WEC Round 6 - 6 Hours of COTA - 'Lone Star Le Mans'

Since its opening in 2012, the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) has quickly established itself as one of the world's finest racing circuits. A dramatic 41-metre climb into turn one is followed by a rapid descent into the esses, one of the few sections of track in the world where you can visibly see the aerodynamic stress placed on a Formula One car. This past weekend, the World Endurance Championship staged its sixth round of the season, the aptly nicknamed 'Lone Star Le Mans', a 6-hour race featuring Hypercars and LMGT3 machinery.

James Cottingham kicked off proceedings in the #59 McLaren, starting from P6 on the grid. Cottingham spent the majority of his time under Safety Car but, when green flag racing did ensue, the Brit seized his opportunity - firing up his tyres in tricky conditions and claiming positions. Taking over at the two hour 20 minute mark, Sebastien Baud had a stellar first stint in the worst conditions of the day, making several overtakes – including the sister #95 McLaren – and establishing the #59 McLaren’s place in the top three.

Texas weather would have the last laugh on Sunday, by conjuring up a heavy downpour in time for the race. As with all disciplines of motorsport, rain is a variable that can dramatically affect strategy, visibility and safety. When it rains in Texas it pours, and as such, a safety car start was deemed necessary. The safety car ultimately resulted in a race halting red flag, and when competition finally got underway, the #59 crew ran as high as 3rd IC.

Over to Gregoire Saucy for the final push – first with the challenge of worn wet tyres, and then fresh slicks. The Swiss driver initially lost places to the hunting BMW which came alive in the drying condition but with the McLaren’s tyres in the window, Saucy was flying, setting the fastest LMGT3 lap of the race on lap 114 of 115 and securing P4 at the finish with the podium just 3.7 seconds out of reach.

James Cottingham: “Solid performance from the team. Both cars were in contention for a podium throughout the race. Tricky conditions and high-risk strategy meant it wasn’t our day to be on the podium but P4 is close enough! And a huge congratulations to the sister car for their very deserved win after a faultless drive and smart strategy.”

Sebastien Baud: “We finished P4. Did a really good job for the whole team because the sister car finished P1 so it’s a very nice result for all the team. It was a very tricky race, a lot of rain, too much water on track and it is very difficult to manage overtaking and Hypercar traffic. During my stint, I did a good job and had a fun battle with Sean. At the end of the race, we switched to slick tyres which was a good strategy. The BMW was also very fast in these track conditions but it was difficult to take the battle with this car. Good race, very happy for the team and now we stay focussed on Fuji. I want to get the podium for both cars! I’m very happy with my teammate James who did a very good job and was very fast in these conditions. Very big congratulations to Darren, Sean, Marino and the United Autosports and McLaren Automotive team. See you in Fuji!”

Gregoire Saucy: “First of all, congratulations to the sister car for the win. That is also a good result for us! I wanted to go to the podium too with my two teammates. We were close but at the end it’s P4. So really good results for both cars at the end. It was quite tricky conditions with really wet weather at the start and then we put the slicks on for the last stint. It was really difficult at the start with low grip but we managed to come back P4 at the end with the fastest lap of the race. We were missing two or three laps to finish in the podium. But we showed strong pace all the race, my two teammates did a mega job too and now we need to look forward to a race win or at least a podium in Fuji.”

Later this month, the historic Fuji Speedway will host the 7th round of the championship.