Race Highlights | Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo 2025 | FIA WEC

Bom dia! Hello, good morning, welcome to Sao Paulo for the Rolex 6 Hours Round 5 of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship. We are getting ready for the start of the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo here in Brazil. LMGT3 looks well placed as well. We should be good to go green. Lights are out, we go green and it is Will Stevens who takes the lead. The number 5 of Julian Andlauer. The Porsche under pressure around the outside. Earl Bamber trying to go through down into Turn 2. But the road comes in favour of Andlauer in the red and white Porsche. Behind the white nose of the Peugeot, Leich Duval right with them. There's a little gap back there to the number 20 BMW. Duval weaving furiously to try and build some heat in the Peugeot's front tyres. But it is Will Stevens that leads from Julian Andlauer and Earl Bamber. Leich Duval is right there. Little gap back to the BMW. And behind the number 20 BMW of René Rast is Mikkel Jensen in the second. And the Peugeot is the challenge for the lead. The Porsche with great move up the inside. And it is Julian Andlauer who jumps Will Stevens as they get to that double right-hander at the top of the hill. Turn 6 and 7. And the change for the Peugeot as well. Leich Duval, Mikkel Jensen rather, has gone by René Rast. And it does look like Will Stevens has not got heat in the front because he's under pressure from the second of the Hurst Team Jota caddies of Earl Bamber. And watch the red and white Porsche on the left-hand side of your screen challenging Will Stevens down into Turn 1. First call though was to hold off Earl Bamber who was going high, wide and handsome around the outside. Neat and tidy start in Hypercar. All of these guys in Hypercar, first few corners did a great job keeping out of trouble. A few positions changed but not too dramatic. But it's that horrible thing of you can be a hero in lap 1 but you can certainly go to zero. And that really does affect the rest of your race. We just got a little bit of the end of that. I do wonder whether or not when we see the start under review whether or not there might be a couple of questions about cars being out of position across the grid hatchings. Looked a little messy to me. Gaining and losing a couple of three places. So that was 21, Francois Hériot on the dirt. Got a little bit messy there didn't it at the start of the race at GT3. It was that over the grass. And then that was the 46 BMW in trouble to the outside briefly. Challenge for second place. Umbra Rescu goes back past Darren Leung in the McLaren. So Leung in the orange McLaren down to third. Umbra Rescu, the red and white Lexus back up to second place. Looks like they've now got a bit more heat in the tyre. Down the inside comes the 009 Aston Martin on the 36 Alpine of Fred Macaviki and he tucks him up. Good move Darren. An easy straightforward move down the inside. Both of them sort of running a bit wider in Turn 1 and then obviously trying to grab it back for Turn 2. That's not good news. You can see how early... Oh no, it's actually... Yep, you saw Ferdi Habsburg being congratulated, commiserated with by the team. They're out of the race for sure. This move is here right this moment. So great, just needs to get it turned in. Hopefully James can't then attack again on the way through. But that looks like the deal's done. Although just a bit too early on the gas. And now we'll be in full defence mode on the way down to Turn 4. And it's the number 10 car. That is the car that started on pole. Tony McIntosh in for a double stint. Okay, in traffic. It is Augusto Pfaff who's going around the outside. Darren, you're a driver. He's lucky with that next bit. Oh, and a rotation for the championship leaders. That's the 92 Porsche. Ryan Hardwick, another of the bronze drivers who started the race. Hard, good here. Oh, number 8 Toyota was on the dirt there as well. That looks like a misunderstanding in traffic. It is going away more dramatically than it is on the verge. As you saw then, getting back on the power and having a bit of a wiggle on the way out. But this is, look, here we go. Traffic played a part of that and it gave the Porsche that slingshot around the outside and finally gets the move done. Looking for the lead. To the outside comes the Cadillac. Porsche using the GT car, but it's not going to work there I don't think. Side by side again. Porsche muscles its way back ahead. It will still be there. Poor old McLaren being clattered either side almost. But this is a good run down to the next turn from the 38 car. 12 is right there waiting as well. Slightly overdid it there. Underneath him at this point as well. Those kerbs on the exit, they just really upset the traction of the car. And obviously wheels now back up to second position. He's not going to be held up by this battle. Wants to get to and through pit lane as quickly as possible. It's a different strategy now. Because of that drive-through penalty, they've opted to put him slightly out of sequence with the sister car. 38 desperate to get back into the fight with the 5. And the 12 looking to get around the outside of the Porsche. He's the quicker car at the moment. Great moments and I think he's going to do it here. Is this going to be the opportunity? I think it is. He goes to the outside. Now is he going to try and get the switch back or just hang him out? Got him, got him, got him. Amazing. Absolutely