24h Le Mans
The FIA World Endurance Championship is headed to Italy for the 6 Hours of Monza on 7-9 July with the titles in all three classes up for grabs!
In the wake of Ferrari AF Corse's win at the 24 Hours Centenary, fourth round of the season, the battle for the title has reached fever pitch in the Hypercar class. Ferrari is now hot on TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's heels, trailing by only 18 points. Meanwhile, the fight for the LMP2 crown is even tighter with only four points separating Team WRT and Inter Europol Competition, class winners at Le Mans. Corvette Racing boasts a significant lead in LMGTE Am, earning 133 points since the beginning of the season thanks to three victories and one second place finish, and is currently enjoying a 74-point advantage on ORT by TF and its #25 Aston Martin Vantage AMR.
Thirty-six cars will take the track at the 5.793-km Autodromo Nazionale Monza, more commonly known as the "temple of speed." This circuit is famous for long straights where the Hypercars are expected to reach at least 318 kph. Drivers will cover nearly 60% of every lap at full throttle and change gears 36 times. The race is a real challenge for team mechanics!
The tifosi (Italian fans) will have lots to cheer on at this weekend's 6 Hours of Monza: the Ferrari 499P after its recent win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fact 12 of the 108 drivers in the race are Italian and that six Ferraris will take the start (two 499Ps in Hypercar and four 488 GTE Evos in LMGTE Am).
Just like at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 13 cars will compete in the Hypercar class. The additional Cadillac V-Series.R will be replaced by a Porsche 963 fielded by Proton Competition. The newcomer brings the total to four 963s in the race with the #99 joining the #5 and #6 of Porsche Penske Motorsport and JOTA's #28. Rome native and two-time LMGTE Pro world champion Gianmaria Bruni will share the wheel of the #99 with 2016 world endurance champion Neel Jani and Harry Tincknell. Proton Competition intends to use the 6 Hours of Monza to continue familiarising itself with the new car.
The action on the track will kick off with free practices on Friday 7 July and qualifying is set for Saturday afternoon. The start of the race will be given on Sunday at 12:30 local time by Italian driver and event Grand Marshal Dindo Capello, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner in 2003, 2004 and 2008.
The 2023 6 Hours of Monza Entry List.
To follow the fifth round of the 2023 season, go to the official FIA WEC app, or watch live on TV on Eurosport 2 and La Chaîne L’Equipe.
Stream Free Practice 3 live on the FIA WEC YouTube channel.
