Hoping we can get a Ferrari victory at the Nurburgring today, it's not been the happiest of times for a tifoso recently! Forza AF Corse and Risi!
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Hoping we can get a Ferrari victory at the Nurburgring today, it's not been the happiest of times for a tifoso recently! Forza AF Corse and Risi!
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Looks good to me wisepie, Ferrari 1-2, gotta say, some good racing in WEC at the moment
Like you i once was
Like me you will be.
Naughty Word Mod
FERRARI ONE-TWO AT THE 6 HOURS OF NÜRBURGRING
Nürburg, 24 July 2016 – At the Nürburgring, Round 4 of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Ferrari 488 GTE and the AF Corse team erased the disappointment of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The 488 GTE took the two top spots and, finally, James Calado broke the spell with a win in WEC. The British driver, teaming up with “Gimmi” Bruni (with his first win on the 488 GTE), succeeded also thanks to the strategy of the team and gave proof of his universally acknowledged high standards. Davide Rigon and Sam Bird finished in second place on car No. 71 culminating a great comeback race that saw them start in the third to last place on the grid.
GTE-Pro. In GTE-Pro class, Bruni was able to keep his fourth place at the start, while Davide Rigon started out in full attack mode, overtaking immediately all cars of the GTE-Am class and tailing the Porsche that brought the rear of the GTE-Pro group. Shortly after, the Italian driver managed to overtake Christensen too and began chasing the No. 66 Ford. The No. 95 Aston Martin in the lead kept gaining ground, while Bruni lacked the speed in the straight to challenge the No. 67 Ford. At this point, the AF Corse team chose to operate an undercut, stopping the 51 car slightly ahead of plan. James Calado took the wheel and climbed to second place, taking advantage of the troubles of the 67 Ford and of the great work of the mechanics. The two following pit stops took place in full course yellow mode, with the cars forced to travel at 80 km/h: Bruni completed a double stint during which he did a masterpiece overtake of the Aston Martin No. 95 to take first place, while car No. 71 went up to third place. Then, at the start of the last hour, Bird and Rigon took advantage of yet another full course yellow period to leapfrog the Aston Martin, which had stopped under green flag. This completed a great comeback that places them two points away from the top of the standings.
GTE-Am. In GTE-Am class, the 458 Italia GTE of AF Corse team driven by Emmanuel Collard, François Perrodo and Rui Aguas (the only Ferrari in this class) had quite a complicated race. After starting in fourth place with Collard at the wheel, it found itself vying for first place two hours into the race with Perrodo at the wheel. However, at that very moment, the French driver ended in the sand at the Schumacher chicane and lost precious time. To make it even worse, there was a drive-through for speeding during a full course yellow period. However, late in the race, thanks to a great stint by Rui Aguas and yet another yellow flag, Collard, Perrodo, and Aguas were able to climb back to third place in the race won by the Aston Martin of Lamy-Lauda-Dalla Lana, thus confirming themselves solidly in the lead of the championship standings.
CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE
Naughty Word Mod
what an amazing race. So so happy for James to finally get his first win. And #51 to finally get back on top. Was good drive to P1. After pitting 4 laps earlier. Gimmi wasnt happy with how the tyres were going. And that turned out to be big factor. #71 crew were really strong again. There was few FCYs through out the race. The last one, was the helper. As #66 was looking to be doing one stop less, and really would of been close near the end. But the FCY fell our way, and we all pitted at same time.
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i got F1 race recorded. After the high and excitement of this race, think i may give F1 a miss.
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Great result for a Tifoso at Nurburgring, Rob, it wasn't a total failure in Hungary with a solid result and pace, but the circuit probably didn't help us get the positions we needed. But hey, a win for a Ferrari in WEC and who knows, maybe it will rub off on the F1 team! Don't desert the ship, at least it's still afloat....just.Originally Posted by Rob
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Found the race strange viewing. Toyotas were clearly reliving the last lap of Le Mans again, and may well continue to do so until the same event next year. They were otherwise quite invisible during the race with little to no coverage. Otherwise I particularly enjoyed Lotterer manhandling the Porsche out of his way. Strategically they played it well without the usual fawning over a particular now departed engineer.
While it's good the Ferraris won in GTE Pro, I found the fact a 14 year old BoP doped up Aston Martin lead half the race to be a bit of a farce. The category is still severely lacking in integrity in my view.
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few pictures from Marnix- fratelliferrari from yesterday..
glad able help you have great day.
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I knew that fratelliferrari guy would become famous! He's keeping very good company so good luck to him!
Naughty Word Mod
Webber: Audi “ran out of bullets” in duel with Porsche
Reigning FIA World Endurance Champion Mark Webber scored his first win of the 2016 season at the Nurburgring, and believes his team “wore down” the challenge from rivals Audi.
After a disastrous start to the season, the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley took its first win of the season after a thrilling six-hour race between themselves and the chasing Audis.
Even a slow puncture, when Hartley was at the wheel, didn’t derail their bid for victory and they won by over 50s.
“I think we just wore them down,” Webber told Motorsport.com. “They lost some car speed at the end of the race, and had to throw everything at us with even a double stint on the tyres.
“It was a clinical afternoon for us, which was the first time in a long time. It’s nice to have a smooth day. I think car #1 completely deserved the victory. Timo and Brendon were awesome.
“It was nice that Audi ran out of bullets in the end but we expect them to be strong in Mexico.”
Cooler conditions swung battle in Porsche’s favour
Changing track conditions and several full course yellows added an extra layer of difficulty to the event, but the #1 Porsche was able to execute its strategy.
“The track getting a bit cooler in the last two or three hours made it a bit better for us,” added Webber. “We were also very good in the pitlane. The pitstops were very good for us today.
“We’ve still got areas to improve. It’s nice when you can improve and you’re still winning.
“Of course Audi is also in the VW Group, but we still love to beat them. The level was very high today at the front.
“We just have to look at the full course yellows, how we can make them a bit better because they’re swinging the race a bit too much. In the end it was a brilliant performance by Porsche.
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Toyota on Nurburgring struggles: “We were simply too slow”
Toyota says its failure to take the fight to Porsche and Audi in the WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring stems from being “simply too slow” with its high-downforce aero kit.
After showing race-winning potential at both Spa and Le Mans, the Japanese manufacturer was no match for its German rivals on Sunday, its two cars finishing a distant fifth and sixth.
All three LMP1 hybrid teams brought new aerodynamic packages for the Nurburgring race, with WEC rules allowing three different variants across the course of the season.
Technical director Pascal Vasselon explained that the main reason for Toyota’s poor showing was a simple lack of downforce on its new aero kit.
“Immediate analysis would suggest our downforce package was not as good as it was previously,” the Frenchman told Motorsport.com after the race.
“With our previous [pre-Le Mans] package we were nowhere at Silverstone for a similar reason, then in Spa we were more in the window.
“Each track has its ideal ratio, and we have a window where the package is good. Here we were a bit out of the window.
“We can expect to be more in the game at Fuji, Shanghai and Bahrain, these places are much more centered for the window for our package.”
Tyre choice adds to problems
After opting to start the race on a harder Michelin tyre compound, Toyota chose to swap to softer rubber after its first two stints, much like at Spa, amid cooler than expected temperatures at the Nurburgring.
Toyota Motorsport Director Rob Leupen told Motorsport.com: “We were confident [with our tyre choice], it was a bit the Spa effect, but in the end it was not what we expected.
“We had hoped for higher temperatures but we took a wrong decision [starting on hards] which made us a bit off.
“We had good speed in practice and qualifying. Normally we are a bit more modest in qualifying and stronger in the races, but this time it didn’t pan out.”
But Vasselon said that the tyre choice mistake failed to fully account for the pace deficit of the TS050 Hybrid compared to its Porsche and Audi counterparts.
“When we were on the right tyre, we were not quick enough, we were half a second [a lap] down, which means we were simply too slow,” he admitted.
