2016 WEC, IWTSC, ELMS thread.

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

HOME WIN FOR TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
Sunday 16th October

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned its first victory of the season on home ground in an epic 6 Hours of Fuji, the seventh round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

In front of an enthusiastic Japanese crowd, all three LMP1 manufacturers showed near identical pace, but the #6 TS050 HYBRID of Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi came out on top after an enthralling battle.

The #6 crossed the line just 1.439secs ahead of the #8 Audi, bringing TOYOTA’s 11th WEC win, its fourth in five years at Fuji and its first since Bahrain in November 2014. That result also lifts the #6 crew to second in the drivers’ World Championship, 23 points off the lead.

Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima recorded their best result of a troubled season with fourth, within a minute of the winning sister car.

The tone for a tense and closely-fought race was set at the start. Kamui and Kazuki, having slipped to fourth and sixth respectively at turn one, fought back and at the first pit stops the #6 was running second while the #5 was fourth.

Fast work from the pit crew established the pattern for the race, with the #6, now with Mike the wheel, in a very close fight for the lead with the #8 Audi, while Anthony in the #5 was pushing for the podium.

As the race passed the half-distance point, there was no let up as all three LMP1 manufacturers ran flat-out for victory in a tense contest, which got even closer when the Porsche #1 joined the battle.

As the four-hour mark approached, less than two seconds covered the top three while the #5 was less than 30 seconds from the lead in fourth, with Kazuki pushing for the podium positions.

Stéphane enjoyed an exciting stint with wheel-to-wheel battles against the #8 Audi and #1 Porsche, all whilst coping with heavy traffic. When Kamui took over the #6 with just over 90 minutes remaining, he kept up the challenge, valiantly defending second place before targeting the leader.

The final stop for the #6 saw Kamui take only fuel, saving vital time and earning track position but requiring him to maintain the pace on older tyres. Kamui rose to the challenge during the tense final laps, with fine driving through the traffic. He crossed the line to win his first WEC race while Anthony took the flag shortly after in the #5.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will return to action next month with the penultimate race of the 2016 season, the 6 Hours of Shanghai on 6 November.

Toshio Sato, Team President: “This was a very tense and exciting race between all three LMP1 manufacturers; it was a six-hour sprint race. We could do no more; everyone in the team performed to the maximum today against such close competition. It was a clean fight, decided by speed on track and in the pits as well as strategy. All credit to Audi and Porsche for their part in this great show. I would like to thank everyone in the team for their great job to perform so strongly in our home race, as well as our colleagues at Higashi-Fuji and Cologne who worked so hard for this. Thank you also to all the fans who came to support us at Fuji Speedway; as always we have enjoyed racing in front of our home crowd.”

TS050 HYBRID #5 (Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima)
Race: 4th, 244 laps, 6 pit stops. Grid: 3rd. Fastest lap: 1min 25.377secs

Anthony Davidson: “That is a fantastic result for the team as a whole; to win on home soil is amazing and it keeps up our impressive record here at Fuji Speedway. Unfortunately for car #5 we couldn’t quite match the other car and join the guys on the podium. I had fun while I was out there and it’s always a pleasure to race in front of these fans. I hope they enjoyed a well-deserved victory for car #6.”

Sébastien Buemi: “Congratulations to the team for this victory at our home track. The #6 crew drove a really good race and they deserved to win. It was the best result of the season for our car but we were not as strong as we wanted to be; we did our best but we just missed a bit. Still, for the team it’s nice to be back to winning ways and this gives a lot of encouragement for the final two races.”

Kazuki Nakajima: “First of all this is a great result for TOYOTA. It is the first victory in a while which is fantastic for everyone. For our car it was a difficult race especially in the beginning when we lost some time, mainly in traffic. After that we had good pace, similar to the leaders but not enough to close the gap. I am quite happy with the team’s progress because we stepped up a level here. I am also really pleased for the Japanese fans, our TOYOTA colleagues and our sponsors; they saw a great race.”

TS050 HYBRID #6 (Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi)
Race: 1st, 244 laps, 6 pit stops. Grid: 4th. Fastest lap: 1min 25.320secs

Stéphane Sarrazin: “It’s an amazing result for us in our home race. After Le Mans this is the most important event for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and we gave everything. It was an incredible race from the whole team; Mike did really well and Kamui was just flying. I had some traffic issues on my two stints so it wasn’t perfect but overall we had the pace which is very positive. We hoped to be competitive here and I am so happy for my team and our fans with this result.”

Mike Conway: “This feels really good. We came into the weekend feeling optimistic and thought we had a chance. In the race it was so close all the way through with barely a 10th of a second between the cars each lap. It was so tense and the last hour felt like six! Kamui was a star with the double stint at the end. We were not sure how it would go but he did really well. The team also did a brilliant job and made up time in the pits and with our strategy; that was a big part of this win today.”

Kamui Kobayashi: “Everyone in the team performed so well; they really deserve this. After qualifying we had a positive feeling and we did everything to get a win in our home race. So to get this result in front of our local fans and our colleagues from TOYOTA makes us very happy; I would like to say thanks for their big support. Actually, it is still difficult to believe we did it; we worked so hard for this. It was a really tough race. The double stint at the end was a risk but we were only focused on the victory and now this feels great, just perfect.”

