Porsche survived a late scare to pick up its fourth victory of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship season in the 6 Hours of Mexico on Saturday.
The #1 919 Hybrid shared by Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley bounced back from a drive-through penalty before seeing off a stiff challenge from Audi's #7 R18 to win by just over a minute after six hours of racing.
After taking pole on Saturday, Audi enjoyed an early lead at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as Lucas di Grassi produced a rapid first stint to take the no. 8 car into the lead.
Porsche dug deep to bring itself back into contention around the three-hour mark before rain hit the track in the fourth hour, prompting a strategy rethink.
Porsche's #1 car suffered a setback when it was given a stop/go penalty for crossing the pit entry line and not then entering the pit lane, giving Audi a healthy buffer up front.
However, a brake issue sent Oliver Jarvis spinning into the wall, ending hopes of a second win for the #8 crew and giving the advantage back to Porsche.
Andre Lotterer looked to take the fight to Porsche in the #7 Audi, running five seconds per lap quicker as the #1 car tried to make it through a wet tyre stint on a drying track. However, a lock-up for Lotterer and glance with the wall eased the pressure once again, allowing Porsche to get back onto slicks.
A late rain shower threatened to scupper Bernhard's charge to victory, again giving the pit wall a tough call to make. Audi rolled the dice and fitted Lotterer with intermediates, tasked with making up an 80-second gap to the leader.
Bernhard gave Porsche a scare with five minutes remaining when he hit the kerb coming out of the stadium section and kissed the barrier, losing 20 seconds but avoiding damage. As a result, he was able to tentatively round the final few laps before coming home to take the crew's second straight victory.
Audi's two-man team of Lotterer and Marcel Fassler was left disappointed in second place, while Toyota picked up a podium finish with the #6 car in third place.
In LMP2, RGR Sport by Morand picked up an emotional home victory after a brake failure saw G-Drive lose the lead in the final hour. Signatech Alpine's late charge was valiant, but fell two seconds short of victory come the chequered flag.
Aston Martin Racing dominated in GTE Pro as the #97 Vantage V8 shared by Darren Turner and Richie Stanaway saw off the challenge of the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE to take class victory. The #95 AMR entry came home third despite taking a trip into the barrier during the mid-race shower.
Abu Dhabi Proton Racing won GTE Am after a race-long battle with AF Corse and KCMG, the trio freed up to fight after the #98 Aston Martin crashed early on and dropped out of contention for victory. Pat Long brought home the #88 Porsche 911 RSR to take the Abu Dhabi team's first win of the year.
