Ferrari AF Corse driver James Calado says the team’s struggles for outright performance in Bahrain haven’t come as a surprise. In the three practice sessions, Ferrari’s 499Ps didn’t come close to setting the best lap time, and wound up with the No. …
Ferrari AF Corse driver James Calado says the team’s struggles for outright performance in Bahrain haven’t come as a surprise.
In the three practice sessions, Ferrari’s 499Ps didn’t come close to setting the best lap time, and wound up with the No. 50 qualifying ahead of the No. 51 in fifth and sixth respectively, both cars over a second off the pole time. With the drivers’ title on the line, things will need to turn around rapidly if Ferrari’s drivers are to challenge Toyota’s crews in the finale.
The Bahrain circuit is notoriously tough on tires, though. This is due to its abrasive tarmac, which has never been resurfaced since the circuit opened, and the nature of the layout, which features a lot of heavy braking and hard acceleration. Couple that with the fact that over a stint, the 499P has often struggled to look after its tires during the season.
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From the start of practice in Fuji the 499Ps have not shown the same level of outright performance as they did in the run from Sebring to Le Mans, which was of course highlighted by the historic victory at La Sarthe in June. Calado, though, says this is in line with the team’s expectations, due to the nature of the circuits since Le Mans and the steps made by its Hypercar competitors.
“We knew this track would hurt us a lot in terms of performance but the gap has been big so far and we are scratching our heads,” he told RACER. “There is no doubt we are struggling and trying to improve.”
Part of that effort is focused on maximizing the car’s performance over a stint.
“We’ve written off one-lap performance — we don’t think we can beat Toyota on one lap,” Calado continued. “In the past, we could compete and get poles, but we’ve changed the car a bit to improve tire degradation and long runs.
“With the weather and red flags so far this week, though, it’s disrupted our plans. Before the final practice we weren’t able to complete long runs so we didn’t know where we are. When you look at numbers, it’s no surprise for me. We are doing the best we can with what we’ve got.”
It’s a similar story for the drivers in the sister No. 50 Ferrari, who are still mathematically in the hunt for the drivers’ title but 36 points adrift from the No. 8 Toyota drivers in the standings with just 39 points available. Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovanazzi are 31 points back in the No. 51. Thus, Nicklas Nielsen says he and his teammates are forced to take a wait and see approach to the race.
“I think under the circumstances here it’s quite difficult for us, like it was in Japan,” he told RACER. “We have to push a lot to keep up with the others now, which is making it harder for us on the tires.
“In terms of lap time, there isn’t a big difference between the two compounds available (from Michelin). In the race, I think we will see teams change between them. We saw yesterday that some used hards, some mediums, some mixed. For most of the race, though, I think we will see most cars use the hard tires.
“It’s going to be difficult for either car to do anything in terms of the championship,” he admitted when asked about the No. 50’s chances of fighting for the title. “Especially for us, the chances of winning are very slim. We will have to see where we are after a couple of hours. If the other car is far ahead, that’s how it will end, but if there is a chance for us we will go for it.”
With just one race remaining in the 2023 season, the FIA WEC’s current crop of Hypercar teams have eyes on next season, with many of the teams filling the weeks between races with tests for their brand-new or improved machinery. Of the teams …
With just one race remaining in the 2023 season, the FIA WEC’s current crop of Hypercar teams have eyes on next season, with many of the teams filling the weeks between races with tests for their brand-new or improved machinery.
Of the teams currently on the grid, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot and Porsche have all been on track in recent weeks with their maturing prototypes and all four are either evaluating or working on upgrades to their cars before the next tranche of factories arrive in 2024.
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Cadillac was out testing in Imola just two weeks ago for two days in mixed conditions. There, all three of its full-season drivers turned laps, with Alex Lynn hopping between Belgium and Italy midweek due to a clash with his European Le Mans Series commitments with Algarve Pro Racing and Ganassi development (and 2024 IndyCar) driver Kyffin Simpson.
The feedback has been positive, the Ganassi-run team completing a significant amount of mileage without any incidents or mechanical delays, gathering data ahead of the FIA WEC’s debut at the circuit next season.
However, while RACER understands that multiple current LMDh manufacturers are currently making progress working on upgrades for their cars ahead of next season, it is unclear whether Cadillac is one of them.
The GM brand’s track time at Imola was spent with chassis 003, in bare carbon. Chassis 003 is the No. 3 Cadillac that took part in the 6 Hours of Spa, and crashed heavily with Renger van der Zande at Eau Rouge at the wheel back in April, just with a new set of bodywork. Since being rebuilt, it has been acting as the spare for the team’s full-season WEC No. 3 V-Series.R.
