WEC Sao Paulo Qualifying: Wake up FIA and WEC!

Sunday, 14 July 2024 at 12:10

The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is stronger than it has ever been with great marques such as Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot, Lamborghini, Toyota, Cadillac and Alpine turning the Hypercar class into a riveting series, with top drivers doing battle.

FIA WEC endurance races are no longer marathons of survival. They are epic sprint races from lights to chequered flags, in an age of bullet-proof reliability it's all about the drivers, genius strategies and genuine teamwork! A proper and very real racing show.

Yet the FIA and WEC organisers are missing so many tricks that it is clear they have no clue that the series they own is a diamond. You could Netflix the nine WEC championship rounds and it will blow 'Drive to Survive' out of the water, as each race packs as much drama as F1 does in half a dozen races.

If FIA WEC knew what they were doing, today's Round 5 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, would be all over the free video platforms. YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, X - show it live to everyone in the world. Ambush F1 fans while their chosen sport takes a break ahead of action resuming next week.

Throw into that, three Iron Dames beating all the men to Hyperpole on merit. What a story! Another missed opportunity from FIA WEC to show that they in fact lead in the women in motorsport agenda, way ahead of F1 is on the matter.

Instead, FIA WEC race day action from Sao Paulo is unwatchable without paying. I had the App last year, but no more as I refuse to do so until the FIA, WEC and F1 sort out the ridiculous date clashes.

Granted, we seemed to be getting a dose of the live video stream on the official FIA WEC as Free Practices were covered live on their YouTube channel. But nothing from Qualifying and Hyperpole. I presume no live coverage of today's race either.

Why watch FIA WEC when we have Wimbledon and Euro 2024 Football finals?

Spain vs England EURO 2024 final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups | UEFA EURO 2024 | Why watch FIA WEC when we have Wimbledon and Euro 2024 Football finals?

No biggie, there's an intriguing Wimbledon Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic final today, and the Euro Final Spain vs England. And of course, a Goodwood rewind is pretty relaxing too. The FIA can keep their WEC Sao Paulo as anonymous as they want, is my thinking.

And that's me an ardid motorsport fan. I am sure the FIA WEC fanbase did not increase one bit. Simply because the organisers seem clueless, the FIA appears blind to the massive WEC asset they have in their hands with no direction or imagination to promote this glorious era unfolding.

Ask any kid who is into motorsport (I did my sports mad and petrolhead son and his mates) about FIA WEC... What is WEC? There you go, the best-kept secret in motorsport when it should be second only to F1 in viewership, likes and followers. But it is nowhere close.

They are neglecting all the investments by great teams in Hypercar and LMGT3, while denying drivers the exposure they deserve and doing nothing for motorsport fans or growing the fanbase. Wake up FIA and WEC! Rant over.

This is what happened, according to the official report on Saturday in Sao Paulo where the FIA WEC competitors Qualified for today's race at Interlagos, venue also of the Brazilian Grand Prix later this year.

Kobayashi claims Hyperpole for Toyota

Kamui Kobayashi #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing takes pole position after setting a sensational 1:23.140s lap
Kobayashi heads stablemate Sebastien Buemi in #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hypercar by 0.122s
Japanese driver claims the first pole position of the season for Toyota.

Team boss and driver Kobayashi said afterwards: Kamui Kobayashi: “It was a challenge to how we built up the tyre speeds. It's been quite cold in qualifying and obviously very difficult to get temperature in the tyres. We tried to build the temperature as much as we can.

"My first set of tyres, which is before Hyperpole, didn’t have enough temperature, but in the Hyperpole, I was allowed to, to do my best lap in one lap earlier, than the qualifying. So that was the main success for the pole position.

"Of course, the car has been amazing through this week. I think we take everything out of it and it's a phenomenal job from the team," added Kobayashi, who raced F1 at Interlagos during his career in the top flight.

Matt Campbell aboard the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport is the highest placed Porsche 963 on a best of 1:23.331. Australian has a brief off on his warm-up lap but still qualifies on the second row of the grid
Cadillac Racing Hypercar driven by Alex Lynn places fourth on a 1:23.396s lap to get in among the Toyota and Porsches

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport of Kevin Estre is fifth ahead of recent Le Mans winner Antonio Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar. The rest of the top 10 Hyperpole positions are filled out by: 7th #12 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche; 8th #38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche; 9th #51 Ferrari AF Corse and 10th #20 BMW M Team WRT

Iron Dames takes LMGT3 class pole

Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan driven by Sarah Bovy takes pole with a lap of 1m34.413s and secure second pole of the season for the all-female crew

That time beats the No.92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 RSR LMGT3 car with Aliaksandr Malykhin aboard by 0.391s

#95 United Autosports McLaren LMGT3 machine is third driven by Joshua Caygill who heads the second McLaren driven by James Cottingham. Fifth is the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche driven by Yasser Shahin

Completing the top six are: the #31 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 car driven by Darren Leung
The rest of the Top 10 LMGT3 positions is filled out by: 7th #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari; 8th #81 TF Sport Corvette; 9th #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin and 10th #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari.

Pole winner Sarah Bovy summed up: “Yes, it's legendary. I mean Interlagos; I've seen images of the circuit. Of course, recently with Formula One, but I'm a big fan of Ayrton Senna. I’ve seen all the archives of him winning here and everything. Coming here and doing a good qualifying lap it's a little bit of an homage to one of my idols. So, yes, it feels very special, and I will remember it forever.

“Obviously, it's a good position to start the race and that was also important. Now I really hope we can make a solid race; the competition is going to be very strong. I don't even think that half of the job is done. I really think that tomorrow we will have to fight, but we are ready for it," added Bovy.

That's all folks! Enjoy the race if you can find it streamed live anywhere...