Eastwood wins Goodyear Wingfoot award in Japan
Charlie Eastwood is the winner of the Goodyear Wingfoot award from last weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji (13-15 September), with his first victory of the season in the contest lifting the TF Sport driver into the top ten in the overall standings.
The Wingfoot Award celebrates excellence in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 category, rewarding competitors who demonstrate a consistently high level of performance throughout races. After each round, the accolade is presented to the driver that posted the fastest average lap time over the course of their stint behind the wheel.
In Japan, that driver was Eastwood, whose average of 1m42.155s in the #81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R he shares with team-mates Tom van Rompuy and Rui Andrade was just under a tenth-of-a-second quicker than that achieved by LMGT3 class-winner Davide Rigon in the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari.
Despite not featuring inside the top ten in the Wingfoot classification at Fuji, Team WRT’s Augusto Farfus continues to lead overall, but Rigon has closed to within eight points of the Brazilian and Eastwood has vaulted from 17th up to seventh with one round remaining – the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain (31 October – 2 November).
The standard WEC scoring system is used for the competition, meaning the points vary depending upon the length of the race. All drivers are eligible and counted in the championship table – not only full-time WEC entries.
As the LMGT3 category’s exclusive tyre-supplier this year, Goodyear awards one set of free tyres to each winning crew and will present three sets at the end of the season to the outright Wingfoot champion during the Rookie Test in Bahrain.
Goodyear Wingfoot Award, Fuji
1. Charlie Eastwood #81 TF Sport 1m42.155s
2. Davide Rigon #54 Vista AF Corse 1m42.237s
3. Franck Perera #60 Iron Lynx 1m42.268s
4. Marco Sørensen #777 D’Station Racing 1m42.426s
5. Nicolas Costa #59 United Autosports 1m42.448s
6. Esteban Masson #87 Akkodis ASP Team 1m42.500s
7. Michelle Gatting #85 Iron Dames 1m42.570s
8. Alex Riberas #27 Heart of Racing Team 1m42.579s
9. Klaus Bachler #92 Manthey Rxcing 1m42.643s
10. Alessio Rovera #55 Vista AF Corse 1m42.654s
Overall Season Standings
1. Augusto Farfus #31 Team WRT 76pts
2. Davide Rigon #54 Vista AF Corse 68pts
3. Morris Schuring #91 Manthey EMA 62pts
4. Alex Riberas #27 Heart of Racing Team 61pts
5. Marco Sørensen #777 D’Station Racing 57pts
