2015 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

Sports car endurance race in Belgium April 2017 February 2017 BEL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps of 2015 2 8 2015 Spa-Francorchamps of Belgium.svg 2 May Stavelot Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours 176 1232.704 765.952 1:54.767 GER Porsche Team GER Timo BernhardNZL Brendon Hartley LMP1 GER Audi Sport Team Joest GER André LottererSUI Marcel FässlerFRA Benoît Tréluyer LMP2 GBR Jota Sport GBR Simon DolanGBR Harry TincknellNZL Mitch Evans LMGTE Pro GBR Aston Martin Racing V8 BRA Fernando ReesGBR Alex MacDowallNZL Richie Stanaway LMGTE Am GBR Aston Martin Racing CAN Paul Dalla LanaPOR Pedro LamyAUT Mathias LaudaThe 2015 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, formally the WEC 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps, was a six-hour endurance sports car racing event held for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars on 2 May at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. Spa-Francorchamps hosted the second race of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship with 54,000 people attending the race weekend. The No. 17 Porsche of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, and Mark Webber qualified in pole position and maintained the lead until it was issued with a stop-and-go penalty, allowing Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani to take over the lead. Audi's No. 7 car of André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer took over the lead when Jani made a scheduled pit stop. Lotterer and Lieb battled for the position until the former made a pit stop that had Tréluyer assume his driving duties. He overtook Lieb to move to the front of the race where he remained for the rest of the event to win after Audi elected to keep him on track. Lieb, Dumas and Jani finished second and Bernhard, Hartley and Webber was third. Lotterer, Fässler and Tréluyer covered a record-breaking track distance of 765.967 mi km over 176 laps. The Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) category was won by the No. 38 Jota Sport of Simon Dolan, Harry Tincknell and Mitch Evans. The car was penalised for jumping the start, but Evans took the class lead after passing co-pole sitter Julien Canal in the No. 26 G-Drive Racing entry and held it for most of the race to earn his first category win in the World Endurance Championship; while it was Dolan and Tincknell's second in the sport. The No. 99 Aston Martin Racing car of Fernando Rees, Richie Stanaway and Alex MacDowall took the victory in the Le Mans Grand Touring Professional (LMGTE Pro) class, their first in the World Endurance Championship. Porsche Team Manthley's cars finished second and third after Gianmaria Bruni was penalised for a pit stop infringement, and Darren Turner in the No. 97 Aston Martin entered the pit lane. The Le Mans Grand Touring Amateur (LMGTE Am) category was won by Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda, ahead of AF Corse's No. 83 Ferrari of François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Águas. The result meant Lotterer, Fässler and Tréluyer extended their Drivers' Championship advantage over Lieb, Dumas and Jani to be 14 points ahead of the three drivers. Alexander Wurz, Mike Conway and Stéphane Sarrazin moved from fourth to third with their Toyota teammates Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi dropping to fourth position. Bernhard's, Hartley's and Webber's third-place finish meant they moved into fifth place. Audi moved further ahead of Porsche in the Manufacturers' Championship while Toyota dropped to third position with six races left in the season. Background Entrants thumb|upright|Nico Hülkenberg (pictured in 2016) made his first sports car racing appearance at Spa-Francorchamps. A total of thirty-four cars were officially entered for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with the bulk of the entries in Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2). The 2014 race winners, Toyota, returned to defend their title.http://www.motorsport-magazin.com/wec-langstrecken-wm/news-210648-spa-francorchamps-die-starterliste-zum-rennen/ Alle Teilnehmer auf einen Blick 16 April 2015 motorsport-magazin.com de https://web.archive.org/web/20170227153204/http://www.motorsport-magazin.com/wec-langstrecken-wm/news-210648-spa-francorchamps-die-starterliste-zum-rennen/ 27 February 2017 27 February 2017 dead Three manufacturers were represented in LMP1, including a trio of cars entered by Audi Sport Team Joest and Porsche, while Toyota elected to bring only two vehicles.https://wec-magazin.com/spa_entry_list_confirmed/ Spa entry list confirmed 17 April 2015 WEC Magazin https://web.archive.org/web/20170227063717/https://wec-magazin.com/spa_entry_list_confirmed/ 27 February 2017 25 February 2017 dead René Rast, Marco Bonanomi and Filipe Albuquerque made their first appearances in the 2015 championship driving the No. number 9 Audi, while Nico Hülkenberg, Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy in Porsche's No. 19 car all entered the LMP1 category for the first time in their careers. As in Silverstone, Rebellion Racing chose not to take part in the event, leaving Team ByKolles as the sole LMP1 privateer team. Christian Klien returned to compete for Team ByKolles having originally intended to race for the team only at Silverstone.http://www.crash.net/sportscars/news/218188/1/wec-exf1-driver-klien-stays-with-bykolles-racing.html#evH3XsTGrW3oyqE2.99 WEC: Ex-F1 driver Klien stays with ByKolles Racing 29 April 2015 crash.net https://web.archive.org/web/20150504101336/http://www.crash.net/sportscars/news/218188/1/wec-exf1-driver-klien-stays-with-bykolles-racing.html 4 May 2015 dead 25 February 2017 LMP2 consisted of ten cars with 30 drivers. With Tandy driving for Porsche, KCMG employed Toyota's test and reserve driver Nicolas Lapierre to fill his position for the Spa-Francorchamps race and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lapierre-joins-kcmg-for-spa-le-mans/ Lapierre Joins KCMG for 6H Spa, 24H Le Mans DiZinno Tony 24 March 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121432/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lapierre-joins-kcmg-for-spa-le-mans/ 2 April 2015 dead 25 February 2017 GP2 Series driver Mitch Evans made his first appearance in sports car racing alongside European Le Mans Series competitor Simon Dolan,http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/03/18/mitch-evans-completes-jota-line-up-for-spa-and-le-mans.html Mitch Evans Completes Jota Line-up For Spa & Le Mans Goodwin Graham 18 March 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20150416055105/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/03/18/mitch-evans-completes-jota-line-up-for-spa-and-le-mans.html 16 April 2015 25 February 2017 dead and Nissan factory driver Harry Tincknell for Jota Sport.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118523 Nissan LMP1 driver Harry Tincknell gets Jota WEC seat for Spa 16 April 2015 Autosport https://web.archive.org/web/20170226143325/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118523 26 February 2017 25 February 2017 dead Despite a failed buyout of the team by Kairos, a data encryption company, Team SARD Morand confirmed their commitment to the World Endurance Championship and opted to bring one car which was driven by Oliver Webb, Pierre Ragues and Zoël Amberg.