A Cadillac spokesperson told RACER that it was not trialing new-for-2024 solutions at that test, or at its recent run at CoTA, during which it shared the Texas circuit with two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs, one run by Pratt Miller, the other by new WEC LMGT3 customer team TF Sport.
The other question mark surrounding Cadillac for 2024 is the potential for a second Ganassi-run V-Series.R in the world championship. While Cadillac confirmed to RACER back in June that it will be back in the FIA WEC in 2024, the number of cars wasn’t and still isn’t set in stone.
RACER knows it has been working hard in the background to secure funding for a second factory car in Year 2 of the programme, but the likelihood of this addition is firmly up for debate. As recently as early September it appeared that in the background the efforts to convince the board at GM that a second car was necessary for Cadillac to achieve its sporting goals were paying off. This month however, sources around the time of the 6 Hours of Fuji have indicated that the second car is now unlikely, with no customer cars available until 2025 at the earliest.
Ask Cadillac directly and the official line remains: “How many cars and all that stuff hasn’t been announced, but the intent is to continue.” It will be interesting to see if this week’s news regarding the Andretti Formula 1 bid, which Cadillac is a part of, has an impact on the final decision.
Cadillac could expand its WEC operation next season. Motorsport Images
Meanwhile, the other current WEC LMDh manufacturer, Porsche, has been out testing recently too. It shared Spa with WRT’s test BMW M Hybrid V8 chassis ahead of its 2024 WEC debut and is known to be testing in Qatar after the season finale in Bahrain.
In the background, it is known to be working on updates to its LMDh-spec 963, primarily to enhance the car’s reliability ahead of next season, and has already begun testing its 2024 solutions on track.
To ensure it can make its desired improvements to the car in time for the start of the 2024 IMSA season in January and the WEC campaign in March, it needs to be ready to homologate the new components in time for the IMSA Daytona test in December. This allows enough time to gain approval from the ACO, FIA and IMSA in time for the Rolex 24.
Should Porsche receive approval for its improvements, then by regulation its customer teams will also need to race with the new upgrades applied to their cars with immediate effect.
This is proving to be a headache for Proton Competition, which like HERTZ Team JOTA, is committed to a full-season WEC campaign in 2024 with the 963 platform, after partial season campaigns in 2023 due to the late delivery of their cars.
Proton boss Christian Ried’s plan, in an ideal world, is to run a pair of 963s for the full WEC and IMSA seasons next year. But as he recently told RACER, the team is currently in a race against time.
Currently, Proton is in possession of two 963s, one which it received before the WEC race at Monza in July and another which was delivered just before the race at Fuji. If Proton doesn’t take delivery of its third and fourth 963s before the start of next season, then it will have to shift to ‘Plan B’.
“We still are in discussion with Porsche about when we can have number three and four,” Ried said. “But it looks difficult to get them for the beginning of the season. So it looks like we will be running one car in the FIA WEC and one in IMSA.
“When we got the calendar it was a big surprise to see so many clashes. It makes it very complicated. If we don’t get the extra cars we will do one in each and then maybe we can enter in IMSA endurance races like Watkins and Petit with a second car, and maybe a second car for Le Mans.”
The reason Proton hasn’t received its third and fourth cars, Ried added, “is due to the 2024 upgrades and supply issues. It’s complicated. But everyone in the paddock is struggling in this way.”
LMDh manufacturers do not need to factor in a limit on the number of ‘Joker’ performance updates permitted for their cars like LMH manufacturers do, but the process of gaining approval for any revisions is still a lengthy and challenging one.
Porsche is working primarily on reliability improvements, while few major changes are expected of Toyota’s class-leading Toyota GR010 Hybrid. Motorsport Images
All changes made to LMDh cars need to be justified via lengthy and periodical discussions with the rule-makers, endurance tested and put through wind tunnel tests in Europe and the USA to ensure the car still fits inside the formula’s designated performance window. Working out how far the envelope can be pushed and how much resource and time is needed to develop and test revisions is the top priority for the parties in play right now.
Then there’s the current band of factories with LMH-spec prototypes.
Little is expected from Toyota regarding GR010 updates after it made heavy revisions to the GR010 HYBRID in the 2022 off-season (essentially bringing a brand new car to the class). It has wins at each circuit except Le Mans, plus a manufacturer’s championship to show for its efforts this year. Its driver line-up may have a new look to it though, with Nyck de Vries rumored to be part of the full-season crew following his departure from Alpha Tauri’s F1 programme.
