Tag: FIA WEC

Fuoco leads Ferrari sweep of Imola WEC practice

The story so far for Ferrari on home soil at Imola in the WEC’s Hypercar class has been a positive one, with three fastest laps in three practice sessions. Heading into qualifying at Imola later today, the 499P appears to be the car to beat. While …

The story so far for Ferrari on home soil at Imola in the WEC’s Hypercar class has been a positive one, with three fastest laps in three practice sessions. Heading into qualifying at Imola later today, the 499P appears to be the car to beat.

While Antonio Fuoco was unable to dip into the 1m30s and set the quickest lap of the week so far, a 1m31.238 was enough to place the No. 50 factory Ferrari at the top of the pile in the sunshine during Free Practice 3.

“It’s looking quite good. I think for qualifying we will stick with the medium tires if it stays dry,” Fuoco said.

The other two 499Ps ended up at the sharp end by the end of the session and within half a second of the No. 50, but fourth (No. 83) and sixth (No. 51) after encouraging laps from the pair of BMW M Hybrid V8s that finished the 60-minute session second and third, and the No. 5 Porsche Penske 963 that slotted in fifth.

For BMW this was the first real flash of pace from its M Hybrid V8s this season, the No. 15 setting the better time of the two after a 1m31.272s from Dries Vanthoor. It’s still early days, and no points are awarded for fast laps in practice, but this performance should act as a confidence boost for the WRT-run team ahead of its second race in Hypercar tomorrow.

The remaining spaces in the top 10 were filled by the two Toyotas, the sister Penske Porsche and the No. 12 JOTA 963.

It wasn’t a clean session for the 19 runners in Hypercar. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 51 Ferrari found himself caught out twice. The first time came at Turn 6 on his out-lap, the Italian spinning on the exit of the corner after losing the rear. Moments later he found himself running through the gravel at Rivazza after locking the rear tires in the braking zone.

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Pier Guidi wasn’t the only driver to end up off track at Turn 18, as the session was red-flagged with a few minutes remaining when Paul Di Resta in the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 2024 also went straight on and ended up beached in the kitty litter. Thankfully, he avoided contact with the tire wall.

In LMGT3 it was a 1-2 for Aston Martin, with D’Station’s Vantage claiming the top spot late in the session after a 1m42.474s from Marco Sorensen. The No. 27 from Heart of Racing would have its best time set by Daniel Mancinelli midway through the session.

Team WRT’s No. 31 M4 GT3 would return to the pit lane third fastest following a 1m43.028s from Augusto Farfus, who was a tenth faster than Alex Malykhin in the Qatar-winning No. 92 Manthey Pure Rxcing Porsche and the No. 95 United Autosports McLaren GT3 EVO that completed the top five.

After topping both sessions yesterday, TF Sport’s Corvette crews found themselves ninth and 16th ahead of the fight for pole position. However, the 1m49.9s from Charlie Eastwood in FP2 is still the fastest lap of the weekend.

Qualifying is set to get underway at 2:45pm local time.

RESULTS

Alpine WEC driver Habsburg injured in testing accident

Alpine factory driver Ferdinand Habsburg suffered two fractured vertebrae in a crash while testing the team’s A424 Hypercar at the Spanish circuit of Motorland Aragon, putting his availability for Round 2 of the FIA WEC season at Imola later this …

Alpine factory driver Ferdinand Habsburg suffered two fractured vertebrae in a crash while testing the team’s A424 Hypercar at the Spanish circuit of Motorland Aragon, putting his availability for Round 2 of the FIA WEC season at Imola later this month in doubt.

“The cause of the accident is currently under investigation. Ferdinand was taken to the hospital in Alcañiz for examinations and was discharged in the evening,” a statement from the team read. “The next day, he was repatriated to Austria, where he underwent further examinations. Ferdinand suffers from two fractured lumbar vertebrae, with no neurological impact.

“He is beginning his recovery, the duration of which has not yet been defined. It will determine its participation in the next round of the FIA WEC at Imola. Alpine gives Ferdinand its full support and wishes him the best and quickest recovery.”

Should Habsburg miss the race in Italy, Andorran-flagged Frenchman Jules Gounon would likely be called up as the replacement driver, as he was named as Alpine’s WEC reserve driver at the launch of the A424. However, at present, he is named as a Mercedes AMG driver for GT World Challenge Asia on the same weekend.

