(Focusing on the GT-X class)
The 2014 season kicked off at Monza, where during practice saw the four manufacturers finally compete against one another. The Porsche's quickly set the pace with their incredible top speed. Exiting Parabolica and onto the straight, the cars were easily in excess of 190mph. The Porsche's were followed by the Ferrari's, then the McLaren's, and finally the Nissan's. The GTX class was accompanied by GTE's, and GT3's. The grid had over 40 cars, and attracted large crowds to witness the massive amounts of GT cars on the track. Qualifying saw all three Porsche's sweep the top three positions, with two Ferrari's behind. The McLaren's and Nissan's fought for the rest of the grid positions.
The race was a 3-hour endurance race, but all the GTX cars were fighting full-throttle whole way through. Unfortunately, teething issues hit first hit the Nissan's, as one by one retired due to mechanical issues. Halfway into the race, one of the Porsche's collided into a Ferrari 458 GTE car around Lesmo 1, with the Ferrari going wide on exit instead of keeping low. Another half an hour passed, and one of the McLaren's engines caught fire, forcing it to retired with almost an hour to go. The last ten minutes of the race saw a long battle between a Porsche and two Ferrari's. The Porsche held the lead on the straights, but through every turn and corner exit, the Ferrari's had the advantage. In the Ascari chicane with two laps to go, one Ferrari got by the Porsche under braking and passed on the outside. The Ferrari would block desperately on the straights, and the GTE and GT3 traffic worked to its benefit. On the last lap, the first Ferrari had a very unstable lead on the Porsche. This changed when the second Ferrari chasing the Porsche tried to dive on the inside in Lesmo 2, resulting in contact and sending the Porsche into the gravel. The leading LaFerrari FXX-K took its first win, and the Porsche was bumped to second after the other Ferrari received a ten-second penalty.
The next four races were in Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Circuit Paul Ricard, and Le Mans. Silverstone saw the dominance of McLaren, with its high levels of downforce taking the victory away from the Ferrari's that had contested them throughout the race. Spa-Francorchamps would see another repeat of the Porsche and Ferrari battle, resulting in another Ferrari victory, but a McLaren was able to steal third place from another Porsche. Paul Ricard finally saw the dominance of the Porsche's, as two of the three Ferrari's experienced engine failures. Nissan was able to get its first podium, after a drawn-out battle between a McLaren on old tires.
The ACO allowed the new cars to participate in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, above GTE Pro but below LMP2. The KERS unit would be disabled, and the engines be equipped with a larger air restrictor, bringing horsepower into the low 600's. Nissan received a bump in power for BoP, seeing as they struggled throughout the season to keep up with the exotic manufacturers. This would play into their benefit greatly, as they already had the most powerful engine in the class (but with high drag aerodynamics). Qualifying saw the three Ferrari's sweep the top spots, followed by a small margin, the two works Nissan's. McLaren's and Porsche's fought for the last spots with privateer Nissan's.
The start saw the Ferrari's take off through the turns, only to be caught up by the two works Nissan's on the Muslanne straight. They would lead the race all the way into the night. They had a very comfortable lead over the other GTX's, closest competitor was a lone Ferrari, which was a lap down. During the night, a Ferrari 458 GTE cut-off the second-placed Nissan in the Porsche Curves, resulting in a massive crash that totaled the Nissan. The resulting safety-car period allowed the Ferrari to catch up to the leading Nissan, and it became a long battle between the two. The Nissan leads in the straight with the Ferrari drafting, and the Ferrari leads in the corners while the Nissan holds on.
The morning saw the rise of the Porsche's. After battling the McLaren's throughout the race, the Porsche's began to pick up pace and their strategy coming into fruition. They were only two laps down, and slowly began picking away at the lead. With four hours to go in the race, the lead was down to only a lap. The Nissan and lead Ferrari were still fighting head to head, but this allowed the Porsche's to catch up. In the Nissan vs Ferrari fight up front, the Ferrari began to pull away in the traffic. The fight ended shortly, as another 458 GTE collided with the Nissan, granting the Ferrari a clean lead. With one hour to go, the Porsche had caught up to the leading FXX-K, leading to a long battle. The first phase was pure strategy. The Ferrari would pit, then the Porsche would lead until it had to pit. This would go on until a puncture hit the Ferrari, closing the lead, and matching Porsche's pit strategy. It was no longer a game of who pits latest, but of who's fastest. With thirty minutes to go, the Porsche had a ten second lead, but the Ferrari had fresh tires. Within ten minutes, it was side by side racing to the finish. The Porsche would defend until the end, and eventually won the race.
With Le Mans out of the way, it was now a sprint for the championship. Ferrari had the championship lead, with Porsche second. The Le Mans victory narrowed the lead, but with Ferrari finishing second, it wasn't by much. The last three races were to be at Circuit of the Americas, Interlagos, and finally Fuji Speedway. After Le Mans, McLaren took a step back and began re-working their car. They did extensive conditioning to make the car as durable as possible. COTA saw the McLaren's dominate with their cornering ability, getting a clean 1-2 finish with a Ferrari taking third. Interlagos saw a rather dull race, with the McLaren's taking an uncontested 1-2, and again a Ferrari in third. The championship was tight, as the McLaren's had a points surge, and the Porsche and Ferrari battle was at a stalemate. One win would allow either team to take it all.
The Fuji race was going to decide it. Ferrari had the lead in points, followed by Porsche and McLaren. Porsche swept the top positions, and McLaren was mixed up with some Ferrari's. Nissan was behind them, but not by as much. The race would be only a two-hour sprint, so it was going to be a dogfight, rather than a chess match with pit strategy. The cars took at the start, and the Porsche's began pulling away. Into the first turn, the leading Porsche locked up and shot wide, while the other, who had been on the outside, lost its position after a McLaren shot up behind the other Porsche. The rest of the track would suit the McLaren, letting it pull away into the lead. Behind, it was a battle between the big three. It was Porsche, McLaren, Ferrari, and Ferrari. They would fight on, but in the last turn, the Porsche got a good exit, and pulled away on the straight. The second Porsche was catching up towards the back, but the Nissan's were putting up a fight.
Over the course of the race, retirements would ensue. First it was the Ferrari's. Two retired from complications with the KERS unit, and the final broke its suspension into the Coca-Cola curve, sending it flying into the wall. Ferrari was out. Next, one of the Porsche's lost engine power along the straight due to overheating, and the other Porsche was still far down in the grid fighting Nissan's. In the wake of all this, the leading McLaren was granted a massive lead over the two following Nissan's, until a Ferrari 458 GTE made contact with the McLaren in the hairpin, forcing it to retire once the car couldn't get moving again. This granted Nissan a 1-2 lead in the race for the works team. The second McLaren was moving up in positions, along with a Porsche. With barely half an hour to go, they lead was simply too big to knock down. The Nissan's won the last race of the season, with a lone McLaren and Porsche coming in third and fourth respectively.
With Ferrari scoring no points and McLaren's points surge ending, Porsche able to save points with a third car, and walked away with the championship.