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Ferrari Hypercar adds Monza test for Le Mans prep

Ferrari AF Corse is set to take its pair of 499P Hypercars to Monza after the third round of the FIA WEC season at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend, for a final test ahead of the car’s Le Mans 24 Hours debut in June. Giuliano Salvi, the Ferrari GT & …

Giuliano Salvi, the Ferrari GT & Sports Race Cars race and testing manager, confirmed to RACER that the entire crew and all six drivers will be present at the “Temple of Speed” as it looks to get some additional running in before the Le Mans Test Day. It will also be useful in helping the team get a baseline set up for the FIA WEC’s race at Monza in July, which will be the program’s first on home soil in front of the tifosi.

However, this final test will not be the 499P’s first at Monza, as it took its 499Ps to the Autodromo back in February for some running before the season opener in Sebring.

“It will be a good training session for everyone,” Salvi said. “The circuit is closer in terms of lift-to-drag ratio to Le Mans. It’s a low-downforce circuit. So we are going there to test different setups and settings for running at high speed — this will help us prepare for Le Mans.”

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Salvi also confirmed that the team will use the traditional Monza layout for the test. In the past, LMP1 Hybrid teams were filmed testing at Monza without the first chicane to increase the time spent at top speed at the circuit. However, Ferrari, which will share the venue with Porsche for the test, has confirmed that it will use the traditional layout.

The test at Monza will come after the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps next week, which is set to be a hugely important race for the program, following a pair of podium finishes in the opening races of the season.

The 499P isn’t a stranger to Spa, as the team tested at the Belgian circuit in the off-season, though mainly in wet conditions. Ferrari hopes to make further progress with its 499Ps on its return and close the gap with Toyota.

Last weekend in Portimao, Ferrari was again Toyota’s closest rival. It looked set for a double podium before its No. 51 developed an issue with its brake-by-wire system, which ultimately led to a right-front brake disc failure late in the race.

The team, and in particular, Antonio Giovanazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi, were forced to take a cautious approach to their stints. They were tasked with managing the brake temperature, with Pier Guidi’s pace suffering badly as the problem worsened.

Still, despite that setback in Sunday’s race, Salvi feels the team has made significant progress since the season began, with a new car and a newly assembled staff, which have only raced together twice.

Technical glitches hindered the Ferrari 499P Hybrids in Portimao, but the team is confident it can take a more aggressive approach each time out. Motorsport Images

“The team in Sebring was working together in a race environment for the first time,” he explained. We were testing a lot but it’s a brand-new team with younger, bright brains, but that is inexperienced. We still need a lot more time working together.

“The workflow was smoother (in Portimao) — we improved massively. We had more control over what we were doing on track. We were better at fuel management too. We need another step like that for Le Mans — we need to be ready to face big endurance races.”

Interestingly, Salvi revealed that the team had opted for a conservative approach in Portugal. He hinted that it will become bolder as the season progresses, once it becomes more comfortable with the 499P as a package.

“Every time we put the car on the ground we learn something,” he said. “In Sebring we were probably not nursing the tire enough; here (in Portimao) at the end of the day we probably could have pushed more at the beginning and during the race. We were trying to cure the left-front corner, which was critical here. We could have pushed more. We still need to improve.

“If we didn’t have the issue we would have been second and third, which would have been an exceptional result. Unfortunately, we couldn’t achieve that, but we take the positive of the second position of car No. 50.

“Every time we see the checkered flag we get tons of data. Testing is limited — we don’t have many days to spend on track. The car is brand-new, it’s fragile and complicated. We needed to nurse it. We can push more. Every time we race we will be more aggressive.”

Hartley leads Toyota sweep of Portimao 6H qualifying

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR010 HYBRIDs blitzed FIA World Endurance Championship qualifying at Portimao this afternoon, locking out the front row with both its cars over a second quicker than the rest of the Hypercar runners. The best lap came from …

The best lap came from Brendon Hartley, who set a 1m30.171s, bettering the previous FIA WEC pole lap record by two-tenths in the No. 8. His time was almost three-tenths quicker than the sister car of Kamui Kobayashi.

“It felt really good. We’ve put some effort into qualifying setup this time,” Hartley said. “Ferrari annoyed us by taking pole at Sebring. We expect Ferrari to be closer in the race, as they have focused on long runs. I knew the lap was good –I knew it would be hard against Kamui.

“We felt we would be playing catch-up as we hadn’t tested here before the season. We expect to be fighting the red cars tomorrow.”

The fastest time from the other teams came from Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P, which could only manage a 1m31.596s, 1.4 seconds off the pole time. James Calado completed the second row, though the Briton complained of the braking performance at the rear throughout the session, describing the brakes as “locking up everywhere” on the team radio.