The competition isn’t standing still, however, as Peugeot and Ferrari are exploring what’s next for their prototypes.
Ferrari is evaluating potential upgrades for its 499P, according to Giuliano Salvi, the GT and sports race cars race and testing manager.
The 499P could potentially benefit from the aforementioned ‘Joker’ upgrades next season. But Ferrari hasn’t yet finalized the extent of the evolutions it could make, which are subject to both internal decisions and negotiations with the FIA and ACO.
“We are evaluating everything at the moment, I can’t disclose the conclusions as it is all still under discussion internally,” Salvi told the media at Fuji. “After our first phase, which was dedicated to working out the big problems we face, now we are trying to evaluate our weaknesses with the car. At the moment we haven’t decided everything.”
So far Ferrari says it hasn’t yet track-tested any significant 2024 revisions or evolutions to the 499P which would count towards the five permitted ‘Jokers’ allowed for each LMH-spec car during its lifecycle. (Upgrades that are focused on safety or reliability do not count towards the five.)
“We already understand where we should improve,” Salvi continued. “We haven’t tested (new components) in the car yet, but we have evaluated different solutions. It’s a championship with a few races, so for us to understand if something is a real problem or if it’s the car not being set up properly is something we are gaining experience with all the time.”
Whether any upgrades prove to be significant or not, Ferrari is set to embark on an “intense testing programme” to the end of the calendar year. This follows recent tests at Barcelona and Bahrain, ahead of the final race of the season on the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain.
The team still has multiple days of testing left from its 2023 allocation and intends to use it all. After the 8 Hours of Bahrain Ferrari will pivot to its winter testing programme ahead of the 2024 season. The day after the race it will take part in the annual postseason Rookie Test, though it hasn’t yet been confirmed which drivers will turn laps. Following that, Ferrari expects to take part in the winter test in Qatar being organized by Penske.
This view of the Peugeot 9X8 could look different next season. Nikolaz Godet/Motorsport Images
Peugeot’s stance and narrative on upgrades is rather different. As previously reported by RACER, it too is exploring potential opportunities for next year for its 9X8, which could range from “a very basic update of the current package or a very significant development of the car.”
Olivier Jansonnie, Peugeot Sport’s technical director, feels more clarity is needed from the organizers on how far the LMH manufacturers can push the envelope.
“Our position is the same. We still want more transparency and cannot make upgrades without their agreement, it’s not frozen yet what we could do with them, we are still discussing it,” he said to the media in Japan
“We have had private discussions with the ACO and FIA, they know our opinion on the topic and we know theirs.”
In the background though, it appears to have settled on a very substantial reworking of the car, which RACER understands via multiple sources, has been in the works since the start of the year. The 2024-spec 9X8 is believed to be based around the same monocoque but with a major change to its aero concept.
We now wait to see whether or not the 9X8 is spotted out testing with a rear wing and flat floor before the end of the year. The target is believed to be December.
Alpine revealed today at Le Mans its A424_β, the launch version of its forthcoming LMDh Hypercar, with which it will compete in the top FIA World Endurance Championship category in 2024. The French manufacturer has partnered with ORECA for this new …
Alpine revealed today at Le Mans its A424_β, the launch version of its forthcoming LMDh Hypercar, with which it will compete in the top FIA World Endurance Championship category in 2024.
The French manufacturer has partnered with ORECA for this new chassis, which will be powered by a 3.4-liter V6 turbocharged engine developed in collaboration with Mecachrome. The factory program in the WEC is set to be run by its longstanding partner team Signatech out of its base in Bourges, with a customer operation expected to follow later down the line.
This new program will mark the return of Alpine to the top class, after spending both the 2021 and ’22 seasons in Hypercar with a grandfathered A480 LMP1 chassis powered by a Gibson engine.
— Alpine Endurance Team (@SignatechAlpine) June 9, 2023
“Today we unveil the Alpine A424_β, the forerunner of our Hypercar designed to challenge the best competitors starting next year,” said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi. “True to our values, this new prototype takes the A-arrow brand into the future; while following in the footsteps of our creations, beginning with Alpenglow and the A290_β. The Alpine A424_β is racy, elegant and distinctive with its iconic and emblematic design. It embodies both our present and our future thanks to the involvement and investment of our designers in its development.”
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The car underwent its first wind tunnel test last July, before engine testing began in December. Engine and gearbox coupling took place last month.
Signatech boss Philippe Sinault says the car will compete as the A424 (without the beta symbol), and is set for its first fire-up on June 28th, before a further shakedown in July and a first full track test at Paul Ricard during August.