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118624 Morand confirms ongoing WEC LMP2 programme with single car Watkins Gary 21 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151124203430/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118624 24 November 2015 Autosport 21 April 2015 dead Johannes van Overbeek returned to co-drive for Extreme Speed Motorsports after missing the season's opening round because of a rib injury.http://www.sportscarglobal.com/endurance/fiawec/fiawec-tequila-patron-ready-for-spa-battle/ FIA WEC: Tequila Patrón Ready for Spa Battle 29 April 2015 Sportscarglobal https://web.archive.org/web/20170226143507/http://www.sportscarglobal.com/endurance/fiawec/fiawec-tequila-patron-ready-for-spa-battle/ 26 February 2017 dead 25 February 2017 The Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Professional (LMGTE Pro) field consisted of three manufacturers (Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche), while the Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Amateur (LMGTE Am) entrants were six teams: Aston Martin Racing, AF Corse, Larbre Compétition, Dempsey-Racing Proton, Porsche Team Manthley, and SMP Racing. The No. 91 Porsche 911 was vacated after regular driver Michael Christensen missed the Spa race because of a United SportsCar Championship commitment, while Richard Lietz moved to the team's No. 92 entry and the car was driven by Sven Müller and Kévin Estre.http://www.endurance-info.com/fr/spa-kevin-estre-et-sven-muller-sur-une-porsche-officielle/ Spa : Kévin Estre et Sven Müller sur une Porsche officielle Mercier Laurent 14 April 2015 endurance-info.com fr https://web.archive.org/web/20150419013059/http://www.endurance-info.com/fr/spa-kevin-estre-et-sven-muller-sur-une-porsche-officielle/ 19 April 2015 dead 25 February 2017 Nicki Thiim was unable to attend the event because he was taking part in the ADAC GT Masters Championship, so the No. 95 Aston Martin was driven as a two-driver operation by Marco Sørensen and Christoffer Nygaard. The team's No. 97 entry became a three-person driver team when McLaren factory driver Rob Bell made his first start of the year alongside Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner. Ferrari's factory team AF Corse entered a second car in LMGTE Am which was driven by Duncan Cameron, Alex Mortimer and Matt Griffin.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/03/24/elms-paul-ricard-test-alex-mortimer-confirmed-for-le-mans-and-spa-24.html ELMS: Paul Ricard Test, Alex Mortimer Confirmed For Le Mans & Spa 24 Smith Sam 24 March 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091143/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/03/24/elms-paul-ricard-test-alex-mortimer-confirmed-for-le-mans-and-spa-24.html 2 April 2015 25 February 2017 dead Preview left|thumb|upright|Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, where the race was held. The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was confirmed as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship's 2015 schedule in an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Doha on 3 December 2014.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/fia-confirms-2015-wec-schedule/ FIA Confirms 2015 WEC Schedule Dagys John 3 December 2014 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20150104025447/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/fia-confirms-2015-wec-schedule/ 4 January 2015 25 February 2017 dead It was the second of eight scheduled endurance sports car races of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, and the fourth running of the event as part of the championship.http://www.fia.com/news/wec-6-hours-spa-francorchamps-preview-0 WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps preview 30 April 2015 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile https://web.archive.org/web/20150706183858/http://www.fia.com/news/wec-6-hours-spa-francorchamps-preview-0 6 July 2015 25 February 2017 dead It was held on 2 May 2015 at the 20-turn 7.004 km mi on Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium following two days of practice and qualifying.http://www.racingcircuits.info/europe/belgium/spa-francorchamps.html#.WDH187KLTIU Spa-Francorchamps Racingcircuits.info https://web.archive.org/web/20161028025509/http://racingcircuits.info/europe/belgium/spa-francorchamps.html#.WDH187KLTIU 28 October 2016 20 November 2016 Endurance racing events were first held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in 1924 with the Spa 24 Hours. Thirty-nine years later, the track began holding 500 km mi on World Sportscar Championship races which later expanded to 1000 km mi on. It was cancelled after the 1975 running because of modern safety concerns. It was resurrected in 1982 on the reconfigured Spa-Francorchamps track layout and remained on the calendar until 1990. Spa-Francorchamps again began holding endurance sports car races from 1999, and the 6 Hour event was made part of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012.http://www.sportscarone.com/spa-francorchamps/ Spa-Francorchamps – Belgium Sportscar One https://web.archive.org/web/20160910110553/http://www.sportscarone.com/spa-francorchamps/ 10 September 2016 29 November 2016 The race is considered by many as a final preparation event for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.http://onlinemotorshow.com/motorsport/wec-6-hours-spa-francorchamps/ WEC 6 Hours Spa Francorchamps 4 May 2016 OnlineMotorShow.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160506023058/http://onlinemotorshow.com/motorsport/wec-6-hours-spa-francorchamps/ 6 May 2016 23 November 2016 Before the race Audi Sport Team Joest drivers André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer led the Drivers' Championship with 25 points, seven ahead of their nearest rivals Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani in second, and a further three in front of third-placed Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. Their teammates Alexander Wurz, Mike Conway and Stéphane Sarrazin were fourth on 12 points, and Loïc Duval, Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis stood in fifth place on ten points.http://www.fiawec.com/courses/classification.html?y=2015 Classification FIA World Endurance Championship https://web.archive.org/web/20160128232759/http://www.fiawec.com/courses/classification.html?y=2015 28 January 2016 27 January 2017 dead Audi led the Manufacturers' Championship with 35 points, seven ahead of rival Toyota in second; the third-placed manufacturer Porsche had scored 19 points. Audi had won the preceding 6 Hours of Silverstone with Lieb, Dumas and Jani finishing in second place, while Davidson, Buemi and Nakajima came in third position. Some teams made modifications to their cars in preparation for the event. Audi installed low-downforce setups on its No. 7 and 8 cars while their third entry used a version observed at the Silverstone race.https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/audi-to-run-two-low-downforce-spec-cars-at-spa/ Audi to run two low-downforce spec cars at Spa 29 April 2015 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20150501201301/http://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/audi-to-run-two-low-downforce-spec-cars-at-spa 1 May 2015 25 February 2017 dead The design was optimised to omit downforce, thereby reducing drag, for better preparation for competing on high-speed tracks. This was done by modifying the car's side pods and openings on the inside surface of its fenders. New cooling techniques were achieved by creating new suspension solutions to restrict spring displacement which also reduced underside turbulent airflow.https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/press-releases/audi-r18-e-tron-quattro-with-new-aerodynamics-3560 Audi R18 e-tron quattro with new aerodynamics Becker Eva-Maria 29 April 2015 Audi Media Center https://web.archive.org/web/20170226144010/https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/press-releases/audi-r18-e-tron-quattro-with-new-aerodynamics-3560 26 February 2017 dead 25 February 2017 Porsche chose to use high downforce configurations on all three of their 919 Hybrid cars as they did previously at Silverstone.