WTCC (complet) López remporte son deuxième titre au terme de deux courses animées en Thaïlande*/Lopez makes it WTCC title number two with thrilling Thailand triumph*

José María López a tué le suspenses avant le terme de ce qui constitue sa deuxième saison dans le Championnat du Monde FIA des Voitures de Tourisme. Une deuxième couronne consécutive acquise aujourd’hui dès la première des deux manches de la WTCC Race of Thailand sur le Chang International Circuit, à Buriram.

Le pilote Honda Tiago Monteiro s’impose pour sa part dans une course 2 interrompue trois tours avant la fin en raison du manque de luminosité. L’épreuve devait être jugée sur 14 tours, au crépuscule, et au moment de son interruption Sébastien Loeb se rapprochait à grandes enjambées du leader. L’ancien champion du monde des Rallyes ayant terminé les deux courses sur la deuxième marche du podium, le double abandon d’Yvan Muller lui permet de revenir à deux points de la deuxième place provisoire du championnat détenue par son compatriote. Dénouement au Qatar, où l’on connaîtra également la conclusion dans le Trophée Yokohama entre Mehdi Bennani et Norbert Michelisz.

COURSE 1 : UNE JOIE QUI COMPTE DOUBLE POUR LOPEZJosé María López remporte la manche inaugurale de la WTCC Race of Thailand depuis la pole position présentée par DHL. López conserve les commandes au départ et résiste jusqu’à l’arrivée à la pression exercée par son équipier chez Citroën Sébastien Loeb pour assurer son 9e succès en 2015, Ma Qing Hua et Mehdi Bennani, victorieux du Trophée Yokohama, complètent ensuite un quadruplé des C-Elysée. Gabriele Tarquini est remonté de sa 12e place sur la grille jusqu’à la 5e sous le drapeau à damier au volant de sa Honda officiel. Il devance la LADA de Rob Huff qui s’était pour sa part élancée en fond de peloton. Dans un scénario dramatique sur le Chang International Circuit de Buriram, le rival de López pour le titre, Yvan Muller, fut éliminé dans un accrochage avec d’autres pilotes dans le premier tour, qui nécessita l’intervention de la voiture de sécurité.

COURSE 2 : « MAGIC » MONTEIRO BAT LOEB DANS LE CRÉPUSCULE TAÏLANDAISDès lors que Monteiro déloge Michelisz des commandes dans le deuxième tour, le Portugais sait qu’il devait attaquer pour retarder l’échéance du retour de Loeb. Mais même si le Français est persuadé qu’il aurait pu résister au pilote Citroën, Monteiro demeure convaincu qu’il tenait un rythme suffisant pour l’emporter si le drapeau rouge n’avait pas été brandi.  Ma Qing Hua complète le tiercé de tête en tenant en respect López avec qui il avait eu plus tôt maille à partir. Chilton, qui occupa longuement la 3e place, se classe 5e après avoir dû en découdre face à Tarquini, Huff et Bennani. D’Aste et Sritrai marquent les derniers points en jeu, tandis que Demoustier et Filippi terminent aux portes du Top-10. Le poleman Michelisz était pour sa part 2e lorsqu’il fut rappelé aux stands pour observer un Drive Through consécutif à une infraction de la règle du Parc Fermé entre les deux manches. Il se classe P13, tandis que les efforts des mécaniciens furent vains durant OSCARO.com Repair Time de renvoyer en piste Catsburg, Coronel et Lapierre pour le dépat, à l’instar de Valente. Quant à Yvan Muller, il fut contraint à l’abandon à la suite d’un contact avec Bennani dans le premier virage.

TROPHEE YOKOHAMA : BURIRAM REMOTIVE BENANNIUne victoire et une deuxième place offrent à Mehdi Bennani de repousser l’échéance du titre au Qatar face au pilote Zengő Motorsport Norbert Michelisz. Bennani, qui était devenu l’an passé le premier pilote arabe à remporter une épreuve de WTCC, ne compte désormais plus que sept points de retard sur le Hongrois au volant de sa Citroën du Sébastien Loeb Racing. Stefano D’Aste décrocha ses meilleurs résultats de la saison avec une 2e place en course 2 qui fait suite à la 3e, tandis que Grégoire Demoustier grimpa sur son premier podium 2015 en course 1 malgré un calage à l’extinction des feux. Le Thaïlandais Tin Sritrai se classe 4e des deux manches pour son baptême du WTCC.

