Watkins Glen

A champion's command

There was no late ambiguity about the winner at Watkins Glen. Simone Porcu took his Eagle T1G to the front at the start and remained there throughout all 57 laps, turning the final Championship race into a controlled assertion of his season-long authority. His fastest lap of 1:03.140 gave further weight to a drive in which no rival was permitted even a temporary spell at the head of the field.

It was Porcu's second Championship victory in succession, and it carried the larger prize. He leaves Watkins Glen as champion with 224 points. Florian Masse, who had arrived leading the table by two points, ends the season second on 216, while FMG's second place in the race secured third in the final order on 213. The Italian's victory was thus more than a final-race success: it was the decisive performance of the Championship.

FMG holds the second place

Behind the Eagle, FMG's BRM P83 and gilvil77's Ferrari 312 provided the principal contest among those pursuing the leader. Their rivalry had begun almost at once. Gilvil77 moved ahead early in the race, but FMG reclaimed the advantage before halfway and did not relinquish it thereafter.

There was little ornamental about the contest. The two ran in close company through its opening stages and again later in the race, each keeping the other within reach without allowing the duel to distract from the larger requirement of preserving a podium place. FMG reached the flag second, and gilvil77 followed third, giving the race a podium composed of three different marques: Eagle, BRM and Ferrari.

For FMG, the second place was sufficient to overtake gilvil77 in the Championship's final reckoning as well. Yet the afternoon belonged unmistakably to Porcu, whose lead was never materially disturbed while the fight behind divided the attentions of his nearest pursuers.

The contest behind the podium

The liveliest uncertainty came in the group behind the leading three. Nat Stevenson, Max Solmyr and Alex Senna were drawn together from the early part of the race, staying within five seconds of one another for more than twenty laps. It was a contest of changing emphasis rather than a single uninterrupted duel, with the Eagle, McLaren and Ferrari repeatedly reappearing in the same piece of road.

Solmyr and Stevenson traded the advantage during the first half. Solmyr moved ahead before the race had settled, Stevenson regained the place shortly after half-distance, and the Frenchman was back in front a few laps later. Senna was never far removed from this argument. He lost a place after an incident on lap seven, but remained part of the group and later worked his Ferrari back into contention.

By the closing stages the issue had narrowed principally to Solmyr and Senna. They ran close together from laps 48 to 53, Senna taking the place before Solmyr recovered it late on. The McLaren driver reached the flag fourth, with Senna's Ferrari fifth, the pair providing a fittingly close conclusion to the contest immediately behind the podium.

The final order

Porcu's win was a complete one: leadership from beginning to end, fastest lap, and the points required to settle the Championship in his favour. FMG and gilvil77 gave the pursuit its substance, while Solmyr and Senna ensured that the race beneath the front three was never merely processional.

Watkins Glen therefore supplied a clear final chapter. The leading group did not produce a last-lap upset, but it did reveal the different demands of the afternoon: Porcu's need to convert command into a title, FMG's and gilvil77's contest for the remaining honours, and the restless struggle further back for the final places at the head of the field.