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/spa-wednesday-notebook-2/ Spa Wednesday Notebook Dagys John 29 April 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20150622025328/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/spa-wednesday-notebook-2/ 22 June 2015 25 February 2017 dead The revised ByKolles CLM P1/01 LMP1 car was further developed and had a new front nose equipped after it completed a shakedown test on 24 April ahead of his debut in Belgium.Watkins Gary 7 May 2015 Audi stays on comeback trail https://porschecarshistory.com/wp-content/old/lib/magazines/autosport/2015/05/AS2015.05.07.pdf Autosport 220 6 30–35, 42 21 December 2025 Porsche Cars History Practice thumb|upright|Kazuki Nakajima (pictured in 2012) withdrew from the race after fracturing his vertebra in a free practice incident. There were three practice sessions—one 90-minute session each on Thursday afternoon and evening and a one-hour session on Friday afternoon—preceding Saturday's race. The first session was held in heavy rain.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/04/30/fia-wec-spa-francorchamps-free-practice-1-lieb-fastest-but-trouble-for-audi-toyota.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Free Practice 1, Lieb Fastest, Trouble For Audi & Toyota Fernandez Mat 30 April 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160806003816/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/04/30/fia-wec-spa-francorchamps-free-practice-1-lieb-fastest-but-trouble-for-audi-toyota.html 6 August 2016 25 February 2017 dead Lieb's No. 18 Porsche lapped fastest at 2:16.616, ahead of Davidson's No. 1 Toyota in second. Brendon Hartley and Hülkenberg in Porsche's two other cars were third and fourth; Rast's No. 9 Audi rounded out the top five.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118720 Spa WEC: Lieb leads wet practice for Porsche, Hulkenberg fourth Watkins Gary 30 April 2015 Autosport https://web.archive.org/web/20150906001035/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118720 6 September 2015 25 February 2017 dead LMP2 was led by Jonny Kane's No. 42 Strakka Racing Nissan with a lap of 2:32.672; he battled with Tincknell for the quickest class time. Estre's Porsche was the quickest in LMGTE Pro while Klaus Bachler helped the German company to be the fastest in LMGTE Am. The session was disrupted when Nakajima drove into the back-end of Jarvis's car heading into Les Combes corner in a 12G impact. Nakajima was unable to see Jarvis because of heavy spray reducing visibility on the Kemmel straight.https://www.speedcafe.com/nakajima-fractures-vertebra-in-wec-spa-shunt/ Nakajima fractures vertebra in WEC Spa shunt 1 May 2015 Speedcafe https://web.archive.org/web/20150502030051/http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/05/01/nakajima-fractures-vertebra-in-wec-spa-shunt/ 2 May 2015 25 February 2017 live Nakajima complained of severe back pain and was transported to Verviers hospital where a check-up found he had fractured vertebra. He was deemed unfit to take part in the race. Toyota's test and reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi was in Japan and unavailable, so the No. 1 car ran as a two-driver operation for the remainder of the event weekend. It missed the second practice session because it required monocoque rebuilding.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118728 Toyota driver Kazuki Nakajima breaks vertebra in Spa WEC crash Watkins Gary 30 April 2015 Autosport https://web.archive.org/web/20150924062117/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118728 24 September 2015 25 February 2017 dead The No. 8 Audi also missed the second practice session because it was undergoing rear-end repairs. Heavy rain continued to affect the track in the second practice session. Conditions deteriorated as the session advanced, and several cars elected not to improve their quickest times to avoid driving off the track after going through standing water.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/porsche-tops-wet-thursday-at-spa/ Porsche Tops Wet Thursday at Spa Dagys John 30 April 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20170226144626/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/porsche-tops-wet-thursday-at-spa/ 26 February 2017 dead 26 February 2017 http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/04/30/fia-wec-spa-free-practice-2-report-bamber-quickest-in-rain-soaked-session.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Free Practice 2, Bamber Quickest In Rain Soaked Session Kilbey Stephen Fernandez Mat 30 April 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160806064105/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/04/30/fia-wec-spa-free-practice-2-report-bamber-quickest-in-rain-soaked-session.html 6 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead Conditions allowed the fastest LMP2 and LMGTE vehicles to reach the top five quickest overall times. Bamber recorded the fastest time at 2:25.495, nearly half a second faster than Bernhard in the sister Porsche in second. Lotterer was third-fastest and had the fastest time early in the session. Evans achieved the only time under the 2:34.500 mark in LMP2 with a lap of 2:34.370. Lietz led LMGTE Pro with No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari of Rui Águas the fastest driver in LMGTE Am. The final practice was held on a dry race track which allowed for faster lap times.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lotterer-puts-audi-on-top-in-friday-practice-at-spa/ Lotterer Puts Audi on Top in FP3 at Spa ten Caat Marcel 1 May 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20170226144800/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lotterer-puts-audi-on-top-in-friday-practice-at-spa/ 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead Lotterer set the quickest time of the weekend so far at 1:57.368 recorded in the session's final minute,http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/fia-wec-spa-francorchamps-free-practice-3-lotterer-leads-the-way.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Free Practice 3, Lotterer Leads The Way Fernandez Mat 1 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817100617/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/fia-wec-spa-francorchamps-free-practice-3-lotterer-leads-the-way.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead and was 0.011 seconds faster than the second-fastest car of Hülkenberg. Jani was a further five-tenths of a second behind in third place, and was narrowly faster than teammate Hartley in fourth.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118741 Spa WEC: Audi's Lotterer pips Hulkenberg's Porsche in practice Watkins Gary 1 May 2015 Autosport https://web.archive.org/web/20150905210553/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118741 5 September 2015 26 February 2017 dead Sam Bird was the fastest LMP2 driver in the No. 26 G-Drive Racing car with a time of 2:08.415, four-tenths ahead of Matthew Howson's KCMG Oreca. Toni Vilander recorded the quickest LMGTE Pro time ahead of Fernando Rees in the No. 97 Aston Martin, while Pedro Lamy, driving the British marque's No. 98 car, was the fastest driver in LMGTE Am. A brief full course yellow flag was displayed when Bachler's back-end collided with the Pouhon corner tyre barrier,https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/audi-eclipses-porsche-in-final-wec-practice/?s=1 Audi eclipses Porsche in final WEC practice 1 May 2015 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170226144936/https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/audi-eclipses-porsche-in-final-wec-practice/?s=1 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead while Turner avoided going into the Les Combes wall and was temporarily beached in the turn's gravel trap. Both drivers returned to the track and continued. Qualifying left|thumb|upright|Timo Bernhard (pictured in 2016) clinched the third consecutive pole position of his and his co-driver's careers. Friday's late afternoon qualification session was divided into two groups lasting 25 minutes each. Cars in LMGTE Pro and AM were sent out first and, after a five-minute interval, LMP1 and LMP2 vehicles drove onto the track. All cars were required to be driven by two participants for one timed lap each, with the starting order determined by the competitors' fastest average times. The fastest qualifier was awarded one point which went towards the Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championships.http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/what-s-new-in-the-2015-regulations%E2%80%A2_2856.html What's new in the 2015 regulations? 