PAROLES DE VAINQUEURS

José María López (vainqueur de la Course 1 et provisoire double champion WTCC): « Je suis si heureux. Je tiens à féliciter tout le monde est à remercier toutes les personnes qui m’ont suivi toute long de ma carrière. Ma famille, mon père en particulier, et encore mes frères qui m’ont permis de courir en Europe. Je n’oublie pas bien entendu ma petite amie victoire qui m’a permis de ne jamais être seul quand j’étais loin des miens, mais également toute l’Argentine et l’équipe sans qui je ne serais pas la. Ils m’ont permis de pouvoir affronter mes équipiers a armes égales, et aussi bien les mécaniciens que les ingénieurs et mes compagnons d’écurie qui n’ont eu de cesse de me tirer vers le haut. Il y eut the belle bagarre dans l’équipe et nous avons amené la voiture à un très bon niveau. Remporter deux championnats, c’est un rêve. Je n’aurais jamais imaginé atteindre une telle consécration, mais la vie me l’a apportée et je suis impatient de le célébrer avec mes amis. Quand je dis « amis », je pense à toutes les personnes qui me son chères en WTCC et qui m’ont toujours bien accueilli. Avec Tiago il y a eu des tensions, mais nous restons proches. C’est un beau championnat, l’atmosphère est chaleureux. Deux années extraordinaires, mais difficiles. La compétition est extrêmement relevée et mes équipiers ont travaillé dur sans jamais rien lâcher. Mais s’adjuger ce sacre à trois courses de la fin souligne la qualité de notre préparation. Nous avons toujorus été très proches et j’espère que c’est amené à durer. »

Tiago Monteiro (vainqueur de la Course 2): « Je tiens tout d’abord à féliciter Pechito car ce n’est pas rien de conserver sa couronne de champion du monde. Il le mérite car il a été impérial. Concernant ma course je n’ai pas pris un départ idéal et j’étais derrière Norbi. J’ai vraiment voulu attaquer et il y avait un endroit où je pouvais porter une attaque. Je l’ai tentée au deuxième tour au Turn 3 et ça a marché. Je me suis ensuite concentré à creuser l’écart car je savais que les Citroën deviendraient menaçantes. Même avec trois secondes, je savais que ce ne serait pas suffisant alors j’ai roulé comme en qualifications. En dépit de quelques erreurs, la voiture fut parfaite. Seb s’est rapproché à raison de 3/10e au tour, parfois plus, parfois moins, mai j’étais prêt à répliquer et je savais que les dernières boucles seraient périlleuses. Il faisait par ailleurs de plus en plus sombre et je me concentrait à gérer l’usure de mes pneus. J’ai cependant été sauvé par le gong et décroché mon troisième succès de l’année. Nous sommes optimistes pour la suite car nous avons progressé. Ce n’est cependant pas suffisant et nous devons veiller jusqu’au bout à ne pas relâcher nos efforts. »

José María López capped a hugely impressive second season in the FIA World Touring Car Championship by making it back-to-back titles in style with victory in the opening WTCC Race of Thailand* for Citroën at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram today.

Honda’s Tiago Monteiro claimed the win in race two, which was halted with three laps left for safety reasons due to fading light. The race had been due to run for 14 laps and finish in twilight but its late start following the safety car period in the opening counter meant officials were left with no alternative other than to bring proceedings to a premature conclusion as darkness descended with Sébastien Loeb closing on Monteiro for top spot. With Loeb finishing second in both races and Yvan Muller twice failing to score due to contact, the nine-time world rally champion is just two points behind his Citroën team-mate heading to the WTCC’s inaugural night race in Qatar later this month, where the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy title for independent racers will be decided between Mehdi Bennani and Norbert Michelisz.

RACE ONE ROUND-UP: DOUBLE WTCC JOY FOR LÓPEZ IN THAILANDLópez made the perfect getaway from the DHL-presented pole position and resisted race-long pressure from Loeb to secure his ninth victory of 2015 with Ma Qing Hua and Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy winner Mehdi Bennani completing a Citroën top four. Gabriele Tarquini charged through from P12 on the grid to take fifth in his factory Honda ahead of LADA pilot Rob Huff, who started on the back row after a technical infringement in qualifying resulted in his times being disallowed. In a dramatic contest, Muller was eliminated in the second of two multi-car collisions on the first lap, which resulted in the safety car being deployed. The four-time WTCC champion was involved in a clash with Monteiro, Norbert Michelisz and Hugo Valente with only Monteiro recovering to reach the finish in his battle-scared Civic. The Portuguese finished seventh ahead of Stefano D’Aste, Grégoire Demoustier and Tin Sritrai, who marked his WTCC debut with his first world championship point. Tom Coronel and LADA duo Nicky Catsburg and Nicolas Lapierre retired in a separate incident at the first corner, while Tom Chilton dropped out of fifth place with a puncture on lap 10. John Filippi retired with damaged front-left suspension when an overtaking move on Monteiro at the hairpin failed.

