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Thread: 2015 WEC/ELMS&TUSC news.

  1. #871
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    Hey Rob, do you know if privateer teams will still use the 458 this coming season?

  2. #872
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nova View Post
    Hey Rob, do you know if privateer teams will still use the 458 this coming season?
    how do you mean privateer?
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  3. #873
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob View Post
    So, Porsche threaten to leave WEC before Nurburgring race. FIA persuaded them to stay (all of the sudden they were alot more competitive, i mean alot more) Porsche said then, will join 2016 WEC. But now, after getting what they wanted, winning the GTE titles they drop the programme. I know, biased, but now do really sad. sorry for AF Corse #71 #51 crews and team.

    Hope Patrick Dempsey does do the full year, he great driver, he is getting better and better every race.
    BoP?

    The new Audi looks quite radical... The long front end reminds me of the ill-fated Nissan entry.

  4. #874
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob View Post
    how do you mean privateer?
    Isnt that what teams outside of the factory r called? I know Ferrari doesnt field wec teams, but Risi and AF Course are as close to factory as teams can get. Privateer used to be a common term..Is my age showing?
    Let me rephrase the question..
    Do u think that the 458 will still be used by WEC teams this coming season? I think it will still be used in Italy by the regional teams and events.

  5. #875
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Architect View Post
    BoP?

    The new Audi looks quite radical... The long front end reminds me of the ill-fated Nissan entry.
    The new Audi is def radical looking..the nose caught my eye 1st. But Porsche did take them down..mabey Audi feels it needed to be radical. Def different. I really like the concept. It looks more compact than their previous cars.

  6. #876
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nova View Post
    Isnt that what teams outside of the factory r called? I know Ferrari doesnt field wec teams, but Risi and AF Course are as close to factory as teams can get. Privateer used to be a common term..Is my age showing?
    Let me rephrase the question..
    Do u think that the 458 will still be used by WEC teams this coming season? I think it will still be used in Italy by the regional teams and events.
    Spoke to my friend/contact. 488 GTE will be used by AF Corse in the PRO class, in the AM class will be the 458s, as the rules say 1 year old cars can be used. And Risi will have 488. And i think Scuderia Corsa aswell.
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  7. #877
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    Automobile Club de l'Ouest

    Le Mans, 21 December 2015

    2015 was a record-breaking year at le Mans, with a win for Porsche twelve months after the carmaker returned to endurance racing and seventeen years after its last victory in the 24 Hours. There was plenty of excitement too in the other classes and disciplines that take place on the Circuit de la Sarthe.

    We’re looking forward to our big birthday in 2016 and to celebrating 110 years of passion and forward-thinking with you. In the meantime, have a very Happy Christmas!

    See you next year!

    The ACO communications team.

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    ACO Act To Reel In Porsche Fuelling Advantage

    A careful trawl of the new regulations for the 2016 FIA WEC by Mat Fernandez reveals an interesting addition.

    The new regulation is specific to refuelling during the race:

    “Any device/system whose principle is not strictly linked to gravity is prohibited on board”


    The strong assumption is that this is aimed squarely at Porsche who have consistently managed to refuel faster than its LMP1 competitors for reasons people could only speculate.

    Various theories had been offered as to how Porsche were achieving this with senior technical staff in the WEC paddock offering the opinion that somehow Porsche were creating a void in their tanks to get fuels through faster.

    The Porsche advantage proved to be anywhere between 3 and 5 seconds per refuelling. Transpose this to Le Mans where the winning car did 395 laps, refuelling every 13 to 14 laps – say 13.5 laps per stint, that equates to 29 stops over the 24 hours and an effective time gain of anywhere between 1min27s (3s lost per refueling) to 2min25 (5s lost per refuelling).

    The rulemakers though have clearly decided to act before this part of the engineering of the sport becomes another expensive battleground!
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  9. #879
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob View Post
    Spoke to my friend/contact. 488 GTE will be used by AF Corse in the PRO class, in the AM class will be the 458s, as the rules say 1 year old cars can be used. And Risi will have 488. And i think Scuderia Corsa aswell.
    Well Merry Christmas!! 488's and 458's...Yay!!:xmasbiggrin:

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    :xmaseek::xmasmad:

    Nissan Decides To Not Participate in 2016 WEC LMP1 (Updated)
    on 22/12/2015
    This just received:

    “Today, Nissan announced that it will withdraw its LMP1 entry from the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship.


