6 Hours of Spa WEC Preview:  First ‘Match Point’ for Alonso
The 6 Hours of Spa 2019, penultimate appointment of the 2018-2019 World Endurance Championship (WEC), started today and until the 4th of May at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium.

LMP1: Alonso could claim the crown

The seventh race of the WEC will also be the first opportunity for Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima to seal the victory at the LMP1 category onboard the Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 Hybrid #8.

The chances of this happening at the 6 Hours of Spa 2019 are, however, remote. After their victory in the 1,000 miles of Sebring, they are 15 points ahead of their sister car, the #7 of Pechito López, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi.

For them (#8) to be champions,  they must win at the 6 Hours of Spa 2019 and their rivals of the Toyota #7 should get only one point -10th postion- or none -lower position-. Considering that the Japanese missiles haven’t suffered a single fault since the start of the season a year ago, only a human error could square this equation.

The trio led by the Spaniard is still the favourite to climb to the top of the podium at the 6 Hours of Spa 2019. It was here that they won in May 2018 on the occasion of Fernando Alonso’s debut, leading a Toyota one-two. 

The spotlight shines again over the Spanish driver who has confirmed that he will not return to the WEC after this season. Rumours have it that his next challenge is the Saudi Arabian Dakar Rally of 2020.

His seat on the TS050 #8 will then be taken by Brendon Hartley. The 29-year-old New Zealander who competed with Toro Rosso in the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship, has a brilliant track record in endurance events. In fact, he won the WEC in 2015 & 2017 and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017 with Porsche.

LMP2 

Things are most exciting for the LMP2 class at the 6 Hours of Spa 2019, where three cars are currently separated by a mere five points. The vehicles #37 and #38 of the Jackie Chan DC Racing team have 130 and 123 points respectively, while the Signatech Alpine #36 has 125 units. Everything points to a fierce fight right until the very end when the checkered flag is waved at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

GTE-Pro

Things are a bit more defined for the GTE-Pro category at the 6 Hours of Spa 2019. The Porsche #92 of Kevin Estre and Michael Andersen commands the table with 125 points, 25 more than their colleagues of #91, Bruni and Lietz.

In third place is the Ferrari #51 of Pier Guidi and Calado with 80.5 points. In the Constructor’s standings, Porsche has the title at its fingertips with a whopping 224 points followed by a distance by Ferrari with 127 and Aston Martin with 102.

GTE-Am

Meanwhile, the Porsche #56 of Perfetti, Bergmeister and Lindsey of the GTE-Am category comfortably leads the table with a total of 103 points before the 6 Hours of Spa 2019. They are followed by the Ferrari #54 of Castellacci, Fisichella and Flhor with 78 points and the Aston Martin #98 of Lauda, Lamy and Lana with 69.

Weather forecast

As for the weather forecast during the 6 Hours of Spa 2019, this is unfortunately not very promising. Temperatures could range between 12 and -5 degrees Celsius, with chances of rain during the day and frosts and snow during the night.

Images of ‘6 Hours of Spa WEC Preview’: Toyota, Porsche, Ford, Jackie Chang DC Racing, WEC & Spa Circuit.

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