Farfus, his team-mate António Félix da Costa, and the BMW Team MTEK crew started the weekend well, with strong showings in each of the three practice sessions in both wet and dry conditions. In Friday’s qualifying, they held the top-spot for much of the session until pipped to the post in the final moments.
Starting the six-hour race from third on the grid, Farfus and Félix da Costa both pushed hard as the weather conditions changed from dry to very wet, to sleet and snow. The ten competitors in the GTE Pro class were each making efforts to predict the weather and make the right tyre call, but most were left in the hands of fate.
With an hour to go, Farfus and Félix da Costa were in second place and pitted for the final time, but a safety car came out and the snow increased throwing the team’s strategy advantage away. At 19.20, the race was red-flagged due to bad weather conditions, and the #82 BMW M8 GTE crossed the line in fourth place.
“That was a chaotic race,” said Farfus. “At one point, it looked very good for us and, had it not snowed again at the end, the podium would have been ours. António and I pushed very hard and it was good to have a car to do that in, but things just didn’t quite go our way today. We’re disappointed to miss out on the podium but feeling confident going into Le Mans next month.”
The final round of the WEC Super Season, the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans, takes place on 15th/16th June but Farfus will be in action again next weekend (11th/12th May) in the World TCR Championship races at the Slovakia Ring.