6 Hours of Fuji results:
1st #6 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 244 laps
2nd #8 Audi (di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis) +1.439secs
3rd #1 Porsche (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley) +17.339secs
4th #5 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +53.779secs
5th #2 Porsche (Dumas/Jani/Lieb) +1 lap
6th #13 Rebellion (Tuscher/Kraihamer/Imperatori) +15 laps

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

FERRARI TAKES PODIUM AT FUJI AND REGAINS THE LEAD IN CONSTRUCTORS’ STANDINGS

Oyama, 16 October 2016 – The Ferrari 488 GTEs of AF Corse secured third and fourth place in the 6 Hours of Fuji, the third last round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC). The 27 points won take Maranello back to the top of the Constructors’ standings, while in the GTE-Am class second place for the 458 Italia no. 83 of AF Corse edged François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas even closer to the class title, which could be wrapped up as early as at the next round in Shanghai on 6 November.

GTE-Pro. The race was very tactical and held no surprises, without even an appearance of the Safety Car. At the start Gianmaria “Gimmi” Bruni overtook teammate Sam Bird who began behind the wheel of the 488 GTE no. 71. From then there began an impossible attempt to catch the two Fords that had established a lead from the start with their extraordinary speed on the straights. The AF Corse team even tried to split the strategies of their two cars in an attempt to get between no. 67 and 66. Bruni was stopped early to try an undercut that only served to consolidate third place and to maintain a reassuring lead over the Aston Martins. However, car no. 71 followed the plan agreed before the start but the final result was similar as the two cars, driven impeccably also by James Calado and Davide Rigon, arrived at the finish line with just a few seconds between them. The 27 points, against 18 for Aston Martin, put Ferrari ahead of the British manufacturer in the Constructors’ championship. Victory went to the Ford no. 67 of Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell.

GTE-Am. François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas offered yet another demonstration of maturity in the GTE-Am class with a second place that could be vital for the title. The three spent the whole race close behind the Aston Martin of Lamy-Lauda-Dalla Lana but kept ahead of the other opponents. So, even after a 35-second stop&go penalty for speeding in the pit lane, Rui Aguas managed to regain second. Thanks to the Fuji result the Ferrari crew has now a 33-point lead over its Aston Martin rivals and with a little luck could seal the title in the penultimate round in Shanghai on 6 November.

[Rob]

Audi boss responds to quit rumours: “Nothing is decided”

Audi’s Head of Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich has responded to reports in the German press that the manufacturer is set to withdraw from LMP1 after 2017, insisting nothing has yet been decided.

The reports emerged in the run-up to last weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji, in which Audi lost out to Toyota by just 1.4 seconds in what was the closest race finish in WEC history.

A number of factors were cited, including the need for the VW Group (which also owns Porsche) to cut costs, a lack of recent on-track success for Audi and the next rules cycle – due to begin in 2018 – being likely to further disadvantage diesel cars owing to an increase in available hybrid power.

However, addressing the media in Fuji, Ullrich was adamant that the board decision on Audi’s LMP1 future has yet to be taken, and that he was optimistic that the programme will continue.

Said Ullrich: “We have seen so many rumours in the press during the last years, and the good thing is in most cases the negative ones didn’t occur.

“So I’m optimistically looking forward to the future. We are organising our race programme in the standard way, which is always in the autumn of the year.

“The meeting of the board where normally the motorsport programme is defined has not taken place yet, so nothing is decided.”

Ullrich also confirmed that work is ongoing on Audi’s concept for the next rules cycle, adding that the Ingolstadt marque is working with series organisers to try and ensure parity between its diesel-propelled R18 and its petrol-powered rivals.
“We are working to ensure that the rulebook is fair to all the different technical concepts,” he said.

“Qualifying [the top six were split by just over half a second] proves that the basic rulebook is a really good one, but there are many details that we need to work on together,

“The things we think are not in our favour, that should be corrected, we continue to work on that.”

Diesel still attractive

Another of the factors cited by the press reports is the growing scepticism in the road-car industry that diesel has a long-term future, owing to increasingly tough emissions regulations.

Ullrich however was quick to defend Audi’s decision to invest in diesel for its LMP1 programme, saying that its efficiency compared to petrol still makes it an attractive proposition.

“There is a lot of politics behind it, and we shouldn’t get too crazy at present,” said Ullrich.

“We think that the diesel engine is still one of the most efficient combustion engines you can get. They can be very clean, it’s just a question of working on it and developing it.

“As long as efficiency is a key factor, we think the diesel in racing is still a good solution.”

[The Architect]

Enjoyable race. Good drive at the end by Kobayashi to repass the Porsche and do what he needed to in fending off the Audi. I'm pleased for the #6 crew, they've consistently outperformed the #5 including Le Mans until the closing stages. The race also highlighted a distinct difference in driving standards between LMP1 and LMP2.

As for the Audi rumours, while I'm unhappy the LMP1 field could be thinned further, I'm less sorry to see another 2 diesels off the road. If true, it's ironic that it was probably caused by a diesel scandal. Diesels are a blight on our roads. I hope someone else steps in, maybe even BMW.

