Endurance Weekly: 10th - 16th July
- DIVEBOMB Endurance Team
- Jul 16
- 7 min read
Written by the DIVEBOMB Endurance Team
This week on Endurance Weekly, the DIVEBOMB endurance team look towards the next round of the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWC EU) Sprint Cup at Misano, as well as looking back at the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and IMSA rounds in São Paulo and Mosport, plus report on all of the breaking news stories you may have missed.
WEC 6 Hours of São Paulo - Race Report
Will Stevens in the No.12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac led the field down to turn one, with the No.5 Porsche of Julien Andlauer behind challenging his teammate in the No.38. The Porsche won out, and later around the lap got Stevens for the lead too.
In LMGT3, the No.10 Racing Spirit of Lemans (RSL) Aston Martin led from pole, but soon lost out to the No.87 Lexus, who then began to pull out a gap on the rest of the field.
The first major problem for a car in the race hit the No.15 BMW Hypercar. They had a brake issue that didn’t quite take them out of the race, but put them several laps down from the rest of the pack.
A few laps later the No.35 Alpine had an issue too. The car's red Hybrid light turned on, meaning the car was live and unsafe to touch. The issue set them back many laps, meaning despite the fact they got back out on track, they ended up classified behind most of the LMGT3s.
The No.12 Cadillac then got a drive-through penalty for a technical infringement, which put them down to fourth place after sitting in second for most of the early part of the race.
Towards the end of the second hour, the No.38 Cadillac caught the Porsche for the lead and the two began to battle. After a scintillating battle, the Cadillac won out and took the lead of the race.
Not long after, a Full-Course Yellow (FCY) was called for a stray kite on the circuit, which was quickly cleaned up. The class leader in LMGT3, the No.87, got a drive-through, but due to the gap they had behind, they still held the lead of the race afterwards. A 40 second gap cut to 10.
At the front in Hypercar, they sorted themselves into two-by-two formation. The No.12 Cadillac retook the lead in pitstops and held the lead from the No.38, then came the No.5 and No.6 Porsches, ahead of the No.93 and No.94 Peugeots.
In the end the No.5 Porsche crew tried their best to grab second from the No.38, but ran out of time. Cadillac took home a 1-2 finish to break Ferrari's win streak, with the No.87 Lexus winning in the LMGT3 class.
The WEC grid will return to action in Austin, Texas in September, for the Lone Star Le Mans.
IMSA at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park - Race Report
The No.99 AO Racing car led from pole, and P.J. Hyett began to pull a gap out to the rest of the field during his opening stint. The No.1 BMW and No.12 Lexus both held their pole positions in GTD Pro and GTD respectively.
There were a few minor incidents early in the race, with the No.2 LMP2 spinning on its own, and the No.11 car being spun around by the No.22. Neither incident needed intervention, or any penalties.
After the first pit stops, Daniel Goldburg in that No.22 machine had cut the lead gap down to eight seconds. However, Hyett went on another charge, bringing the gap all the way back out to 18 seconds just 20 minutes later.
Strategy began to play out in both GTD classes, with most cars pitting after 40-45 minutes, but a few opted to stay out and go the full hour. Those that went longer benefitted, as when some were in the pits making their stops, the Full Course Yellow (FCY) was called for the No.04 LMP2.
George Kurtz at the wheel of the Crowdstrike car hit the wall hard, fortunately however he was unharmed.
At this point most of the cars in the field pit, save for those who had pit in the handful of laps preceding the intervention.
When we went back to green flag racing, Tom Dillmann in the No.43 Inter Europol LMP2 began to chase down the No.99 car, now driven by Dane Cameron. Dillmann was able to undercut the AO team in the next round of pit stops and led the race from there.
The No.78 was then tagged by the No.11 LMP2, and went into the wall at high speed, triggering a FCY. Mario Farnbacher was able to drive the car back to the pits however, despite the large incident.
When we went green again, Dillmann had a mechanical issue on the front right of the car, sending him head on into the barriers at high speed. Dillmann was extracted from the car, and has since said via social media: “I will need a bit of time to recover from an injury but I will be back swinging ASAP you can be sure!”.
The unfortunate incident meant that the No.99 took victory at CTMP. In GTD Pro it was the No.81 Ferrari taking honours and the No.45 Lamborghini in GTD.
GTWC EU Sprint Cup at Misano - Preview
The GT World Challenge Europe returns for the Misano Sprint Cup round, after the last round in the championship, the 24 Hours of Spa. Last time, it was the No.63 GRT Lamborghini squad who claimed victory at the iconic Belgian circuit, successfully defending from the No.96 Rutronik Porsche team, as well as the chasing No.51 Ferrari too.
