With the rain that had been forecasted to fall on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez threatening to arrive in the final hour of the race, the teams all had one eye watching the dark clouds overhead. In the end the rain failed to appear and the 6 Hours of Mexico, Round 5 of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship, ran in dry conditions from start to finish.

For the second race in a row Porsche took maximum points to move further ahead of Toyota in the FIA World Endurance Manufacturers and Drivers Championships. 

The no2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber took the chequered flag 7 seconds ahead of their teammates Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy in the no1 car, which was initially battling with the sister car but lost time with drive-through penalty for speeding in pit lane.  The no2 Porsche also lost time when a fuel flow sensor also had to be replaced.

The two Porsches finished a lap ahead of the two Toyotas, the Japanese manufacturer having no answer to the speed of the German cars.  The no8 TS050 finished third keeping double race winners Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajimi in the hunt for the World Endurance Drivers Championship.

Aston Martin Win Duel With Ferrari in Mexico

In the GT FIA World Endurance Championship the no95 Aston Martin of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen took their first win of season after sensational race where they duelled throughout with the no71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE of Sam Bird and Davide Rigon

The race turned on a Full Course Yellow to clear some debris in penultimate hour, with Aston Martin electing to pit, putting the no95 Vantage right back on terms with the Ferrari.  The two cars battled for the top spot with the Ferrari holding the upperhand but a 10 second penalty was imposed on the no71 F488 for a Full Course Yellow speed infringement.  Rigon took the chequered flag but was not far enough ahead of Thiim’s Aston Martin and was classified second once the 10 second penalty was applied.

Porsche made it three different manufacturers on the podium in Mexico after the no91 911 RSR of Frederic Makowiecki and Richard Lietz battled through to take fourth podium of the 2017 season one lap ahead of the no67 Ford GT of Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell.

Senna, Prost and Canal Stand on Top Step of LMP2 Podium

The Vaillante Rebellion team claimed their first LMP2 win in the FIA WEC after Bruno Senna recovered from a last hour spin and intense pressure from no24 CEFC Manor TRS Oreca of Ben Hanley.

Hanley also had an intense battle with the Signatech Alpine of Nico Lapierre, which was resolved in Hanley’s favour only for the British driver to spin in the last ten minutes while pushing hard to catch the no31 Vaillante Rebellion Oreca-Gibson.

The spin handed the second place position to Lapierre, while Hanley recovered to score the CEFC Manor TRS Racing’s first WEC podium finish.  The championship leading no38 Jackie Chan DC Racing car of Ho-Pin Tung, Thomas Laurent and Oliver Jarvis finishes delayed ninth after a clutch problem, but head to Texas with a 23 point championship lead.

Two Wins in a Row for Dempsey-Proton Racing

For the second time in a row the no77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche team of Christian Ried, Matteo Cairoli and Marvin Dienst stood on the top step of the podium, extending their points lead to eight over the no61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari F488, which finished fifth in class in Mexico.

The no.98 Aston Martin Racing trio of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda provided a race long challenge to the German team, with Lamy taking an early lead but unable to fend off the flying Porsche crew.  The no98 Vantage took the chequered flag in second place but one lap behind the no77 Porsche.

Gulf Racing made it two Porsche teams on the podium as as Ben Barker, Mike Wainwright and Nick Foster secured the British team’s first podium finish of the 2017 season.

Round 6 of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship will take place on Saturday 16 September in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of The Americas.