Autódromo José Carlos Pace, known worldwide as Interlagos, is a 4.309 km track set in undulating terrain on the outskirts of São Paulo. Running anti-clockwise, like Imola, it has 15 iconic corners, including the famous ‘Senna S’, which challenges drivers and their cars.
The 6 Hours of São Paulo is the fifth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship – following races in Lusail, Imola, Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans – and therefore began the second half of the season.
The two Lexus RC F LMGT3 cars of Akkodis ASP Team made a strong start to free practice, finishing one-two in the first session, with the #87 just ahead of the #78. José María López set the fastest time, 0.124 seconds ahead of young Finn Gehrsitz.
Second practice confirmed the team's pace and this time the #78 finished in front of the #87. Yuichi Nakayama was second, just ahead of third-placed Clemens Schmid. Gaps between competitors were tight in the third and final free practice, when Clemens Schmid put the #87 fourth, while Finn Gehrsitz ended up sixth.
Saturday’s fiercely-contested qualifying saw Petru Umbrarescu in untouchable form in the #87 and he set the fastest time of 1min 34.488secs to secure a place in Hyperpole. Arnold Robin was also strong and finished sixth. Once again, both Lexus RC F LMGT3s qualified for the chance to fight for pole position.
Hyperpole was a tense affair, with the order shifting lap by lap. But local hero Eduardo Barrichello (#10) snatched pole position in 1min 33.849secs, just 0.024secs ahead of the #87 Akkodis ASP Team car of Clemens Schmid. Finn Gehrsitz completed the top three in the sister #78 car. That raised the potential for the championship standings to be shaken up when the second half of the 2025 season began in Brazil.
The race – A perfect pace!
The race began on a warm and sunny morning, with temperatures of 21°C. Tyre management would be key to a very demanding race on a track where heavy braking puts a particular strain on the tyres. For this race, LMGT3 tyre supplier Goodyear introduced their newly-developed and more durable hard compound, which is designed to last for two full stints.
As required by the regulations, the Bronze drivers took the start so Petru Umbrarescu (#87) and Arnold Robin (#78), second and third respectively on the grid, kicked off six intense hours. The two Akkodis ASP Team drivers were initially overtaken by the #95 but on the next lap, Petru reclaimed second and quickly moved up behind the leading #10.
Despite racing for the first time at Interlagos, the determined Romanian was driving superbly and setting a very fast pace. After 20 minutes of strategic driving, ‘flying Petru’ took the lead in the LMGT3 class and began to build up a healthy advantage. Arnold Robin, stuck in traffic, was fourth.
At the end of the first stint, the #87 car held a 12-second lead and Petru stayed at the wheel for a second stint, while Finn Gehrsitz took over from Arnold Robin in the #78.
With an hour of racing completed, the two Lexus cars were running one-two. After 50 laps, Finn caught his teammate and overtook for the lead, gradually pulling away at the front.
For the next stint, José María “Pechito” López jumped into the #87 Lexus while Finn, who had an eight-second lead, handed the wheel of the #78 back to Arnold Robin.
The Argentinean set a string of fast laps and closed on Arnold, before overtaking to put the #87 back in front. The show of strength continued and the gap widened with each lap. Just over two hours into the race, Pechito held a nine-second lead but 30 minutes later, that gap had grown to 30 seconds over the second Lexus.
Clemens Schmid took over from José María López in the #87, but as the race approached the halfway point, the Austrian received a drive-through penalty for Jose Maria’s overspeeding in the pit lane. The comfortable 27-second lead was reduced to 12 seconds, but a consistent, error-free stint helped Clemens maintain this advantage.
Meanwhile, Yuichi Nakayama took the wheel of the #78, still in second, although the Japanese driver had the #85 Porsche closing in. Following the next pit stops, that gap was cut to less than a second. Yuichi defended hard and kept control, conceding nothing to his rival. With 90 minutes remaining, Finn Gehrsitz was back at the wheel for the closing stages of an intense race.
In the #87, the undisputed star of the Brazilian round, José María López, took the final stints with the target of establishing a significant lead to keep the chasing pack at bay. The #81 Corvette was initially more than 10 seconds behind, but the gap grew to 37 seconds at the chequered flag. A well-executed race delivered a well-deserved first victory in WEC for Akkodis ASP Team.
The final stages of the race were more challenging for the #78, which was overhauled by the #85 Porsche and then the pole-sitting #33 Aston Martin. Finn Gehrsitz crossed the line fifth.
For Jérôme Policand, this success is a reward for the dedication of the staff, engineers, drivers and partners who have supported the team since the beginning of this WEC adventure: “Hearing the Marseillaise, the French national anthem, on the eve of 14 July, France's national holiday, on the podium at Interlagos is an immense joy. I don’t need to remind you that Akkodis ASP is a French team.
“This victory brings real satisfaction because it confirms the excellent performances that have not always delivered the results we hoped for. Thank you to Toyota Gazoo Racing for their support and to all the partners who follow us in this championship. Thank you also to Goodyear for offering us a hard tyre, which I believe contributed to our success here! Both crews were brilliant, and we have six fantastic drivers. José, Clemens and Petru were incredible today and they richly deserved this success. Now the hard task of keeping up this momentum is coming.”
See you at the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, on 6-7 September for the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.