RACE TWO ROUND-UP: MAGIC MONTEIRO BEATS LOEB IN THE THAI TWILIGHTOnce Monteiro had demoted fellow front-row starter Michelisz on lap two, the Portuguese knew he had to push flat out to keep the advancing Loeb at bay. While Loeb felt he had the pace to snatch victory, Monteiro was convinced that he could hold on for his third triumph of 2015 even if the race had not been red flagged. Ma Qing Hua followed up his race one podium by resisting López for third after brief contact between the pair. Chilton, who ran third for a time, took fifth after several battles for position with Tarquini, Huff and Bennani next up. D’Aste and Sritrai scored more points in ninth and P10 respectively with Demoustier and Filippi following him home. Pole-sitter Michelisz was running second when he was ordered to put for a drive through penalty due to a parc fermé infringement after race one. He wound up P13. Frantic efforts to fix the cars of Catsburg, Coronel and Lapierre during the OSCARO.com Repair Time failed and all three, like Valente, were non-starters. Muller retired following contact with Bennani at the first turn.

YOKOHAMA DRIVERS’ TROPHY: BURIRAM BOOST FOR BENANNIA win and a second place for Mehdi Bennani means the Moroccan will start the final two races in Qatar firmly in the title fight with Zengő Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz. Bennani, who last year became the first Arabic driver to win in the WTCC, is just seven points behind Honda pilot Michelisz in his Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën. Stefano D’Aste claimed a season-equalling best of second in race one before finishing third in the second event with Grégoire Demoustier bagging his maiden class podium of 2015 in race one despite stalling at the start. Thai driver Tin Sritrai was fourth in both races in his first weekend in the WTCC with Demoustier, Filippi and Michelisz completing the scorers.

RACE WINNER QUOTES

José María López (race one winner and provisional WTCC champion): “I am so happy. I want to congratulate everybody and thank all the people who have been around me in my career for 23 years, starting with my family, my father especially, my brothers who gave up a lot of things to help me race in Europe, my girlfriend Victoire who has stopped me from being very alone in Europe, everybody in Argentina and the team. I wouldn’t be here without them. They gave me the opportunity to race and compete with my team-mates at the same level, my mechanics, my engineer and my team-mates as well for always pushing me. We have had some very nice battles inside the team and we improved the car to a very good level. But this is just a dream, two world championships. It’s something I never expected but somehow life gave this to me so I really thank everything and I look forward to celebrating with my friends. When I say my friends I mean everybody in the WTCC because everybody has been so kind to me. With Tiago we had a little moment but we are friends. It’s a nice championship with a nice atmosphere and I really enjoy it. It’s been an amazing year for me but really hard. The competition has been harder, my team-mates have worked harder and never gave up. To win the championship three races before the end is a massive result looking at the competition and the level. We were really equal in some races and I am looking forward to it continuing like this.”

Tiago Monteiro (race two winner): “First of all I would like to congratulate Pechito because being two times world champion is amazing. He’s deserved it and was very strong. Regarding the race I didn’t do the best start and I was behind Norbi. I started to push very hard because if I was faster somewhere and could find his weak points I could see that I could have a chance. I tried my move on the second lap at Turn 3 and it worked. After that I was trying to get away to gain as much room as possible because I knew the Citroëns were going to come at some point. I opened up a thee-second margin but I knew it wouldn’t be enough so I kept pushing on like qualifying laps. The car was nice to drive all weekend even though there were some small mistakes. Seb was catching up and was three tenths of a lap quicker, sometimes more, sometimes less but he was there and I knew the last lap would be very hot. It was getting darker and I was pushing hard and getting ready for the last fight, trying to save the tyres for the last two laps because I knew I would need them. In the end I was saved by the bell as we say. We never know what could happen but it happened like that of course. It’s my third win of the season, 25 points so we’ll take it. We’re quite optimistic with our pace, which has improved. It’s not enough so we need to keep working and that’s what we will do until the end.”

WTCC Thailand ; Lopez Champion du Monde

Course 1 : López remporte une ouverture animée en Thaïlande et s’empare du titre WTCC*

José María López remporte la manche inaugurale de la WTCC Race of Thailand et remporte par la même occasion sur deuxième titre consécutif dans le Championnat du Monde FIA des Voitures de Tourisme.*

López conserve les commandes au départ et résiste jusqu’à l’arrivée à la pression exercée par son équipier chez Citroën Sébastien Loeb pour assurer son 9e succès en 2015, Ma Qing Hua et Mehdi Bennani, victorieux du Trophée Yokohama, complètent ensuite un quadruplé des C-Elysée.

Gabriele Tarquini est remonté de sa 12e place sur la grille jusqu’à la 5e sous le drapeau à damier au volant de sa Honda officiel. Il devance la LADA de Rob Huff qui s’était pour sa part élancée en fond de peloton.

Dans un scénario dramatique sur le Chang International Circuit de Buriram, le rival de López pour le titre, Yvan Muller, fut éliminé dans un accrochage avec d’autres pilotes dans le premier tour, qui nécessita l’intervention de la voiture de sécurité.

 Course 2 : Monteiro illumine la Thaïlande

Tiago Monteiro remporte la deuxième des deux manches de la WTCC Race of Thailand, stoppée deux tours avant la fin pour raison de sécurité en raison de la faible luminosité sur la piste.

Sébastien Loeb, qui se rapprochait dangereusement de Monteiro pour lui disputer la victoire, se hisse sur la deuxième marche du podium devant Ma Qing Hua qui complète le podium en précédant José María López. L’Argentin qui débutait cette seconde manche en tant que Champion du Monde FIA des Voitures de Tourisme.

Race 1: López wins thrilling Thai opener, takes WTCC title*

José María López has won the inaugural WTCC Race of Thailand to clinch his second FIA World Touring Car Championship in succession*.

López led from the start and resisted race-long pressure from Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb to secure his ninth victory of 2015 with Ma Qing Hua and Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy winner Mehdi Bennani completing a Citroën top four.

Gabriele Tarquini charged through from P12 on the grid to take fifth in his factory Honda ahead of LADA pilot Rob Huff, who started on the back row of the grid.

In a dramatic contest at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, López’s title rival Yvan Muller was eliminated in the second of two multi-car collisions on the first lap, which resulted in the safety car being deployed.

Race 2 : Monteiro holds on for Thailand WTCC victory

Tiago Monteiro has won the second WTCC Race of Thailand, which was halted with two laps remaining for safety reasons due to fading light.

Sébastien Loeb, who had been closing on Monteiro for victory, settled for second with Ma Qing Hua third and José María López fourth. López started the race as the provisional FIA World Touring Car Championship for 2015 following his victory in race one.

FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP Shanghai : Une de plus pour Webber/Hartley/Bernhard, le doublé et le titre pour Porsche / PORSCHE CLAIM SHANGHAI WIN AND MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

avec Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info.com)

Et de quatre pour la Porsche #17 ! Depuis les 24 Heures du Mans, Brendon Hartley, Mark Webber et Timo Bernhard n’arrêtent plus d’enchaîner les succès et Porsche les doublés. La firme de Stuttgart s’assure la couronne mondiale à une manche de la fin.

Le trio s’est imposé pour la quatrième fois consécutive lors des 6 Heures de Shanghai, pénultième manche FIA WEC de l’année. A l’issue d’une course qui a connu la pluie durant les trois premières heures, la #17 n’a pas connu la moindre alerte. La stratégie de Porsche Team de doubler les relais avec les “wet” a permis de creuser l’écart sur les Audi R18 e-tron quattro. La #18 de Dumas/Lieb/Jani a été retardée dès le premier tour avec un accrochage entre Marc Lieb et l’Audi de Lotterer, ce qui n’ a pas empêché le trio d’offrir un 2ème doublé de suite à Porsche. Suite au contact, le pilote Porsche n’a cessé de cravacher, tout comme ses coéquipiers qui ont eux aussi été exemplaires. Une fois de plus, Porsche Team était au-dessus du lot même si les Audi R18 e-tron quattro n’ont pas démérité. Sous le damier, Webber/Hartley/Bernhard ont devancé Dumas/Lieb/Jani de 26s. Le camp Audi Sport Team Joest a tout donné avec des ravitaillements éclairs et une bonne tenue des pilotes, mais Tréluyer/Lotterer/Fässler doivent se contenter de la 3ème place à 30s de la tête. André Lotterer aura la satisfaction d’avoir été le plus rapide en course. La #8 de Duval/di Grassi/Jarvis a terminé dans le même tour que la #7.

Les Toyota TS040 HYBRID ont roulé sans jamais pouvoir espérer monter sur le podium. La #2 a terminé à 4 tours de la tête et la #1 à 5 boucles.

Les Rebellion R-One n’ont pas été épargnées par les soucis même si la #12 de Beche/Prost a pu l’emporter avec une auto salement amochée à l’avant et à l’arrière après une sortie dans les derniers tours. La #13 de Imperatori/Tuscher/Kraihamer a abandonné dans les dernières minutes. La CLM P1/01 du ByKolles Racing de Kaffer/Trummer a pris la 2ème place dans la classe LM P1 privée.

La première heure de course a été compliquée pour Signatech-Alpine avec une A450b assez loin de la tête, mais Nelson Panciatici, Paul-Loup Chatin et le rookie Tom Dillmann ont fait parler la poudre. Après un premier podium en FIA WEC à Fuji, les troupes de Philippe Sinault raflent la mise en Chine de la plus belle des manières. Les Ligier JS P2 du G-Drive Racing ont connu des hauts et des bas avec une pénalité pour la #26 (vitesse excessive sous FCY) et la #28 (accrochage avec la #77), mais ces deux embûches n’ont pas empêché les châssis Onroak Automotive de monter sur le podium, la #26 de Rusinov/Canal/Bird devant la #28 de Derani/Gonzalez/Yacaman. Ce scénario était vrai jusqu’à 30s de l’arrivée puisque Gonzalez a terminé sa course dans le bac sans rien toucher.