“We will operate the tests with our current LMP2 team, with additional people and the full support of Alpine Racing and ORECA,” Sinault explained. “We plan to have many test drivers.”
Whether or not the A424 will compete in IMSA’s GTP class is not yet clear. RACER asked Sinault whether or not Signatech had aspirations to take the A424 to the WeatherTech series. “If Alpine asks, I would consider it,” was the answer. Currently Alpine does not sell road cars in North America.
Porsche revealed an updated livery for the trio of 963 Hypercars that it will run at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. The base design that Porsche Penske Motorsport’s 963s currently sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship will remain, but the …
Porsche revealed an updated livery for the trio of 963 Hypercars that it will run at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
The base design that Porsche Penske Motorsport’s 963s currently sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship will remain, but the update — revealed ahead of tomorrow’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps — adds stripes to the cars to pay tribute to the brand’s motorsport successes in sports car racing as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations.
The Le Mans-only livery will feature 15 stripes in seven different colors, that will run from the front to the rear of the cars.
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) April 28, 2023
The stripes feature colors from iconic Porsche liveries from the past including the Gulf, “Pink Pig,” “Hippie” and Salzburg 917s, Rothmans 956s, Martini-backed 936s, and Penske-run RS Spyders from the American Le Mans Series.
To differentiate between the three 963s, the fins on each engine cover will be painted in different colors: black for the No. 5 car, white for the No. 6 and red for the brand’s third car, the No. 75.
“In Le Mans, our three Porsche 963 will be truly eye-catching at the 75th anniversary of our brand and the 100th anniversary of the 24-hour race. I do not doubt that this design will immediately win the hearts of fans,” said Porsche’s vice president of motorsport, Thomas Laudenbach.
“We embraced the vehicle designs from Porsche’s rich and illustrious history at Le Mans,” he added. “The 917 as a pink ‘pig’ and the ‘hippie car’ from 1970 — these liveries have made racing history and are still popular today. With our special design on the three Porsche 963, we’re continuing this great tradition at Le Mans.”
“The Porsche 963 has a very long wheelbase, so we had to play with the proportions a bit,” explained Stephane Lenglin, Porsche exterior designer. “The lines of color fanning out to the rear lend beautiful dynamics and harmonious proportions.
“Working on this design was a lot of fun. We played with many different color combinations and finally settled on seven color schemes that allow an immediately recognizable look into Porsche’s long and illustrious history and the special Le Mans liveries. I’m sure that the cars will be well received by the fans.”
Ferrari AF Corse’s pair of 499Ps topped the times in the second practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship meeting at Spa this afternoon, the No. 51 finishing up 1.2 seconds quicker than the No. 50 sister car after a 2m01.871s from …
Ferrari AF Corse’s pair of 499Ps topped the times in the second practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship meeting at Spa this afternoon, the No. 51 finishing up 1.2 seconds quicker than the No. 50 sister car after a 2m01.871s from Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian’s tour of the circuit was the fastest time of the weekend so far, and almost a second quicker than last year’s pole time.
Third in the times during what turned out to be an incident-filled session, disrupted by two red flags and three full-course yellows, was the No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, which set a best time of 2m03.338s. The quickest of the Toyotas was the FP1-topping No. 8, which slotted in fourth with a 2m04.380s.
It was a messy 90 minutes for more than one of the Hypercar teams. Porsche Penske Motorsport’s pair of 963s managed a combined seven laps after issues early in the running. The No. 5 stopped on the Kemmel Straight at the hands of Dane Cameron with a driveshaft issue, while the No. 6 had a hybrid system failure at La Source which required a reset. Neither car would go on to set more laps after their respective issues.
Porsche has told RACER that the No. 5’s issue, which was a broken connection to the wheel at the driveshaft’s mounting point, has been repaired. The team is currently working on the No. 6 and investigating the root cause of its issue.
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Cadillac Racing’s brand-new No. 3 V-Series.R, which was finished being built up just before Free Practice 1, also lost most of the session to an issue. Renger van der Zande was forced to stop the car due to a small fire after just two laps.
A statement from the team after the session revealed that the fire (put out by Renger) was caused by a “self-induced” mistake which the team was not comfortable explaining in further detail. “We are going to have some extra work to do tonight,” the team added.
The most significant incident came with 14 minutes remaining in the session, when the No. 21 and No. 54 GTE Am class Ferrari 488s had a huge off at Raidillon. The cars, driven by Diego Alessi and Thomas Flohr respectively, were damaged severely after contact with the barriers on driver’s right after Flohr reported he was rear-ended by the No. 21.
