Porsche was no match for Cadillac at the 6 Hours of São Paulo
The German manufacturer was well on the way to victory, but the speed of the Cadillacs was impressive. They had to settle for third and fourth place.
They were impressive. After a brilliant 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsches were expected. And they did not disappoint. After excellent qualifications, just behind the untouchable Cadillacs, the German cars could clearly dream of a good result.
Like at Le Mans, Julien Andlauer, in the #5, took the lead of the race from the first lap and tried to pull away. However, the #12 car, having started from pole, quickly came back in the wake of the 963 after a few laps to settle into its pace.
Faced with the power and superiority of American cars, the crew of the #5 could do nothing and settled for third place. In the championship, it’s an excellent result in terms of points since the two other manufacturers competing for the title, Ferrari and Toyota, finished far behind.
« Third and fourth places are a very good result for us in terms of the championship. We couldn’t beat Cadillac today, but we outperformed everyone else. Our Porsche 963 worked perfectly, and the team and drivers also did an impeccable job throughout the weekend. This is going in the right direction, and we are now looking forward to the rest of the season », emphasized Urs Kuratle, Director of Factory Motorsport LMDh.
This performance by Porsche should nevertheless be put into perspective as the BoP was completely missed by the championship organizers. Ferrari, which had been dominating the WEC until then, found itself stuck in the middle or even at the back of the pack. Nevertheless, these are significant points gained for the German brand, which has climbed to third place in the constructors’ standings.
« Third place is a good result for us. We did our best, but the Cadillacs were simply faster than us today. Julien had an excellent start and took the lead. However, we were not able to defend our first place over the distance. We can be satisfied with our performance, even if our expectations are obviously different. Considering the season so far, the progress is going in the right direction: we are getting stronger and stronger », praised Michael Christensen, from the #5 team.
The 6 Hours of Austin, in two months, will serve as another test and should be more representative.
