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WEC - 6 Hours of Monza preview

13.07.21

Round 3 of the FIA World Endurance Championship will take place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy.  While The Prologue, the official preseason test, was held at Monza in 2017, the FIA WEC has never raced at Italy’s premier race circuit. 

Race duration:6 hours
Location: 

The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a historic racetrack near the city of 

Monza, north of Milan. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis.

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Viale di Vedano, 5, 20900 Monza MB, Italy

Tel:       +39 039 24821
web:     www.monzanet.it

Airports:

Milan Linate – 16 miles / 26 km    

Milan Malpensa – 36 miles / 58 km 

HIGHLIGHTS FOR ROUND 3

The 6 Hours of Monza will be the final test for the teams and drivers before the ‘big one’, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in August. Some teams and drivers were able to get extra practice at Monza when the European Le Mans Series held Round 4 of the 2021 season, the 4 Hours of Monza, on Sunday 11 July.

  • The 6 Hours of Monza will see an additional car in Hypercar class with the second Glickenhaus 007 LMH making its WEC debut in Italy. This brings the total number of cars in the class up to five alongside the two Toyota GR010 Hybrids and the Alpine A480-Gibson.
  • 37 cars are entered for the 6 Hours of Monza – 5 LMH, 12 LMP2, 4 LMGTE Pro, 16 LMGTE Am
  • The 6 Hours of Monza is the second of three 6-hour races on the 2021 calendar, the third 6-hour race now being held at the Bahrain International Circuit on Saturday 30 October following the cancellation of the 6 Hours of Fuji last week.
  • The 6 Hours of Monza will be hosting a limited number of spectators as the first FIA WEC race since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
  • Ferrari is currently leading the LMGTE World Endurance Manufacturers Championship with an 18-point advantage over Porsche in the standings.  
  • 2017 World GTE Champion Alessandro Pier Guidi will be racing the #51 Ferrari at home and has already enjoyed the view from the top step of the Monza podium after winning the ELMS 4 Hours of Monza with the Spirit of Race Ferrari on Sunday 11 July.  
  • There are 14 Italian drivers amongst the 106 entrants due to take part in Round 3 of the 2021 FIA WEC. All of the Italian drivers are taking part in the LMGTE classes, two in LMGTE Pro and twelve in LMGTE Am.
  • There will be 10 Ferrari 488 GTE EVOs on the grid. Eight of these will be run by Italian teams AF Corse (5), Iron Lynx (2) and Cetilar Racing (1).  German team Rinaldi Racing and British team Inception Racing will each run a single Ferrari at the 6 Hours of Monza.
  • Peugeot will display their recently unveiled 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar at Monza. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT ROUND 2 – 8 Hours of Portimão 

Round 2 of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship saw an epic battle for victory in each of the classes, with Toyota Gazoo Racing taking a 1-2 at the head of the 32-car field at the end of the 8 Hours of Portimão. The #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid, driven by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Kazuki Nakajima, took a last gasp win after being challenged by the #7 Toyota in the final 15 minutes of the race and a race long challenge by the #36 Alpine Elf Matmut A480-Gibson. 

In LMGTE Pro, Ferrari turned the tables on pole-sitting Porsche to claim a conclusive 1-2 with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi taking maximum race points on Calado’s birthday.

There was also an epic fight in LMP2, with British team JOTA also scoring a 1-2 after a fascinating late race battle between the #38 and #28 Oreca-Gibsons, which saw local favourite, and FIA Formula E Champion, Antonio Felix da Costa take a very popular win alongside Roberto Gonzalez and 2014 World Champion Anthony Davidson.

The LMGTE Am battle saw the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari secure a debut WEC victory for the all Italian team of Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto, Antonio Fuoco

 

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERS AFTER ROUND 2
LMH  
1st

Brendon HARTLEY / Kazuki NAKAJIMA / Sebastien BUEMI

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing - Toyota GR010 Hybrid

63 pts
2nd

Jose Maria LOPEZ / Kamui KOBAYASHI / Mike CONWAY

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing - Toyota GR010 Hybrid

43 pts
LMGTE Pro

 

 
1st

Alessandro PIER GUIDI / James CALADO

#51 AF Corse – Ferrari 488 GTE EVO

56 pts
2nd

Kevin ESTRE / Neel JANI

#92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19

50 pts
LMP2      
1st

Anthony DAVIDSON / Antonio Felix DA COSTA / Roberto GONZALEZ

#38 JOTA - Oreca 07-Gibson

56 pts
2nd

Phil HANSON

#22 United Autosports USA - Oreca 07-Gibson

49 pts
LMGTE Am  
1st

Antonio FUOCO / Giorgio SERNAGIOTTO / Roberto LACORTE

#47 Cetilar Racing - Ferrari 488 GTE EVO

53 pts
2nd

Francesco CASTELLACCI / Giancarlo FISICHELLA / Thomas FLOHR

#54 AF Corse – Ferrari 488 GTE EVO

35 pts

 

FIA WEC TIMETABLE
Thursday, 15 July 
13:00 - 19:00Scrutineering

Friday, 16 July  

 
15:30 – 17:00Free Practice 1
Saturday, 17 July 
09:30 – 11:00Free Practice 2
14:00 – 15:00 Free Practice 3 
18:00 – 18:10Qualifying – LMGTE Pro/LMGTE Am
18:20 – 18:30Qualifying - HYPERCAR/LMP2
18:45   Qualifying Press Conference

Sunday, 18 July

 
12:00 – 18:00 RACE: 6 Hours of Monza 
18:30   Post-race Press Conference 

 

FIA OFFICIALS

 

FIA Chairman of the Stewards

Jean-François VEROUX 

FIA International Steward

Tim MAYER

FIA Race Director

Eduardo FREITAS

FIA Technical Delegate

Manuel LEAL

FIA Sport Coordinator

Marek NAWARECKI

FIA Medical Delegate

Christian WAHLEN

Chief Timekeeper

Cristóbal LOPERA

FIA Driver Adviser

Yannick DALMAS

FIA Media Delegate

Jeff CARTER