6 HOURS OF SÃO PAULO: CADILLAC DOUBLE BREAKS FERRARI'S DOMINANCE

Cadillac made history in the FIA World Endurance Championship by claiming its first dominant victory in the series. The stage for the American triumph was the 6 Hours of São Paulo, where the U.S. manufacturer—fielded by the Jota team—delivered a flawless performance. The two V-Series.R LMDh cars stole the spotlight, crossing the finish line in formation: the #2 car driven by Lynn, Stevens, and Nato took the win ahead of its sister car piloted by Bourdais, Bamber, and Button, sealing a commanding one-two finish.

Except for the first hour, the entire race had only one clear leader. The Cadillacs proved untouchable thanks to a winning combination of reliability, race pace, and—not least—a Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustment that clearly worked in their favor. Only the top three Hypercars finished on the lead lap; all others were lapped, underlining a near-embarrassing level of dominance.

A One-Sided Race: Cadillac Untouchable

Starting from pole, Will Stevens quickly lost the lead to Julien Andlauer’s Porsche and then had to serve a drive-through penalty due to tire pressure irregularities. But that setback proved temporary. Stevens soon fought back with a superior race pace, and during the second hour, Lynn retook the lead—never to give it up again.

Porsche tried to hold on to second place, but Bourdais eventually overtook Andlauer in the closing stages. Cadillac thus broke Ferrari’s stranglehold on the championship, which had dominated the first half of the season. The podium was completed by the Porsche 963 of Andlauer and Christensen—still a decent result for the Stuttgart-based manufacturer after an otherwise tough weekend.

German Teams Chase, Toyota Disappoints

Fourth place went to the other Porsche Penske Motorsport entry of Vanthoor and Estre, who fought back from seventh on the grid. Behind them came the BMW of Rast, Wittmann, and van der Linde, the lone finisher after their sister car retired early due to brake issues.

Peugeot’s 9X8s came home in sixth and seventh, finally showing competitiveness thanks to a more favorable BoP. Duval and Jakobsen edged out teammates Jensen and Di Resta, staying close to the lead group for much of the race.

Ferrari, fresh off a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, had a weekend to forget. The crew of Pier Guidi-Giovinazzi-Calado finished 11th, just ahead of Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen, who were also delayed by contact with Keating that damaged the rear of their 499P.

Toyota fared even worse: the GR010 Hybrids were never truly in contention and finished outside the top ten in 14th and 15th place, even behind the Aston Martin Valkyrie.

LMGT3: Lexus Shines, Iron Dames Fight Hard

The LMGT3 class delivered a far more exciting and hard-fought race. After a pole position start with Anthony McIntosh in the Aston Martin Vantage, it was the Lexus RC F GT3 from the Akkodis ASP team—driven by Umbrarescu, Lopez, and Schmidt—that took the lead and held it to the checkered flag, despite a pit lane speeding penalty.

Behind them, the fight for the podium was intense. The Iron Dames, driving a Porsche, looked set for second place, but in the closing minutes, Michelle Gatting yielded to pressure from Charlie Eastwood, who took Corvette to second. Then, on the final lap, Eduardo Barrichello made a stunning move to steal third, earning a roar from the Brazilian crowd.

The second Lexus finished fifth, just ahead of the Porsche of Pera-Lietz-Hardwick, which claimed sixth after a solid comeback. Also in the top ten was the BMW M4 GT3 driven by Valentino Rossi, who delivered a strong performance.

Ferrari Penalized, Ford KO

It was a tough race for the Ferrari GT3s, affected by the Success Handicap and relegated to 11th and 13th place. Ford Mustang GT3’s Sunday was even worse: one car retired mid-race due to a damper issue, and the second car was sidelined by exhaust problems with about an hour to go.

© Cavalieri Garage & Co.