[Nova]

Brno – The Scuderia Praha Ferrari 488 GT3 (#11, Jiri Pisarik/Josef Král/Peter Kox/Tom Onslow-Cole) won the Hankook 24H Epilog Brno. After 646 laps, equalling a distance of 3,490.34 kilometres, Jiri Pisarik took the chequered flag to seal the Czech team's second consecutive victory on home soil. The victory also marks a successful debut for the new Ferrari 488 GT3 in the 24H Series powered by Hankook. 38 laps behind the winners, the Hofor-Racing Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 (#10, Christiaan Frankenhout/Kenneth Heyer/Roland Eggimann/Chantal Kroll/Michael Kroll) came home second to score a podium result in this car's last race. Third place overall went to the SP2 class winner, the RPD Racing Ferrari 458 Challenge (#444, Lubomir Jakubik/Dusan Palcr/Luis Scarpaccio/Matteo Cressoni/Gregor Zsigo).

Both the GRT Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (#963, Rolf Ineichen/Adrian Amstutz/Andrea Caldarelli) and the Precote Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (#911, Alfred Renauer/Robert Renauer/Daniel Allemann/Ralf Bohn) challenged the Scuderia Praha Ferrari in the opening hours. The Precote Herberth Motorsport Porsche retired after midnight. The GRT Grasser Racing Lamborghini finished in 21st overall after long gearbox repairs.

[wisepie]

Great images as always, grazie Rob, shame we couldn't match those pesky Fords on straight-line speed but the boys did well.

[Rob]

[Rob]

heard today a friend of mine will be racing in the R.S.01 series this weekend. He will be joining Carmen Jorda.

[Rob]

Estoril, last battle for the title

Apart from the round at Spa-Francorchamps, which was won by Dragonspeed, the other rounds in the 2016 European Le Mans Series were dominated by G-Drive Racing and Thiriet by TDS Racing. Let’s have a look back at what happened this season full of action and drama between the two teams.
Episode 1: Silverstone, advantage to G-Drive Racing

For the opening round in Great Britain last April, the line-up of the two teams was different from 2015. Mathias Beche was back with Thiriet by TDS Racing alongside Ryo Hirakawa and Pierre Thiriet. Concerning G-Drive Racing, Filipe Albuquerque was now taking part to the WEC and was replaced by former F1 driver Giedo Van Der Garde, the Dutch driver joining Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell.

Just after the start, the n°46 Oreca 05 Nissan of Thiriet by TDS Racing (which was on pole position) hit the tyre wall because of a stuck throttle, leaving the field to the n°38 Gibson 015S Nissan of G-Drive Racing driven by Tincknell, Dolan and Van Der Garde who took the victory.

Pierre Thiriet: “I felt something was wrong and I headed straight to the wall. The drivers had a good rhythm and the car was good. We had everything to do a good result.”

Simon Dolan: “It’s been a funny weekend but it all came back to us in the end and I am super happy for all the team because they were excellent all week.”

G-Drive Racing: 25 points Thiriet by TDS Racing: 1 point



Episode 2: Imola, Thiriet by TDS Racing back in the title race

A month later the teams and drivers travelled to Italy for round 2 at Imola. The Thiriet by TDS Racing drivers lost the pole position but did well during the race. Leading after the first driver change, the n°46 kept its first position. Stuck behind the French team, the n°38 didn’t have a chance to overtake its rival, stopped by a Safety Car after a massive thunderstorm flooded the track.

Harry Tincknell: “We have left Imola in a stronger championship position than when we got here so it has been a good weekend all in all. It was a shame the race was so wet in the final hour as we could have at least pushed and put some more pressure on the TDS car.”

Pierre Thiriet: “It’s a great team victory and a revenge after Silverstone. Unfortunately, the gap between us and our rival (G-Drive Racing) is not big but the season is long.”

G-Drive Racing: 43 points Thiriet by TDS Racing: 26 points



Episode 3: Another victory for Thiriet by TDS Racing

After a difficult 24 Hours of Le Mans for both G-Drive Racing and Thiriet by TDS Racing (both retired), the two teams met up in Austria. After a perfect race, the French team won the 3rd round of the season. Their British opponents had trouble with the top speed of the car and took the third position.

Simon Dolan: “It’s very frustrating to have a race like this, but I think everyone in the team, from the drivers to the pit crew, have done an absolutely terrific job in the circumstances, especially as the Gibson isn’t the quickest of the LMP2 chassis anymore.”

Mathias Beche: “The team did a wonderful job and the weekend was very positive. We are now 7 points from the leaders, we missed the pole position point but we keep pushing”.

G-Drive Racing: 58 points Thiriet by TDS Racing: 51 points



Episode 4: G-Drive Racing is losing the lead

The 4th round of the 2016 season was held in France, in the land of Thiriet by TDS Racing. The Oreca 05 n°46 did not allow any chances to go to the n°38 trio at Circuit Paul Ricard. The French team took the victory from pole position, which gave them the championship lead for the first time in 2016.

Giedo Van Der Garde: “It was a tough weekend for us, right from qualifying. We ended fifth which was a pity but we will learn from it but we have two races left and we will give it our all.”

Mathias Beche: “It’s great to win here, it’s our third victory in a row this season and we are very proud. But there are still two races to go.”

G-Drive Racing: 68 points Thiriet by TDS Racing: 77 points



Episode 5: Thiriet by TDS Racing is widening the gap

For the first time since 2011 the European Le Mans Series was heading to Spa-Francorchamps. The famous Belgium track didn’t live up to its reputation with a race punctuated by Full Course Yellows and a Safety Car period. At the end, the n°21 Oreca 05 Nissan of Dragonspeed took its first victory of the season. Thiriet by TDS racing ended at the third position and G-Drive Racing fifth.

