The opening race of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship offered a mouth-watering taste of what is set to be an exciting season. Fans flocked to the Silverstone circuit in the UK to watch their favourite teams and drivers. Elsewhere, fans resorted to social media to follow their heroes and gain an insight behind the scenes. We have put together some of the weekend’s most popular social media content for you to relive the weekend of excitement.
On any race weekend, teams and drivers have a great deal of preparation to do before they get strapped in to their cars. Aside from team meetings and PR work, drivers often take the opportunity to do a “track walk” to take a closer look at critical points on the circuit. The new driver trio at G-Drive Racing came across an old friend on their track walk at Silverstone – Sam Bird, who won the LMP2 title with the Russian team in 2015, joined Alex Lynn, Pierre Thiriet and Roman Rusinov for a selfie.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BS04LAAD1Sr/?taken-by=alexlynnracing
Nicki Thiim was raring to go at Silverstone in defence of the GT drivers’ title he won together with fellow Dane Marco Sørensen last year. Thiim use the life-sized Lego figure constructed by Ford to *ahem* demonstrate his superiority. But the race was a different story – with Ford taking the win and Thiim and his Aston Martin Racing colleagues languishing down in sixth position.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BS4FCX3j4b9/?taken-by=nickithiim
The G-Drive Racing pit was ecstatic after securing the first pole position of the season in LMP2. However, after wheel-to-wheel battles throughout the six-hour race, the Russian team slipped back in the classification and finished fifth.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BS6HTiqDVYZ/?taken-by=romanrusinoff
Former Audi LMP1 driver Oliver Jarvis had a little more reason to cheer – the Brit celebrated victory at his home race with his new team Jackie Chan DC Racing. On Twitter, Jarvis proudly showed off “one of the nicest trophies” he’s ever won.
@FIAWEC @SilverstoneUK this is definitely one of the nicest trophies I've ever won 🏆. #thanks #WEC pic.twitter.com/gu2XwyvMYJ
— Oliver Jarvis (@ollyjarvis) April 18, 2017
One of the first to congratulate Jarvis on his victory was former Audit teammate Lucas di Grassi. The Brazilian, who this year will not take part in the WEC, was delighted to see his friend stand on the top step of the podium.
I want to congratulate my good friend @ollyjarvis for the win at the @FIAWEC 6h of Silverstone. Hard working always pays off!! #gojarbas
— Lucas Di Grassi (@LucasdiGrassi) April 17, 2017
The pit lane at Silverstone once again played host to much of the action. This one-handed Iron Man tyre change from a Porsche mechanic was one of the most impressive scenes in the entire race! Respect!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTEkOqOhtqr/?taken-by=fiawec_official
Despite missing out on a podium finish, debutant Jean-Eric Vergne was delighted to be part of his first WEC race weekend. On Instagram, the former F1 driver wrote that he can’t wait for the next round in Spa – an podium we all share I’m sure!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTG7fstgNCk/?taken-by=jeanericvergne