Porsche captured its first World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar victory of the season at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, as drivers Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell, and Kevin Estre secured a dramatic win in wet weather. The Porsche Penske WEC Lone Star victory was marked by intense competition and race incidents that shaped the final outcome.
Kevin Estre seized the lead in the #6 Penske-operated Porsche 963 LMDh with just over an hour and three-quarters remaining. He made a decisive move overtaking Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 factory Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar at Turn 1, despite light contact between the two cars.
Key Moments in the Battle for the Lead
The slight contact between Estre’s Porsche and Pier Guidi’s AF Corse Ferrari caused a front-left puncture for the Ferrari, which was shared by Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi. While the race stewards appeared to review the incident, Estre merely received a warning for the maneuver.
Once in front, Estre quickly built a 10-second advantage before the next safety car was deployed. Upon the restart, he managed to maintain his lead, ultimately finishing 8.6 seconds ahead after a sequence of late pit stops by the frontrunners for refueling.
The #51 Ferrari, driven by Molina alongside Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco, secured second place after a hard-fought recovery. Molina briefly lost the position to Stoffel Vandoorne’s #94 Peugeot 9X8 LMH during the final fuel stops but regained the runner-up spot with just six laps remaining, denying Peugeot its best-ever finish since joining the series in 2022.
Strong Performances from Peugeot and Cadillac Amidst Mixed Fortunes
Peugeot delivered a solid showing with the #94 kept in fourth by the trio of Jean-Eric Vergne, Paul di Resta, and Mikkel Jensen, closely following teammate Vandoorne in third. Despite the close finish, Peugeot narrowly missed a historic podium result.
Cadillac fought back from a difficult qualifying session, which saw their strategy of wet tyres backfire, leaving them at the rear of the field initially. Earl Bamber, driving with Sébastien Bourdais and Jenson Button, impressed by climbing through the order early on, although Bourdais suffered a spin in deteriorating conditions and the team had to make an additional pit stop to replace a faulty windscreen wiper. Their final position was sixth.
The second Cadillac crew of Will Stevens, Alex Lynn, and Norman Nato showed potential for victory in the race’s later stages, with Lynn moving the car up to third before handing over. Unfortunately, a strategy call to pit early for Nato saw them lose ground, eventually finishing eighth after being overtaken by the Peugeots and Ferrari entries.
Incidents Affect Leading Teams and Alter Race Dynamics
The bright yellow AF Corse Ferrari hypercar, which had earned pole position, finished seventh, sandwiched between the two Cadillac entries. Philip Hanson, who started strong in the car, lost time due to a pit stop error when he failed to correctly stop at his pit box handing over to Yifei Ye. This delay dropped them to fifth at the time, with Robert Kubica later losing further time after a spin and mistakenly pitting for a puncture that wasn’t confirmed.
Toyota struggled again in Austin, with both GR010 HYBRID LMHs facing multiple spins throughout the race. The #8 car shared by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa managed to finish ninth, but the sister #7, with Jose Maria Lopez substituting for the injured Mike Conway, finished 14th, four laps down, after Lopez beached the car during a spin.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie LMHs ran competitively within the top six for much of the race but eventually retired due to engine troubles caused by radiator blockages from track debris in the final hour. Both Heart of Racing team entries were forced to stop as a result.
Race control also faced challenges, issuing a rare red flag after just one hour without a single green-flag lap completed due to a procedural error involving consecutive safety cars. Some cars inadvertently followed the second course car into the pits before the race was halted to restore proper running order on the track.
McLaren and United Autosports Secure Their First LMGT3 Victory
In the LMGT3 category, McLaren and United Autosports emerged victorious for the first time in WEC, with Marino Sato, Sean Gelael, and Darren Leung winning aboard the #95 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO. The race concluded with a dramatic finish as Sato crossed the line second on the road behind the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci, and Thomas Flohr.
However, the Ferrari received a five-second penalty for contact in the closing stages when Rigon overtook Ben Barker in the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3, dropping it to third place. This penalty elevated the #46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo—piloted by Valentino Rossi, Kelvin van der Linde, and Ahmad Al Harthy—from fourth to second, despite the BMW having served two penalties earlier in the race.
Rigon’s decision to push harder on slick tires during the final hour, as the track dried, allowed him to gain significant time on competitors who remained on wets, though it did not prevent the late penalty. Both the McLaren and BMW were on Goodyear slicks at the finish, while the top finisher on wets was the Ford Mustang shared by Barker, Ben Tuck, and Bernardo Sousa.
Implications and Future Prospects Following a Tense Lone Star Race
The Porsche Penske WEC Lone Star victory at COTA demonstrates the resilience and skill of the team in highly variable and challenging conditions. This win marks a critical milestone in Porsche’s 2024 WEC campaign, highlighting their capacity to compete at the highest level against strong rivals like Ferrari, Peugeot, Cadillac, and Toyota.
Peugeot’s near-podium finish and Cadillac’s recovery after qualifying setbacks suggest rising competition within the Hypercar field, which will likely intensify as the season progresses. Toyota’s ongoing struggles and Aston Martin’s mechanical woes signal further development is needed for those teams.
On the GT3 front, McLaren and United Autosports’ breakthrough win points to a tightening championship battle, especially with penalties and strategy influencing the final positions in closely matched classes.
As the WEC season advances, teams will analyze the lessons from Austin to refine strategies, vehicle setups, and driver lineups. The mixed conditions and frequent safety car periods underlined the importance of adaptability and precision in endurance racing, which is expected to continue shaping results during upcoming rounds on the global calendar.