However, as we come back into a Sprint Cup weekend for the first time since Zandvoort, and as we approach the second half of the season, there will be a stronger focus on the overall championship, now that most of the endurance rounds are out of the way.
Currently, all eyes are on the leading trio in the standings - the No.32 Team WRT of Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde. In second, the No.48 Mann-Filter Mercedes of Lucas Auer and Maro Engel and finally in third, the No.96 Rutronik Racing Porsche of Patrick Niederhauser and Sven Müller. These three cars are separated by just five-and-a-half points in the overall standings, with all to play for in the remaining races this season.
Now, in the endurance races this season, the BMW’s in general have struggled immensely for pace, especially when compared to the success that they have had in the Sprint Cup so far this year, which is why the No.32 Team WRT entry lead the standings.
A victory last time out in the Sprint Cup at Zandvoort and a podium at Brands Hatch ensures that they are on decent form in the Sprint Cup, finishing fifth in Zandvoort Race 2 and seventh at Brands Hatch in Race 1 - They have been scoring consistent points.
MotoGP legend and Italian home favourite, Valentino Rossi, makes his grand return to the Misano World Circuit this weekend with Raffaele Marciello, for a complete one-off in the Sprint Cup. Rossi took his maiden GT Win back in 2023 at Misano, and then added another victory at Misano in 2024, as well as another podium in Race 2.
The Italian icon always seems to have strong pace at this circuit, and the fans will show up in their droves to support the living legend this weekend, who looks to continue the impressive run of performances at Misano.
Rossi will be driving in the No.46 Team WRT BMW. As mentioned previously, the BMW’s have had a strong season so far in the Sprint Cup, and with Rossi’s prowess around Misano, you certainly cannot count him out.
However, the main focus will surely be on how well the No.46 car qualifies, as this will be the best indicator for race pace and to see if there is a genuine chance.
Rossi has had a tough season, leading the 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier this year in the World Endurance Championship before a technical issue saw them retire from the race altogether, a similar fate to when they also led Le Mans back in 2024 before being forced to retire too.
Therefore, Rossi and his army of fans dressed in yellow and fluorescent yellow, would like something to finally cheer about, and a victory at Misano might just allow that.
At the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, it’ll all come down to qualifying, with this circuit proving difficult to overtake at. Drivers’ best chance of overtaking is in the middle sector, particularly at Turns 7, 8 and 9.
The drivers hit the brakes hard into Turn 7’s left-hander coming off the back of a mid-length straight, which allows for cars to try and get a run on the other going into the next corner.
Turn 7 then leads straight into a double, long right-hander of Turns 8 and 9, again the drivers are hard on the brakes initially, and then slowly lift off the brake pedal through the corner, transitioning to the throttle, which they must apply slowly and consistently through Turn 9, to minimise wheelspin and maximise traction on the exit, as they go into a flat-out triple right-hander, before then slamming hard on the brakes again at Turn 13. Therefore, the exit from Turn 9 will be vital.
Qualifying will therefore be making all the difference, with this circuit being relatively difficult to overtake at, drivers must ensure that they qualify high enough up the grid in order to have a realistic chance of scoring points, and fighting for the podium places.
Some breaking news before coming into this weekend, as UNX Racing have joined the bronze cup, with a goal to involve more women in motorsport, as Marta García will step into the No.888 Porsche later this season.
In other news, Lamborghini has also revealed their next GT3 car, a successor to the very successful Huracán. This new car will be named the “Temerario.” Boasting a twin turbo engine, this V-8 supercar has its creators Lamborghini, feeling extremely confident that it will perform to the highest level next season in Sportscar racing.
Lamborghini did in fact win the 24 Hours of Spa with the Huracán, and therefore Lamborghini will be competing with themselves, as well as others when this Temerario gets to the circuit.
Breaking News
IMSA
BMW and RLL to end partnership at end of season
After the finale of the 2025 IMSA season, BMW and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) will end their partnership, which has lasted since 2009.
Their partnership started well, as they took the American Le Mans Series GT2 Team’s Championship in 2010, followed by Driver and Team’s titles in 2011. This was only the start of their success together.
In 2023, RLL were trusted to run the BMW M Hybrid V8’s in the GTP class. After three years of running the team's fastest cars, and a few wins under their belts, RLL will step down from their involvement with BMW.
It is suspected WRT will inherit the responsibilities of the GTP programme, as they are running the BMW Hypercar programme in the WEC at the moment.
Comments