2024 6 Hours of São Paulo

The 2024 6 Hours of São Paulo (formally known as the 2024 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo) was an endurance sportscar racing event held on 14 July 2024, as the fifth of eight rounds of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. It was the fourth running of the event as part of the World Endurance Championship, and the first running of the event since 2014.

Background

The event was announced on 9 June 2023, during the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend. Interlagos Circuit signed a contract to host the event until at least 2028, made possible via an agreement with the São Paulo City Hall.

Entry list

The entry list was revealed on 26 June 2024, with 37 entries: 19 in Hypercar and 18 in LMGT3. Clemens Schmid was set to replace Timur Boguslavskiy in the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus. However, the car had to withdraw from the event after a heavy crash from Arnold Robin in the first free practice session. Furthermore, Harry Tincknell was not aboard the No. 99 Proton Competition Porsche due to commitments in IMSA's Mosport Park round. Mike Conway returned behind the wheel of the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota, after withdrawing from Le Mans after an accident. José María López, therefore, returned behind the wheel of the No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus.

Schedule

Practice

Three practice sessions were held: two on Friday, and one on Saturday. The sessions on Friday morning and Friday afternoon lasted 90 minutes, and the session on Saturday morning lasted 60 minutes.

Practice 1

The first practice session started at 10:45 BRT on Friday. Nico Müller topped the session in the No. 93 Peugeot TotalEnergies entry, with a lap time of 1:26.341. He was 0.179 seconds quicker than second-placed Earl Bamber in the No. 2 Cadillac Racing entry, and André Lotterer finished third in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport. Nicolas Costa was quickest in the LMGT3 category: he lapped the circuit in 1 minute, 35.881 seconds, in the No. 59 United Autosports McLaren. He was only 0.003 seconds quicker than second-placed Alex Riberas in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin, with Marco Sørensen rounding out the top three in the No. 777 D'station Racing Aston Martin. The session was red-flagged with 43 minutes to go after a heavy crash from Arnold Robin: the session would not be resumed. The No. 78 Lexus was withdrawn from the event, with the damage to the car too much to repair.

Note: Only the fastest car in each class is shown.

Practice 2

The second practice session started at 14:30 BRT on Friday. Toyota set the two fastest times: Sébastien Buemi was quickest in the No. 8 Toyota with a lap of 1:25.727, 0.033 seconds quicker than second-placed Kamui Kobayashi in the sister No. 7 car. Alessandro Pier Guidi rounded out the top three in the No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse entry; he was only 0.043 seconds slower than Buemi. José María López topped the session in the LMGT3 category in the one remaining Lexus, with a lap of 1:35.725. He was 0.325 seconds quicker than Franck Perera in the No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini, with Alessio Rovera in the No. 55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari third-quickest.

Note: Only the fastest car in each class is shown.

Final practice

The third and final practice session started at 10:30 BRT on Saturday. Callum Ilott led a Porsche 1–2–3 in the No. 12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche, with a lap time of 1:24.297. He was 0.012 seconds quicker than Matt Campbell in the No. 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche, whilst Kévin Estre in the sister No. 6 Porsche finished as third-quickest, 0.093 seconds behind Ilott. Alex Malykhin set the fastest lap in LMGT3: he lapped the circuit in 1 minute, 35.488 seconds in the No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche. He was 0.062 seconds quicker than second-placed Nico Pino in the No. 95 McLaren, and Sarah Bovy rounded out the top three in the No. 85 Iron Dames Lamborghini.

Note: Only the fastest car in each class is shown.

Qualifying

Qualifying started at 14:30 BRT on Saturday. Pole position was claimed by Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 7 Toyota with a lap of 1:23.140, which was 0.122 seconds quicker than Buemi in the sister No. 8 Toyota. Campbell rounded out the top three in the No. 5 Porsche, 0.191 seconds behind Kobayashi. LMGT3 saw pole position be claimed by Bovy in the No. 85 Lamborghini, with a lap time of 1:34.413. She was 0.391 seconds quicker than second-placed Malykhin in the No. 92 Porsche, with Josh Caygill in the No. 95 McLaren third-quickest.