“[We changed tyre compounds] after the second stint. Even though we stabilised the gap [to Porsche and Audi], it was still developing.
"We were not quick enough, beyond the tyre.”
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RACE TO FORGET FOR TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
Sunday 24 July 2016
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing experienced a frustrating afternoon at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, the fourth round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Hopes were high following strong performances at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans, but those were dashed when the TS050 HYBRIDs lost time early in the race due to a tyre compound which was not ideal for the track temperatures.
The #5 car of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima finished fifth, one lap behind the winning Porsche #1. Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi suffered a technical problem on their way to sixth in the #6.
That meant a disappointing debut for the ultra-high-downforce aerodynamic package which has been developed for the remaining WEC races, although competitive lap times later in the race offered some encouragement.
A crowd of 58,000 (weekend figure) watched Kazuki and Mike take the start from the third row on tyres intended for higher track temperatures. Compounds for the first stint must be chosen before qualifying, and the race-day track temperatures proved lower than expected.
While Audi and Porsche fought out a close battle at the front, the TOYOTAs were in a relatively lonely race. After 90 minutes the gap between Sébastien in the fifth-placed #5 was over 40 seconds to the race leader, with the #6 in sixth.
Therefore the team decided to swap tyre compounds on both cars. This improved the situation and brought performance back to a more competitive level, although by that time the leading group was out of reach.
TOYOTA’s challenge was further hampered shortly before the halfway point, when Anthony was forced to pit early for a front end change following contact with a slower car. This dropped the #5 behind its sister car.
The middle section of the race was punctuated by several full course yellows but the TS050 HYBRIDs were running well until the #6 needed five minutes of repairs in the garage. From that point, the target was to reach the chequered flag without further incident, which was achieved.
The WEC season now moves outside of Europe for the first time in 2016 for the fifth round of the season, the inaugural 6 Hours of Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City on 3 September.
Toshio Sato, Team President: “Congratulations to Porsche on a hard-fought victory. The battle at the front was very exciting but unfortunately we were not part of it. It was a tough day for us and we were not competitive enough at the beginning of the race. Things improved later, when we switched tyre compounds, and this showed more of the new package’s potential but it was too late. We will work hard to improve and come back stronger for the overseas races.”
TS050 HYBRID #5 (Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima)
Race: 5th, 193 laps, 6 pit stops. Grid: 6th. Fastest lap: 1min 41.277secs
Anthony Davidson: “We finished where we deserved to today; our speed wasn’t enough over the race. We expected to be better and there were moments when we were, but it was not consistent. It was a tough race traffic-wise and I got caught up; I was in wrong place at the wrong time. We will move on from this and aim for better in Mexico, which is a completely different track.”
Sébastien Buemi: “We didn’t have the right tyres at the start so we changed the compound and that obviously worked better. We knew it was going to be hard here because we lack a bit of downforce compared to the others but unfortunately it was a tougher race than we expected. Now we have to work hard and get back to the right competitive level in Mexico.”
Kazuki Nakajima: “We had a difficult race. Tyre choice was the key and it didn’t work out for us. I think we were anyway a little behind as this track doesn’t suit our car. When I had the right tyres on the car it felt okay and the pace was not bad compared to the others. It was the first proper race finish for our car so at least that’s something to build on. Hopefully we can move forward in the next races.”
TS050 HYBRID #6 (Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi)
Race: 6th, 190 laps, 7 pit stops. Grid: 5th. Fastest lap: 1min 41.472secs
Stéphane Sarrazin: “It was a tough weekend. Unfortunately we had the wrong tyre compound at the beginning and that affected our lap times. After we changed it was better but we were still not as quick as we wanted to be. It wasn’t the performance we expected and this track proved to be difficult for us even with the new aero package. Now we will work hard to be ready for Mexico.”
Mike Conway: “That was a hard race for the whole team. We didn’t have the pace at the beginning and then, when we were looking reasonably competitive, we had an issue with the car. So that was unfortunate for us. The other car had a difficult race as well so it’s not been a good weekend all in all. Hopefully it gets better over the remainder of the season.”
