INTERNATIONAL WRAP: WEC NURBURGRING & AUSSIES OVERSEAS

Porsche dominated the WEC at the Nurburgring – Photo: LAT

WEC – 6 HOURS OF NURBURGRING

Porsche took out a commanding win in their home WEC event, crossing the line for a one-two finish during the 6 hours of the Nurburgring.

The Kiwi contingent of Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber along with German Timo Bernhard took their second win of the season in the No. 2 Porsche after a race long battle with team mates André Lotterer, Neel Jani and Nick Tandy in the No. 1 Porsche.

Toyota lead the race early with the No. 7 car of Kamui Kobayashi, José Maria Lopez and Mike Conway starting from pole position, but it wasn’t long till the two Porsche’s pushed their way past. The No. 7 finished in third place.

The second Toyota of Anthony Davidson, Kazuki Nakajima and Sébastien Buemi had a shocking start to the race, issues with the fuel pump on the warm up lap put them out of contention straight away. The No. 8 would resume the race 5 laps down, to finish fourth.

The No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca of Ho-Pin Tung, Oliver Jarvis and Thomas Laurent took out the LMP2 class a lap ahead of their nearest rival.

Ferrari took out the GTE-Pro class with the No. 51 AF Course of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi after a race long battle with the two GTE-Pro Porsche’s.

In the GTE-Am class it was Porsche who got the win with the No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing entry of Matteo Cairoli, Marvin Dienst and Christian Ried holding of their Ferrari challenger.

INDYCAR – TORONTO – ROUND 12

Josef Newgarden leading the IndyCar field in Toronto – Photo: LAT

Fortunate pit strategy allowed Josef Newgarden to take out the Indycar win in Toronto.

Newgarden lucked into the lead of the race when he made his first pit stop on Lap 23. Tony Kanaan locked the brakes and slid into the tire barrier in Turn 1 at that very same moment causing a full course caution that allowed Newgarden to take the lead while the other front-runners pitted under yellow.

He then went on to lead the remaining laps, holding off Alexander Rossi to take out the win. Rossi would finish second and James Hinchcliffe in third.

It was not a good race for Aussie Will Power. He made contact with championship leader Scott Dixon on the opening lap the put Power out of the race. Dixon recovered, but could only manage a tenth place finish in the end.

NASCAR – NEW HAMPSHIRE – ROUND 19

Denny Hamlin leading the pack in New Hampshire – Photo: LAT

Denny Hamlin notched up his first win on the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series, taking out the race New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Hamlin led 54 of 301 laps in the No. 11 Toyota, taking the checkered flag ahead of a fast finishing Kyle Larson.

“I know we’ve been getting better and better as the year goes on, but definitely needed a win for the organization and for myself and just kind of get some momentum going with the playoffs coming up, so we’ve got to get going. Really, this is awesome.” said Hamlin after the race, looking for a play off position to keep himself in the championship hunt.

Martin Truex Jr. led the majority of the race, with 137 laps from the Coors Light Pole, but was tumbled down the order when his right-front tire went flat. He rallied to finish the race in third.

FORMULA E – NEW YORK – ROUND 9 & 10

Race 9

Race 10

AUSSIES OVERSEAS

Kerry Madsen won in World of Outlaws at Eldora Speedway – Photo: Eldora Speedway

PORSCHE SUPERCUP – SILVERSTONE

Matt Campbell had a rough race in the Porsche Supercup at Silverstone. After qualifying fifth, Campbell was clearly fast but had to fight hard with teammate Josh Webster to make any progress. Unfortunately, during that battle, the young Aussie ran off the road and fell back to eighth. He did regroup and get himself back up the seventh.

WORLD OF OUTLAWS – ELDORA – By Geoff Rounds

Kerry Madsen won his third straight race in the World of Outlaws, taking out the prestigious Kings Royal on the opening night at Eldora Speedway, Ohio. Racing with a broken hand Kerry beat out the other Aussies in the field including younger brother Ian Madsen in eighth, Jordyn Brazier in 14th and James McFadden in 16th.

The second and third nights weren’t quite as good for the Aussies in the field with Ian Madsen’s fourth on the second night standout for the rest of the event.

FORMULA RENAULT – NURBURGRING

Several Aussies were on the grid in Formula Renault at the Nurburgring in support of the WEC round.

The first race they ended up bunched together after several battles throughout the field. Zane Goddard was the best placed of the group in tenth with Thomas Randle 11th, Alex Peroni 13th, Luis Leeds 14th. Thomas Maxwell couldn’t quite match the pace of the others, finishing in 23rd.

The second race started and spent the majority of the race under the safety car due to the wet conditions. However, the Aussies were again tightly grouped together, Randle this time getting the upper hand finishing in ninth ahead of Leeds 10th and Goddard 11th. Peroni had been in the top ten but had ran wide in the closing laps of the race sending him down to 15th. While who started near the rear of the 31 car grid Maxwell raced his way up to 19th.

For a more detailed analysis of the weekends international motorsport, pick up the next issue of Auto Action Magazine. In the mean time make sure you follow Auto Action on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates.