2015 6 Hours of Silverstone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Event information | |
|---|---|
| Round 1 of 8 in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship | |
 | |
| Date | 12 April 2015 |
| Location | Silverstone |
| Venue | Silverstone Circuit |
| Duration | 6 Hours |
| Results | |
| Laps completed | 201 |
| Distance (km) | 1184.091 |
| Distance (miles) | 735.861 |
| LMP1 | |
| Pole position | |
| Time | 1:39.721 |
| Team |  Porsche Team |
| Drivers |  Brendon Hartley Mark Webber |
| Winners | |
| Team | Audi Sport Team Joest |
| Drivers | André Lotterer Marcel Fässler Benoît Tréluyer |
| LMP2 | |
| Winners | |
| Team |  G-Drive Racing |
| Drivers |  Sam Bird Julien Canal Roman Rusinov |
| LMGTE Pro | |
| Winners | |
| Team |  AF Corse |
| Drivers | Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander |
| LMGTE Am | |
| Winners | |
| Team | Aston Martin Racing |
| Drivers |  Paul Dalla Lana Pedro Lamy Mathias Lauda |
The 2015 6 Hours of Silverstone was a six-hour endurance sports car racing event held for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars at the Silverstone Circuit near Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England on 12 April 2015 before a crowd of 45,000 spectators. The event served as the opening round of the 2015 World Endurance Championship; it was fourth running of the event as part of the championship.
A Porsche 919 Hybrid of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber qualified in pole position by setting the fastest lap in class. They led for the opening 80 minutes until they suffered a terminal rear drivetrain failure, promoting their teammates Marc Lieb, Neel Jani and Romain Dumas to first position. Thereafter, the trio battled an Audi R18 e-tron quattro shared by André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer for the lead throughout much of the event. Although the No. 7 tean took a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a track limits transgression in the final 14 minutes, they finished first to achieve Lotterer, Fässler and Tréluyer's ninth overall career victory in a record-breaking distance of 201 laps. Lieb, Dumas and Jani finished second and a Toyota TS040 Hybrid driven by Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Anthony Davidson was third.
The Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) category was won by the G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2 car shared by Roman Rusinov, Julien Canal and Sam Bird, which took the lead from the fast-starting KCMG Oreca 05 of Nick Tandy, Matthew Howson and Richard Bradley on lap six and held it for most of the race to win by one-lap over the sister crew of Gustavo Yacamán, Ricardo González and Pipo Derani which started from pole position. The AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GTE of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander passed their teammates James Calado and Davide Rigon following a battle during the race's fourth houro win the Le Mans Grand Touring Professional (LMGTE Pro) class. The second-placed car was the Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSR shared by Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen. The Le Mans Grand Touring Amateur (LMGTE Am) category was won by Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda in an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GTE by 13.712 seconds over the AF Corse Ferrari team of Rui Águas, Emmanuel Collard and François Perrodo.
The final results gave Lotterer, Fässler and Tréluyer an early Drivers' Championship lead with 25 points, seven ahead of Lieb, Jani and Dumas and a further three in front of Buemi, Nakajima and Davidson. Their teammates Mike Conway, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz were fourth on 12 points, and Loïc Duval, Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis were fifth with 10 points. Audi took the early lead of the Manufacturers' Championship with 35 points, seven points ahead of Toyota in second; the third-placed manufacturer Porsche had scored 19 points with seven rounds left in the season.
