After AF Corse’s Ferrari 499Ps managed to get close to the Toyotas on pace in the opening practice session of the 1000 Miles of Sebring event this morning, the Japanese team turned the wick up during the red-flag-interrupted FP2. The quickest time …
After AF Corse’s Ferrari 499Ps managed to get close to the Toyotas on pace in the opening practice session of the 1000 Miles of Sebring event this morning, the Japanese team turned the wick up during the red-flag-interrupted FP2.
The quickest time in the session was set by the No. 7 GR010 HYBRID, Kamui Kobayashi posting a 1m46.954s, a tour of the circuit significantly faster than this morning’s quickest lap from Ryo Hirakawa (1m47.649s).
There are clearly chunks of pace from the GR010 HYBRID still to be found it seems. The quickest time this afternoon was over a second faster than the best laps achieved during the Prologue test and you’d expect the team to find even more time in qualifying tomorrow.
Nobody else in the Hypercar field was able to get within a second of the lead Toyota. In third, eight tenths off the sister No. 8 Toyota that finished the day second, was the No. 50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, The Italian completed a 10-lap run and set a best time of 1m48.121s.
Ferrari’s 499P remained the nearest challenger to the Toyotas, but was 0.8s off the pace. JEP/Motorsport Images
The Cadillac Racing V-Series.R was in the mix too, as it has been throughout the event so far. It split the two Ferraris on the timing screens after Richard Westbrook’s 1m48.265.
It wasn’t a clean session for Westbrook, however, as the Briton was involved in contact with the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche at the hairpin which ended with Ryan Hardwick hitting the concrete blocks before the guardrail section at the hairpin head-on. The damage to the Porsche was significant, and the red flag period for the cleanup lasted around 10 minutes.
It was a rather quiet session for the Porsche and Peugeot Hypercar camps. Porsche’s No. 5 963 was the only car of the quartet across the two teams that lapped quicker than the No. 28 JOTA ORECA that topped LMP2. The No. 5’s best lap was only good enough for seventh, behind the Glickenhaus 007 which had a more promising run, Olivier Pla setting a time almost a second quicker than the team’s best during the Prologue.
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The aforementioned No. 28 JOTA ORECA, which led the way in LMP2, saw Pietro Fittipaldi set a 1m50.326s, a tenth up on the fastest of the two Peugeots, and four tenths quicker than the first of the two United Autosports ORECAs that ended up second and third.
In GTE, the off for the No. 88 wasn’t the only drama in the class causing a red flag in the session. The running had to be neutralized towards the end after an off for the GTE Am pace-setting Kessel Ferrari at Turn 3.
Takeshi Kimura was aboard for the off, his teammate Daniel Serra meanwhile, set the best time in the class, a 1m58.845s.
Corvette Racing’s improved form from FP1 continued here, the No. 33 C8.R finishing up second, with the quickest Aston Martin, D’Station’s No. 777, third. The performance from D’Station represented the highest in the classification an Aston has finished in a session since the teams arrived in Florida last week.
UP NEXT: The third and final Practice session is set for tomorrow morning at 11:55am local time.
The first practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship season saw a surprise at the top of the times. AF Corse’s No. 51 Ferrari 499P looked set to finish with the fastest time, courtesy of James Calado who managed a 1m47.935s. However, …
The first practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship season saw a surprise at the top of the times. AF Corse’s No. 51 Ferrari 499P looked set to finish with the fastest time, courtesy of James Calado who managed a 1m47.935s. However, it was Ryo Hirakawa who ultimately set the benchmark time for the day when he reeled off a 1m47.649s with two minutes remaining in the session to top the timing screens in the No. 8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID.
This lap, faster than any of the times set at the Prologue test, put him ahead of the two Ferraris that finished up second and third in the times. It may not have ended up with the fastest time, but the performance from AF Corse’s 499Ps represented a significant stride in pace ahead of the car’s global race debut on Friday. The early signs of a memorable season opener are here…
The No. 51 ending up second was also particularly encouraging for the team after its hard work to change the chassis after Calado’s hefty Prologue shunt at Turn 1 on Sunday.
