Callum Ilott claims historic World Endurance Championship win ahead of racing in Indy 500
Callum Ilott claimed his and Hertz Team JOTA’s maiden outright World Endurance Championship race victory when he and team-mate Will Stevens won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday (May 11).
And the former Bishop’s Stortford College student, whose family live in the Hadhams, is now preparing to compete for Arrow McLaren in the Indy 500 on May 26.
Ilott, 25, was competing in only his third WEC race for Hertz Team JOTA at the weekend and swept the #12 Porsche 963 home to a historic win in the 614-mile race in Belgium with an ultimately comfortable 12.3sec margin of victory.
It was the first hypercar class win for a privateer entry against the might of numerous factory manufacturer cars, first overall win for a British team in the 12-year history of WEC, first all-British driver line-up to win since 2017 and the first time two drivers, as opposed to the normal three sharing a car, have won outright for a decade.
Ilott and Stevens now lie second in the FIA Hypercar Drivers World Endurance Championship having extended their lead in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams.
Ilott, who qualified fourth fastest the previous day, was behind the wheel for the first time with 2hr 40min remaining, with Stevens having hovered around the top six from the start.
He pitted seconds after a huge crash in the penultimate hour which halted the race for over two hours for safety barrier repairs. It meant the majority of the team’s rivals needed to stop for fuel soon after the race eventually resumed for a 90-minute sprint to the chequered flag.
Ilott praised his team for doing an “amazing job” and said the milestones he and colleague Stevens achieved were “incredible”.
Looking ahead to the Indy 500 race, Ilott, who tested with Arrow McLaren earlier in the spring, added: “It is any driver’s dream to race in the Indianapolis 500.
“I feel comfortable with the team and know that we can come together to put our best foot forward come race day.”