Entry list
A total of 29 cars were officially entered for the 6 Hours of Silverstone with most of the entries in the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) classes.[1][2] The 2014 race winners, Toyota, returned to defend their title. Three manufacturers, Porsche, Toyota and Audi Sport Team Joest, were represented in LMP1 by two cars each. Team ByKolles were the sole LMP1 privateer team partaking in the race.[2] Nissan were scheduled to debut two GT-R LM Nismos at the circuit but decided to forego the first two rounds after issues with the car during testing. The team decided to focus on making its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[3] Similarly, Rebellion Racing signed a contract to run Advanced Engine Research V6 twin-turbocharged engines instead of Toyota V8s they had used since 2012. This prompted the team to withdraw from the first two races so they and chassis developer Oreca could modify the R-Ones to accommodate the new engine.[4] After the retirement of nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, Audi internally promoted Oliver Jarvis to the squad.[5] ByKolles's Simon Trummer was stranded in Switzerland due to a French air traffic control strike, and Christian Klien, who was signed to drive for Team SARD Morand, was contacted on the day of the first practice session to take his place.[6][7]
LMP2 consisted of 8 cars with 27 drivers in 4 different types of chassis.[2] Defending LMP2 champions SMP Racing and driver Sergey Zlobin opted not to return, instead focusing on the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) to develop their new BR01 chassis.[8] 2013 class champions OAK Racing returned to the World Endurance Championship (WEC) under their own banner for team owner and driver Jacques Nicolet. Their G-Drive Racing team, which won four races in 2014, expanded to two-cars for 2015. All three entries used the Ligier JS P2-Nissan.[9] KCMG also remained in the WEC for 2015, replacing their Oreca 03R with the newer 05 car.[10] Strakka Racing, who had filed a full-season entry in 2014 but failed to race after development delays with their Strakka-Dome S103 car, returned for 2015 with an unchanged programme.[11]
Defending ELMS champions Signatech, who previously participated in 2012, had backing from Alpine with their Oreca-based A450 chassis with Nissan power.[12] Morand Racing also shifted from the ELMS, partnering with the Japanese firm SARD in a joint effort. The team initially entered two improved Morgan LMP2 cars with Judd engines but problems with a sale to data encryption company Kairos meant the team missed the event.[1] Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) was the series' sole North American-representative, moving from the United SportsCar Championship to the WEC, with their two HPD ARX-03bs after a pre-season testing issue forced them to discard the newer 04 chassis.[13] One of their drivers Johannes van Overbeek injured his rib due to a coughing fit the week before and was replaced by 2009 Le Mans co-winner David Brabham.[14][15]
The Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Professional (LMGTE Pro) field consisted of three manufacturers (Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche), while Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Amateur (LMGTE Am) included six teams: Aston Martin Racing, AF Corse, Larbre Compétition, Dempsey-Racing Proton, Porsche Team Manthley, and SMP Racing.[2] Three-time LMGTE champions AF Corse's Ferraris had a near identical line-up, and Porsche Team Manthey also kept the drivers for its two cars largely unchanged.[2] Aston Martin Racing expanded their effort to three cars for 2015 after partner Young Driver's entry, which won the LMGTE Am category in 2014, moved to the Pro class. They again fielded two cars in the LMGTE Am class. AF Corse also remained in the category, downgrading from a two-cars to one. Porsche added a second car for Manthey Racing.[16] 2012 LMGTE Am Teams' champions Larbre Compétition returned to the series for the first time in two years, campaigning the first customer Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.[17]
Preview
A FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Doha on 3 December 2014 confirmed the 6 Hours of Silverstone as part of the FIA WEC's 2015 schedule.[18] It was the first of eight endurance sports car races of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship,[18] and the fourth running of the event as part of the championship.[19] It was held on 12 April 2015 at the 3.661 mi (5.892 km) 18-turn Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England, following two days of practice and qualifying. Since the 2013 edition, the overall winners have been presented with the RAC Tourist Trophy.[19]