Best of the rest was the No. 6 Penske Porsche, which was the first of a gaggle of Hypercars in the 1m32s. The No. 94 Peugeot ended up sixth, ahead of the No. 5 Porsche and No. 2 Cadillac. The No. 93 Peugeot and Glickenhaus completed the top 10.

Richard Westbrook, who qualified the Cadillac in the session, says the team is still finding its feet at the Portimao circuit.

“We’re not quite pleased with the starting position but the lap time is an improvement,” he said. “Every time out we’re learning and, of course, it is the first time at this track for the car and us in the car. We have a reliable car and like we showed at Sebring we’ll have good race pace. It’s a work in progress.”

Prema Racing’s No. 63 ORECA took pole in LMP2 with a last-gasp effort from Mirko Bortolotti, after his previous provisional pole time was deleted for a Turn 1 track limits violation. The Italian Lamborghini factory driver set a 1m34.303s to go to the top by a thousandth of a second with just a minute remaining, vaulting from 12th to pole.

This pushed Gabriel Aubry’s Vector Sport ORECA to second, after he spent most of the session atop the times, only briefly edged by Bortolotti before his initial time was deleted midway through the running.

“Mirko did an amazing job. He is very impressive. We really need to be proud of what we achieved today,” said Bortolotti’s teammate Doriane Pin after what was Prema’s first WEC pole.

There is an investigation ongoing, though, as the No. 63 had to be worked on in the fast lane of the pit lane when the session went green, which prevented cars from heading out on track. We await a decision from the stewards.

“I am in the pit lane, the engine goes off, I couldn’t restart it — I tried power cycles,” Bortolotti explained. “At that stage, my mechanics came to the rescue and they fired it up quickly so I could go out without losing much time. There was then another issue which was really weird, but luckily the guys fixed it quickly and we could actually qualify on our second set of tires without using the first set. It was undrivable so I had to stop straight away.”

Third in the times was Phil Hanson, who set a 1:34.451 in the No. 22 United ORECA. There were five teams in the top five, as Yifei Ye put the No. 48 JOTA ORECA fourth, while Albert Costa put Inter Europol fifth.

Ben Keating put the Corvette C8.R LMGTE on pole. Motorsport Images

In the GTE Am ranks, Corvette Racing will start from pole position after a stunning lap from Ben Keating late in the GTE session, which like at Sebring, was thrilling. The Texan, who topped the times early with a 1m44.557s, improved twice amid another shootout with Sarah Bovy in the Iron Dames Porsche.

The pair traded fast times, but eventually, Keating set a 1m41.362s to snatch pole, a time that Bovy was unable to better on her final flying lap, which was a 1m41.579s.

This performance from the Corvette (which is carrying the biggest success ballast penalty) and the Iron Dames Porsche came after Ferrari teams topped all three practice sessions in the build-up to qualifying. But when it counted, the fastest Ferrari could only take third on the grid. Diego Alessi in the No. 21 led an all-AF Corse second row, as Thomas Flour in the No. 54 ended up fourth. The fastest Aston Martin, the ORT by TF Vantage, ended up fifth after Ahmad Al Harthy’s 1m41.904s.

“I expected the Ferraris to be up front,” Keating admitted after scoring Corvette’s first WEC pole of the season. “In all the practice sessions they were the quickest car, and we weren’t quite sure what we were going to be able to do.

“I have to give so much credit to the Corvette team. The C8.R has never been to Portimão, and neither has the team. This is not a place where you show up and do well from the beginning. We’ve been making unbelievable, big improvements in the car every time we go out. I couldn’t believe how well the car was set up for qualifying.”

UP NEXT: Sunday’s six-hour race is set to start at 12:00pm local time.

RESULTS

Isotta Hypercar to test next week

FIA WEC Hypercar-bound Isotta Fraschini is set to shake down its Tipo 6 LMH Competizione for the first time April 11-12 at the Vallelunga circuit in Italy. At the test, the Italian manufacturer’s hybrid-powered Hypercar will be driven by Michelotto …

FIA WEC Hypercar-bound Isotta Fraschini is set to shake down its Tipo 6 LMH Competizione for the first time April 11-12 at the Vallelunga circuit in Italy.

At the test, the Italian manufacturer’s hybrid-powered Hypercar will be driven by Michelotto Engineering test driver Maurizio Mediani, who has previous prototype experience in the WEC as part of SMP Racing’s LMP2 effort. Mediani has also been involved in the simulator development of the Tipo 6 LMH, which has been designed and built in the Michelotto headquarters in Padova, Italy.