    “Nissan entered LMP1 in the 2015 season with an innovative new, and bold concept, with the ambition to compete at the front of the field.

    “The teams worked diligently to bring the vehicles up to the desired performance levels. However, the company concluded that the program would not be able to reach its ambitions and decided to focus on developing its longer term racing strategies.

    “Racing is a core part of the Nissan DNA, and the company has a proud history of innovating to win. Nissan’s commitment to motorsports remains strong, as evidenced by its victorious track record in the 2015 season – from achieving the overall winner of Super GT two years in a row in Japan, to winning the Blancpain Endurance Pro Class, Bathurst 12hr race with the GT-R GT3. Nissan will continue its support of WEC through its various engine programs including recent introduction of LMP3 engine.”

    DSC Says

    From bold concept to quiet snuffed out withdrawal – The Nissan NISMO GTR-LM LMP1 programme turned into a tale that had it all.

    From the off there was the much repeated uttering at the London Programme launch of shooting for success at the first time of asking. That stirred the pot nicely and by the time the car was finally revealed on Super Bowl Sunday the fanbase, and a very considerate body of people who had never been engaged with the sport, were ready for something special.

    By then DSC were already in the loop, I’d seen the car in build and it was, quite simply, an astonishing concept, every aspect of the design, and the numbers that went with it, was an eye opener – the immediate conclusion was that either this was a mould breaker, or a bridge too far.

    Away from the build process there was something else fairly extraordinary underway – Sportscar racing has often seen factory efforts employ high level marketing activity, glossy double page ads and even TV slots, but we’d never seen anything like what emerged from the Nissan programme.

    A direct and very concerted effort to engage with the public continued from the launch, through the much publicised growing pains of the programme and into the on-track testing – and all too brief racing – aspects.

    The numbers we saw on Superbowl Sunday far exceeded any other story we have run in the 13 year life of DSC and interest continued to grow.

    The programme though was hitting choppy waters – it became clear some time later that a wrong turn had been taken on the hybrid solution, sources within the programme reported frankly scary failures with the Flybrid system that saw levels of expectation tumble as the weeks went by with the racing start to the programme delayed until Le Mans.

    DSC broke the story that the cars would race on their debut at Le Mans without hybrid boost at all, a precursor for a story at Le Mans that had three major strands, massive underperformance on track, HUGE efforts from the Nissan pit-crews and drivers, and astonishingly, a still hugely enthusiastic and positive fan base – Yes there was some cynicism, some may say correctly so, but in the main the fans loved the cars, and the spirit with which the programme was being pursued.

    Full disclosure time – DSC was sponsored by Nissan for the season, but even there there was a background story – No editorial control was ceded – AT ALL – criticisms were levelled at the programme, and answered by the team management – very publicly – More than that this was actively embraced by them.

    That sponsorship deal was done on the back of a push to improve fan engagement – Two wildly popular ‘Fan Forums’ were held – at Silverstone, and Le Mans, giving the punters more direct access than most of we journos get!

    Ultimately though it would be the performance of the car that would count and with the car showing neither sufficient pace nor reliability after Le Mans there were tumbling dominos, staff changes, internal company squabbles and power struggles.

    Whilst there were some encouraging signs from the test and development programme there were tales too of increasing process led micro-management but ultimately two pieces of bad news seem to have dealt the death blows.

    The new battery based hybrid system, which in any case would not have run on the car until February 2016, is understood too have underperformed quite badly on the test bench and finally a second failed FIA crash test (the rear crash structure failed) would have necessitated a further redesign – That appears to have been the final straw.

    That’s hugely disappointing for all of us that love the sport, love the open rule book and innovation, and applaud the corporate bravery of those that argued for the programme, and those that approved it.

    The fact that the failure of the programme will make those decisions all the more difficult to take for others in the future should be a source of considerable regret to everyone.

    However the timing of the announcement (posted only on the corporate website and not released pro-actively), three days before Christmas with most of the team already taking a well-earned vacation, does leave a bitter taste.

    Make no mistake the Nissan team worked very hard indeed on this programme and the decision released today sees around 40 of them leave the company’s employ. Emails to each of them minutes before the official release asking for the return of company equipment and an apparent early morning visit from a Nissan rep to the team’s Indianapolis base to change the door codes show little respect for the loyalty and long, long hours shown by these people.