Just off Calado’s best time, Miguel Molina put the No. 50 into the top three with a 1m48.039s at the end of the session. This pushed the sole Cadillac Racing V-Series.R to fourth, after early times from Earl Bamber saw it sit as high as second in the times.
Toyota’s No. 7 GR010 HYBRID ended up fifth, nine-tenths off the sister car, but clear of the two Porsche 963s and the Peugeot 9X8s, which were all over a second off.
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The nine Hypercars from the major factory programs all set times faster than the LMP2 runners, while the Glickenhaus and Vanwall continued to struggle for pace, ending up 16th and 20th overall respectively.
The fastest time in LMP2 came from the No. 63 Prema Racing ORECA, a 1m50.074s by Mirko Bortolotti, improving on a previous hot lap (1m50.148s), which was good enough to set the pace early in the session. WRT’s No. 31 ORECA finished up second, with the No. 9 Prema example third.
The GTE ranks saw the Iron Dames Porsche finish up with the quickest time. Michelle Gatting reeled off a 1m59.028s at the very end of the running to put the striking pink 911 RSR 19 a tenth up on the rebuilt No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari, which spent much of the practice session atop the class times.
Corvette Racing’s C8.R made it three marques in the top three, with a 1m59.101s, an improvement in the pace from the Prologue for the Pratt Miller team in its first competitive WEC session as an Am outfit.
Further down the order the Aston Martin teams were unable to find outright pace, a continuation of the Vantage AMR’s Prologue form. The best of the three was the D’Station Racing Vantage, 11th in class.
UP NEXT: FP2 is set to begin this afternoon at 4:35pm local time.
The new era for the FIA World Endurance Championship is now underway, and the days of a lean top class seem long gone. In the paddock, it feels like the beginning of a truly historic period of sports car racing. The long-awaited plans for …
The new era for the FIA World Endurance Championship is now underway, and the days of a lean top class seem long gone. In the paddock, it feels like the beginning of a truly historic period of sports car racing. The long-awaited plans for convergence have come together. The WEC paddock at Sebring, with its thriving Hypercar category featuring a variety of manufacturers all bringing very different cars, is a sight to behold.
We are now on the eve of the opening meeting. The two-day Prologue test last weekend gave us a first taste of LMDh and LMH cars running on track together, and the two rule sets running together appears to be a natural fit. It’s far less awkward than the early days of the ALMS/Grand-Am merger which saw Daytona Prototypes and LMP2 cars thrown into the same class.
The major manufacturers for the 2023 season made the most of the available track time. It wasn’t plain sailing for all of them, though, as Peugeot and Ferrari lost out on crucial mileage thanks to a combination of on-track incidents and mechanical dramas.
Toyota, perhaps unsurprisingly, looks like the team to beat at Sebring. Its tried and tested GR010 HYBRIDs ran like clockwork all weekend, and set the fastest times. Durability-wise, they would appear near-bullet proof. The upgrades to the aero appear to have made the car more agile too; visibly the 2023-spec GR010 looks at home on the Sebring bumps.
Leaner and meaner Toyota GR010 looks ready for everything coming its way at Sebring. JEP/Motorsport Images
“As drivers we have all felt comfortable in the car and we’re all up to speed; it feels like we have made a nice step in terms of car balance compared to last year,” Toyota’s Brendon Hartley said after the test.
Overall, completing 2,195 miles of running was extremely encouraging for the Japanese marque, which came into the weekend feeling a little bit on the back foot due to its off-season testing program being perhaps less intense than some of the competition.
Cadillac Racing, like Toyota, heads into race week full of enthusiasm. Its single WEC full-season V-Series.R completed 218 laps and was quick too, topping the third session. Cadillac’s Alex Lynn spoke to RACER after the running and was confident about the team’s chances this season.
