A tactical masterclass unfolds at the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo

The race at the Autodromo Carlos Pace has become an absolute game of cat-and-mouse. As we crossed the five-hour mark, the #35 Alpine Endurance Team A424 Hypercar, with Antonio Felix da Costa at the wheel, had effectively held the lead for the better part of the third and fourth hours. It was a bold display, though it left the team on an off-set strategy compared to the rest of the pack. Behind him, the machine driven by Raffaele Marciello for BMW was flying, hunting down the Alpine and putting immense pressure on the leader.

It was a beautiful, wild spectacle for the Brazilian fans. Marciello moved ahead at Turn 4, only to run wide immediately, allowing da Costa to snatch the lead right back. The battle only finally cooled when da Costa headed for the pits, handing the Alpine over to Charles Milesi. This move left Marciello in the lead, but the drama wasn't over for the rest of the field. Alessandro Pier Guidi, driving the #51 Ferrari AF Corse, had closed the gap to just 1.8 seconds, threatening a win for the first time since Le Mans over a year ago. That dream hit a snag when the Ferrari had an excursion at the pitlane exit, collecting track signage that remained stuck to the bodywork even as the reigning champion continued.

Further back, the race turned into a mess of penalties and contact. The #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry, currently in the hands of Norman Nato, found itself in fifth place. This came after Will Stevens dealt with a 5-second penalty for contact with the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus of Clemens Schmid, and later, a clash with the #83 AF Corse Ferrari driven by Phil Hanson. That #83 machine, having been in the top six, then faced its own 10-second penalty for a separate incident involving the #23 Aston Martin of Kobe Pauwels. Things were just as heated in LMGT3, where Peter Dempsey kept Racing Team Turkey by TF in command, building a useful gap while the #87 Lexus recovered from its earlier spin to run second.