    Ultimately the concept will be seen as a too big a leap, too substantial a series of risks from the norm – and the FIA WEC’s ‘norm’ is already fairly extraordinary!

    History teaches us that the real blame game will start here – We won’t be playing – Nobody goes into an endeavour like this looking to fail, and those who have observed this effort closely will have observed no lack of effort from any of those directly involved.

    Could it have worked – Perhaps the true sadness is that no we will likely never know!

    DSC would like to send it’s commiserations to all involved as they begin the search for alternative outlets for their undoubted skills and talents.

    http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/1...-wec-lmp1.html
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  11. #881
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nova View Post
    Well Merry Christmas!! 488's and 458's...Yay!!:xmasbiggrin:
    2017 we will see 488s in all classes.
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    This news about the Nissan GTR LMP1, am i surprised? little bit. Honestly thought would see them at Le-Mans. But, with the massive task they had ahead of them, and problems they kept running into, this best thing. Sad for all parites involved. And hats off to them for trying and for the efforts and Le-Mans this year. Now, were they slightly naive about the task and what they had to do to run with Audi and Porsche and Toyota? who knows. Just very sad will never see this project run again.

    Now, this one of the reasons i wouldnt want to see Ferarri do a LMP1 project, well i would i really would. But i would hate to see us have this sort of problems and failure. I hope Nissan do go back to the drawing board and give it another go.
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    Disappointing, but can't say I didn't see it coming. Still, all that hard work thrown away... Maybe LMP1 is just too expensive these days.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob View Post
    This news about the Nissan GTR LMP1, am i surprised? little bit. Honestly thought would see them at Le-Mans. But, with the massive task they had ahead of them, and problems they kept running into, this best thing. Sad for all parites involved. And hats off to them for trying and for the efforts and Le-Mans this year. Now, were they slightly naive about the task and what they had to do to run with Audi and Porsche and Toyota? who knows. Just very sad will never see this project run again.

    Now, this one of the reasons i wouldnt want to see Ferarri do a LMP1 project, well i would i really would. But i would hate to see us have this sort of problems and failure. I hope Nissan do go back to the drawing board and give it another go.
    To me, they went about it backwards...its not really a GTR..front drive? In endurance racing to me just doesnt
    make sense..No 1, the wear factor, not to mention grip. Since I 1st saw it, it didnt make racing sense. Its wrong I think to dump it so soon after building it..lots of lost cash there, but I really didnt ever take it seriously.

  15. #885
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nova View Post
    To me, they went about it backwards...its not really a GTR..front drive? In endurance racing to me just doesnt
    make sense..No 1, the wear factor, not to mention grip. Since I 1st saw it, it didnt make racing sense. Its wrong I think to dump it so soon after building it..lots of lost cash there, but I really didnt ever take it seriously.
    Front wheel drive? nice concept. But, maybe not in LMP1. I know they were having alot of front tyre deg, due to the sliding of indersteer. And, now with the latest crash structure failures, think that may of been the final nail in the coffin. Well, that and the never ending issues with the hybrid systems.

    I know LMP cars are, prototypes. But it may of turned out different if Nissan went with the rest, and had mid engine, rear wheel drive.
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  16. #886
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob View Post
    Front wheel drive? nice concept. But, maybe not in LMP1. I know they were having alot of front tyre deg, due to the sliding of indersteer. And, now with the latest crash structure failures, think that may of been the final nail in the coffin. Well, that and the never ending issues with the hybrid systems.

    I know LMP cars are, prototypes. But it may of turned out different if Nissan went with the rest, and had mid engine, rear wheel drive.
    Every once in a while someone takes the road less traveled, so good on them for that. To abandon the project after essentially 1 race things must've really been off the rails, maybe right from the start?
    Forza Ferrari !
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    2015 SEASON REVIEW – WEC. GREAT POTENTIAL BUT RESULTS LACKING – PART 1
    Ferrari - WEC 2015

    Maranello, 24 December – Second place in the Constructors’, second in the Drivers’, second and third in the Teams’ and a win for team and drivers in the GTE-Am class: for any other constructor, a season like that would not be seen as that bad. However, Ferrari never settles for anything less than victory and it lined up at the start of the 2015 World Endurance Championship (WEC) as the reigning champions after an exciting 2014 season. The 2015 results did not live up to expectations, even though the 458 Italia always looked more than capable of delivering the right results. Unfortunately, a long run of problems and unlucky situations prevented Gianmaria “Gimmi” Bruni and Toni Vilander, at the wheel of the number 51 AF Corse car to hang onto the drivers’ title. These difficulties also meant that James Calado and Davide Rigon in car 71, were unable to take their first win in this category, which would definitely have been well deserved. The season got underway in April at Silverstone with a qualifying session far from simple.