perfect. Great stuff. Now it'll be interesting to see what the gap is. You know, if he can pull away at this point. There's a bit of drive-through. The drive-through, yep, that's 87. Watch for Bentuk. Bentuk following down pit lane for his full stop. But watch to the right-hand side. Don't think we're going to see the 78 car go through. This is 78 coming down now to pit entry. Richard Nakayama, his second drive in the car this season. I was saying earlier in the weekend, remarkably, here comes the 87. So the gap, I think, will be fairly visual. Remarkably, Nakayama. Ferrari got the tow here. Yeah, it looked like the Toyota wasn't even going to try and defend on this lap. Oh, I think just in front, there's been... No, the Aston Martin was behind anyway. I was just saying that Kamui Kobayashi is in front of the 009. There they are. In formation for the pit lane. Car 51, 5-1. Drive-through penalty for unsafe manoeuvre. Alessandro Pierguidi, it was determined, not giving survival room to the 99 Porsche of Nico Veron. Meanwhile, she's on the outside. Becomes the inside. Can she hang on? Fantastic race for both drivers. Charlie using some force there to manoeuvre Michelle to the outside of Turn 1 and then having the line through Turn 2. And, you know, that's the gap now, isn't it? Tried super hard to hang out on the outside there. That would have given Michelle the inside for Turn 2. Julian Andlauer will desperately try and make it a Porsche second place as at Le Mans. But, again, getting around the Ferrari LMGT3 car. That sort of worked for Bordet. Again, you highlighted the top of the hill there, 6 and 7. So hard to get by the GT traffic. He made a pretty decent fist of it there. And now Andlauer, slow up the hill. That's going to see the gap increase, Darren. That's right. I mean, that's this whole concertina effect with the GT cars. It will go in your favour. Sometimes it will and other times it won't be in your favour. There goes the BMW. And that was all about the traffic. It's been like that all day, Darren. Great battles in LMGT3. Porsche coming back, though. I mean, that will happen with it being sort of boxed in through Turn 2 and 3 with the GT car losing the momentum on the way down to Turn 4. And when he catches him just into Turn 7, that's going to slow him right down. Andlauer has a clean run through the double right hander. Drops down the hill and Bordet still behind the McLaren. And still behind the McLaren. It's exactly what you said in your intro to the track six hours ago, Darren Turner. That middle sector is a nightmare for getting by slower traffic. And it's obviously worked in favour for the Porsche through that sector. He's going to get close enough here, Darren, to get the run on this run to the line. This is about the final podium spot. Michel Gatting or Eduardo Barrichello. She leaves him the outside line again at Turn 4. Compromising the exit there. He's actually got the speed out of this one now. Wriggling his way through up the hill into Turn 6. The crowd go wild. They're watching it on the big screens. Eduardo Barrichello, the pole man, is up to third place. He's gone ahead of Michel Gatting. Make sure there isn't an opening. This will happen from Turn 4. Going in a bit deep on the brakes, running a bit higher on the kerb and giving Eduardo momentum on the way out. A little lock up into Turn 1 of the Senna S's from the Caddy. And it's the two battling cars for second place, dealing with the traffic. Checkered flag awaits. Norman Nato was away on Formula E duty when Hertz Team Jota won with Porsche in Spa last year. Now he is going to bring it to the flag as Hertz Team Jota become the only team to have won with two different marks in hypercar. Cadillac claim their first World Endurance Championship win. And it looks as though it is going to be a 1-2 for the brand and for the team. Norman Nato, Alex Lin and Will Stevens claim victory. And Sebastian Bordet is going to hang on to take second ahead of the Porsche. A 1-2 for Cadillac and Hertz Team Jota. What a result in Brazil. First victory for me as well in hypercar. I missed the race last year in Spa when the guy won. So now I'm really pleased for everyone. For Alex, for Cadillac and for Jota. It's a new team. As you saw, we did a pretty strong Le Mans. To keep going and make progress and to be aware of that. So big thanks to the team next to me and to all the team. In a day of firsts, it's a first World Endurance Championship victory for Lexus as well. Jose Maria Lopez taking the checker in the 87 car with Clement Schmitt and Pedro Umbra rescue. A huge result for the ECODIS ASP team. They have turned this car from a nightmare into a dream machine. Result of the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. A 1-2 for Cadillac, Hertz Team Jota. Porsche Penske's number five car in third. The only cars remaining on the lead lap. In LMGT3, the first victory in the championship for Lexus and ECODIS ASP. TF Sport taking second. Racing Spirit to Le Mans, completing the podium ahead of the Iron Dames. Big cheers from the Cadillac crew. A 1-2 result. The stuff of dreams here in Sao Paulo. The mayor of Sao Paulo presenting the trophies. And a huge Brazilian crowd flooding onto the pit straight to join in the celebrations. Ferrari still leads at the manufacturer standings from Toyota. Porsche and Cadillac gaining ground here today. As Ferrari and Toyota both struggled. That is it from the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. Fast and frenetic with two first-time winners.