16 January 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship https://web.archive.org/web/20150710150703/http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/what-s-new-in-the-2015-regulations%E2%80%A2_2856.html 10 July 2015 26 February 2017 dead The session took place in clear, mild and dry weather.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/fia-wec-spa-lmp-qualifying-17-porsche-on-pole.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, LMP Qualifying, #17 Porsche On Pole Errity Stephen 1 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817100601/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/fia-wec-spa-lmp-qualifying-17-porsche-on-pole.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead Hülkenberg's first timed lap of 1:55.130 surpassed the LMP1 pole position record time only to be surpassed by Hartley's 1:54.777 lap time to place the No. 17 Porsche in provisional pole position. Bernhard took over from Hartley and recorded a lap that was 0.027 seconds faster than the latter lowering the car's two-lap average time to 1:54.767 clinching pole position.https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/porsche-takes-1-2-3-clean-sweep-at-spa/?s=1 Porsche takes 1–2–3 clean sweep at Spa 1 May 2015 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170226145157/https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/porsche-takes-1-2-3-clean-sweep-at-spa/?s=1 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead It was the third consecutive event where Bernhard, Mark Webber and Hartley started from pole position. They were joined on the grid's front row by the sister No. 19 car after Tandy set a lap time at the session's conclusion that put him 0.257 seconds behind his teammates. Jani and Lieb qualified in third position, three-tenths of a second slower than the two sister Porsche cars. Lotterer twice went onto the track and improved his first lap time by 0.116 seconds to 1:55.114, while Fässler was unable to find a rhythm, and could not improve on his co-driver's fastest time, restricting them to qualifying fourth.https://www.audiusa.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/2015/05/audi-on-second-row-in-qualifying-at-spa Audi on second row in qualifying at Spa Dahncke Mark 1 May 2015 Audi Media Center https://web.archive.org/web/20170226145344/https://www.audiusa.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/2015/05/audi-on-second-row-in-qualifying-at-spa 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead Duval and di Grassi took fifth place with the latter stating that the team was not happy with the No. 8 car's setup, and that overnight work had to be undertaken. Davidson and Buemi held fifth place until di Grassi and Duval's lap times demoted them to sixth. Conway and Sarrazin secured seventh with the latter saying that he was held up by slower cars on his two timed laps.https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/disappointment-for-toyota-gazoo-racing/?s=1 Disappointment for Toyota Gazoo Racing 1 May 2015 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170226145501/https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/disappointment-for-toyota-gazoo-racing/?s=1 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead Albuquerque and Rast filled the grid's fourth row by qualifying eighth ahead of the No. 4 Team ByKolles car. In LMP2, Bird and Julien Canal took the fastest two-lap average time of 2:07.761;http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/porsche-1-2-3-in-qualifying-for-6h-spa/ Porsche 1–2–3 in Qualifying for 6H Spa Dagys John 1 May 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20151222084820/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/porsche-1-2-3-in-qualifying-for-6h-spa/ 22 December 2015 26 February 2017 dead Canal pushed hard on new tyres during his second timed run having disliked his previous attempt. The pair were two-tenths of a second faster than the second-place qualifiers, Howson and Lapierre, and held the class pole position until Canal's lap. Team SARD Morand's No. 43 car took third in the category, while the second G-Drive Racing entry was fourth, with fifth-placed qualifier Tincknell recording the session's best class individual lap time. Richie Stanaway and Rees, competing in the No. 99 Aston Martin, were the fastest LMGTE Pro qualifiers with a two-lap average time of 2:16.840.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/fia-wec-spa-gte-qualifying-stanaway-and-rees-hand-aston-pole.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, GTE Qualifying, Stanaway & Rees Hand Aston Pole Errity Stephen 1 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817080723/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/fia-wec-spa-gte-qualifying-stanaway-and-rees-hand-aston-pole.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead Gianmaria Bruni was 0.070 seconds off the Aston Martin's pace, and started from second place in the category, displacing Turner and Mücke from the position. Turner's fastest lap was invalidated after he went off the track and was required to set another time. James Calado and Davide Rigon secured fourth in AF Corse's No. 71 Ferrari with Sørensen and Nygaard rounding out the top five.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aston-martin-sweeps-gte-qualifying-at-spa/ Aston Martin Sweeps GTE Qualifying at Spa Dagys John 1 May 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20151224190845/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aston-martin-sweeps-gte-qualifying-at-spa/ 24 December 2015 26 February 2017 dead Aston Martin's No. 98 entry driven by Paul Dalla Lana and Lamy took pole position in LMGTE Am, more than a second faster than the No. 50 Larbre Compétition Corvette of Paolo Ruberti and Gianluca Roda. Post-qualifying KCMG's No 47 car had its qualifying lap times disallowed after it was discovered in post-qualifying scrutineering that the vehicle's front skid block had insufficient rigidity and had been excessively flexible.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/kcmg-fail-post-qualifying-scrutineering-plank-too-flexible.html KCMG Fail Post Qualifying Scrutineering, "Plank Too Flexible" Goodwin Graham 1 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817113413/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/01/kcmg-fail-post-qualifying-scrutineering-plank-too-flexible.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead The penalty meant Team SARD Morand's No. 43 car was promoted to second in LMP2 and the No. 47 entry was required to start from the pit lane with a 30-second time penalty.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/spa-pre-race-notebook-3/ Spa Pre-Race Notebook Dagys John 2 May 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20170226145909/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/spa-pre-race-notebook-3/ 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead Qualifying results Pole position winners in each class are indicated in bold.http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results/05_2015/02_SPA%20FRANCORCHAMPS/81_FIA%20WEC/201505011840_Qualifying/90_Classification_Qualifying.PDF FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps Qualifying Final Classification 1 May 2015 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile PDF https://web.archive.org/web/20160509081202/http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results/05_2015/02_SPA%20FRANCORCHAMPS/81_FIA%20WEC/201505011840_Qualifying/90_Classification_Qualifying.PDF 9 May 2016 2 May 2015 dead +Final qualifying classification Pos Position Class Team Average Time Gap Gap in seconds Grid Final grid position 1LMP1No. 17 Porsche Team1:54.7671 2 LMP1 No. 19 Porsche Team 1:55.025 +0.258 2 3 LMP1 No. 18 Porsche Team 1:55.284 +0.517 3 4 LMP1 No. 7 Audi Sport Team Joest 1:55.540 +0.773 4 5 LMP1 No. 8 Audi Sport Team Joest 1:56.541 +1.774 5 6 LMP1 No. 1 Toyota Racing 1:57.487 +2.720 6 7 LMP1 No. 2 Toyota Racing 1:57.929 +3.162 7 8 LMP1 No. 9 Audi Sport Team Joest 1:58.000 +3.233 8 9 LMP1 No. 4 Team ByKolles 2:07.286 +12.519 9 10LMP2No. 26 G-Drive Racing2:07.761+12.99410 11 LMP2 No. 43 Team SARD Morand 2:08.055 +13.288 11 12 LMP2 No. 28 G-Drive Racing 2:08.258 +13.491 12 13 LMP2 No. 38 Jota Sport 2:08.329 +13.562 13 14 LMP2 No. 36 Signatech Alpine 2:08.901 +14.134 14 15 LMP2 No. 