The Briton, who is a winner at Sebring with the DPi Cadillac, feels the new car is a significant step up on the DPi V.R. “It’s clear that Dallara was determined to right the wrongs from its previous-generation LMP2 chassis,” he said.
Alex Lynn likes what he saw from the new WEC-spec Cadillac. JEP/Motorsport Images
The WEC arm of the Ganassi LMDh operation still has work to do. One key task is getting set up at a base in Europe and another is pressing ahead with a test program, which RACER understands will include a pre-Le Mans endurance test at Portimao.
Thankfully, due to Michelin supplying the same tire to the GTP and Hypercar teams, the testing previously completed by the IMSA crew at Sebring ahead of the season provided the WEC outfit with plenty of directly relatable setup and tire data to give it a head start.
Porsche had a similar experience to Cadillac during the weekend. The car showed flashes of pace but was unable to match the Toyotas and gathered plenty of data over 433 laps. Reliability will be the key to a strong result on Friday night, and so far so good. Penske will be desperate to avoid a similar experience to the Rolex 24 At Daytona, where mechanical issues cost it a shot at a good result.
The remaining entries in Hypercar have a handful of question marks hanging over them at this stage.
Hypercar newcomers Ferrari and Vanwall are set to push Peugeot. JEP/Motorsport Images
For Ferrari, the pace of its 499P on its return to top-class factory racing after 50 years away, was encouraging and improved as the weekend went on. Where the team fell short is in track time — it lost lots of it on the Sunday to lengthy repairs to the No. 51 after James Calado’s Turn 1 shunt.
This left the mechanics scrambling to repair the front end and inspect the chassis for damage. The No. 51 was still being worked on when I visited the garage yesterday, but AF Corse has told RACER that it is changing over to a spare chassis as a precautionary measure.
It wasn’t a perfect Prologue for the Prancing Horse in its top-class sports car racing return as a factory effort, but from what we did see, there is reason to believe that it can be in contention for a strong result on the car’s race debut.
There was a similar amount of frustration at Peugeot Sport. Like AF Corse, it too lost a good chunk of the track time due to repairs and to mechanical woes.
Both 9X8s had on-track incidents, the No. 93 the worse of the two when Jean-Eric Vergne collided with the Vector Sport ORECA. The car then ended up losing more time with mechanical issues.
At this point the entire Peugeot Sport program is hard to read. You’d expect the team to emerge stronger having learned a lot about its car at the tail end of last season, but green shoots of progress have been hard to spot at this stage.
No. 93 driver Gustavo Menezes explained to RACER that while the team has made positive strides, it has had to take some time to adapt to the Sebring track. Until the Prologue the 9X8 hadn’t run on the bumps.
“We could always wish for more time, but in the end we started in a place that we were not happy with last week, and made big steps in the test,” he said. “Sebring is a track that’s really hard on the car, and it highlighted some of our weaknesses. The 9X8 hasn’t run on a track this aggressive, so it puts us at a small disadvantage.
“We have benefited from small improvements to the car aero wise and we’ve worked on reliability, though. It has been a while since Bahrain but we’ve done a lot of testing and it’s been a constant improvement for the car. Step by step we are getting to where we need to be.”
Then we have two smaller efforts in the class, from Glickenhaus Racing and Vanwall. The time sheets weren’t an easy read. Glickenhaus, which opted not to test its 007 at all during the off-season, is struggling for speed here.
The team has been pushing hard to work to a program and above all get up to speed with the new Michelin tires. Adjustments have also been made to its traction control system, to help the car find pace. But the reality is, the car hasn’t been upgraded, it hasn’t been tested, and the competition in the class has taken a leap forward. Even with Balance of Performance governing the class, it would be a surprise to see Glickenhaus in the mix, especially in the early stages of the season.
It’s a similar situation for Vanwall — it too has a car which is lagging behind the rival major OEMs. The positive is that in the hands of Tom Dillman, it did manage a time quicker than three of the Peugeot drivers. With 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve at the wheel, though, it was a different story. The Canadian was far off the pace — so far off, in fact, that he was seconds off the slowest of the LMP2 drivers. He has a lot of work to do.