In addition to competing with Alpine in the FIA WEC, Habsburg is also due to compete in the ELMS this season with COOL Racing in LMP2. He is set to share its No. 37 ORECA with reigning ELMS LMP3 champion Alex Garcia and former Prema FIA Formula 2 driver Frederik Vesti. The opening round of the ELMS season, the 4 Hours of Barcelona, is set to take place on April 14, a week before the WEC race at Imola.

Campbell takes Qatar WEC pole for Porsche

Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 5 963 will start tomorrow’s FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar from pole position, after Matt Campbell set a rapid 1m39.347s in the debut of the revised 2024 Hyperpole qualifying format. For …

Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 5 963 will start tomorrow’s FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar from pole position, after Matt Campbell set a rapid 1m39.347s in the debut of the revised 2024 Hyperpole qualifying format.

For Campbell, who has transitioned from Penske’s Hypercar team from IMSA GTP this season, it was a battle. His flyer came at the end of the 10-minute Hypercar class shootout, after trading fast times with the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID of Nyck de Vries in the closing minutes.

De Vries came close to a shock pole for Toyota, with a 1m39.511s on his penultimate tour of the circuit that initially put the No. 7 at the top of the timing screens. But Campbell found that little bit extra and delivered the first Hypercar pole for Porsche and an LMDh chassis.

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While the TGR team will likely be disappointed that it missed out on pole by such a slim margin, this was a promising flash of pace from the Japanese marque, which believed it would struggle for pace prior to the session.

“It’s fantastic to get our first pole with the 963. We’ve made some really good tuning before qualifying and it’s paid off. I struggled in my qualifying simulation yesterday but we turned it around,” Campbell said.

Off the front row, the No. 12 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche will start third after Callum Illot’s 1m39.622s, which ensured he was one of the five drivers to set a time under 1m40s.

“It’s fantastic to see that the LMDh platform can compete with Hypercar. It’s a big day for the team and our WEC program,” Jonathan Diuguid, the managing director of Team Penske, told RACER.

The fastest of the two Ferrari AF Corse 499Ps — the No. 50 — ended up fourth, while the sister Penske 963 claimed fifth spot on the grid.

Further back, the Cadillac which topped Free Practice 3 slotted in seventh, and the two Peugeot 9X8s qualified well for the final race of the current iteration of the car, finishing up sixth and 10th.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, none of the brand-new LMDh chassis to the WEC, nor the Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C, made the Hyperpole shootout. The biggest surprise was that the No. 8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Brendon Hartley didn’t either, it will start 11th after a 1m40.586s was all the Kiwi could muster.

The first session for Hypercar saw the top 17 set times within two seconds of the No. 5 Porsche which topped the times. The Lamborghini Iron Lynx SC63 ended up 2.5s off in 18th ahead of the Isotta which was 19th with a 1m43.189s.

TF Sport’s Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R took the first LMGT3 pole. JEP/Motorsport Images

Before Hypercar Hyperpole, Tom Van Rompuy stole the show in the GT ranks, setting an astonishing 1m54.372s time in the No. 81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R to take the first-ever pole in LMGT3 class history by eight-tenths.

“It’s a good thing this is on the screens because I otherwise I wouldn’t believe it!” enthused Van Rompuy. “It’s my first qualifying session in WEC. We’ve worked really hard this week to improve the car and improve ourselves. The team did a mega job, as did the guys at Corvette and Pratt Miller. In the end, we made it all work so this is a team effort. I could put a really good lap together, and I’m really amazed with this result. “That’s what everyone wants from qualifying — drivers pushing flat out for pole.”

It was a hugely impressive showing in Hyperpole from the Belgian driver in what is a very new car, scoring its first pole position globally. His fast time came with two minutes remaining and although the other contenders in the session had time to respond, there were no significant improvements in the final seconds.

Lithuanian team Pure Rxcing’s Manthey Porsche 911 LMGT3 R 992 will start alongside the brand-new Corvette after Alex Malykhin set a 1m55.179s in the team’s first WEC qualifying appearance.

One of the two Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3s ended up taking third after an impressive run from Thomas Flohr. His time was just 0.003s off Malykhin in the No. 54, which has looked fast all week.