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports 2:09.989 +15.222 15 16 LMP2 No. 42 Strakka Racing 2:11.655 +16.888 16 17 LMP2 No. 31 Extreme Speed Motorsports 2:16.721 +21.954 17 18LMGTE ProNo. 99 Aston Martin Racing V82:16.840+22.07418 19 LMGTE Pro No. 51 AF Corse 2:16.910 +22.143 19 20 LMGTE Pro No. 97 Aston Martin Racing 2:17.231 +22.464 20 21 LMGTE Pro No. 71 AF Corse 2:17.526 +22.759 21 22 LMGTE Pro No. 95 Aston Martin Racing 2:17.757 +22.990 22 23 LMGTE Pro No. 91 Porsche Team Manthey 2:18.025 +23.258 23 24 LMGTE Pro No. 92 Porsche Team Manthey 2:18.038 +23.271 24 25 LMP2 No. 35 OAK Racing 2:18.487 +23.720 25 26LMGTE AmNo. 98 Aston Martin Racing2:19.578+24.81126 27 LMGTE Am No. 50 Larbre Compétition 2:20.694 +25.927 27 28 LMGTE Am No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing 2:21.142 +26.665 28 29 LMGTE Am No. 55 AF Corse 2:21.893 +27.126 29 30 LMGTE Am No. 83 AF Corse 2:21.958 +27.191 30 31 LMGTE Am No. 72 SMP Racing 2:22.909 +28.142 31 32 LMGTE Am No. 77 Dempsey Racing-Proton 2:23.303 +28.536 32 33 LMGTE Am No. 96 Aston Martin Racing 2:24.519 +29.752 33 – LMP2 No. 47 KCMG No Time –PL Pit lane tart1 1 1 1 – The No. 47 KCMG had all its laptimes deleted because of insufficient rigidity of the front skid block and started from the pit lane. Race thumb|upright|Brendon Hartley (pictured in 2014) held the lead in the race's early stages, but was penalised for going off the track causing danger to marshals. Weather conditions at the start of the race were dry and cloudy with an air temperature ranging from 12.6 to 14.1 C F and a track temperature between 13.3 to 16.1 C F;http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results/05_2015/02_SPA%20FRANCORCHAMPS/81_FIA%20WEC/201505021430_Race/Hour%206/26_Meteo_Race.PDF 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – FIA WEC – Race – Weather Report 2 May 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20170226150150/http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results/05_2015/02_SPA%20FRANCORCHAMPS/81_FIA%20WEC/201505021430_Race/Hour%206/26_Meteo_Race.PDF 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead a 50 per cent chance of rain was forecast.http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/splitter/2015/04/rennwetter-wec-spa-regen-nicht-ausgeschlossen-15042906.html Rennwetter WEC Spa: Regen nicht ausgeschlossen Fritzsche Mario 29 April 2015 motorsport-total.com de https://web.archive.org/web/20150513034833/http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/splitter/2015/04/rennwetter-wec-spa-regen-nicht-ausgeschlossen-15042906.html 13 May 2015 26 February 2017 dead 54,000 people attended the race weekend.http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/54-000-spectators-enjoy-wec-weekend-in-spa_3130.html 54,000 Spectators Enjoy WEC Weekend in Spa 2 May 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship https://web.archive.org/web/20170226150502/http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/54-000-spectators-enjoy-wec-weekend-in-spa_3130.html 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead The race began at 14:30 Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00). Hartley maintained his pole position advantage heading into the first turn.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-1-report.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Hour 1 Report Kilbey Stephen 2 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817203558/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-1-report.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead Lieb passed Tandy to take over second position,http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/news/2015/05/live-ticker-alle-jagen-porsche-15050203.html?p=4 Live-Ticker: Audi gewinnt auch in Spa 2 May 2015 motorsport-total.com 4 de https://web.archive.org/web/20150505144726/http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/news/2015/05/live-ticker-alle-jagen-porsche-15050203.html?p=4 5 May 2015 26 February 2017 dead while Fässler moved to third, after passing Tandy at the Bus Stop chicane at the first lap's conclusion. Tandy reclaimed third from Fässler shortly afterward.http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/848 As it happened: Spa WEC, Jerez MotoGP Beer Matt Straw Edd 2 May 2015 Autosport https://web.archive.org/web/20150505014940/http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/848 5 May 2015 27 February 2017 Watkins Gary Adam Mitchell Codling Stuart dead Team SARD Morand held the LMP2 lead before its car was overtaken by Tincknell and Bird on lap two. Duval moved in front of Wurz for fifth and the Toyota driver dropped to seventh. Jota Sport was issued with a drive-through penalty after its car driven by Tincknell was adjudged to have jumped the start and rejoined in sixth in LMP2, allowing Bird to the front of the category. Tandy drove to the inside of Estre to lap him, but made head-on contact with his car and went straight into the Pif Paf corner barrier. Both drivers continued, but Tandy drove into the pit lane for repairs, falling to the rear of the field. Fässler battled with Lieb for second as the two moved through slower traffic, but the Audi driver spun at the Bus Stop chicane allowing Lieb to take over second. Ryan Dalziel brought the No. 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports car into the team's garage to allow his mechanics to replace a broken boost line falling to the rear of the LMP2 field.http://www.esmracing.com/blog/tequila-patron-esm-shows-speed-and-potential-at-spa-as-the-team-prepares-for-le-mans/ Tequila Patrón ESM Shows Speed and Potential at Spa as the Team Prepares for Le Mans 2 May 2015 Extreme Speed Motorsports https://web.archive.org/web/20150811204701/http://www.esmracing.com/blog/tequila-patron-esm-shows-speed-and-potential-at-spa-as-the-team-prepares-for-le-mans/ 11 August 2015 28 February 2017 dead Most of the field elected to make their first scheduled pit stops before the first hour had passed. Hartley went straight on at the Bus Stop chicane after locking his front brakes. He rejoined the track by driving onto the escape road and through a marshal's post. This prompted the stewards to call Hartley up to their office and he went up after he was relieved. Fässler crossed the white line at the pit lane entry, which led to Audi receiving a reprimand from the stewards.https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/audi-makes-it-two-from-two-at-spa/?s=1 Audi makes it two from two at Spa 2 May 2015 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170227071638/https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/audi-makes-it-two-from-two-at-spa/?s=1 27 February 2017 27 February 2017 dead Tincknell moved back into second place in LMP2 and separated both G-Drive cars. Roald Goethe went backwards into the Eau Rouge corner exit barrier after taking over from Stuart Hall, requiring lengthy repairs to his car. Estre was issued with a drive-through penalty after he was adjudged to have caused the collision between himself and Tandy.http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/news/2015/05/live-ticker-alle-jagen-porsche-15050203.html?p=3 Live-Ticker: Audi gewinnt auch in Spa 2 May 2015 motorsport-total.com 3 de https://web.archive.org/web/20150505144720/http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/news/2015/05/live-ticker-alle-jagen-porsche-15050203.html?p=3 5 May 2015 26 February 2017 dead Tandy stopped his Porsche briefly at the pit lane entry, while Bonanomi went wide driving up to Radallion corner battling Wurz for sixth. The incident involving Hartley handed the No. 17 Porsche a 15-second, stop-and-go penalty as he was deemed not to have respected track limits and causing danger to marshals. Bernhard took the penalty on the 17th lap, promoting teammate Jani to the lead. Evans moved to the front of the LMP2 field after overtaking Canal heading into the Bus Stop chicane. Fässler ceded third position to Duval at Les Combes corner.