The shakedown test next week follows two 4wd dyno runs during February and March. The car has also completed its mandatory crash test in recent days, as part of its FIA homologation process.

Following the shakedown, Isotta plans to put the car through a wider test program before requesting race-by-race entries later in the 2023 FIA WEC season, with LMP2 outfit Vector Sport set to run the car at each meeting. The aim is to debut the car in July for the brand’s home race at Monza, the final European stop on the schedule.

This news follows a recent visit to Isotta Fraschini’s base by former Formula 1 and WEC driver Pastor Maldonado, who spent a day meeting the management team and taking a look at the Tipo 6 LMH.

Hypercar expands for Spa with additional Cadillac and Porsche entries

A 38-car entry list for Round 3 of the FIA WEC season at Spa-Francorchamps on the last weekend of April has been revealed. It includes a boosted Hypercar grid of 13 cars for the six-hour Le Mans “dress rehearsal.” The top class field will increase …

The top class field will increase by two from the 11 that raced at Sebring and are set to compete in Round 2 at Portimao on April 16. The new entries come from Cadillac Racing and Hertz Team JOTA, which will bring an additional V-Series.R and Porsche 963 to the hotly contested category.

For Cadillac, entering its gold-liveried V-Series.R that competes in IMSA full-time serves as part of the preparations for the car’s Le Mans debut in June. At La Sarthe both Ganassi-run Cadillacs will take the start, joined by the Sebring 12 Hours-winning Action Express example, which also runs full-time in IMSA and will make a three-pronged effort for the GM brand.

The 6 Hours of Spa will be the second time that both Cadillac Racing V-Series.Rs have competed together, as both cars took part at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the car’s global race debut.

“We are looking forward to the first WEC race where both of our Cadillac Hypercars will be participating,” said Mike O’Gara, director of operations for Chip Ganassi Racing. “Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing believe that we are stronger when we race multiple cars on any given race weekend. The Spa event will serve as a much-needed dress rehearsal for the Le Mans 24-hour race. It will be a great opportunity for our ‘IMSA regulars’ to be immersed in the WEC rules and race procedures in anticipation of the big event in June.”

Driving the No. 3 Cadillac will be full-season IMSA pair Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande.

Hertz Team JOTA’s No. 38 963, meanwhile, was previously announced to be making its debut at Spa back at the British outfit’s car reveal in London. Antonio Felix da Costa, Will Stevens and Yifei Ye are due to compete as a trio from Round 3 onwards in the team’s new car.

As expected, the addition of JOTA’s Hypercar entry to the WEC grid means its LMP2 effort has been reduced to a single car — the No. 28 of David Heinemeier Hansson, Pietro Fittipaldi and Oliver Rasmussen. However, JOTA will compete in Portimao with its two LMP2 ORECAs prior to the race at Spa, with da Costa competing on home soil in the seat filled by Stevens at Sebring, where the No. 48 took a dramatic class win.

The only other change in the Hypercar class is at Glickenhaus, where Romain Dumas and Olivier Pla are listed as a pair in the No. 708 007, with the third driver a TBA. At Sebring Ryan Briscoe was part of the team’s lineup.

Elsewhere on the 38-car entry, in GTE Am there is only one notable change. In the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari, Diego Alessi will drive in the seat filled by Stefano Constantini at Sebring. He will race alongside Simon Mann and Ulysse de Pauw.

The FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa is set to get underway on April 29.

ENTRY LIST

INSIGHT: How Toyota fine-tuned for a bigger and badder Hypercar class

Confidence is high at Toyota Gazoo Racing ahead of the 1000 Miles of Sebring. While much of the competition in Hypercar have been busy getting up to speed with new machinery over the off-season and throughout the past week in Florida, Toyota has …

Throughout practice and qualifying at Sebring the GR010 HYBRID has looked like the car to beat, despite AF Corse’s No. 50 499P snatching the headlines, and losing pole position last night came as a surprise to the Japanese-flagged team. Toyota remains the favorite for the race though, and while that may seem unsurprising, to those directly involved, it validates their efforts in recent seasons.

Toyota has been an almost unstoppable force for years now in the FIA WEC, but true, world-class competition hasn’t been there since Porsche departed after 2017. The opportunity has finally arrived for the Cologne-based team to show everyone just how strong its WEC effort really is, after years spent waiting for the cavalry to arrive.

For this season, Toyota decided not to bring a brand-new car to the WEC. Instead, it opted to improve its existing challenger, which has delivered a pair of world championships and Le Mans wins.

