Brazil: Team WRT drivers Ahmad al Harthy, Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi combined to perfectly execute an excellent strategy during round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Sao Paulo on Sunday, to claim a highly competitive top five finish.
Marking a very welcome return to the LMGT3 class points with a fantastic performance from 12th on the grid, the No.46 BMW M4 entry impressed throughout the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo with all three team-mates shining beneath the hot Brazilian sun.
Ending the encounter a mere 0.7 seconds shy of fourth place, Martin heavily pressuring the No.59 McLaren 720S during the final 10 minutes of action, the points for fifth in LMGT3 mean Al Harthy, Martin and Rossi depart South America an improved sixth in the provisional driver standings.
Al Harthy took the start of the race and he made absolutely sensational progress from 12th on the grid during the opening hour, charging through into the top six with some expert driving to put the Team WRT entry into the thick of the action.
Handing over the car to Martin at the opening pit-stop, he continued the terrific rise through the order and moved into the podium placings to run third ahead of the next round of pit-stops where Al Harthy returned to the driving seat for his second stint.
Holding seventh when he emerged from the pits, the Omani immediately got down to business and made his way back into the top six in quick order. Racing faultlessly, including some breath-taking four-wide action on the Tribunas Straight – which culminated with Al Harthy exquisitely taking the BMW to the head of the group – he rose as high as second before pitting late in the third hour.
Martin got back into the driving seat and headed out of the pits in seventh, then climbing into the top five. Just under an hour later, he dived back into the pits to hand over the BMW to Rossi for his first miles of the race.
Running in fifth early in hour five, Rossi traded position with the No.81 Corvette and with less than 90 minutes of the encounter remaining he was third as the next round of stops started. The Italian pitted and re-emerged in eighth with 75 minutes left on the clock and rose again to third as the different strategies played out.
Into the final half hour of action, Rossi pitted for the last time and Martin got back behind the wheel. Sixth with just 20 minutes to go, he moved up into fifth less than 10 minutes later and ran as one with the No.59 McLaren to the flag – Martin a mere 0.7 seconds shy of a top four result.
Round six of the FIA World Endurance Championship, known as the ‘Lone Star Le Mans’, will take place at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, over the weekend Saturday, 31st August, and Sunday, 1st September.
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