Harry Tincknell: “It’s disappointing to finish fifth because I think that we could have won.”

Mathias Beche: “We didn’t have a good rhythm this weekend. But we were confident because we had a strong line-up. I had to fight with the car during all my stints and it was quite hard. But I’m happy that we scored some points and that we are still leading the championship. “



Last episode: Estoril

The two teams are really tied with a 14-points gap. Thiriet by TDS Racing has 3 victories against one for G-Drive Racing but we know well the tenacity of the Russian team.

Harry Tincknell: “We have nothing to lose in Estoril”

Giedo Van Der Garde: “We are heading to Estoril, a track that I like, for the last round. We will see who will win there. 14 points is a lot but we will do everything we can to win.”

Mathias Beche: “Now, let’s go to Estoril. We will try to handle the race if we can but we want to win the championship and the race. We will push hard and try to be luckier than in Spa.”

[Rob]

The Race to GTE Glory in Estoril

The LMGTE class might be the smallest of the three ELMS categories but has certainly provided some of the best drama and intrigue during the first five race of the 2016 season and at Estoril this will continue as the final 4 hour race of the year will decide who will become the 2016 LMGTE Champions and who will be receiving one of the two invitations to 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans.
2016 ELMS LMGTE Champions

This is a straight battle between two British teams – the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Rob Smith, Rory Butcher and Andrea Bertolini and the no99 Beechdean sponsored Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Andrew Howard, Darren Turner and Alex MacDowall.

The advantage lies with the no66 Ferrari with four podiums, including three wins in Austria, France and Belgium, from the last four races of the 2016. Bertolini, Butcher and Smith have become the driver crew to beat.

They were the first car over the line at Silverstone back in April but an incorrect bodywork part was fitted to the car that didn’t match the homologation papers and the 25 points and the winners trophies were given to the no99 Aston Martin as a consequence. The British team put their hands up and admitted they had made a mistake. But instead of allowing the situation to ruin their season, they put the issue behind them and with great British resolve just got on with the job of returning to the podium in Italy a month later.

In Austria the bright yellow Ferrari won by over a lap completing an all Ferrari podium, while at Paul Ricard the victory was a little hard to come by and they won by just 13 seconds from the 2015 champions Formula Racing. In Belgium it was another dominant victory for the British Ferrari, with the JMW Motorsport F458 nearly a lap of the 7km Spa-Francorchamps circuit ahead when the Chequered Flag was shown.

This has given the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari a 20-point advantage over the no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage with 26 points available on Sunday 23rd October. Rory Butcher, Rob Smith and Andrea Bertolini only need to finish 7th in the LMGTE class in the 4 Hours of Estoril to be crowned 2016 European LMGTE Champions.



The Road to the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans

The top two LMGTE class finishers in the 2016 European Le Mans Series will receive an invitation to the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans on the 17/18 June next year.

The no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari has already claimed one of those invitations because the British team cannot finish the season lower than second place. So this leaves the identity of the second team to receive an automatic invitation to be decided at the 4 Hours of Estoril.

The no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage is currently in second place with 73 points, just 12 points ahead of the no56 AT Racing Ferrari and 15 points ahead of the Imola race winners in the no77 Proton Competition Porsche.

With a maximum of 26 points still available the no88 Proton Competition Porsche and the no55 AF Corse, both on 49 points, have a mathematical chance of securing the vice champions position in Portugal, so there are five teams in with a chance of securing the automatic invitation to next years 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 4 Hours of Estoril will be held on the 23rd of October and will be the last round of the 2016 ELMS season.

[Rob]

Webber’s replacement doesn’t have to be big name, says Porsche

Porsche LMP1 boss Andreas Seidl says there is no reason for Mark Webber’s 2017 replacement to be a “big name”, suggesting that Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber are the leading candidates for the drive.

It was announced ahead of last weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji race that Webber will hang up his helmet after the end of the current campaign, opening up a plum seat in Porsche’s six-strong WEC driver line-up.

Speaking about the German manufacturer’s options to replace the 40-year-old Australian, Seidl was quick to point out the availability of 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winners Tandy and Bamber in its GT stable.

The pair have largely spent 2016 with Porsche’s team in the US-based IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar series, although they returned to La Sarthe in June to race factory-backed 911s in the GTE-Pro class.

“For sure there’s a lot of interest to join Porsche, but we make the decision about the driver line-up only after the season,” Seidl told Motorsport.com.

“We have the luxury of having two Le Mans winners in the GT line-up [Tandy and Bamber], and these two guys are obviously quite high up in the list, although I don’t want to name one in particular.”

Asked if there would be a further reshuffle of Porsche’s line-up, he added: “We have seen with the decisions we made in previous year – to analyse the season and then make the call – it went pretty well.

“I think part of our success has definitely been the stability we have in the driver line-up, so we will do the same again. I won’t point out any specific driver at the moment.”

Seidl also insisted that, despite the availability of drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Felipe Massa as candidates to replace Webber, there was no pressure on Porsche to recruit a well-known name – but didn’t rule out signing a high-profile outsider in certain conditions.