Both drivers exited their cars without outside assistance, although there was no information immediately available on their condition. The No. 21 sustained heavy right-side and rear-end damage, while the No. 54 sustained front-end damage.
In LMP2, Team WRT’s No. 31 ORECA set the pace with a 2m06.108s from Robin Frijns, who was quicker than the six of the 13 Hypercar class cars. United Autosport’s No. 22 and the No. 41 sister WRT ORECA completed the top three with times four and five-tenths off the Dutchman.
The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari, which was damaged in the Raidillon incident, led GTE Am with a 2m15.736s from Davide Rigon. The No. 57 Kessel Ferrari and GR Racing Porsche finished the day second and third.
UP NEXT: Free Practice 3 is set to get underway at 11:00am local time Friday.
Lamborghini factory driver Mirko Bortolotti says his campaign with Prema Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season is a vital part of the build-up to the debut of the Lamborghini LMDh prototype in 2024. The Italian, who is driving …
Lamborghini factory driver Mirko Bortolotti says his campaign with Prema Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season is a vital part of the build-up to the debut of the Lamborghini LMDh prototype in 2024.
The Italian, who is driving the No. 63 Prema Racing ORECA with Doriane Pin and fellow future Lamborghini LMDh driver Daniil Kvyat, is using the WEC program as a chance to get track time in a prototype alongside his development work behind the scenes on the forthcoming Ligier-based car.
While the unnamed Lamborghini LMDh isn’t ready to race yet, Bortolotti says he has already been spending significant chunks of time undergoing simulator work as the team finalizes the concept for the car, which RACER understands will begin testing this summer.
“We are working on the car intensively,” he said. “There will be news soon. I am deeply involved in the car’s development — we are using every free day of the week on it, mainly on the simulator at the moment.
“I am not the only driver involved in development, because my schedule is quite busy I am trying to find a compromise between racing and being involved in the development of the car. I have had to step out of some important races this year to free up time for LMDh development.”
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Alongside that, competing alongside Kvyat — who was confirmed as an LMDh driver for Lamborghini just this month — is very important for him as he prepares to immerse himself in the factory team project. Kvyat is the fourth driver confirmed for the program, following the news from last year that Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Romain Grosjean would be part of the team.
Bortolotti told RACER he knew going into the season that Kvyat would be confirmed as a driver for 2024 long before it was made public ahead of the 6 Hours of Portimao and has made a point of getting acquainted with the former F1 racer.
“We want to get to know each other, to start working on procedures, to have a season together. Whatever we do, it doesn’t matter if it’s for Prema or me, what matters is that it’s a winning mentality.
“We haven’t known each other for long. But I knew him obviously from his Formula 1 career — he doesn’t need an introduction, we know how good he is. We are really happy to have him as part of the team, it’s a privilege. We are a strong team together and we are looking at the future.”
However, Bortolotti doesn’t yet know whether he will share a car with Kvyat in 2024, as Lamborghini hasn’t yet decided on its driver lineups.
The plan is rapidly coming together, though. The Iron Lynx-run effort will compete in the full WEC and in IMSA’s endurance races, both with a single car, with a second car planned for the major races like the Le Mans 24 Hours and Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Customer cars will also be made become available, though the timeline for this hasn’t yet been made clear by the Italian marque. It also isn’t yet entirely clear whether or not the car will be ready to compete at the 2024 Rolex 24 in January. The amount of progress made in the coming weeks will be the deciding factor.
Prema Racing’s LMP2 effort with drivers (left to right) Doriane Pin, Mirko Bortolotti and Daniil Kvyat is laying the groundwork for the forthcoming Lamborghini Hypercar program. Motorsport Images
Before that, Bortolotti is focused on getting the most out of his 2023 LMP2 program in the WEC. After a podium at Sebring and a fourth-place finish in Portimao, he and his teammates are firmly in championship contention.
“It’s been really good,” he said when asked to assess the season so far. “We have Doriane (Pin), who has a lot to learn, but she is very mature and quick. She is in the perfect environment with us. I look forward to her development this year. We have had a good start to the season so it would be a lie to say we don’t want to do well in the championship. It’s important to build. We will see where we are in the standings at the end of the year.
“We need to be honest that our main target this season is to work together. The best team-building, though, is being successful. It’s a great opportunity.
“I have been with Lamborghini since I was in Super Trofeo in 2014, which was almost a road-legal car. This journey through thick and thin and being successful internationally at big races and championships brought us here now, and we are really proud to make this big step into Hypercar.”
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 & …
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 & 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.”
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 …
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 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.
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.
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 …
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 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.