Kamui Kobayashi: “I was hoping for a much better result today. We tried our best but things didn’t go our way. Thanks to the mechanics for their hard work to get the car back out after the issue; they did a great job all day. Nürburgring is not a great track for us so I am hopeful we will improve in Mexico and be back at the front again. I know everyone will be pushing for this.”
6 Hours of Nürburgring results:
1st #1 Porsche (Berhard/Webber/Hartley) 194 laps
2nd #8 Audi (di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis) +53.787secs
3rd #7 Audi (Fässler/Lotterer) +54.483secs
4th #2 Porsche (Dumas/Jani/Lieb) +1min 37.324secs
5th #5 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1 lap
6th #6 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +4 laps
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Great race for us..YAY..
But only 1 458 in class. there used to be more...
Naughty Word Mod
Was really good race. Really enjoyed it.
Sadly, next year there will be no 458.
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Is it the rules or are Ferrari simply phasing the car out?
The 458 is like the P3/4 in a way. Id like to check just how many wins
in all of the different series around the world this car has won.
Naughty Word Mod
488 is the replacement, GTE AM is allowed to use 1 year old cars.
Naughty Word Mod
6 HOURS OF MEXICO: ONE MONTH TO GO!
In a month’s time the inaugural 6 Hours of Mexico Presented by AT&T will almost be upon us and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will be echoing with the glorious sounds of the 34 prototypes and GT cars from the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Until that time teams, drivers, and almost everyone else in the WEC paddock is enjoying some holiday time with families and friends. Enjoy the break everyone and come back rested and stronger than ever!
Naughty Word Mod
Maldonado tipped for WEC debut with Manor in Mexico
Pastor Maldonado could compete in the World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Mexico next month, according to confirmed driver Alfonso Toledano.
During the presentation of the event to be held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexican driver Toledano, who joins Tor Graves in the #44 Manor Oreca 05-Nissan, said ex-Formula 1 driver Maldonado may be the car's third driver.
"We are waiting to confirm the third driver," said Toledano, who will be making his WEC debut. "Pastor Maldonado could be. Now, the team does not have a decision so we need to wait."
Maldonado lost his Renault F1 ride for 2016 after difficulties with sponsors, and has been looking at options in various series.
The winner of the 2012 Spanish GP was initially linked to the Andretti-Herta IndyCar seat that was eventually claimed by fellow F1 outcast Alexander Rossi, and more recently, Maldonado visited the Iowa IndyCar race as guest of KV Racing.
For his part, Ricardo Gonzalez, promoter of the event and owner/driver of RGR Sport team in the LMP2 division, confirmed that there is a seat available to race in Mexico.
"We know there is still a place in the team," said Gonzalez. "We do not know who will occupy it, but we've heard that it can be an experienced driver from Formula 1."
The other option for Manor is Antonio Pizzonia, who raced for Manor at the Nurburgring along with Matt Howson.
The Brazilian, who raced in F1 from 2003 to ’05 for Jaguar and Williams, also competed at the previous iteration of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, while racing in Champ Car for Rocketsports in 2006.
The #45 Manor will be driven by the usual line-up of Matt Rao, Roberto Merhi and Richard Bradley.
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Hey Rob..Whats the word?
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Hey Nova, i been away on holiday past week. And the internet/WIFI has been, whats the word, bad. Top that off somewhere along the way i dropped phone, cracked the screen, and now not working at all. But, apart from that been nice holiday.
We had European Le-Series yesterday, and JMW Ferrari won, will post news up later.
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Looking at Mexico, I thought we had more Ferrari's running.
I hate to say bye to my beloved 458's. Theres only one in this race.
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there has only been 1 all year.
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I'm looking forward to this one!
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Also I hope BT Sport has less ad breaks than MotorsTV.
Cracking start!
#66 spins!
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Oh #51 is under investigation.
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Porsche #1 up into 2nd.
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FCY after an LP2 hits the wall and stops a bit further down the road.
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Great battle between Porsche and Toyota!
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Bruni in the #51 receives a black and white flag :(
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