“First of all there’s the performance, which is always important, because it doesn’t help if you have someone in the cockpit who is a big name but he doesn’t perform,” he said.

“With Mark, we had the bonus of him performing and being a big name. We had the same with Nico Hulkenberg [at Le Mans last year].

“It’s not a must to have a big name, but if there’s a quick one who is around, who is committed and suits the project, why not?”

[Rob]

SMP RACING FERRARI RACING AT ESTORIL TO CLINCH BOTH TITLES
GT3 Le Mans Cup
Estoril, 20 October 2016 – The Estoril round on Saturday will be the final one of the first season of the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup and is expected to be full of action and drama for the fans. The Teams’ and Drivers’ titles will be both decided in Portugal. Eleven cars will line up on the Portuguese grid representing four manufacturers and 22 drivers from all the around the world.

Wide open. This last race of the season will be really competitive as the Teams’ and Drivers’ championships are still open with only a 12-point gap between the current leader (TF Sport) and the third-placed Mentos Racing team. The leader in the Teams’ championship, TF Sport with their Aston Martin will keep its regular line-up, Salih Yoluc and Euan Hankey who should fight hard to keep the lead ahead of the Russian team SMP Racing, with the No. 72 Ferrari 488 GT3 driven by Aleksey Basov and Victor Shaytar who are very close to win among drivers. Both teams will be challenged by Egidio Perfetti and Klaus Bachler at the wheel of the No. 88 Mentos Racing Porsche, standing third in both championships.

Ferrari battalion. No less than eight Ferraris will take part in Portugal, including the three entries from AF Corse, the No. 51 488 GT3 standing fifth in the Teams’ championship, driven by Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci, the No. 71 of Mads Rasmussen and Filipe Barreiros and the No. 14 of Pierre-Marie and Andrien De Leener. BMS Scuderia Italia will be fielding the No. 7 458 Italia for Luigi Lucchini and Matteo Cressoni while Scuderia Villorba Corse will enter a similar car for Cedric Mezard and Steeve Hiesse. There will also be a 458 Italia entered from Classic and Modern Racing and another 488 GT3 that will be raced by Ivor Dunbar and Johnny Mowlem under the FF Corse banner.


Schedule. Action starts on Friday with two free practice sessions. On Saturday, qualifying will take place at 11:05 followed by the 2-hour race at 16:45. Qualifying and race will be streamed live on the official website gt3lemanscup.com.

[Rob]

THE FERRARI OF JMW MOTORSPORT IS CHASING THE TITLE AT THE ESTORIL
ELMS.

Estoril, 21 October 2016 – The goal is just a step away, but these moments require maximum focus and avoiding distractions. It is with this attitude that JMW Motorsport and drivers Andrea Bertolini, Rory Butcher, and Robert Smith must approach the last race of the 2016 season of the European Le Mans Series scheduled for Sunday at the Estoril.

Only one rival. The British team and its drivers will take a Ferrari 458 Italia GTE to the track, enjoying a 20-point lead over the only rivals still in contention for the title: Alex MacDowall, Andrew Howard, and Darren Turner on an Aston Martin. Their task will be to manage the lead and collect even only a few points. A seventh place would guarantee the title, even if the Aston Martin were to win the race after earning the bonus point for the pole position; this objective is certainly within reach of car number 66.

The other Ferraris. Four more Ferraris will participate in the race. AF Corse will field the iconic 458 Italia number 51 with Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Marco Cioci, and Rui Aguas and car number 55 with Duncan Cameron, Matt Griffin, and Aaron Scott; AT Racing will rely once again on Alexander Talkanitsa father and son and on Alessandro Pier Guidi. The field of Ferrari customer teams is completed by the 458 Italia driven by the now former champions of Formula Racing Johnny Laursen and Mikkel Mac Jansen and by the brand new IMSA GT-Daytona class champion, Christina Nielsen.

Schedule. Following the free practice on Friday and Saturday, the qualifications are scheduled for Saturday at 12:45 p.m. local time (1:45 p.m. CET). The race, which will last four hours, will start at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. CET) on Sunday. The entire race can be viewed on live streaming on the series’ website.

[Rob]

Driver quotes after FP1
ELMS
The first day of the last 2016 ELMS weekend is now over. The first free practice session was dominated by the n°46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca. Here are some driver’s quotes after FP1 and before the big finale on Sunday.


Olivier Pla (Ligier JSP2 n°40 Krohn Racing, 2nd in FP1): « Everything went well. I did drive on Tuesday during the pre-test but I drove this afternoon and it was good. Then we keep setting up the car during the free practice and we will do the same tomorrow morning for the last session. Some of the competitors tried some tyres at the end, I wanted to do the same but there was the red flag. We had a good work day.”

Memo Rojas (Ligier JS P2 n°41 de Greaves Motorsport, 3rd times): « Everything went well but we had tricky conditions and a lot of traffic. I think that we are in a good tempo and the car is good. We will see tomorrow during qualifying.

I’m more used to American tracks. The Estoril one looks more like a city track for me, without the walls! There are slow turns and it’s a little bumpy, but I like it.”

Ben Hanley (Oreca 05 Nissan n°21 DragonSpeed, 4th time): “We tried to find the right balance for the car and it will be the key for the race. There will be a lot of cars on track and we have to stay out of troubles. I didn’t drive a lot during the first session because I was in the car during the red flag. The second positions in Imola and le Castellet and the victory at Spa-Francorchamps gave us a lot of confidence. For its first season in ELMS the team is doing a fantastic job.”

Vitaly Petrov (BR 01 SM Racing n°33, 5th time): “Everything went pretty well today. We are in a good rhythm. The track has changed since the test on Tuesday and we improved the car during the free practice and now I can see that it starts raining! I hope it will stay like this until Sunday 17h30 as if we have a wet race we will have all the chances to be in front.

Alex Brundle (Ligier JS P3 United Autosports n°2, 3rd LMP3 time): “It was hard for us today to be honest. We ended the session in third position but the car can do better. We had some traffic at the beginning of the session and we had trouble with the balance of the car, especially at the back. I think that this is the case for a lot of teams. Mike (Guasch) was unlucky during the practice, ending up in the gravel. But we are in a good position and we will keep improving tomorrow.

Eric Clément (Ligier JS P3 n°20 Duqueine Engineering, 14e LMP3 times): “I discover this track today and everything went well. We did 2 or 3 adjustments during the session and everything went in the right direction. Unfortunately, there was a red flag that stopped us and we didn’t improve much. Estoril is an old track. It is nice, in a valley but unfortunately it is bumpy.

[Rob]

Thiriet by TDS Racing Throws Down The Gauntlet in First Practice
ELMS -
Championship leaders Thiriet by TDS Racing through down the challenge to their rivals by posting the fastest time in the first Free Practice session of the final weekend of the 2016 European Le Mans Series. The session was Red Flagged with ten minutes on the clock when the no17 Ultimate Ligier JS P3-Nissan of Jean-Baptiste Lahaye spun at T1 and hitting the barriers before ending in the gravel trap. Lahaye was OK, emerging from the car unaided, but the repairs took longer than the session had left to run.
Mathias Beche in the Nissan powered no46 Oreca05 set a 1m31.637 lap, 0.668 seconds ahead of the no40 Krohn Racing Ligier of Olivier Pla and a further 0.090 seconds ahead of the no41 Greaves Motorsport Ligier.

Round 5 winners in the no21 Dragonspeed Oreca05-Nissan were 4th fastest with Nico Lapierre setting a 1m32.801. The only challengers to the no46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca, the no38 G-Drive Racing Gibson, were 7th quickest and 2.4 seconds behind their French rivals. An early trip into the gravel for Simon Dolan resulted in a quick trip to the pits after the British driver was extracted from the gravel trap under a Full Course Yellow.

The LMP3 class was headed by the no18 MRacing-YMR Ligier, with Yann Ehrlacher setting a 1m36.919 lap, just 0.049s ahead of the no10 Graff Ligier of sean Rayhall and 0.6 seconds in front of the 2016 championship winning car, the no2 United Autosports Ligier, with Alex Brundell setting a 1m37,517 lap time.

The no77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 of Wolf Henzler leading the way in the LMGTE class, 0.039 seconds ahead of the no56 AT Racing Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi. The two championship rivals were 4th and 5th fastest with the no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Alex MacDowall finishing in front of the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Andrea Bertolini by 0.35 seconds.

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

Dragonspeed on Pole for Season Finale in Portugal
ELMS -
The race winning no21 Dragonspeed Oreca05-Nissan scored its third pole position of the 2016 season in the hands of Nico Lapierre, the French driver posting a 1m44.146 lap right at the end of the 10-minute session.
On a damp but drying track the times tumbled and the battle for the top spot in the final race of the year was hard fought. As the clock counted down to zero the no40 Krohn Racing Ligier of Olivier Pla went to the top of the timing screens only to be knocked off the top by Lapierre with the no23 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier of Paul Loup Chatin pushing Pla’s Ligier onto the second row. The bright green Krohn Ligier fell back to 4th as Giedo Van Der Garde went third quickest as he crossed the line for the final time in the no38 G Drive Racing Gibson.

The championship leading no46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca of Mathias Beche struggled in the damp conditions, going off track on the opening lap and ending the 10-minute session in 7th place.

In LMP3 the newly crowned class champions in the no2 United Autosports took their first ELMS pole position with Alex Brundle posting a 1m50.355, just under two tenths of his teammate in the no3 United Autosports Ligier. The no19 Duqueine Engineering Ligier of Dino Lunardi was third quickest.

With the no2 Ligier claiming pole in Portugal it means that there have been six different cars claiming the LMP3 pole position at each of the six rounds in the 2016 European Le Mans Series

The LMGTE battle took place on the wettest track of the three sessions and in the end it was the no88 Proton Competition Porsche of Ben Barker who took the top spot, claiming the second pole for the no88 Porsche, the other claimed by Matteo Cairoli in Austria. The British driver posted a 1m54.754 lap, 0.347s ahead of the no56 AT Racing Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Championship leader, Andrea Bertolini in the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari was 5th fastest with a 1m56.409 lap but the Italian was three places ahead of their only rivals for the 2016 LMGTE title with Darren Turner finishing at the back of the field in the no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage with a 1m57.213 in the extremely tricky track conditions.

