2023 FIA World Endurance ChampionshipSports Cars

[Touring Mars]

Spa 6hr race is starting in the (light) rain, but already several cars have gone off on the formation lap, esp. at Raidillon - #77 Porsche has spun three times before the race has even gone green... Toyota is on slicks and has dropped down to 7th already.

 

[IforceV8]

All the cars on wets have lost their advantage with this safety car, Toyota #7 matched their lap time before the yellow.

 

[Touring Mars]

Disaster for Ferrari - running 1-2 with wets, but quickly got caught by the dry runners... 38 mins in, and now they are being lapped by the front runners - currently standing 31st and 33rd in the race

Buemi's Toyota has gone from dead last to 6th, and the other Toyota is comfortably leading.

 

[i386]

Buemi (#8 Toyota) about Christensen (#5 Porsche) on the radio: "he's completly mad!"

 

[IforceV8]

It took the Ferrari's nearly 10 laps to get heat into their hards

 

[Tired Tyres]

Big crash for the Cadillac.

 

[Touring Mars]

Glad to see Van Der Zande walking away from that - going off at full tilt at Eau Rouge is always going to be a big one.

I think they were in 5th at the time as well, so it's a tough one for the team, but at least the driver is OK.

 

[IforceV8]

Power steering failure at a high G moment or did the rear bottom?

 

[i386]

The cadillac went over the curbs and the car bottomed, driver lost the controll and crashed into the barrier

 

[Touring Mars]

Power steering failure at a high G moment or did the rear bottom?

Van Der Zande said that the power steering "locked up"...

 

[Tired Tyres]

Vanwall being Vanwall.

 

[i386]

The lmp2 jota #28 does irl what I do in gt7...

 

[i386]

Big crash for the Cadillac.

 

[IforceV8]

I agree with Martin Haven about the teams acting like the tire information is somehow top secret, however the TV broadcast he works for has that information and all they have to to is put in on the screen for all to see.

Tire warmers need to be brought back.

 

[Demon Drone]

The lack of tyre warmers has been a disaster. Now it's a matter safety.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Agreed. Tyre warmers must come back.

 

[JackRyanWMU]

#7 Toyota with a clear and obvious violation of track limits, and it takes almost a three-quarters of an hour for a "slap on the wrist" penalty to be issued.

FIA Officiating at its best.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Some good racing today. Le Mans should be even better.

 

[Touring Mars]

Great race(s) again from the FIA WEC... great racing throughout the entire field.

The Ferraris are looking strong, in spite of their issues today - and great to see that last lap overtake for the podium spot by Calado.

I agree with the above though - tyre warmers must be reinstated, as this was just ridiculous - and downright dangerous. I hope that gets resolved swiftly.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I was actually at the track today, and the Cadillac is by far the loudest car on track. It sounds ridiculous, and I was a little heartbroken when the #3 crashed out.

 

[IforceV8]

 

[SestoScudo]

Ferrari's wet strategy did not pay off.

Lots of setbacks and a crash but a Podium. I cant complain really.

Toyota is the team to beat but the 499P is really proving itself to be formidable.

All I want is Lemans to be won but that is too much to expect but still I hope.

The way I see it Hypercars are really beating LMDh.

 

[JackRyanWMU]

Just had to do it reading other replies today 😏:

 

[i386]

I have mixed feelings about tire warmers; on one side they make the race after tire changes to some degree safer, but on the other side their absence produces better races/other strategies (see toyota and other cars in lmp2 and gte-am who fell back with their slick tires and didn't push immediately the limit at the beghinning).

 

[Juim1j]

It tends to help that AF Corse isn't being obsessively watched over like a hawk by People who are only there on Nepotisism like the F1 team does and can actually do what they know how to do. Like seriously, it would do so much more good for them if they actually took a page from Mercedes and let the race team do what they need to do without the corporate interference (Which they literally saw didn't work for Jaguar or Toyota during their winning period). That and frankly (In my opinion anyway), Amato Ferrari is a way better leader then Ferrari themelves are.

You couldnt be more wrong. AF Corse is under immense pressure from Ferrari, I have insider sources that say they're doing 20 hour workdays and it's still not enough.

 

[RACECAR]

You couldnt be more wrong. AF Corse is under immense pressure from Ferrari, I have insider sources that say they're doing 20 hour workdays and it's still not enough.

You have sources..inside Ferrari? I'm sorry but with how often people say that and the amount of misinformation that tends to happen, it gets abit hard to believe. Maybe with this program basically now giving Ferrari a shot at Overall victory, there is increased interest from the top but I have a hard time believing that suddenly Ferrari is putting the same amount of pressure here (On a team that's done a far better job producing results on a regular basis over the years) as they are the F1 team. Unless they want to fail just as spectacularly here as well.

 

[Juim1j]

You have sources..inside Ferrari? I'm sorry but with how often people say that and the amount of misinformation that tends to happen, it gets abit hard to believe. Maybe with this program basically now giving Ferrari a shot at Overall victory, there is increased interest from the top but I have a hard time believing that suddenly Ferrari is putting the same amount of pressure here (On a team that's done a far better job producing results on a regular basis over the years) as they are the F1 team. Unless they want to fail just as spectacularly here as well.

No, inside AF Corse.

 

[SestoScudo]

You couldnt be more wrong. AF Corse is under immense pressure from Ferrari, I have insider sources that say they're doing 20 hour workdays and it's still not enough.

AF Corse is technically not owned by Ferrari so they have their independance and autonomy.

Even with Pressure from Ferrari it will not make them buckle compared to the Scuderia.

F1 team has always been the golden boy. Ferrari hypercar is getting a lot of interest because its been 50 years since Ferrari raced overall for endurance races wins.

Plus last Lemans victory was in 1965 under Jochen Rindt.

Lots of Ferrari fans are more interested in a Lemans win than F1.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Did the #2 Cadillac eventually receive a pitstop infringement penalty?

I heard on Radio Le Mans they were investigating the #2's last pitstop, but I do not know if anything was decided.
I'm not sure if it was even caught on the live feed, but when the Cadillac exitted its box, it drove straight into a wheel of the Jota LMP2 that was making its pitstop at the time. I only saw the wheel flying into the Jota garage from the grandstand, but we quickly noticed the wheel hit one of the mechanics in its flight, and knocked him out cold. Scary moment as he was laying completely still on the ground, but as they carried him away on the stretcher he was moving luckily.

 

[IforceV8]

Did the #2 Cadillac eventually receive a pitstop infringement penalty?

I heard on Radio Le Mans they were investigating the #2's last pitstop, but I do not know if anything was decided.
I'm not sure if it was even caught on the live feed, but when the Cadillac exitted its box, it drove straight into a wheel of the Jota LMP2 that was making its pitstop at the time. I only saw the wheel flying into the Jota garage from the grandstand, but we quickly noticed the wheel hit one of the mechanics in its flight, and knocked him out cold. Scary moment as he was laying completely still on the ground, but as they carried him away on the stretcher he was moving luckily.

I cant find anything on the FIA/WEC noticeboard for the #2 other than a reprimand for a torque sensor on lap 23. The race control section of the WEC timing page has been erased too.