CoTA Sprint Summary: Ferrari Ascends as Daylight Breaks in the WEC
In an eventful hour at the Circuit of Americas, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, driven by Yifei Ye, reclaimed the lead during the 15th hour of the race. Initially, Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid had a stronghold on the front, capitalizing on a slow pit stop for the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963. However, strategic maneuvering through traffic allowed Ye to take command, following a decisive pass at the second Mulsanne Chicane.
The leading trio is completed by the #51 Ferrari driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi in third, followed by Raffaele Marciello in the #15 BMW M Team WRT M Hybrid V8, and Miguel Molina, ensuring a strong showing for Ferrari with all three models in the top five.
The leadership dynamics shifted again when Matt Campbell took over the #6 Porsche, dropping its position to sixth, just ahead of Alex Lynn in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R.
In the LMP2 category, Louis Delétraz is steering the #199 AO by TF ORECA into contention, currently third overall and leading the Pro-Am class. Jakub Smiechowski’s #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA maintains the LMP2 lead over Reshad De Gérus in the #9 Iron Lynx-Proton entry.
In the GT3 ranks, the Manthey 1st Phorm team retains control with Ryan Hardwick in the #92 Porsche 911 GT3R. Simon Mann sits second in the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, while the #81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R, now driven by Charlie Eastwood, holds a strong third place.
Reflecting on their competitive stance, Rui Andrade from TF Sport noted, “The safety car was really lucky… it came out at a good time for us and put us right in the mix.”
As the race progresses into daylight, the intensity is expected to escalate, promising a thrilling continuation of this high-stakes endurance battle.