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-2-report.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Hour 2 Report Errity Stephen 2 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817155446/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-2-report.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead Bernhard was caught by Duval and used his car's hybrid boost system on the Kemmel straight, moving ahead of the German under braking for Les Combes corner. Fässler briefly pressured Bernhard before entering the pit lane for a scheduled stop and Lotterer took over his seat. Lotterer lapped in the 1:58 second range which allowed him to run 12 seconds behind leader Dumas. Bonanomi's left-hand window became detached on the Kemmel straight, necessitating an extra pit stop for a replacement window. Patrick Dempsey spun the No. 77 car at the Bus Stop chicane, forcing several drivers to take avoiding action. Trummer drove into his garage with back-end technical problems with his car and retired.http://www.automobilsport.com/retirement-bykolles-racing-6-hours-spa-francorchamps---135796.html Early retirement for ByKOLLES Racing at the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps 3 May 2015 automobilsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170226151019/http://www.automobilsport.com/retirement-bykolles-racing-6-hours-spa-francorchamps---135796.html 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 usurped Dempsey's co-driver Marco Seefried spun and heavily struck the left-hand turn tyre barrier before Pouhon corner. Dumas extended his advantage over Lotterer to 19 seconds, while Canal reclaimed the LMP2 lead when Evans made a scheduled pit stop. Lotterer made a pit stop for tyres and fuel. Dumas and Jarvis reacted shortly afterwards. Di Grassi took over from Jarvis, while Lotterer gained five seconds on Dumas.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-3-report.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Hour 3 Report Errity Stephen 2 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817131428/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-3-report.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead While switching drivers from Bernhard to Webber, Porsche changed a problematic damper on the No. 17 car. Approaching Blanchimont corner Kristian Poulsen went backwards into the barrier after colliding with a G-Drive Racing car that was lapping him. This prompted a localised yellow caution flag, and enabled Aleksey Basov and Khaled Al Qubaisi to inherit second and third places in LMGTE Am.http://www.motorsport-magazin.com/wec-langstrecken-wm/news-211542-ticker-live-die-6-stunden-von-spa-francorchamps/ So lief die Generalprobe für Le Mans Stritzke Heiko 2 May 2015 motorsport-magazin.com de https://web.archive.org/web/20150504075254/http://www.motorsport-magazin.com/wec-langstrecken-wm/news-211542-ticker-live-die-6-stunden-von-spa-francorchamps/ 4 May 2015 27 February 2017 dead Rigon was lapping Al Qubaisi at the Bus Stop chicane, but the Porsche driver drove defensively and both cars spun. Bruni reduced his speed to avoid colliding with the stationary cars.https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/an-extremely-frustrating-day-for-ferrari-at-spa-francorchamps/?s=1 An extremely frustrating day for Ferrari at Spa-Francorchamps 2 May 2015 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170227070601/https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/an-extremely-frustrating-day-for-ferrari-at-spa-francorchamps/?s=1 27 February 2017 27 February 2017 dead Webber passed Rast for sixth place, while Poulsen retired because of accident damage while attempting to return to the pit lane. Dumas held a 24-second advantage over Lotterer with di Grassi in third, while Evans moved back into the LMP2 lead. Both Toyota cars were battling for fourth position with Webber close behind. Webber overtook Davidson for fifth at the Radillion corner exit moving ahead of Sarrazin on the Kemmel straight one lap later. Di Grassi slowed with technical problems and limped into his garage for an engine control unit and front-left nose change. Toyota's No. 1 car was pushed into its garage with mechanical problems; it rejoined the circuit for a few laps until a throttle problem emerged, causing the car to run at a reduced pace. Lotterer retook the lead after the No. 18 Porsche driver switch took longer than expected. Rast passed Conway around the outside for fourth at the Bus Stop chicane. Vilander challenged Lietz for second in LMGTE Pro until Vilander was issued a track limit abuse penalty. Lotterer and Lieb battled each other for first place. Lotterer drove defensively after passing slower traffic going into Les Combes corner to keep the position.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-4-report.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Hour 4 Report Kilbey Stephen 2 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817160754/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-4-report.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead Lieb ran wide off the track at the Stavelot corner exit while lapping a slower car.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-5-report.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Hour 5 Report Kilbey Stephen 2 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817120438/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-hour-5-report.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead left|thumb|upright|Benoît Tréluyer (pictured in 2013) took the victory for the No. 7 Audi team. Tréluyer took over from Lotterer during a pit stop and Lieb regained the lead. Tréluyer caught Lieb and passed him around the outside at La Source corner, holding the lead until Lieb reclaimed it by employing his car's hybrid boost system to overtake him on the Kemmel straight. Tréluyer managed to take over the first position when he got ahead of Lieb around the outside of Pif Paf corner, despite the two making earlier contact at Pouhon corner.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/03/audi-porsche-spa-fia-wec-le-mans-24-hours-world-endurance-championship Audi win over Porsche at Spa the perfect precursor to Le Mans 24 Hours Richards Giles 3 May 2015 The Guardian 26 February 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20150601033530/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/03/audi-porsche-spa-fia-wec-le-mans-24-hours-world-endurance-championship 1 June 2015 dead Lieb made a pit stop for new tyres and Jani climbed aboard the No. 18 car. Bruni passed Bell to move into second in LMGTE Pro. Smoke bellowed from the left exhaust of Bird's car, and he drove to his garage for diagnosis. Bruni reduced the time deficit to Alex MacDowall and passed him by using the Bus Stop chicane kerbs to claim the LMGTE Pro lead. Tréluyer was under eight seconds in front of Lieb as the final hour began. Lapierre moved ahead of Paul-Loup Chatin to take over fourth place in LMP2, while Jani reduced the time deficit to two seconds in arrears of Tréluyer on lap 154. He passed him with hybrid boost assistance on the Kemmel straight on the following lap. Audi elected to keep Tréluyer on track when Lieb made a pit stop for fuel. He remained there until lap 164 when he stopped for fuel but not tyres. Jarvis went straight into Stavelot corner's barriers in the event's closing two minutes.http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-francorchamps-hour-6-report-7-audi-wins.html FIA WEC: Spa Francorchamps, Hour 6 Report, #7 Audi Wins Errity Stephen 2 May 2015 DailySportsCar https://web.archive.org/web/20160817153635/http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/02/fia-wec-spa-francorchamps-hour-6-report-7-audi-wins.html 17 August 2016 26 February 2017 dead Tréluyer maintained the lead for the rest of the race winning after