    Vilander and Bruni managed to secure fifth place, while Rigon and Calado, the latter making a mistake, ended up last in class and were even behind the GTE-Am class 98 Aston Martin of Dalla Lana-Lamy-Lauda. There was a scare for Bruni after the start, as he came across a spinning prototype car, but miraculously avoided it, although he almost came to a complete stop. Apart from that, the race ran its course without drama, with both Ferraris rejoining the group. An accident brought out the Full Course Yellow, which means all drivers must stick to a speed of 80 km/h. The AF Corse team used it to attempt a strategy gamble, calling in the 71 car for a complete pit stop. The 51 car came in just for a fuel top-up and got going again immediately. Not long after came another Full Course Yellow and this time the moment was right for bringing in car 51, which managed a pit stop without losing any time. This well thought out strategy from AF Corse propelled the Ferrari into second place, behind the number 92 Porsche of Patrick Pilet and Frederic Makowiecki, which had a problem of its own. Unexpectedly therefore, Bruni and Vilander won the opening round of the season, ahead of the 91 Porsche and the other Ferrari.

    In the GTE-Am class, victory went to the Dalla Lana-Lamy-Lauda Aston Martin ahead of the number 83 AF Corse Ferrari, of Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas and SMP Racing’s 72 car in the hands of Aleksey Basov, Victor Shaytar and Andrea Bertolini, the Italian staying with the team having won the 2014 European Le Mans Series title and now responsible for bringing on the Russian team in the toughest series for enclosed wheel cars.

    The second race got underway on 2 May at Spa-Francorchamps. Once again the Aston Martins shone in qualifying, with MacDowell-Rees-Stanaway taking pole. This time however, Ferrari was more competitive, to the extent that Bruni and Vilander were second with Rigon and Calado starting fourth. At around half distance, Rigon had an accident while attempting a move on the GTE-Am class Porsche number 77. The cars touched at the final corner and the accident almost caught out the 51 car too. Bruni produced a stunning passing move at the final corner. He came alongside the number 99 Aston Martin around the outside at the new Bus Stop, the two cars running side by side through the turn and as they came into the left hand part of the chicane, he had the inside line coming onto the straight and was ahead of his rival. The applause from the grandstands and the cries of delight in the pits stuck in the throat, when the news came that because of a problem at the pit stop, the 51 car had to purge a 60 second stop&go penalty, 60 seconds which seemed like an eternity. The car finished fourth, with the win going to the number 99 Aston Martin. The GTE-Am class produced a carbon copy of the opening round of the season, with the 98 Aston Martin ahead of the AF Corse 83 Ferrari of Perrodo-Collard-Aguas and the SMP Racing 72 car driven by Basov-Shaytar-Bertolini.

    Tomorrow the second part of the 2015 WEC season review.
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  18. #888
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    Great read Rob. I appt it that u keep this thread going. I always follow Ferrari, no matter the class of
    racing in which they participate. :xmascool:

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    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL AT THE WEC

    The FIA World Endurance Championship team would like to wish all our partners, competitors, media and fans all around the world a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year. Enjoy these messages from the paddock and see you in 2016!


    Joyeux Noël

    Frohe Weihnachten

    Buon Natale

    Vrolijk kerstfeest

    Glædelig jul

    メリークリスマス

    圣诞快乐

    Iloista joulua

    عيدميلادمجيد

    Feliz Natal

    СРождеством

    Feliz Navidad
    CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE

  20. #890
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    Buon Natale:xmassmile::xmasbiggrin::xmaswink::xmastongu e::xmascool:

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    Davide Rigon Looks Back At 2015 & Forward To The 488 Era

    Davide Rigon had a very mixed season alongside James Calado in the #71 AF Corse Ferrari during this year’s FIA WEC campaign.