The top five was completed by the two new Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3s, with the D’Station example set to start fourth ahead of the car fielded by U.S. team Heart of Racing.

Prior to the shootout, Heart of Racing’s Aston topped qualifying, with a 1m55.251s from Ian James in the final moments of the first 12-minute qualifying session to decide which teams made the cut for LMGT3 Hyperpole.

Of the teams that failed to make it to phase two, TF Sport’s No. 82 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R came closest and ended up missing out by two-tenths. Hiroshi Koizumi will start 11th tomorrow.

Both AKKODIS ASP Lexus RC F GT3s and Proton Ford Mustangs (the No. 77 didn’t make it out) also failed to break into the top 10.

Another notable omission was WRT’s No. 31 M4 GT3. It will start 13th in class after Darren Leung’s efforts, while the sister No. 46 will line up ninth.

The Qatar 1812Km race is set to get underway at 11:00am local time.

RESULTS

Penske downplays short-term prospects for WEC race at Indy

The venue for the FIA WEC’s annual race in the United States beyond this season remains unclear, following comments earlier today from Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske ahead of the opening WEC race of the season at the Lusail …

The venue for the FIA WEC’s annual race in the United States beyond this season remains unclear, following comments earlier today from Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske ahead of the opening WEC race of the season at the Lusail International Speedway in Qatar,

Penske –whose team also operates Porsche’s factory Hypercar and IMSA GTP programs — appeared to play down the prospects of the Speedway joining the calendar any time soon.

“I think at the moment it’s a scheduling situation,” he said when asked for an update on talks between IMS and the WEC for a future event. “We’d love to have it come at some point. Now, we will have an IMSA six-hour race in September this year, which will be good.

“There’s a lot of interest in sports car racing worldwide now. Talking to Pierre (Fillon, ACO president) at Le Mans, you look at Imola, these places, the interest in tickets, there are some very very high levels of interest. It’s good for us, and good for Porsche.”

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This year the FIA WEC will visit Austin’s Circuit of The Americas for the first time since 2020. The return of the Lone Star Le Mans event replaces the championship’s Sebring doubleheader with IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but it is believed the deal for the COTA event is for a single year.

Penske, however, seemingly all but ruled out the WEC visiting the Brickyard in the short term. He suggested that he wouldn’t mind COTA remaining on the calendar if this year’s event proves to be a success.

“I don’t have anything to announce, I don’t think we are ready to do something in the next 24 months,” Penske said when asked about the possibility for IMS to be on the calendar for 2025. “But I’d love to do something.”

“We’re not here to push them (COTA) out — if they have a good race there, they should stay there,” he added.

This is a shift in tone on the subject from Penske, who said after Le Mans last summer that he had hoped to have Indianapolis on the calendar in 2024.

“We had good discussions,” he said last July. “We were going to do it in September (2024), which is when they are going to COTA. We were going to do it on the same weekend IMSA was coming and run an event like the doubleheader was at Sebring. But we couldn’t because of TV and the travel for them was going to be impossible.

“It was financial and there was no flexibility for IMSA to change its dates.”

Lynn pushes Cadillac to the front in third Qatar WEC practice

The No, 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R ran fastest of the 19 cars in Hypercar in the final FIA WEC practice session at Qatar, Alex Lynn setting a 1m40.677s to give the team a confidence boost ahead of qualifying. The time was a fraction under two …

The No, 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R ran fastest of the 19 cars in Hypercar in the final FIA WEC practice session at Qatar, Alex Lynn setting a 1m40.677s to give the team a confidence boost ahead of qualifying.

The time was a fraction under two tenths clear of the No. 5 Penske Porsche that ended up second, and the 0.454s up on the No. 12 Hertz Team JOTA 963 that completed the top three.

“We’re looking strong, our Cadillac is feeling good at this circuit, and the fast-flowing nature really suits us,” said Lynn, who will qualify the car later today.

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The Cadillac’s time is significant. It is not the fastest lap of the week so far, that was set by Porsche’s Kevin Estre in FP2 yesterday. However, Cadillac has been in the top five in every session — and it means that heading into qualifying, an LMH-spec prototype hasn’t topped a session in either the Prologue or during practice.