Audi's head of motorsport Wolfgang Ullrich said the manufacturer was ready for the upcoming season, and noted the closeness of the competition while setting Audi the objective to win at Silverstone for the third time in the WEC: "At the Prologue at Le Castellet, we met with our opponents for the first time in the 2015 season and were able to see everyone is thoroughly prepared – even though nobody put their cards on the table there."[20] Romain Dumas, one of three drivers of the No. 18 Porsche 919 Hybrid, expected more of a battle with his rivals than in 2014. His co-driver Marc Lieb said there was "a score to settle" after retiring early from the 2014 edition.[21] Defending series champions Sébastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson along with their co-driver Kazuki Nakajima revealed their aim of repeating their victory at Silverstone, but Buemi noted the unpredictability of the conditions at the track.[22]
Going into the race, the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, and the organiser of the series, Automobile Club de l'Ouest, altered the balance of performance in the LMGTE classes for the first time in the season to try to create parity. 10 kg (22 lb) of ballast was added to the LMGTE Pro class Ferrari 458 Italia and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage to reduce their handling abilities. The weight of the Porsche 911 RSR was lowered by 10 kg (22 lb) to increase its performance. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage also received a decrease in performance with the reduction of its air restrictor by 0.3 mm (0.012 in). No changes were made to the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.[23]
Practice
There were three practice sessions—one 90-minute session each on Friday afternoon and early evening and a one-hour session on Saturday morning—preceding Sunday's race.[19] The first session was held in sunny weather and most of the best efforts from the drivers came in its opening minutes.[24] Lucas di Grassi set the fastest lap in the No. 8 Audi at 1 minute, 42.291 seconds, 0.144 seconds faster than Mark Webber's No. 17 Porsche. André Lotterer in Audi's No. 7 vehicle was third, and Neel Jani was fourth in the sister Porsche. The fastest Toyota was fifth after a lap from Alexander Wurz.[25] Gustavo Yacamán led LMP2 in G-Drive Racing's No. 28 Ligier JS P2-Nissan car with a lap of 1 minute, 50.213 seconds, 0.053 seconds quicker than teammate Sam Bird. The No. 95 Aston Martin V8 Vantage driven by Nicki Thiim was quickest early on in LMGTE Pro. Klaus Bachler in the No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR led in LMGTE Am.[24]
Jarvis in the Audi No. 8 car led the second session early on before the No. 7 entry driven by Benoît Tréluyer's was fastest with the day's best time of 1 minute, 41.526 seconds. Jarvis's lap was 0.298 seconds slower putting the No. 8 car second overall.[26] Brendon Hartley was the best of the Porsches in third and his teammate Dumas was fourth.[26][27] The two Toyotas of Stéphane Sarrazin and Nakajima were fifth and sixth. The pair of G-Drive Racing Ligiers were again fastest in LMP2 with Pipo Derani going quickest of the day with a 1-minute, 48.676 seconds lap, and Bird six-tenths of a second slower. The two Porsche Team Manthey cars of Richard Lietz (No. 91) and Frédéric Makowiecki (No. 92) led LMGTE Pro. Pedro Lamy's No. 98 Aston Martin recorded the fastest lap in LMGTE Am.[27]
The third (and final) practice session was held in damp weather.[28] Buemi and Wurz's Toyotas were the early pace setters until Marcel Fässler's No. 7 Audi went faster as some cars went off the slippery track and into Copse corner's gravel trap.[29] A dry line began to appear after 25 minutes. The fastest laps fell by five seconds as Lotterer improved on co-driver Fässler's time.[29] Nelson Panciatici necessitated the showing of localised full course yellow flags when he spun and beached the No. 36 Signatech Alpine in the gravel trap at Stowe corner with 12 minutes to go.[28][29] After practice restarted, Lotterer set the fastest overall lap at 1 minute, 52.094 seconds in the final minutes.[30] Nakajima was the fastest of the two Toyotas in second, and Porsches teammates Lieb and Timo Bernhard were third and fourth.[31] Derani set a late lap of 2 minutes, 5.786 seconds to go fastest in LMP2, followed by Matthew Howson's No. 47 KCMG Oreca 05.[28][30] Makowiecki put the No. 92 Porsche atop of LMGTE Pro, as the fastest LMGTE Am lap came from Emmanuel Collard's AF Corse No. 83 Ferrari 458 Italia.[28][29]
Qualifying
