Toyota scores double at Spa

Launched behind a safety car which returned to the track three times (exit of theAston Martin n°98, downpour and violent exit from the trackAlpine A470 n°36 – Signatech Alpine by Thomas Laurent), there was no shortage of action during the 2020 edition of 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, antepenultimate round of the WEC 2019-2020.

We just regret that the No. 13 Rebellion R1 was sorely lacking in pace at the start of the race, even finding itself ahead of the No. 1 Enso CLM P01/4-Gibson of ByKolles Racing and the fastest of the LM P2s. . A mistake which will even see her concede a turn to both Toyota TS050 Hybrid, therefore freed from any threat.

Between the two, it was the technique that made the difference. The engine of the No. 8 was, on several occasions, placed in an automatic protection mode. A problem still requiring clarification.

And even if the last interruption of the race allowed the trio Buemi-Nakajima-Hartley to return to the wing of the sister car, Toyota has made a habit of freezing the positions at the end of the last round of refueling.

The threesome Conway-Kobayashi-Lopez therefore signs his third victory of the season and consolidates his lead in the general classification. The podium is finally completed by the Rebellion of Menezes-Nato-Senna, which still concedes a lap to its Japanese rivals.

In LM P2, United Autosports has, once again, dictated its law. Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson and Paul di Resta completed a race free of any worries. If we believed for a timeAlpine A470 n°36 able to challenge his supremacy, Thomas Laurent lost control of his mount a little over an hour from the finish while he was trying to gain the advantage over Frits van Eerd.

Drama, massive crash happened to #36 @SignatechAlpine's @ThomasLaurent85 but fortunately he has walked away from it. He will be taken to the medical center for check. #6hSpa #WEC #WECRacesForYou pic.twitter.com/lshZkZVwOr

- WEC (@FIAWEC) August 15

The latter, supported by Giedo van der Garde and Job van Uitert, who allowed his employer Racing Team Nederland to finish third just behind the No. 42 Cool Racing Oreca. The Swiss stable and the Coigny-Borga association-Stone can leave with the feeling of a duty accomplished, Coigny being the best Bronze finisher.

En GTE Pro, Ferrari gave, in the rain, the impression of being able to fight with Porsche and Aston Martin. But once the track dried, the Italians were unable to do anything.

Victory ultimately goes to the Porsche 911 RSR n°92. Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre precede the finish of the two Aston Martin Vantage AMRs, the No. 95 of Sorensen-Thiim ahead of the No. 97 of Lynn-Martin.

AF Corse consoles itself with the GTE Am victory of the No. 488 Ferrari 83 GTE Evo of Perrodo-Collard-Nielsen, already arrived in Belgium at the top of the championship. Followed by the No. 911 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 77 RSR driven by Ried-Pera-Campbell and the No. 90 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR driven by Eastwood-Yoluc-Adam.

The next round of the 2019-2020 WEC is scheduled for September 19 and 20. And these are the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Discover the full report and analysis of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, produced by our special correspondent in the Ardennes, in issue 2274 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version and from Wednesday on newsstands.