[Rob]

Championships Claimed by G-Drive and Aston Martin Racing in Drama Filled Race in Portugal
ELMS -

The 2016 European Le Mans Series LMP2 and LMGTE titles were both claimed in dramatic circumstances as the cars leading the two classes, the no46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca and the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari, both encountered problems in the first half of the four hour event.

The race winners in each class, the no38 G-Drive Racing Gibson of Giedo Van Der Garde, Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell and the no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Alex MacDowall, Andrew Howard and Darren Turner, secured enough points to overhaul their rivals to secure the European titles.



The LMP3 class was won by the no18 MRacing-YMR Ligier of Thomas Laurent, Yann Ehrlacher and Alexandre Cougnaud, the first ELMS win of the season for the team and drivers.

The race started with the no38 G-Drive Gibson of Giedo Van Der Garde moving into the lead at the first corner from the second row with Nico Lapierre in the no21 Dragonspeed Oreca on pole position being challenged by the no23 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier of Fabien Barthez. Lapierre held the position with Barthez spinning at Turn 4. It wasn’t long before Lapierre was back on terms with the leading Gibson, passing Van Der Garde for the lead.

The no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Alex MacDowall, which had started at the back of the grid, was soon on the move and by lap 14 was leading the LMGTE class after passing the rest of the field. MacDowall had championship leader Rory Butcher in the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari just 4 seconds behind.

2016 LMP3 Champion Alex Brundle started from pole position and soon had a good gap to his United Autosports teammate Wayne Boyd and the no9 Graff Ligier of Enzo Guibbert

As the pitstops approached on lap 31 Van Der Garde made a move to regain the lead on the inside of Lapierre’s Oreca-Nissan at Turn 2, with both drivers heading to the pits at the end of the lap. Lapierre handed over to Henrik Hedman and Van Der Garde to Simon Dolan, with Dragonspeed electing not to change tyres allowing Hedman back on track ahead of Dolan. Hedman made a mistake and went across the gravel at T3 and rejoined the track just in front of Dolan, who quickly took advantage and went into the lead.

In LMGTE the no66 JMW Ferrari went ahead of the leading no99 Aston Martin and soon built up a comfortable lead.

Back at the front the no38 Gibson had moved well ahead of the no21 Dragonspeed Oreca, with Nic Jonsson in the no40 Krohn Racing Ligier and Pierre Thiriet the no46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca battling for third and closing on the second placed car. Another trip off the track for Hedman allowed the two cars through into 2nd and 3rd respectively.

At the end of the opening hour the no60 Formula Racing Ferrari retired with Johnny Laursen parking the car at T7. The no66 JMW Ferrari came in for the first stop and was delayed, losing a lap on the leaders. This was a taste of things to come for the championship leading team as smoke and fire was seen coming from the back of the F458 but Butcher kept the car circulating at speed until the next stop, when a gearbox issue forced the team to push it back into the garage. After 30-minutes Rob Smith emerged only for the car to be collected by a spinning Mike Guasch at Turn 2. Smith got the car back to the pits but the no66 Ferrari’s afternoon was done despite the herculean efforts by the mechanics to get the car back on track.

This left the leading Aston Martin, now with Andrew Howard at the wheel needing to win the race to secure the title, second or lower meant the JMW Motorsport crew would still be able to claim the 2016 titles.

After the issues with the no2 United Autosports Ligier and the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari, the race seemed to be jinxed for the championship leaders and the no46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca also had a problem. When Pierre Thiriet came in to hand over the car to Ryo Hirakawa the Oreca wouldn’t start. The mechanics worked to solve the issue but then the car was wheeled back into the garage signalling the issue with the electrical systems on the car was a lot more serious. The French team worked hard, eventually getting the Oreca back on track but towards the back of the field, over 20 laps behind.

Darren Turner was now in the no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage but had the no51 AF Corse Ferrari of Rui Aguas just 0.4 seconds behind. The Portuguese driver looked on course to pass the lead Aston Martin but the pressure was relieved when the no51 Ferrari spun off the track at Turn 1. The nearest rival was now the no 55 AF Corse Ferrari, which was nearly 40 seconds further back. A puncture for the no55 Ferrari forced it into the pits.

The lead of the LMP3 class had passed to the no18 MRacing YMR Ligier of Thomas Laurent, with Mark Patterson in the no3 United Autsports Ligier and the no16 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier following 5 seconds down the road. With 90 minutes of the race remaining the no18 Ligier had a scare when it spun at T3 on some oil that had been left earlier.Laurent recovered to maintain his lead as Simon Gachet in the no16 Ligier took second place Patterson’s United Autosports car. But an issue for the 16 car saw it struggle back to the pits.

Harry Tincknell took over the driving duties in the no38 car ahead of Stefano Coletti in the no32 SMP Racing BR01 and Olivier Pla in the no40 Krohn Racing Ligier. Nico Lapierre had taken over the driving duties from Ben Hanley in the no21 Dragonspeed Oreca and was closing fast on the Krohn Racing Ligier. With less than 30 minutes of the race remaining Lapierre passed Pla and then Coletti to move into second place. Pla was still trying to pass Coletti to claim the final podium position when he clipped the rear of the BR01 and spun off. Colletti was able to keep his pointing in the right direction and so moved well ahead of the French driver when he regained the track.