When looking at the class as a whole, before we get into the practice and qualifying sessions the Hypercar category looks set to be close between Toyota, Cadillac, Porsche and Ferrari, with the Peugeots, Glickenhaus and Vanwall lagging behind. This could all change though, and testing times, as ever, should be taken with a pinch of salt.
What we shouldn’t expect is a BoP change anytime soon. The formula is set for Sebring, with no changes anticipated between the Prologue and race. Beyond that, an anticipatory BoP has been made for Portimao, Spa and Le Mans.
“This is what was agreed last year — it was a long process last year discussed in several working groups. The BoP will be stable until Le Mans,” Toyota technical director Pascal Vasselon told RACER. “The only thing that may be adjusted is the so called ‘Platform BoP’ between LMDh and LMH, which could be adjusted every second race. So, it could be adjusted before Spa.”
The Platform BoP system means any changes made are to all cars of the same type (LMDh and LMH), rather than specific cars. This, in theory, should eliminate the incentive to sandbag.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is set to stay in Florida after the 1000 Miles of Sebring weekend to put a GR010 HYBRID through an endurance test before Le Mans. This will be the third and final test for Toyota with its updated GR010 HYBRID since the end of …
Toyota Gazoo Racing is set to stay in Florida after the 1000 Miles of Sebring weekend to put a GR010 HYBRID through an endurance test before Le Mans.
This will be the third and final test for Toyota with its updated GR010 HYBRID since the end of last season. Technical director Pascal Vasselon tells RACER the team will run a single GR010 HYBRID for all six full-season drivers, and the team’s nominated reserve driver Kazuki Nakajima.
For this season Toyota brings the second significant update for the GR010 HYBRID since its 2021 debut. The most visible changes come in the form of a more aggressive aero package. Further improvements have been made elsewhere though, to enhance drivability and aerodynamic consistency.
“The changes are never enough, but we have improved a few areas where we are not at the best possible level, so we are satisfied,” Vasselon said.
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For its post-race running, a third updated GR010 HYBRID has been transported to Sebring, the team unsurprisingly opting to give the pair that will race next Friday a break.
“We have been testing very little this year — we needed a third test,” Vasselon explained. “The problem we had is that we planned it for the time when Portimao was added to the calendar, so we had to move our last test. It isn’t ideal. It’s our last test of the season, and our last test before Le Mans (bar a planned brief shakedown after the race at Spa).”
“We can’t run through the night — it’s not possible here (Sebring) — but over the three days we will complete an endurance test.”
Vasselon was keen to point out that the team hasn’t tested as much as some of its closest rivals in Hypercar this off-season.
“We did not reduce our amount of testing compared to previous years, it just appears that we run a test program that is much less intense than our competitors,” he said. “Unfortunately we are testing a lot less than others. It will be tougher, but we are experienced in the FIA WEC; let’s hope it balances out.”
Since January, Porsche has completed seven days of testing with 963 (with two cars at each test), Ferrari has 12 days of 499P running to show for, and Cadillac has tested its V-Series.R for two days (although it benefits from data sharing with the IMSA GTP-class effort) and Peugeot has run the 9X8 for 10 days. Toyota, meanwhile, has completed nine days of testing with one car at each test.
Corvette Racing is also staying in Florida to test its 2024 Z06 GT3.R. The test car, which ran in camouflage last year and turned laps after the Rolex 24, will take to the track in Sebring for two days of running. Development driver Tommy Milner is expected to drive.
The test car here for Corvette is believed to be the only fully built chassis, with a second car still under construction.
