Alonso Closer to WEC Title With 1000 Miles of Sebring Victory

[Paul Jeffrey]

Toyota Gazoo Racing secured victory at the 1000 Miles of Sebring today, Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima heading a Toyota 1-2 at the American classic.

Alonso and Co. have surprisingly failed to pick up a race victory in the World Endurance Championship since their historic Le Mans victory in June, however by way of consistent results and some misfortune for the sister car, the double Formula One World Champion and his team mates remain ahead in the standings - extending their advantage yet further thanks to a fine performance at the 1000 Miles of Sebring race over in Florida.

Thanks to a stunning lap record performance run from Alonso yesterday, the #8 car would start from Pole Position once the green flag dropped, and never really looked like relinquishing the lead throughout the race - despite a late race downpour adding an element of jeopardy throughout the field, something Alonso was thankful to have avoided curtesy of having completed his planned stints earlier in the race:

"When it rained, I preferred not to be in the car, seeing the conditions, which were a bit like Daytona, with lots of water, aquaplaning everywhere, poor visibility, at night" said Alonso.​

"Kazuki is a super-reliable driver in that regard. He does not make mistakes and he has his calm point; sometimes Sebastien and I are more Latinos, more fiery in that sense.

"In conditions like today, he was a perfect man to have in the car."​

The #8 crew would be grateful for a mistake from the sister machine earlier in the event to allow itself some breathing space in the difficult conditions right at the end, having earlier withstood pressure from the #7 before Jose Maria Lopez incurred accident damage that necessitated a trip to the pit box and two laps lost to the front running car. With that pressure removed, it would be a case of just stoking it home for Toyota at the front of the field, allowing the big name drivers of the #8 to almost taste the championship as the series heads into the final two rounds of the current 'Super Season' campaign.

Completing the podium would be former Grand Prix driver and WEC returnee Brendon Hartley in the #11 SMP Racing machine, the Kiwi having a strong return to the category as he joined teammates Mikhail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov on the third step of the rostrum.

In LMP2, victory would go to the Jackie Chan DC Racing trio of David Heinemeier Hansson, Jordan King and Will Stevens, the #37 Oreca car dominating the category throughout the race, so much so that they eventually finished an impressive fourth overall, albeit some distance behind the podium trio of LMP1 machines.

In GTE it would be heartbreak for the BMW squad, caught out by the late downpour whilst in a comfortable lead to hand victory to Porsche, failing to match their German rivals in the race to bolt on wet tyres in the increasingly difficult conditions, eventually dropping down to second but remaining ahead of early leaders Ford, who would round out the GTE podium placings.

A good race, a tense ending and a popular winner. WEC dead? If you ask me, there is still life in the old dog yet.

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[Bob Gnarley]

Please stop putting spoilers in thread titles, in a thread yes, but not in the title of a thread on the home page. I get that you are a genuine race fan and get a bit "enthusiastic" sometimes but please spare a thought for those that didn't catch it live.

Thank you Paul.

 

[CGroinder]

Please stop putting spoilers in thread titles, in a thread yes, but not in the title of a thread on the home page. I get that you are a genuine race fan and get a bit "enthusiastic" sometimes but please spare a thought for those that didn't catch it live.

Thank you Paul.

+1

 

[Sky]

it would only be a spoiler if a toyota didn't win.

 

[Durge Driven]

Thanks again for the spoilers

Ruined a wet weekend get comfier and see if Alonso could do it

edit: There is no stream on their site (FIAWEC) anyway
Looks like this is the beginning of the end of watching free motorsports live
More and more sites are delaying the replays
They are going to lose heaps of viewers

 

[Oscurr]

Thanks again for the spoilers

Ruined a wet weekend get comfier and see if Alonso could do it

edit: There is no stream on their site (FIAWEC) anyway
Looks like this is the beginning of the end of watching free motorsports live
More and more sites are delaying the replays
They are going to lose heaps of viewers

The race was streamed on free TV and some unlisted youtube streams

 

[Durge Driven]

I never said it wasn't

I said it wasn't on WEC site
The latest FE race is not up on FE site yet either
It is the shape of things to come

Now........show me this you tube of FULL race

 

[aka2k]

I miss the days when Alonso was a champion contender in F1. Granted, it wasn't a great time on F1, but better than snooze fest that is now.

Anyway, it's awesome to see him doing this good.

 

[Boby Kim]

Please stop putting spoilers in thread titles, in a thread yes, but not in the title of a thread on the home page. I get that you are a genuine race fan and get a bit "enthusiastic" sometimes but please spare a thought for those that didn't catch it live.

Thank you Paul.

I've said this before but all they care about is F1...

 

[Isaac Chavira]

Please stop putting spoilers in thread titles, in a thread yes, but not in the title of a thread on the home page. I get that you are a genuine race fan and get a bit "enthusiastic" sometimes but please spare a thought for those that didn't catch it live.

Thank you Paul.

I fully agree with this. It really bugs me when the F1 Instagram does this as soon as the race is over.

 

[Alex Townsend]

Normally i would get upset with a spoiler like this, but as @Sky eluded to, it's not as much of a spoiler as reading who won the F1 or Blancpain. It's going to be a Toyota as the race they're running is purely against each other in the same team. Kinda makes a mockery of the division in that they're only competing for points against A and B teams internally, but hey, that's what happens when other manufacturers no longer see the validity of a series to advertise their road going vehicles. Unfortunately that's the case with LMP1 in the WEC and it's slowly fading into obscurity. The series itself doesn't appear to have a massive following, seen by empty stands at most events, yet they expect people to pay to watch online. Blancpain is free to view and is gaining popularity year on year. Maybe WEC should stand back and take a look at their business model...?
Also, while all the other sports are moving to delayed and paid streaming, Blancpain is possibly stealing this market share of viewers by allowing free to view on YouTube. Once everyone needs Blancpain in their lives a small monthly or yearly fee won't be something that people have an issue with down the line, if they choose to do that of course. I'm pretty sure the advertising reach and thus revenue is being shared out fairly amongst the organisers and teams etc., hence the growth into more series and locations across the world.

 

[Richard Dastardly]

IMSA stream everything free unless you're in a country with a TV deal. NISMO stream SuperGT and Blancpain free, the SRO stream most of their sanctioned races free. WEC races seem to show up on the WEC YT channel a few months later, although it's possible their Eurosport deal is quite restrictive.

As fof the title - yet again,
endurance racing is a team event, Alonso is no more important than the other drivers who are also just as close to the title. If you want to fanboy Alonso then post it in the F1 forum. At this point I can't wait until he disappears off to indycars & I can get balanced news again, and I was initially interested in how he'd do.