At the chequered flag it was the no38 G Drive Racing Gibson Nissan of Harry Tincknell who took the chequered flag and the championship to the delight of the team lining the pitwall. Lapierre brought the Dragonspeed Oreca home in second place, 51 seconds behind the winners and nearly 30 seconds ahead of the no32 SMP Racing BR01 in third place.

Alex MacDowall returned to the cockpit of the Beechdean sponsored Aston Martin Racing Vantage to bring the car home to claim the Team and Driver titles for the all British team. MacDowall finished one lap ahead of the AT Racing Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi and the no55 AF Corse F458.

The LMP3 honours went to the no18 MRacing YMR Ligier with Yann Ehrlacher taking the chequered flag to claim the team’s first ELMS victory. The Frenchman was two laps ahead of the no3 United Autosports Ligier and the no9 Graff JS P3-Nissan at the end of the four hour race.

The 2017 European Le Mans Series will begin with Round 1 at Silverstone on the 15 April 2017 with the official test at Monza on 27-29 March.

[Rob]

2017 GTE/ GTLM Porsche 911 RSR Caught on Video In Testing At Sebring

Clearest opportunity yet to see (and hear) Porsche's 2017 weapon. Is it a turbo after all?


The 2017 spec Porsche 911 RSR set for GTE and GTLM competition from next season has been caught on video testing at Sebring International Raceway by the @FansofThe12Hours YouTube Channel.


It’s the first opportunity to see a clear view of the rear of the car, and also to hear clearly the engine note of the new car.

The car, widely understood to be rear-mid engined rather than the more traditional rear engined layout of all previous iterations of the 911 has a less harsh exhaust note than the flat six engined 2016 car (video of that car below in testing at Monza last year courtesy of YouTube User MattyB727)

Indeed the engine note tends to support the early supposition that Porsche are opting for a turbocharged power plant for the 2017 car, following the class lead set by the Ford GT and Ferrari 488 in 2016.

A screen grab of the Sebring video also gives us an opportunity to compare and contrast the 2017 car in its current form to the ‘current’ interim 2016 spec car.

[Rob]

Audi To End LMP1 Programme After 2016 WEC Season

The farewell tour is set for the sportscar racing giant

The rumours were true. Audi Sport has announced today that the 2016 World Endurance Championship season will be its last in LMP1 for the foreseeable future. This news confirms Auto Motor und Sport’s report prior to this year’s round at Fuji that the VAG brand’s commitments would be coming to an end; though it’s a year earlier than the German outlet predicted.

Audi’s decision comes as the dust is still settling on the emissions scandal that has rocked the VW group, the future of diesel technology in road cars seemingly appearing bleak and in light of the upcoming WEC regulation changes in 2018 which do not favour the use of diesel-powered hybrid prototypes. Instead the brand is looking to focus on racing in Formula E.

Speaking to 300 employees of the motorsport department this morning, Chairman of the Audi Board of Management Rupert Stadler put this strategic decision in the context, also confirming that all the employees jobs would be retained.

“We’re going to contest the race for the future on electric power,” said Stadler. “As our production cars are becoming increasingly electric, our motorsport cars, as Audi’s technological spearheads, have to even more so.

“The commitment in FIA Formula E will already commence in 2017. It is regarded as the racing series with the greatest potential for the future. That is why Audi has intensified the existing partnership with Team ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport in the current 2016/2017 season. On the road toward a full factory commitment, the manufacturer is now actively joining the technical development.”

The commitment in the DTM, where Audi will be competing with the successor of the Audi RS 5 DTM in 2017, will remain untouched. In mid-October, the premium brand won the manufacturers’ and teams’ classifications. In 2013, Mike Rockenfeller most recently brought the title of DTM Champion home for the four rings.

No final decision has yet been made concerning a future involvement in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. In the current 2016 season, DTM factory driver Mattias Ekström in his Audi S1 EKS RX quattro clinched the World Championship title early, competing against numerous factory teams. Up to now, Audi’s involvement has been limited to supporting the private EKS team.

The brand is currently evaluating a possible extension of the commitment, the exciting topic of electrification being on the agenda in rallycross racing as well.

The departure from the FIA World Endurance Championship marks the end of a dominant era. For 18 years, the brand was active in Le Mans prototype racing. During this period, it scored 13 victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and set numerous technical milestones. At Le Mans, Audi clinched the first victory of a TFSI engine (2001), the first success of a race car with a TDI engine (2006), plus the first triumph of a sports car with a hybrid powertrain (2012).

In the brand’s 185 races contested to date, Audi’s Le Mans prototypes have achieved 106 victories, 80 pole positions and 94 fastest race laps. On two occasions, Audi won the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro race car. In addition, from 2000 to 2008, Audi, nine times in succession, secured the title in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the world’s most important racing series for Le Mans prototypes at the time, and 11 won the 12 Hours of Sebring 11 times.

“After 18 years in prototype racing that were exceptionally successful for Audi, it’s obviously extremely hard to leave,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Audi Sport Team Joest shaped the WEC during this period like no other team. I would like to express my thanks to our squad, to Reinhold Joest and his team, to the drivers, partners and sponsors for this extremely successful cooperation. It’s been a great time! Due to the LMP commitment, Audi has been demonstrating Vorsprung durch Technik and learning a lot for use in production.”

This news leaves just Toyota and Porsche in the LMP1 H category for the 2017 season.

More on this story as soon as we get it.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/1...16-season.html