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FIA WEC, 6 Hours of
Fuji – Post Race Wow, what a race, and what an
event! Gerard Neveu noted that this was the benchmark event for the WEC going
forward and he’s right; Sebring and Le Mans are established classics but the FIA
WEC is a brave new world with history of its own to write and this was a very
good starting point. 50,000 fans came to see this one over the weekend and, for
once, that’s a believable figure from an international sportscar race!
Toyota’s second WEC win - this
time on what is very much home ground - was emotionally charged for all
concerned, but for no-one more so than Kazuki Nakajima. The local hero set pole,
fastest lap and of course shared the winners’ laurels for this
one. And it was a double win for
Toyota as Rebellion brought home both the race win (for the #12 Lola Toyota of
Neel Jani and Nico Prost) and the LMP1 Privateers Championship – a very proud
day for Bart Hayden and his crew; many of whom will now be travelling to
Atlanta, where they’ll look to add a further significant piece of silverware to
the 2012 trophy cabinet. Their performance all season
has been top drawer - technically, logistically and on track. The old man would
have been proud, but he’d have been prouder still that his boy won this
one. The Drivers Championship goes
to the wire; the #1 crew though extend their advantage. The title now theirs to
lose, but there are still six hours of racing to get through in
Shanghai! In LMP2 there was a race win
for ADR-Delta and their Oreca Nissan that was, if anything, even more
emotionally charged. The death on
Wednesday of Tor Graves’ father Bob, a lifelong supporter of worthy causes in
motorsport and far beyond, could have been a hammer blow to the team. Instead, they rallied and dedicated both
the effort and the win to his memory – he’s another great man that would have
been proud of the way they performed. The LMP2 Championship, though,
was nailed here by Starworks; another fairytale result from the little team that
sees Peter Baron and his (not so) Dirty Dozen adding the inaugural LMP2 WEC
title to their runner-up trophy in Grand-Am and their win in the North American
Endurance Championship. Enzo Potolicchio was near to
tears as he reflected on a simply incredible season. The team dominated a very high quality
field where it mattered - on the track. And, as HPD’s Steve Eriksen observed in
the paddock later, their results already have the phones ringing with enquiries
for 2013! That wrapped up three race wins
and two titles settled today, all powered by Japanese engines; and happily all
three marques involved had a headline to
celebrate. So too did Felbermayr Proton
and Porsche, the #77 squad of Lieb and Lietz dominating proceedings as they
found the temperatures here very much to their, and their Porsche’s,
liking. The title may be gone but
at least the smiles are back! And finally GTE Am, where it
seemed - for a brief moment, as the #50 Corvette was shown a black and orange
flag - like we might see yet another turn of the knife for Larbre in a season
which has seen them lose two race wins already to technical
infringements. The lighting issue though was
sorted, and their lead over the #88 Porsche is extended. Again now the title is
theirs to lose in China where, visas willing, we’ll be in just two weeks time.
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