                     

On pensait que le grand perdant de cette manche chinoise serait KCMG suite à la sortie dans le bac de la ORECA 05 de Nick Tandy dès le 1er tour. Malgré cette déconvenue, Bradley/Howson/Tandy ramènent pourtant les points de la 3ème place après avoir perdu près de deux tours dans la sortie du début de course. La #47 devance la Morgan LM P2 EVO/Team SARD-MORAND. Pour ses débuts en FIA WEC, le Pegasus Racing Team Total a fait plus que se montrer en menant la première partie de course sous la pluie, mais la piste séchante n’a pas permis à Cheng/Tung/Brundle de faire mieux que 5èmes. Gonzalez n’ayant pu repartir, la #28 ne marque aucun point.

Les Porsche 911 RSR ont été au-dessus du lot en GTE-Pro. La #91 de Richard Lietz et Michael Christensen a de suite creusé l’écart sous la pluie pour pointer longtemps devant tout le peloton LM P2. Cette 3ème victoire de la saison permet à Lietz de prendre un peu d’air au championnat Pilotes. La Porsche #92 de Mako/Pilet a longtemps occupé la 2ème place, mais la dernière heure a été favorable à la Ferrari 458 GTE/AF Corse de Bruni/Vilander qui monte sur la 2ème marche du podium devant la Porsche. Le reste du plateau a été plutôt transparent.

Depuis Silverstone, François Perrodo, Manu Collard et Rui Aguas tournaient autour de la victoire et le trio décroche enfin un 1er succès en FIA WEC cette saison. L’équipage de la Ferrari 458 GTE/AF Corse #83 n’a connu que le podium cette saison (3ème au Mans des équipes FIA WEC), ce qui leur permet de jouer le titre à Bahrain. Les Aston Martin Vantage GTE ont bien donné le change mais seule la #98 de Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda a  fait jeu égal avec la #83 en terminant à la 2ème place, la dernière marche du podium revenant à la Ferrari 458 GTE/SMP Racing de Shaytar/Bertolini/Basov. Aussi bien la #83 que la #72 ont été handicapées par une pénalité. La Corvette C7.R/Larbre Compétition a terminé dans le quinté de tête.

                              

Le classement de la course est ici

Photo : Nick Dungan - Photo Copyright 2015 Nick Dungan / AdrenalMedia.com

Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley extended their title lead in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship by scoring a fourth consecutive victory, at Shanghai today.

With the No.18 Porsche finishing in second place, 26-seconds behind the No.17 car, Porsche clinched the 2015 FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship, sending the Stuttgart mark into ecstasy.  Now holding a 70-point lead in the Manufacturers’ standings over Audi, Porsche cannot be beaten no matter what happens at the final race at Bahrain.

Like Fuji last month, Shanghai produced another sensational WEC event today.  In changeable weather and track conditions, each of the Porsche and Audi entries led the race at stages, thrilling the crowd and TV viewers alike.

Brendon Hartley led for the opening phase of the race but, right from the start, there was excitement as the No.18 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Marc Lieb had contact with André Lotterer’s No.7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro and spun onto a kerb. The incident ensured that Lieb had to then begin an awe-inspiring drive back through the field.

The opening three hours was punctuated by extremely challenging conditions for the drivers. An early safety car was followed by several Full Course Yellows to retrieve cars stranded in gravel traps.

With Audi seeming to have a slightly faster package on a fully wet track, a battle royal was played out after the first driver-change pit stops.

At one stage in the third hour, all four cars were covered by just 3.8 seconds as they fought a classic encounter around the Shanghai International Circuit.

After Neel Jani took over the No.18 Porsche 919 Hybrid, the rapid Swiss claimed the lead just after the halfway mark when he overtook both Audi R18 e-tron quattros.

As the race wore on, so the track slowly dried, handing an advantage to Porsche who were able to extract more laps in a stint from their wet-weather Michelin tyres than Audi. However, in a fascinating game of strategy and risk, Audi switched to full slick tyres earlier than Porsche, bringing them back into contention late in the race.

                    

There was also last hour drama as the recovering No.18 fell back behind the Audis after Romain Dumas spun at turn two. The Frenchman redeemed himself though and posted some remarkable laps to emerge from a final ‘fuel-splash’ pit-stop in second position. Dumas also soaked up late race pressure to ward off a hard-charging Lotterer, who started and finished the race in the No.7 Audi.

The No.8 Audi of Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis and Lucas Di Grassi came home in fourth place once again after some tenacious fights throughout the race.