    On one hand, the duo improved dramatically, reducing the gap to the sister #51 car which is always in contention for wins. But on the other, Calado and Rigon failed to score a single victory (aside from being the highest finishing WEC Pro car at Le Mans, though not winning outright they did take (double) maximum WEC points!).


    After their performances throughout 2015, the pair left Bahrain at the end of the season feeling certain that they deserved one. Instead, Porsche took the GTE Pro class title, and with it, wins in the final four races of the year. That’s by no means an indicator for 2016 however, as the brand new Ferrari 488 GTE will debut and if all goes to plan, vault AF Corse to the top its class.

    Rigon, the three-year AF Corse vet out of Thiene, Vicenza, Italy clearly recognises this, and sat down with Stephen Kilbey at the Gulf 12 Hours earlier this month to reflect on his breakout year in the series and look on to the brand new era for Ferrari in GTE.

    Let’s look back at the 2015 season Davide, and in particular, at the big step up that you and James took?

    “It was very close this year between us and the #51, the car was almost the same, I think that Ferrari believe in us as much as they do with the #51. The best thing with the Pro class in the WEC that there’s so many experienced drivers, even Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander in our other car, are clearly two of the best drivers in the world in GT racing, you just learn so much! It’s very tough though, just beating our teammates.


    “James and I also cooperate a lot, more than before, especially during the season, and to be honest we didn’t get the results we hoped for because of luck, not effort.

    “Last year at the end of the season we had a lot of luck, lots of podiums, but this year we had podiums but didn’t win one race. We should have won at least one, but we didn’t because of the weather, issues with the car, things like that. Next year is a new challenge though with the 488, so we have to think about continuing to learn and taking the next step.


    Did the 458 feel old this year, did it feel like you got everything you could out of it by the end of the season?

    “We continued to work on the 458 all the way to the end of the season. There was another department that was working on the 488, but we were concentrated on the car in front of us and getting the maximum out of it. The problem we had was that the BoP wasn’t great for the Ferraris this year, but we don’t want to talk about it, we let others decide.

    “After the Nurburgring we didn’t expect that the Porsche was going to be so quick, I have to say thanks to Ferrari though, because by the end of the year we were close to them once again, sometimes quicker, like at Fuji; and ok, the #51 won at Fuji, but we got pole and if it was dry I think we would have taken that one.

    “We worked a lot on the 458, even though we knew it was time for a new generation, and we knew that it wouldn’t be long before we got to try out the 488.”

    It was in many ways a tough season, because you were so much better as a pair, but didn’t win any races. What was it like being alongside James Calado through all this though? What’s been the key to his improvement this year?

    “He was always a talented driver before, but I think he’s become a good GT driver now. He was very good last year but he made mistakes, ones that cost us a lot of time. Now he’s more consistent, especially over a single stint which is so vital in our category, it’s about aiming for a lap time and trying to produce it over and over.

    “James has also grown a lot; I think I’v played a part in that. We really work together, and he copies me now in some ways like I copy him. We try to put everything together at each circuit, which works for us as a pair.

    “I hope to stay with him next year, if we do we can become World Champions.”

    A lot of winning the title will depend on the new car too, so let’s talk a bit more about the 488 then. How much running have you had in the car?

    “We have all driven it quite a lot, we’ve done some tests. The car is good but I can’t say yet just how it will stack up against the other new cars, like the Ford GT especially. Nobody will know until the season starts next year.

    “The car looks good though, it looks consistent, but we need to wait.”

    The big topic this year seems to be a shift to aero development over sheer horsepower, how different does the 488 feel in that respect?

    “Yeah, with the regs you can have more downforce, for me and James I think it’s good for us because we have come from single-seaters. To be honest now it’s not that far from driving a Formula 3 car; it’s really fun, it’s fantastic to drive because of that, you can really feel the lateral Gs!

    “Physically the car is harder to drive though because it’s overall a quicker car, but it’s going to be the same for everybody because of the regs and the downforce allowances.”

    Did you and the rest of AF Corse’s WEC driver roster have a developmental role with the 488? Did you have any major input?

    “Everybody is working on the car but I can not say that the direction of the car will go one way or the other way because of individual drivers. Everyone does their best in testing but it’s Ferrari who choose the direction of the car and its setup.

    “When we get the cars and the season starts, that’s when we start to shape it to our driving styles. I’m really looking forward to it!”
    CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE

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