Fernando Rees: first recipient of the Le Mans/Brazil Trophy
A new trophy was created this year by the ACO especially for the 2013 6 Hours of São Paulo – the Le Mans/Brazil Trophy. It was presented after the race by Brazilian motorsport legend Emerson Fittipaldi to Fernando Rees, the highest placed Brazilian driver in the overall classification of the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
For a long time it looked like the Le Mans/Brazil Trophy would go to Bruno Senna. Unfortunately, Ayrton’s nephew had to retire around half distance as he was the victim of a collision which caused a suspension breakage on his no. 99 Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Fernando Rees, one of the drivers of the no. 50 Corvette entered by the Larbre Compétition team, which he shared with Patrick Bornhauser and Julien Canal, took the flag in 19th place overall and 6th in LMGTE Am and thereby became the first winner of the new trophy.
This trophy was first shown and launched on Saturday evening in São Paulo by ACO President, Pierre Fillon. Its aim is to reinforce the already-strong ties between the Le Mans 24 Hours and Brazil, which is represented by a number of talented drivers.
The trophy is in the form of the famous Wilbur Wright sculpture, which is on display in the town of Le Mans, and commemorates the first flights in Europe of the American inventor’s planes carried out on the Les Hunaudières straight in 1908 with the backing of the ACO. It was created by sculptor Paul Landowski in 1922.
The Polish-French artist was then responsible for the famous statute of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Cristo Redentor, forging an original link between Le Mans and Brazil which has been re-established thanks to this initiative by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.
Information gathered from ACO press release
Fiona Miller