completing 176 laps at a track record-breaking distance of 765.967 mi km. Jani finished second, 13.424 seconds adrift of the No. 7 Audi, and Bernhard completed the podium positions by finishing third, albeit one lap behind.https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/world-endurance-championship-2015-audi-squeeze-out-porsche-once-again-as-spa-six-hours-goes-down-to-10223413.html World Endurance Championship 2015: Audi squeeze out Porsche once again as Spa Six Hours goes down to final lap shootout de Menzes Jack 4 May 2015 The Independent 26 February 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20151014143926/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/world-endurance-championship-2015-audi-squeeze-out-porsche-once-again-as-spa-six-hours-goes-down-to-10223413.html 14 October 2015 dead It was Audi's second consecutive overall series' victory of the season. Unchallenged in the closing stages, Jota Sport were victorious in LMP2, one lap ahead of the second-place G-Drive Racing car of Gustavo Yacamán, Ricardo González and Pipo Derani, and third-position finishers Webb, Ragues and Amberg of Team SARD Morand. It was Evans's first LMP2 victory in the World Endurance Championship, while it was Tincknell and Dolan's second in the series.http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/audi-take-hard-fought-victory-in-belgium_3137.html Audi Take Hard Fought Victory in Belgium 2 May 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship https://web.archive.org/web/20150505004137/http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/audi-take-hard-fought-victory-in-belgium_3137.html 5 May 2015 26 February 2017 dead Bruni was issued with a one-minute, stop-and-go penalty because a mechanic lost grip in trying to rectify an issue with the right-rear wheel nut and dropped his wheel gun over the white line demarcating the pit lane's working zone after pulling it off the axle. Rees took over the class lead which he maintained to clinch victory in LMGTE Pro. Turner held third, but made a pit stop, allowing Lietz and Muller to finish in second and third places in the category. This was Rees's, Stanaway's and MacDowall's first class victories in the World Endurance Championship.http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/aston-martin-take-both-lmgte-wins-at-spa_3136.html Aston Martin take both LMGTE wins in Spa 2 May 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship https://web.archive.org/web/20150506014038/http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/aston-martin-take-both-lmgte-wins-at-spa_3136.html 6 May 2015 dead 26 February 2017 Aston Martin finished as the winners in LMGTE Am, ahead of the No. 83 AF Corse of François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard, and Agias with SMP Racing's No. 72 entry of Viktor Shaitar. Aleksey Basov and Andrea Bertolini completed the class podium positions.http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results/05_2015/02_SPA%20FRANCORCHAMPS/81_FIA%20WEC/201505021430_Race/Hour%206/05_Classification_Race_Hour%206.PDF FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps Race Final Classification 2 May 2015 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile PDF https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123258/http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results/05_2015/02_SPA%20FRANCORCHAMPS/81_FIA%20WEC/201505021430_Race/Hour%206/05_Classification_Race_Hour%206.PDF 4 March 2016 3 May 2015 dead Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda's and Lamy's win was their second consecutive in LMGTE Am. Post-race The top three finishers of all four classes appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and in a later press conference. Tréluyer was delighted with the victory, saying: "What a race, It was a tough lights-to-flag job, just like at Silverstone, but it was huge fun and we’re already looking forward to Le Mans." He further stated: "We did it and I am very happy for the team because we had a really strong weekend and it feels great to win in this fashion." Lotterer said of the result: "It's no holds barred all the time and is very fun, especially at Spa-Francorchamps. It's for this type of race that we hit track."http://www.lemans.org/en/News/wec-spa-francorchamps-reactions-from-the-podium/20043 WEC Spa-Francorchamps – Reactions from the podium Ehrhardt Nikki Doret Jean-Phillipe 2 May 2015 Automobile Club de l'Ouest https://web.archive.org/web/20170226154909/http://www.lemans.org/en/News/wec-spa-francorchamps-reactions-from-the-podium/20043 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead Dumas, who finished in second alongside Lieb and Jani, stated he found driving in dry weather conditions difficult because he was not experienced participating in such conditions.http://www.porsche.com/uk/motorsportandevents/motorsport/generalinformation/news/?pool=motorsport&id=3e8656cc-16ad-4c02-9acb-e8891ef021c6&lang=en Thriller in the Ardennes – second, third and sixth for Porsche 919 Hybrids May 2015 Porsche https://web.archive.org/web/20170226150749/http://www.porsche.com/uk/motorsportandevents/motorsport/generalinformation/news/?pool=motorsport&id=3e8656cc-16ad-4c02-9acb-e8891ef021c6&lang=en 26 February 2017 26 February 2017 dead Lieb said his battle with Tréluyer was "great" and said the contact between the two drivers was part of motor racing. Jani stated while he did not win the race he praised his car. Third-place co-finisher Webber said that his team had "too many own goals" and that they did not wanted to be "gifted results" if they were not performing at the highest level.http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/68235417/mitch-evans-and-richie-stanaway-claim-endurance-racing-wins-at-spa Mitch Evans and Richie Stanaway claim endurance racing wins at Spa 4 May 2015 Stuff.co.nz https://web.archive.org/web/20170427194219/http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/68235417/mitch-evans-and-richie-stanaway-claim-endurance-racing-wins-at-spa 27 April 2017 26 February 2017 dead Bernhard said that despite taking the stop-and-go penalty his team did not give up and gave it their best effort to stand on the podium. Following the first free practice crash between Nakajima and Jarvis, Davidson called for cars to be equipped with brighter flashing rain lights and that what happened to his co-driver was "every driver's worst nightmare".http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118939 Davidson calls for WEC rain light changes after Nakajima crash Watkins Gary 12 May 2015 Autosport https://web.archive.org/web/20160326000316/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118939 26 March 2016 27 February 2017 He suggested Formula One rain lights provided by McLaren Electronic Systems were brighter than those employed in the World Endurance Championship. Toyota's technical director Pascal Vasselon believed Nakajima's lack of reaction time along with the absence of flashing rain lights contributed to his injury.http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/vasselon-toyota-this-kind-of-accident-shouldnt-have-happened/ Vasselon (Toyota): "This Kind of Accident Shouldn’t Have Happened" Dagys John 1 May 2015 Sportscar365 https://web.archive.org/web/20151225162018/http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/vasselon-toyota-this-kind-of-accident-shouldnt-have-happened/ 25 December 2015 27 February 2017 dead Christopher Reinke, Audi Sport's Le Mans Prototype manager, stated such a measure had been discussed but the issue was complex, while the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) sporting manager, Vincent Beaumesnil, said he was unsure that brighter lights would have assisted Nakajima. In early June, the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the ACO, required all Le Mans Prototype cars carry additional flashing rain lights at the rear of their cars from the 24 Hours of Le Mans onward after the FIA's Endurance Committee observed their usage under wet weather conditions and felt there was an improvement in visibility.