At a glance, the GR010 HYBRID, with its new aero package that features new dive planes, a smaller rear wing end plate and a new set of lights that improve visibility at night, simply looks more aggressive. But the Toyota team’s aim isn’t wasn’t to improve the car’s looks…

The new package has improved brake cooling and allows quick changes to cooling options during a race, achieved through new vents at the front and rear. It’s now a lighter car too, its weight down to the minimum 1040kg (2293 lbs) allowed by technical regulations. Principally, Toyota has been working to adapt the car to the ever-evolving regulations, which have been chopped and changed since Toyota began developing the car back when the new Hypercar formula was first revealed.

With plenty of mileage completed with the new-look GR010 the drivers are all up to speed and comfortable with the new package. The feedback has been positive.

“We’ve worked on the weak areas, they were not easy to overcome. With the rule changes since our initial design, we’ve had to work to get the car into a better window. We’ve done a decent job, and come with a more driveable car,” No. 7 driver Mike Conway told RACER.

Behind the wheel, Conway says he feels the new GR010 is more nimble, making it easier to navigate the LMP2 and GTE traffic.

“You can definitely see the difference in lap time — we are quicker and it’s easier to drive. We were lacking last year to the Alpine. The car is now more responsive and agile; you can place it easier. The traffic is different too this year because we have new competition, so we have to look at where they are strong and weak too.”

Ryo Hirakawa, who drives the No. 8, echoes this, explaining that the improvements made to the car are particularly noticeable on an aggressive track like Sebring.

“Compared to last year, there is a big difference,” he explained. “It’s just an easier car to manage as a driver. Under braking and over the bumps here it’s far easier to handle, last year it moved around a lot more at Sebring.”

The Hypercar class has a new look though — it’s bigger and deeper, with fierce competition expected from Ferrari, Cadillac and Porsche’s new programs and hopefully, the returning Peugeot effort, which for the moment is lagging behind.

Ahead of what has the potential to be the most competitive top-class title battle in WEC history, Conway says the team is energised by the new arrivals in Hypercar.

“When we first exited the pit lane on Day 1 of the Prologue I was like, ‘Wow, 2023 really has started.’ This is what we’ve wanted for so long, and it’s finally here. There are so many unknowns — we will have to take more risks and push harder in traffic, I’m excited.”

Toyota is ready to get down to business. It’s going to be fascinating to see if the new competition can challenge the champions from the start. If qualifying is anything to go by, then we could be in for a titanic battle for the win.

WEC sets Hypercar BoP for Sebring

The FIA and ACO have revealed the Balance of Performance for the opening round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season at Sebring next Friday. This is a significant moment for the Hypercar category, as the first big test for the …

For the season there are three distinct car types. Ferrari joins Peugeot and Toyota in the four-wheel drive hybrid (LMH) camp with the ByKolles-run “Vanwall” joining Glickenhaus with cars powered solely by a rear-drive internal combustion engine. (The SCG 007 has a turbo power plant to the Kolles normally aspirated Gibson).   And finally, there are the Porsches and full-season Cadillac to add to the mix with their rear-drive hybrid LMDh examples.

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For the challenging process of balancing these cars, the rule makers have opted to set two separate BoP tables, the first for the Sebring season opener and the second, designed to see the WEC through the start of the European season and into the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The values below will be fixed both for the Prologue test at Sebring this weekend and for the race proper next Friday.

Minimum dry weight

Cadillac – 1038 kilos
Ferrari – 1057 kilos
Glickenhaus – 1030 kilos
Peugeot – 1049 kilos
Porsche – 1048 kilos
Toyota – 1062 kilos
“Vanwall” – 1030 kilos

Max power output

Cadillac – 513 kilowatts
Ferrari – 515 kilowatts
Glickenhaus – 520 kilowatts
Peugeot – 518 kilowatts
Porsche – 517 kilowatts
Toyota – 517 kilowatts
“Vanwall” – 511 kilowatts

Maximum stint energy

Cadillac – 905 Mj
Ferrari – 908 Mj
Glickenhaus – 911 Mj
Peugeot – 909 Mj
Porsche – 912 Mj
Toyota – 913 Mj
“Vanwall” – 900 Mj

The minimum hybrid deployment speed for the three four-wheel drive LMH cars is also defined with the Toyota and Ferrari cars set at 190 km/h, the Peugeot, at 150 km/h due to the French car being equipped with 31-inch wide tires at the front and rear, with the Toyota and Ferrari fitted with 29in. at the front and 34 at the rear.

There are very minor differences too in the fuel docking times across the varying groups of cars. The non-hybrid LMHs have a base minimum fuel connection time, with the two LMDh cars required to dock for an additional second and the hybrid LMHs for 1.2s.