Toyota Racing took fifth and sixth places after several problems throughout the event.  The No.2 car of Mike Conway, Alex Wurz and Stephane Sarrazin headed the No.1 Toyota TS 040 after Kazuki Nakajima lost time with a gravelly spin at turn 16, triggering the third Full Course Yellow period.

The No.12 Rebellion R-One-AER took privateer LMP1 honours in the hands of Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche despite an accident just 15-minutes from the end of the race. Beche hit the wall at turn 10 but was able to get back to the pits where the team performed miracles to return to the track before the chequered flag fell.

                   

Signatech take maiden LMP2 WEC win

Taking a fine, first LMP2 win in the WEC at Shanghai was the Signatech Alpine squad of Nelson Panciatici, Paul-Loup Chatin and championship newcomer Tom Dillmann.

Driving the Alpine A450b-Nissan, the French trio came good in the second half of the race after Chatin drove an excellent middle portion to set up a useful gap to the chasing G-Drive Racing Ligier-Nissan entries.

Signatech had a lap advantage over the No.26 G-Drive Racing trio of Sam Bird, Julien Canal and Roman Rusinov which led the race in the opening hour. The second place for the No.26 G-Drive crew in Shanghai further extends their points lead over KCMG to 16 points, with 26 to play for in Bahrain.

The sister G-Drive Racing Ligier-Nissan seemed to be heading for another podium position after fine early work from Pipo Derani and Gustavo Yacaman. However, a late race trip into the gravel by Ricardo Gonzalez saw the car unclassified for the first time this season.

                         

KCMG’s race in Shanghai was compromised early on in the very wet conditions when Nick Tandy suffered a spin causing the Safety Car to be deployed on the first green flag lap of the race. A subsequent gamble onto full wet tyres initially worked for the Hong Kong team in the first hour, but when the rain abated they had to switch to intermediates. Strong stints from Matt Howson, Richard Bradley and again from Nick Tandy saw them come through to finish third.

Team SARD Morand continued their strong run of results with fourth place in class. Oliver Webb, Pierre Ragues and Chris Cumming had a trouble-free race to collect more points in the Morgan Evo-SARD.

                     

The LMP2 class saw an entertaining cameo performance from the Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan in the first four hours of the race. A sensational triple stint from LMP returnee Alex Brundle saw the Michelin-shod Morgan make the most of the conditions to lead the chasing pack.  However, in the last two hours of the race, with the circuit drying, the turquoise Morgan fell back and would eventually earn Brundle and his Chinese teammates Ho-Pin Tung and David Cheng a creditable fifth place finish.

                       

Full results can be found HERE

Full Championship classifications can be found HERE

Bonhams sells two basket-case Brough Superiors for record-breaking £500k

At its Autumn Stafford Sale last weekend, Bonhams realised two extraordinary results for two ‘basket-case’ motorcycles – both a 1926 and a 1927 Brough Superior SS100 Alpine Grand Sport ‘project’, which fetched (inclusive of buyer’s premium) £236,700 and £259,100, respectively…

The two-day sale made £3.6m all-in, making it the highest grossing motorcycle sale ever seen in Europe. Of that figure, £1.3m was generated from the sale of the 60-bike Lonati Collection the preceding day. The great British motorcycle marque Brough Superior truly excelled in the sale’s second day, with the two aforementioned ‘basket-case’ projects selling extremely well, as well as the 1937 Olympia Motorcycle Show-starring SS100, which made £208,700. Another bike which we recently featured, the famous Münch Mammut, made a healthy £85,500. 

Photos: Bonhams

Internal affairs – the most unusual Porsche interiors of all time

Porsche has always been a marque for the purist, but no matter how simple its cars were on the outside, the designers were often less restrained when it came to the interiors. We look back at the most unusual Porsche interiors, from the psychedelic to the hair-raising…

Down to earth

Honest, practical cars for everyday use – both the Porsche 356 and 911 owe their worldwide success to the solid Swabian ‘image’. It’s small wonder that the two cars’ ancestor was the VW Beetle, the most democratic automobile of them all. While other sports car manufacturers were battling for attention with flash designs and ever more powerful engines, Porsche remained largely faithful to its modest six-cylinder, rear-engined formula, cloaked in an unostentatious body. Not all of Porsche’s cars satisfied the purists, but the vast majority boasted sharp, typically German-engineered aesthetics. 

From Pepita to Pasha

Given the cosmetic modesty of Porsche’s design, it’s surprising to see quite the opposite inside the marque’s cars. From very early on, seats were covered with alternative materials such as cord, tweed, or the ‘Pepita’ houndstooth pattern that proved so popular after the War. But this was just the beginning. 

In the 1970s, the Porsche 911 and other new models such as the 914 and 928 were offered with a daring collection of interiors. The so-called ‘Pasha’ pattern was particularly disorientating, as though you were looking at a chess board while on LSD. A raft of other chequered, pinstriped and tartan fabrics – all of which enjoyed immense popularity throughout the decade – was also introduced.