It is also the second time Cadillac has topped a Free Practice in the WEC, the other occasion being FP3 in Bahrain at the end of last season.

Could we see a first win for an LMDh prototype in WEC competition this week? This week it certainly seems more likely than at any point during the 2023 season.

Further down the order, the best of the LMH cars was the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 that ended up fifth, half a second off the Cadillac after a qualifying sim early in the session.

The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari ended up sixth, with the quickest Toyota down in ninth.

Of the new LMDh prototypes to the WEC, Alpine’s A424 set the fastest times, the No. 36 slotting in 12th 1.5s off the pace, ahead of the No. 35 that ended up 13th.

In LMGT3, it was the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 that ended up fastest, Alex Riberas setting the car’s 1m54.963s.

“The weekend so far has gone well for us, problem-free. The car is ready,” said Riberas.

The pair of Vista AF Corse 296 GT3s, which have shown strong outright pace all week ended up second and third, led by a hot lap from Davide Rigon in the No. 54. The No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini finished up its running fourth.

The times in LMGT3 continue to be close, which bodes well for the race tomorrow. The top 10 set times within a second in this final practice run.

There was only one notable incident in the session, when James Cottingham in the No. 59 United Autosports McLaren ran wide through Turn 5, losing the rear end and spinning into the gravel. It caused the hour’s only red flag.

Qualifying, with the new Hyperpole format, is up next at 4pm local time.

RESULTS

WEC Prologue postponed amid shipping snafu

The pre-season Prologue test ahead of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar has been postponed to next week following shipping delays. The sea freight delay has affected several teams, including the majority of the LMGT3 …

The pre-season Prologue test ahead of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar has been postponed to next week following shipping delays.

The sea freight delay has affected several teams, including the majority of the LMGT3 field and the Cadillac Racing V-Series.R. The missing containers, which are currently en route to Qatar from Saudi Arabia, are expected to be delivered on Saturday morning.

As a result, the championship has opted to postpone the test, rescheduling it for Monday and Tuesday next week. The new provisional schedule features updated slots for scrutineering and the track walk on Sunday before the cars eventually hit the track on Monday.

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“The schedule change is a result of the ongoing geopolitical situation where regular shipping lines have experienced significant delays through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea,” the championship explained in a statement.

“Consequently, part of the sea freight has been delayed arriving at the Lusail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar. To allow the WEC teams enough time to prepare for testing, the decision was made to delay the start of the Prologue.

“There will be no change to the schedule for the season-opening Qatar Airways Qatar 1812km the following weekend with the race set to begin at 11am local time on Saturday, March 2.”

There will be nine hours of track time over three sessions on Monday, with a fourth and final four-hour session on Tuesday morning.

Track action at the Lusail International Circuit is then set to resume on Thursday afternoon after a rest day with Free Practice 1, ahead of Saturday’s 1812km race.

FIA WEC confirms U.S. coverage on Max

The FIA World Endurance Championship has extended its broadcast coverage with Max, the on-demand over-the-top streaming service, which will show every round of the 2024 season including the 24 Hours of Le Mans for U.S. subscribers. Alongside Max, …

The FIA World Endurance Championship has extended its broadcast coverage with Max, the on-demand over-the-top streaming service, which will show every round of the 2024 season including the 24 Hours of Le Mans for U.S. subscribers.

Alongside Max, Warner Brothers Discovery’s channels and platforms will retain exclusivity of the WEC in the U.S. with its continued broadcast on MotorTrend TV and via the MotorTrend app.

“The USA is a huge market for the WEC and it is always an aim to make our sport as widely accessible as possible. Max, alongside our existing deal with MotorTrend, will help achieve this goal and hopefully we can attract fans to attend our race at COTA later this season to watch the action in person,” said WEC CEO Frédéric Lequien. “With Corvette, Cadillac and a number of American drivers on our grid this year, plus our strong ties with IMSA, we are delighted that we could sign another solid broadcast deal in this region.”

McLaren unveils FIA WEC GT3 liveries

The livery for United Autosports’ pair of FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 class McLaren 720S GT3 EVOs has been revealed ahead of the Qatar Prologue test on Feb. 24-25. The 720S GT3s, which are numbered 59 and 95 in recognition of McLaren’s Le …

The livery for United Autosports’ pair of FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 class McLaren 720S GT3 EVOs has been revealed ahead of the Qatar Prologue test on Feb. 24-25.

