WEC, Red Flag at Austin After 1 Hour of Racing

Race Red-Flagged After One Hour of Safety Car Laps at COTA Due to Heavy Rain. New WEC restart sheduled it 14.40 local time

The race direction has officially suspended the WEC race at Circuit of the Americas after an hour of laps behind the Safety Car. The persistent rain currently falling has made it impossible for the stewards to safely allow green flag conditions, forcing the red flag to be shown.

The first hour of the race, already underway in extremely difficult conditions, saw several key incidents. Among the Hypercars, the BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 driven by René Rast was forced to retire due to a power unit issue — specifically, a malfunction caused by a lack of proper insulation in the hybrid system. At the moment, it’s unclear whether Team WRT will be able to resolve the issue and rejoin the race with a few laps lost — assuming racing will even resume.

It’s a disappointing turn of events for BMW, who had shown promising pace during the weekend and were looking to secure a strong result on American soil. BMW WEC: all eyes on, is it the favorite?

The racing director tries another WEC (wet) restart at 14.40 local time

According to current forecasts, the rain is expected to continue for at least another hour, with no signs of weakening during the third hour of the race unless the wind direction changes. Radar images show a large storm system affecting the entire region, suggesting prolonged rainfall.

The air temperature is currently 24°C with 90% humidity. Forecast models indicate that the rain is likely to intensify around 4:00 PM local time and could persist for another two hours, making a race restart increasingly unlikely in the short term.

As of now, the overall classification has changed due to strategic pit stops made during the first hour behind the Safety Car. Leading the race is the Alpine #36, followed by the Ferrari #83 of AF Corse.

Interestingly, several lapped cars are mixed in with the Hypercars, including the McLaren #95 of United Autosports, currently running P3 overall despite being out of sequence.

We’ll continue to provide updates in the coming hours, hoping that conditions will allow this long-awaited round