Saturday's afternoon qualifying session was divided into two 20 minute groups.[19] Cars in LMGTE Pro and AM were sent out first before LMP1 and LMP2 entries. All cars were required to have two drivers set one timed lap each and their fastest average lap times set the starting order. The fastest team and drivers earned one point towards their respective championships.[32] Webber in the No. 17 Porsche set a benchmark 1 minute, 39.908 seconds lap. His co-driver Hartley went faster in clear air, with a 1-minute, 39.634 seconds time. The team claimed pole position with a two-lap average of 1 minute, 39.721 seconds.[33][34] They were joined on the grid's front row by their teammates Jani and Dumas who were 0.619 seconds slower. Dumas attributed the No. 18 car's slower pace to him making an error on his first lap and being delayed by slower traffic on his next try.[35] Di Grassi and Jarvis put the No. 8 Audi 0.012 seconds behind the slower Porsche in third. The fastest Toyota was the No. 1 car of Davidson and Nakajima in fourth after Nakajima lost time in slower traffic in the final third of the lap.[36][37] Lotterer and Fässler's No. 7 Audi took fifth and Sarrazin and Mike Conway's No. 2 Toyota qualified sixth.[33] The LMP1 manufacturer field was close together as the first six were separated by almost two seconds.[38] The crew of the No. 4 ByKolles Racing car were more than ten seconds slower than the manufacturer field and completed the LMP1 field.[34]
In LMP2, G-Drive Racing swept the front row of the class grid as Derani and Ricardo González in the No. 28 car took pole position by going faster than Roman Rusinov's and Olivier Pla 2014 pole lap with a two-lap average lap of 1 minute, 48.021 seconds, 0.062 seconds ahead of the sister No. 26 car of Rusinov and Bird.[39] Howson and Nick Tandy in the No. 47 KCMG car was 1.3 seconds slower in third.[34][37] Signatech Alpine's No. 36 vehicle came fourth in the hands of Paul-Loup Chatin and Vincent Capillaire. The No. 30 ESM car of Ryan Dalziel and David Heinemeier Hansson in fifth were 3.5 seconds slower than the new generation of class vehicles.[40][41] Thiim and Marco Sørensen, competing in the No. 97 Aston Martin, were the fastest LMGTE Pro qualifiers. They had the only two-lap average time under 2 minutes, at 1 minute, 59.970 seconds, although Sørensen made some minor errors on his lap.[38] Richie Stanaway and Fernando Rees in the No. 99 car were 0.206 seconds slower in second, while Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke's No. 95 car gave Aston Martin the first three positions in category.[34][37] Lietz and Michael Christensen sharing the No. 91 Porsche took fourth and the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander qualified fifth.[42] In LMGTE Am, Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana completed a sweep of GTE pole positions for Aston Martin with a two-lap class average of 2 minutes, 1.998 seconds, 0.937 seconds faster than Larbre Compétition's No. 50 Corvette of Paolo Ruberti and Kristian Poulsen in second.[38] The No. 88 Abu Dhabi Racing Proton Porsche driven by Khaled al Qubaisi and Bachler qualified third in class. The duo held second until the No. 50 Larbre Compétition Corvette went faster.[41]
Qualifying results
Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.[43]
| Pos | Class | Team | Average Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LMP1 | No. 17 Porsche Team | 1:39.721 | — | 1 |
| 2 | LMP1 | No. 18 Porsche Team | 1:40.340 | +0.619 | 2 |
| 3 | LMP1 | No. 8 Audi Sport Team Joest | 1:40.352 | +0.631 | 3 |
| 4 | LMP1 | No. 1 Toyota Racing | 1:40.382 | +0.661 | 4 |
| 5 | LMP1 | No. 7 Audi Sport Team Joest | 1:41.153 | +1.432 | 5 |
| 6 | LMP1 | No. 2 Toyota Racing | 1:41.694 | +1.973 | 6 |
| 7 | LMP2 | No. 28 G-Drive Racing | 1:48.021 | +8.300 | 7 |
| 8 | LMP2 | No. 26 G-Drive Racing | 1:48.083 | +8.362 | 8 |
| 9 | LMP2 | No. 47 KCMG | 1:49.389 | +9.668 | 9 |
| 10 | LMP2 | No. 36 Signatech Alpine | 1:49.498 | +9.777 | 10 |
| 11 | LMP1 | No. 4 Team ByKolles | 1:50.622 | +10.901 | 11 |
| 12 | LMP2 | No. 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports | 1:51.551 | +11.830 | 12 |
| 13 | LMP2 | No. 42 Strakka Racing | 1:52.284 | +12.563 | 13 |
| 14 | LMP2 | No. 35 OAK Racing | 1:53.457 | +13.736 | 14 |
| 15 | LMP2 | No. 31 Extreme Speed Motorsports | 1:55.491 | +15.770 | 15 |
| 16 | LMGTE Pro | No. 95 Aston Martin Racing | 1:59.970 | +20.249 | 16 |
| 17 | LMGTE Pro | No. 99 Aston Martin Racing V8 | 2:00.175 | +20.454 | 17 |
| 18 | LMGTE Pro | No. 97 Aston Martin Racing | 2:00.333 | +20.612 | 18 |
| 19 | LMGTE Pro | No. 91 Porsche Team Manthey | 2:00.651 | +20.930 | 19 |
| 20 | LMGTE Pro | No. 51 AF Corse | 2:00.701 | +20.980 | 20 |
| 21 | LMGTE Pro | No. 92 Porsche Team Manthey | 2:01.591 | +21.870 | 21 |
| 22 | LMGTE Am | No. 98 Aston Martin Racing | 2:01.998 | +22.277 | 22 |
| 23 | LMGTE Pro | No. 71 AF Corse | 2:02.156 | +22.435 | 23 |
| 24 | LMGTE Am | No. 50 Larbre Compétition | 2:02.937 | +23.216 | 24 |
| 25 | LMGTE Am | No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing | 2:03.134 | +23.413 | 25 |
| 26 | LMGTE Am | No. 83 AF Corse | 2:03.482 | +23.761 | 26 |
| 27 | LMGTE Am | No. 72 SMP Racing | 2:04.114 | +24.393 | 27 |
| 28 | LMGTE Am | No. 96 Aston Martin Racing | 2:05.050 | +25.329 | 28 |
| 29 | LMGTE Am | No. 77 Dempsey Racing-Proton | 2:06.024 | +26.303 | 29 |
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