The 720S GT3s, which are numbered 59 and 95 in recognition of McLaren’s Le Mans win for the No. 59 car in 1995, will run in a papaya and black livery. The color scheme features nods to the past and remains consistent with the brand’s Formula 1 and IndyCar designs.

“This is a proud moment, unveiling the new look of McLaren on its return to Le Mans and the WEC,” said United Autosports CEO Richard Dean. “The design has racing heritage at its core, harking back to the 1995 Le Mans winner, while being unmistakably part of the current McLaren family. It’s an exciting addition to the 2024 McLaren lineup, complimenting the Formula 1, IndyCar and Formula E designs; they look like winning cars, and we have big ambitions.”

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The 2024 season will be the first time McLaren will contest all three of motor racing’s ‘triple crown” of the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans in the same season, though it will not compete for the overall win at La Sarthe in the FIA WEC.

“We are proud to present the 720S GT3 EVO in conjunction with our racing partner United Autosports ahead of our WEC debut in Qatar with an exciting driver lineup,” Michael Leiters, CEO, McLaren Automotive. “Racing is intrinsic to the McLaren brand and the WEC is the perfect arena to demonstrate the performance capabilities of our supercar engineering programs. We are also pleased to celebrate our victory in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans with our livery, which is a hugely important part of McLaren history.”

 

 

Proton reveals throwback look for its WEC Porsche 963

Porsche Hypercar customer team Proton Competition revealed the 2024 colors of its No. 99 963 ahead of the FIA WEC preseason Prologue test later this month. The car, which is set to be driven by Neel Jani, Harry Tincknell and Julien Andlauer this …

Porsche Hypercar customer team Proton Competition revealed the 2024 colors of its No. 99 963 ahead of the FIA WEC preseason Prologue test later this month.

The car, which is set to be driven by Neel Jani, Harry Tincknell and Julien Andlauer this year, will run in the colors of Porsche’s 1994 Le Mans race-winning Dauer 962, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the achievement.

The livery is complete with the iconic branding of FATurbo Express.

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Cadillac confirms Bourdais for Qatar WEC opener

Cadillac Racing has announced that Sebastien Bourdais will join the team’s full-season FIA World Endurance Championship pairing of Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn in the No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R for the season opener at Qatar on March 2. Bourdais, …

Cadillac Racing has announced that Sebastien Bourdais will join the team’s full-season FIA World Endurance Championship pairing of Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn in the No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R for the season opener at Qatar on March 2.

Bourdais, who competes with the Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac Racing team as a full-season driver in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, is set to be the first of multiple guesting drivers for the WEC effort drawn from the Ganassi stable. The opening in the car alongside Bamber and Lynn follows the departure of Richard Westbrook from the lineup at the end of last season.

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While the announcement confirming Bourdais for Qatar gives no further specific details on which races will see a third driver, RACER believes that in most, if not all of the 6-hour events, the car will compete with just Lynn and Bamber.

Renger van der Zande is also confirmed as part of Ganassi’s plans for the WEC this season, although there is no indication of where the team’s other IMSA full-season driver will race. Neither Imola nor Spa will be possible due to clashes with his IMSA role.

Beyond that, the team’s announcement referred to “Bourdais, van der Zande and select CGT teammates” being involved in the WEC.

Ganassi’s pair of IndyCar champions, Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, were both part of the Cadillac driving team at the Rolex 24 last month. Asked at Daytona whether he would be making additional outings for Cadillac this season, Palou responded that he would like to “compete in as many races as possible” but admitted that any further races would be subject to his priority commitments with his IndyCar race and test schedule.

“When a team is fortunate enough to have such a strong stable of drivers to pull from, it just makes sense to utilize the talent when you have the opportunity,” said CGR director of operations Mike O’Gara. “Chip Ganassi Racing proved that in Daytona when we put Alex Palou in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R. Putting Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 2 for the Qatar events is going to give him a chance to refamiliarize himself with the WEC rules and regulations.

“It is also going to allow us to strengthen the bond between the U.S.-based IMSA team and the Germany-based WEC team. We know it is going to strengthen both programs and better prepare us for our 2024 attack on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”