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/119273 LMP rain light rule change from Le Mans after Kazuki Nakajima crash Watkins Gary 2 June 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150602182127/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/119273 2 June 2015 Autosport 12 June 2015 dead The result meant Lotterer, Fässler and Tréluyer increased their Drivers' Championship advantage to 14 points ahead of second-placed Lieb, Jani and Dumas. Wurz, Conway and Sarrazin moved from fourth to third with 22 points, three in front of their teammates Davidson and Buemi. Bernhard's, Webber's and Hartley's third-place finish meant they rounded out the top five with 17 points. Audi increased its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship on 70 points, 17 ahead of their nearest rivals Porsche in second, and a further six in front of third-placed manufacturer Toyota with six races left in the season. Race result The minimum number of laps for classification (70 per cent of the overall winning car's race distance) was 123 laps. Class winners are denoted in bold. +Final race classification Pos Position Class No Car number Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps Laps completed Time/Retired Engine 1LMP17DEU Audi Sport Team JoestDEU André LottererCHE Marcel FässlerFRA Benoît Tréluyer Audi R18 e-tron quattroMichelin17606:01:08.896Audi TDI 4.0 L Turbo Diesel V6 2 LMP1 18 DEU Porsche Team DEU Marc LiebFRA Romain DumasCHE Neel Jani Porsche 919 Hybrid Michelin 176 +13.424 Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4 3 LMP1 17 DEU Porsche Team DEU Timo BernhardNZL Brendon HartleyAUS Mark Webber Porsche 919 Hybrid Michelin 175 +1 Lap Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4 4 LMP1 9 DEU Audi Sport Team Joest ITA Marco BonanomiPRT Filipe AlbuquerqueDEU René Rast Audi R18 e-tron quattro Michelin 174 +2 Laps Audi TDI 4.0 L Turbo Diesel V6 5 LMP1 2 JPN Toyota Racing AUT Alexander WurzFRA Stéphane SarrazinGBR Mike Conway Toyota TS040 Hybrid Michelin 173 +3 Laps Toyota 3.7 L V8 6 LMP1 19 DEU Porsche Team DEU Nico HülkenbergNZL Earl BamberGBR Nick Tandy Porsche 919 Hybrid Michelin 173 +3 Laps Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4 7 LMP1 8 DEU Audi Sport Team Joest FRA Loïc DuvalBRA Lucas di GrassiGBR Oliver Jarvis Audi R18 e-tron quattro Michelin 168 +8 Laps Audi TDI 4.0 L Turbo Diesel V6 8 LMP1 1 JPN Toyota Racing GBR Anthony DavidsonCHE Sébastien Buemi Toyota TS040 Hybrid Michelin 162 +14 Laps Toyota 3.7 L V8 9LMP238GBR Jota SportGBR Simon DolanGBR Harry TincknellNZL Mitch Evans Gibson 015SDunlop161+15 LapsNissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 10 LMP2 28 RUS G-Drive Racing COL Gustavo YacamánMEX Ricardo GonzálezBRA Pipo Derani Ligier JS P2 Dunlop 160 +16 Laps Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 11 LMP2 43 CHE Team SARD Morand GBR Oliver WebbFRA Pierre RaguesAUT Zoël Amberg Morgan LMP2 Evo Dunlop 159 +17 Laps SARD 3.6 L V8 12 LMP2 47 HKG KCMG GBR Matthew HowsonGBR Richard BradleyFRA Nicolas Lapierre Oreca 05 Dunlop 159 +17 Laps Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 13 LMP2 36 FRA Signatech Alpine FRA Nelson PanciaticiFRA Paul-Loup ChatinFRA Vincent Capillaire Alpine A450b Dunlop 159 +17 Laps Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 14 LMP2 42 GBR Strakka Racing GBR Nick LeventisGBR Jonny KaneGBR Danny Watts Strakka Dome S103 Michelin 156 +20 Laps Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 15 LMP2 35 FRA OAK Racing FRA Jacques NicoletFRA Jean-Marc MerlinFRA Erik Maris Ligier JS P2 Dunlop 152 +24 Laps Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 16LMGTEPro99GBR Aston Martin Racing V8BRA Fernando ReesGBR Alex MacDowallNZL Richie Stanaway Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTEMichelin151+25 LapsAston Martin 4.5 L V8 17 LMGTEPro 92 DEU Porsche Team Manthey AUT Richard LietzFRA Frédéric Makowiecki Porsche 911 RSR Michelin 151 +25 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 18 LMGTEPro 91 DEU Porsche Team Manthey FRA Kévin EstreDEU Sven Müller Porsche 911 RSR Michelin 151 +25 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 19 LMGTEPro 51 ITA AF Corse ITA Gianmaria BruniFIN Toni Vilander Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Michelin 151 +25 Laps Ferrari 4.5 L V8 20 LMGTEPro 97 GBR Aston Martin Racing GBR Darren TurnerDEU Stefan MückeGBR Rob Bell Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE Michelin 150 +26 Laps Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 21 LMGTEPro 95 GBR Aston Martin Racing DNK Christoffer NygaardDNK Marco Sørensen Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE Michelin 150 +26 Laps Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 22 LMGTEPro 71 ITA AF Corse ITA Davide RigonGBR James Calado Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Michelin 150 +26 Laps Ferrari 4.5 L V8 23 LMP2 31 USA Extreme Speed Motorsports USA Ed BrownUSA Johannes van OverbeekUSA Jon Fogarty Ligier JS P2 Dunlop 149 +27 Laps Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 24LMGTEAm98GBR Aston Martin RacingCAN Paul Dalla LanaPRT Pedro LamyAUT Mathias Lauda Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTEMichelin148+28 LapsAston Martin 4.5 L V8 25 LMGTEAm 83 ITA AF Corse FRA François PerrodoFRA Emmanuel CollardPRT Rui Águas Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Michelin 148 +28 Laps Ferrari 4.5 L V8 26 LMGTEAm 72 RUS SMP Racing RUS Viktor ShaytarRUS Aleksey BasovITA Andrea Bertolini Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Michelin 147 +29 Laps Ferrari 4.5 L V8 27 LMGTEAm 88 DEU Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing DEU Christian RiedAUT Klaus BachlerARE Khaled Al Qubaisi Porsche 911 RSR Michelin 146 +30 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 28 LMGTEAm 77 DEU Dempsey Racing-Proton USA Patrick DempseyUSA Patrick LongDEU Marco Seefried Porsche 911 RSR Michelin 145 +31 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 29 LMGTEAm 96 GBR Aston Martin Racing DEU Roald GoetheGBR Stuart HallITA Francesco Castellacci Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE Michelin 138 +38 Laps Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 30 LMP2 30 USA Extreme Speed Motorsports USA Scott SharpGBR Ryan DalzielDNK David Heinemeier Hansson Ligier JS P2 Dunlop 134 +42 Laps Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 31 LMP2 26 RUS G-Drive Racing RUS Roman RusinovFRA Julien CanalGBR Sam Bird Ligier JS P2 Dunlop 124 +52 Laps Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 DNF Did not finish LMGTEAm 55 ITA AF Corse GBR Duncan CameronGBR Alex MortimerIRL Matt Griffin Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Michelin 128 Retired Ferrari 4.5 L V8 DNF Did not finish LMGTEAm 50 FRA Larbre Compétition ITA Gianluca RodaITA Paolo RubertiDNK Kristian Poulsen Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Michelin 61 Accident damage Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 DNF Did not finish LMP1 4 AUT Team ByKolles CHE Simon TrummerITA Vitantonio LiuzziAUT Christian Klien CLM P1/01 Michelin 46 Technical AER P60 Turbo V6+ Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturerDunlop DunlopMichelin Michelin Standings after the race +World Endurance Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Position +/– DriverPoints 1 10px DEU André LottererSUI Marcel FässlerFRA Benoît Tréluyer 50 2 10px DEU Marc LiebFRA Romain DumasSUI Neel Jani 36 3 10px 1 AUT Alexander WurzGBR Mike ConwayFRA Stéphane Sarrazin 22 4 10px 1 GBR Anthony DavidsonSUI Sébastien Buemi 19 5 10px 6 DEU Timo BernhardNZL Brendon HartleyAUS Mark Webber 17 +World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos. Position +/– Constructor Points 1 10px DEU Audi 70 2 10px 1 DEU Porsche 53 3 10px 1 JPN Toyota 47 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the Drivers' Championship standings. References 30em2015 FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Silverstone 24 Hours of Le Mans Belgium Sports 50 26 14 N 5 58 17 E source:kolossus-nowiki title Spa-Francorchamps Spa-Francorchamps Category:6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps