LMGTE Pro
GTE Pro sees the six usual suspects back, no doubt for their usual ding dong cat and mouse encounter.
In reality Fuji’s result means that short of an absolutely extraordinary series of events the titles will be heading back to AF Corse, Ferrari and Gianmaria Bruni and his 2014 team-mate Toni Vilander, the points gap in the drivers Championship now a near insurmountable 49.5 points without huge dramas, dramas that would involve Gimmi Bruni breaking a 21 race run of points finishes in the WEC, the only man to have achieved that feat.
AF Corse will take heart too from the giant leap in performance from the sister #71 crew, Davide Rigon and James Calado gelling well and producing good race-long pace. A rear gunning car is a great tool in the run to a Championship win.
Porsche had a terrible race in Japan, both cars had early dramas and the pace was never really there. Shanghai should see an upturn in their fortunes but it’s realistically about race wins now for the remainder of the season for both Porsche and Aston Martin.
The #91 car sees Nick Tandy listed once again alongside Jorg Bergmeister and Richard Lietz.
Despite the Championship points position there’s no reason why we shouldn’t see the Ferrari dominance challenged, Fuji’s disaster effectively came at Turn One on Lap one with the Lead Aston and Porsches tangling.
Better news came with the much, much better showing from the #99 Craft Bamboo AMR Aston Martin with pole position, and the car in contention throughout. That’s great news as we get towards the tail end of a learning year for the crew in GTE Pro.
LMGTE Am
The headline in LMGTE Am in China is the absence of both the #61 and #81 AF Corse Ferraris.
Luis Perez Companc was always on a race by race contract for the #61 car, and Shanghai is known to be less than a popular inclusion on the calendar for several of the Gentleman drivers.
In Aston Martin land the #95 Young Driver AMR crew lead the Championship by 39 points. They’ll therefore go to Bahrain as points leaders whatever happens here and, in theory, depending on the results for their closest contenders, could clinch it mathematically in China.
The second Aston Martin too looks a convincing package, both Vantages have shown speed and consistency. Indeed the #95 crew now sit above both Pro Aston crews in the GTE Drivers standings.
It’s unlikely to be a walkover for the Astons though as both of the Porsche Privateer teams are now up to speed with their 911 RSRs. Proton’s podium finish in COTA was matched in Japan by the Prospeed team.
Both squads look capable of taking the fight to AMR though the reduction of the AF Corse stable to just the 8Star branded #90 car this time out means that the Ferrari Challenge will be rather reduced this time out. Matteo Cressoni is third man in China alongside the regular Roda/Ruberti pairing.