Tiger print and flower power for the Piëch family

The Stuttgart-based marque’s designers showed just how wild they could be with special orders for the Porsche and Piëch families. Take the Carrera-engined Porsche 916, for example, of which just a few were ever built. One featured – believe it or not – a tiger-print interior. And then there was the fire-engine-red 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 that was built for Hans Michel Piëch, the seats of which were adorned with a paisley pattern. We wonder whether these unique cars still exist today?

Eighties excess

The excessive 1980s heralded the arrival of new design trends. While the 1981 Porsche 911 SC 50th Anniversary model’s burgundy red and grey-striped interior was considered daring at the time, the style soon became de rigueur. Glaring red or white leather that today causes us headaches at the mere sight, was considered extremely chic. It’s fair to say that tastes varied drastically in the 1980s, and a new ‘Porsche Exclusive’ division was created in 1986 to capitalise on the demand for more individual models. Responsible for a number of optional extras (including the famous flat-nose conversion of the 911 Turbo), the new division proved particularly popular for interior modification, where the boundaries of taste were once again pushed to the limits. A sheikh from Qatar, for example, ordered seven Porsche 959s, each with different colour leather interiors and his coat of arms emblazoned on the steering wheel and the seats. 

Bright colours in a dark chapter

In the 1990s, the automotive world finally caught the bi-colour virus, and Porsche knew no restraint. The pictured interpretations of the 996-series 911 built for an Arab customer are arguably two of the most egregious interiors we’ve ever set eyes on – we’d have called them the Halloween and Christmas editions.

The horrors certainly didn’t end there. A combination of budget cuts and the questionable taste of the era led to both concept cars and production models (the first generation Boxster and the 996, for example) with interiors of which we don’t wish to be reminded. But time is a great healer, and we’re sure we’ll learn to appreciate ­– even love – the styling, just as we have with the once-despised designs of the 1970s and 1980s. 

Back to the start

With the 997 Sport Classic of 2009, Porsche began to take inspiration from its illustrious heritage, with nods to the past such as the famous ducktail spoiler and Fuchs wheels. The following year’s 997 Speedster was a little too much of a reminder of the ghastly 1990s dual colour style, but the 50th Anniversary 911 hit the sweet spot, harking back to the very beginning, by sporting the same Pepita ‘houndstooth’ pattern found in the classic 911 some 50 years ago. 

Photos: With thanks to the Porsche Archive

From Pepita to Pasha, you can find many Porsches with the famous interiors listed for sale in the Classic Driver Market. 

Magnus Walker Pinehurst & Porsches VintageAutoTV

Porsche collector and customizer Magnus Walker is growing his collection of vintage Porsches and you might be surprised to hear what is on his new wish list. His goal remains simple: to experience everything Porsche has to offer.

The 'Urban Outlaw' spent a few minutes with us at the second Annual Pinehurst Concours d'Elegance in North Carolina to discuss the cars he's looking to add to his collection, what it was like to be back behind the wheel of his 911 STR for the Iron Mike Rally to Ft. Bragg, and scoping out a few Porsches at Pinehurst.

Walker is now branching out beyond 1960s - 1970s air cooled 911 based cars to include newer front engine water-cooled Porsches. Porsche 924 Turbo, Porsche 944 and Porsche 928 are the next on his list. Maybe a 914-6 for good measure too! 

garage......

FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP Shanghai, Qualifs : Les Porsche 919 Hybrid sans la moindre contestation…/PORSCHE KEEP 100% 2015 POLE RECORD AT SHANGHAI

par Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info.com)

Les Porsche 919 Hybrid n’ont pas été menacées lors de la séance qualificative des 6 Heures de Shanghai, si bien que la marque allemand reste invaincue cette saison dans l’exercice. Brendon Hartley et Mark Webber sont allés cueillir une 4ème pole pour la 919 Hybrid #17. Les coéquipiers de Timo Bernhard ont terminé la séance avec un chrono moyen de 1.42.719.  Sur la #18 qui a connu un souci d’accélérateur ce matin, Marc Lieb et Romain Dumas ont terminé à 0.601s. C’est désormais une habitude, la 2ème ligne sera 100% Audi R18 e-tron quattro avec la #8 de Duval/di Grassi devant la #7 de Tréluyer/Fässler. Le Suisse n’a guère été verni dans le trafic. Les Audi sont reléguées au-delà de la seconde, la #8 à 1.4s et la #7 à 1.8s. C’est encore pire pour les Toyota TS040 HYBRID à plus de 3s. Du côté des LM P1 privées, le Rebellion Racing a devancé le ByKolles Racing.

Après sa sortie de piste matinale, Julien Canal et Sam Bird ont qualifié la Ligier JS P2/G-Drive Racing #26 en pole avec près de 0.6s d’avance sur la ORECA 05/KCMG. Les deux leaders du championnat s’élanceront donc de la 1ère ligne. La seconde Ligier/G-Drive Racing partira de la ligne suivante avec à ses côtés la Morgan LM P2 EVO/Team SARD-MORAND. Pour sa 1ère qualification en FIA WEC, Tom Dillmann, accompagné par Nelson Panciatici, a placé l’Alpine A450b/Signatech-Alpine dans le quinté de tête devant la Ligier JS P2/Tequila ESM #30. Huitième temps pour la Morgan LM P2/Pegasus Racing Team Total.

La première ligne GTE-Pro sera entièrement Ferrari et AF Corse. Après le Nürburgring, Gianmaria Bruni et Toni Vilander ont décroché une deuxième pole cette saison en FIA WEC au volant de la 458 GTE #51. Avec un chrono moyen de 2.02.243, le tandem a devancé la #71 de Rigon/Calado de 0.265s. Aston Martin Racing, qui pestait pourtant par une BOP désavantageuse a placé la Vantage GTE partagée par Rees/MacDowall en 2ème ligne à 0.297s de la pole. La Porsche 911 RSR de Mako/Pilet partira à ses côtés, le duo français bouclant la session à 0.805s de la Ferrari #51. On trouve ensuite la seconde Porsche et l’Aston Martin #97 qui décidément peine à retrouver le haut de l’affiche.

Aston Martin Racing s’est rappelé au bon souvenir de la concurrence en GTE-Am avec une 1ère ligne 100% Aston Martin Racing, la #98 de Dalla Lana/Lamy devant la #96 de Hall/Griffin. Belle qualification de la Corvette C7.R/Larbre Compétition de Roda/Ruberti avec un 3ème chrono à la clé devant la Ferrari 458 GTE/AF Corse de Collard/Perrodo. La Ferrari 458 GTE/SMP Racing qui mène le championnat et qui même être titrée dès ce week-end a pris le 5ème temps.

Les chronos sont ici

Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley took a fourth FIA World Endurance Championship pole position in the No.17 Porsche 919 Hybrid at Shanghai this afternoon.

Porsche scored another 1-2 in qualifying to maintain its perfect pole record in the 2015 World Endurance Championship and ensure that Webber, Hartley and teammate Timo Bernhard stretch their title advantage to two points.

The title leading No.17 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley set an average of 1m42.719s this afternoon. Hartley, who has been the quickest driver in the No.17 for most of the meeting, set an outright best of 1m42.621s to lay the foundations of a convincing pole. Before war is declared in the Rugby World Cup this evening, the Australian and New Zealander worked in perfect harmony throughout the qualifying session.

Such was the advantage that the No.17 Porsche enjoyed; Webber was able to pit the car with five minutes to go. The No.17 Porsche had 0.769s over the sister No.18 car which made an unexpected pit stop after the first lap out of the pit. Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas were on qualifying duties this afternoon. The No.18 Porsche fought back from an engine change which was completed just before the qualifying session.

Audi was unable to trouble the Porches at Shanghai today in qualifying and line-up third and fourth on the grid. Marcel Fassler hit traffic on his quick lap and was left frustrated to not get nearer the Porches today.

The No.7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, in the hands of Fassler and Benoit Treluyer will start behind the sister Audi Sport Team Joest car which was qualified by of Loic Duval and Lucas di Grassi today.

Toyota finished in fifth and sixth places once again, with Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson qualifying the No.1 TS 040 Hybrid ahead of the Alex Wurz and Mike Conway crewed car, which was just under 0.2s behind.

The LMP1 Privateer category was headed by the No.12 Rebellion Racing R-One-AER driven by Dominik Kraihamer and Alexander Imperatori. The pair, who are joined by FIA WEC newcomer Matheo Tuscher this weekend, had a trouble-free run to secure the pole from the No.12 Rebellion of Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche.

LMP2 pole was claimed for a third successive race by Sam Bird and Julien Canal in the No.26 G-Drive Ligier-Nissan. Canal fought back superbly from an accident in the final Free Practice session this morning, while Bird set easily the fastest individual class lap on a 1m51.984s. The average for the LMP2 pole sitter was 1m52.763s.

The G-Drive Racing Ligier was almost six tenths of a second quicker than the KCMG ORECA 05-Nissan. The two title rivals will start from the front row just three weeks after a series of controversial incidents at Fuji.  Matt Howson and Nick Tandy qualified the car for the Hong Kong entered team as they attempt to hunt down a now 13-point deficit to the G-Drive trio.

The other G-Drive Racing Ligier-Nissan qualified by Ricardo Gonzalez and Pipo Derani today placed third maintaining a consistent run of strong performances.

CLICK HERE for the result from Qualifying

CLICK HERE to watch the qualifying press conference