La marca de autos Toyota produjo una serie de anime titulada “Start Your Impossible, Never Stop” inspirada en Alexa Moreno
La gimnasta mexicana Alexa Moreno ha conquistado el corazón de los japoneses no solo por su destacada participación en los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio 2020, ahora también gracias a una serie de anime donde el personaje principal está inspirado en la talentosa bajacaliforniana.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72az8OSWA7M
La marca de autos Toyota produjo una serie de comerciales titulados “Start Your Impossible, Never Stop” donde buscan inspirar a jóvenes en la práctica del deporte gracias al poder que tiene el anime en Japón.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvEWBkybDYY
Dentro de los tres videos la gimnasta tiene que atravesar varias aventuras donde su talento y habilidad para hacer acrobacias le permiten librar los obstáculos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jktPrYecpk
Alexa Moreno es fan de la cultura nipona, incluso ha presumido que ya sabe algunas frases en japonés y dentro de sus rutinas en Tokio 2020, la gimnasta incorporó música de anime por lo que los videos han sido todo un éxito en el país sede de los Juegos Olímpicos.
Previewing Thursday’s Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Kansas Speedway sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR analysis, picks and tips.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Kansas Speedway for the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. The green flag drops Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET with the race televised on NBCSN. Below, we analyze the Super Start Batteries 400 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.
Thursday’s race at Kansas Speedway will be the 29th installment since its NASCAR Cup Series debut race back in 2001 – won by Jeff Gordon.
Denny Hamlin took checkers in the last Kansas Cup race (Oct. 20, 2019), while Brad Keselowski raced to a win in the spring run (May 11, 2019).
All three manufacturers have had success at Kansas Speedway in recent seasons, with Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota each posting a win across the past three races. In the past six races, though, Toyota has three checkered flags, while Chevrolet has raced to wins in 12 of the 28 Cup races at the track.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon was an upset winner last Sunday at Texas. He has an impressive 13.8 Average-Finish Position (AFP) across his past eight Kansas starts. Fellow RCR driver Tyler Reddick ended up second in Texas, and was ninth in his Kansas Cup debut last season.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott was the last driver to steer a Chevy to Victory Lane at this track and has a sparkling 2.33 AFP across his past three Kansas starts.
Who is going to win the Super Start Batteries 400?
ELLIOTT (+650 for Thursday’s race) has one win in his past three Kansas Cup starts along with three consecutive top-5 showings. While there has been a couple of upset winners the past two weekends with Cole Custer at Kentucky and Dillon winning in Texas, look for one of the favorites to come through in this one.
Elliott started 13th in his winning run at Kansas in the Fall of 2018, and the average starting position of the past three winners is 13.3.
KEVIN HARVICK (+450), of course, is among the favorites Thursday night. He leads all drivers with a 9.79 AFP (min. two Cup starts) in 28 Cup races in Kansas, picking up three victories with eight top-5 showings and 15 top-10 runs. He also leads the way among all drivers with 855 laps led.
MARTIN TRUEX JR. (+650) went off the rails at Texas, clipping teammate Kyle Busch in the middle of the run and was never able to recover, ending up 29th. Look for MTJ to return with a vengeance at Kansas, a track where he has won twice, posting eight top-5 finishes and led 759 laps in 23 Cup starts, good for a 13.87 AFP.
Kansas Speedway long-shot bets
JIMMIE JOHNSON (+3500) has three wins in 27 career Cup starts while posting a 10.33 AFP. Of course, all of that success came with crew chief Chad Knaus at the top of JJ’s pit box. Meanwhile, the seven-time Cup champion Johnson hasn’t won since June 2017. Will he never win a Cup race again? Don’t bet on it. He’s a GREAT SMALL-UNIT PLAY at this price.
Knaus, by the way, will be away from William Byron’s team for the birth of his second child. Keith Rodden will take over crew chief duties for the No. 24.
TYLER REDDICK (+3500) had his best career Cup finish last Sunday, rolling to a second-place finish. Is it Reddick’s turn this week? This will be only his second Kansas Cup race – as mentioned above, he finished ninth last year.
Lastly, don’t forget Kansas native CLINT BOWYER (+4000) at his home track. While he has never won in 23 career starts here, he has three top-5 showings, eight top-10 runs, 63 laps led and a 15.7 AFP. One of these days he is going to win in his native Sunflower State.
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