No. 92 Manthey Porsche takes Porsche's first class win of the season.
Six hours, wet and dry phases, two safety car periods in the first hour alone: the WEC's debut at the 6 Hours of Barcelona had plenty of what makes an endurance race unpredictable. In the end, the two Toyota Racing cars still crossed the line in formation, the No. 8 of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa 0.583 seconds ahead of the No. 7 of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. With this one-two, Toyota is manufacturers' world champion with one race left in the season, for the eighth time in 14 seasons.
Genesis leads only as far as Turn 5
The starting grid had promised something different. Genesis Magma Racing had André Lotterer on pole in the No. 17, the No. 19 started third, with Toyota's No. 8 between them. On a wet track, Daniel Juncadella in the No. 19 passed both of them into Turn 1. Still on the opening lap, however, he slid into the gravel at Turn 5 and dropped to the back of the Hypercar field. Buemi took the lead.
For Genesis, a strong Saturday turned into a difficult Sunday. Several off-track excursions and penalties set both cars back, with the No. 19 finishing 11th and the No. 17 16th.
Slicks, penalties and a brief change at the front
The weather dictated the first two hours. Two safety car periods in the first hour were followed in the second hour by pit stops for almost the entire field. As the track dried, it became clear what set Toyota apart this weekend: the cars were quick on both wet and dry tires and kept their tires in good shape over the stints.
The win was not entirely spotless. The No. 8 had to serve a five-second penalty for an infringement of the start procedure, which it did during the second round of stops. Once, the lead briefly passed to the sister car: after a stop by the No. 8, the No. 7 was in front until Hartley, on slicks, got past Conway a few laps later. After the final safety car in the fourth hour, triggered when Zacharie Robichon spun the Heart of Racing Aston Martin into the gravel at Turn 7, the No. 8 stayed in control all the way to the checkered flag.
It was the trio's third win of the season and their second in a row, and for Buemi it came in his 100th start. De Vries had brought the No. 7 forward from ninth on the grid.
Ferrari on the podium, BMW without points
Third place went to the No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, who started eighth and finished around 39 seconds behind the winners. Fourth went to the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota. The team delayed its final stop until the last 20 minutes, and Jack Aitken then kept Robert Kubica in the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari behind him. The second Jota Cadillac, the No. 12, finished sixth, and the No. 15 BMW seventh.
It was a bitter day for the No. 20 BMW M Team WRT. The car stayed out during the first neutralization, René Rast was later called in with the black-and-orange flag for low tire pressure, and he also received a 20-second penalty. Two laps down in 14th, the title hopes of Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde are over. Ferrari can no longer win the title either.
The factory Ferrari No. 51 finished 15th, three laps down, after problems with its pit limiter and a trip through the gravel. The No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie was not classified after 115 laps.
LMGT3: The Manthey Porsche leads almost from the start
In LMGT3, a clear order at the front emerged early. The No. 92 The Bend Manthey of Yasser Shahin, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz took the lead within the first hour and barely gave it up. At the finish, 4.750 seconds separated the Porsche from the runner-up. It is Porsche's first LMGT3 win of the season and also the seventh different class winner in the seventh race.
The fight for second stayed open into the final minutes. Garage 59 had started from pole with the No. 10 but lost ground in the wet and also had to deal with a puncture. Marvin Kirchhöfer worked his way back and, in the final minutes, got past Daniel Harper in the Team WRT BMW M4 at Turn 1. Harper, Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson finished third in the No. 69. Behind them came the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette, the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari and the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG.
Championship leader Jonny Edgar finished only seventh in the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette after a late switch to dry tires and a penalty. His lead over the winning No. 92 trio has shrunk to 18 points.
Two titles still open for Monza
The WEC therefore heads to the Monza finale with two open questions. Among the Hypercar drivers, it remains an all-Toyota duel: the No. 8 leads the Le Mans-winning No. 7 by 17 points. In LMGT3, Edgar has to bring an 18-point lead over the Manthey trio through the final six hours of the season.
