The teams, organizers and drivers were thrilled by their first visit on Mexican soil, especially by the welcome given to the competitors, confirmed Mark Webber, driver of the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid: "The enthusiasm of the people is great so it’s good to see..." Pipo Derani (Extreme Speed Motorsport's #31 Ligier JS P2), a neighbor of sorts (he is Brazilian), also felt the warm friendliness: "It's latin here and it’s nice to feel welcome from the fans.”

The other key point of the weekend turned out to be the circuit's altitude which leveled the performances between each class (especially between the LM P2s and the LM GTEs). Also, its design somewhat bewildered drivers, as explained by Lucas di Grassi (#8 Audi R18): "The track here has too many slow corners for an LM P1 car which is especially made for Le Mans so this is the only downside. We have these tight hairpins in first and second gear. The track itself is very tricky and the high altitude makes it low grip and difficult to drive. There is no room for a mistake and you have already seen a bit crash today. It is a challenging track with traffic with the track density because it is a short track and the difference in performance is bigger so it is going to be a very interesting race. You have 20 per cent less air so you have 20 per cent less downforce. It is proportional and you also have less drag. With the hybrid you don’t lose anything because there is no air involved and with the turbo you can get it back. Against a normally aspirated car the relative gain is much bigger but in terms of grip you have 20 per cent less downforce so every time you brake and turn you cannot put the energy into the tyre like you want to. The car is very light and it is very easy to make a mistake. It is also tricky to overtake so it is a combination of low grip and tight corners."

In any case, the various players left Mexico happy and did not fail to congratulate the promoter of the 6 Hours of Mexico, none other than Ricardo Gonzales, the driver of RGR Sport by Morand's #43 Ligier JS P2, and also the LM P2 winner. Pipo Derani: "...it is great pleasure to be here. Bruno (Senna, editor's note) said Ricardo (Gonzales, editor's note) was a great gentleman driver but I it looks like he is a good promoter as well. It is great to be here at this event."

Now competitors will head to the U.S. for the next round at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas which will take place on Saturday, September 17th.

Quotations from FIA WEC website.

Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

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Video: YouTube – FIA WEC