2013 WEC, IMSA&ELMS News

[Rob]

TOYOTA TAKE SECOND CONSECUTIVE POLE POSITION


As dusk fell over the Bahrain International Circuit and temperatures started to drop (to 22oC, with 88% humidity), the five LMP1s and 9 LMP2s took to the track for the final qualifying session of the year. At the end of the typically tense 25 minute session, it was a Toyota Racing front row lock out, the Japanese manufacturer claiming its second consecutive pole position.

The use of a different Michelin compound in qualifying compared to this morning’s third and final practice session was, according to Kazuki Nakajima, key to the No.7 TS 030 Hybrid’s claim on pole position. The Japanese driver and his team mate Alex Wurz set a combined fastest average time of 1:42.449 to put them ahead of the No.8 Toyota of Sarrazin-Davidson by 0.332 seconds.

Two tenths of a second behind the Toyotas was the first of the two Audi R18 e-tron quattros, the No.1 of Lotterer-Fassler with a combined time of 1:42.976 – despite a last minute effort by Fassler to try and improve the average lap time of the two drivers. In fourth place was the No.2 Audi, the World Champions Elect just 0.169 seconds behind their team mates, while in fifth overall was the No.12 LMP1 Privateer entry of Rebellion Racing, Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche having completed qualifying duties.


Pecom Racing’s No.49 ORECA 03 Nissan, driven by Nicolas Minassian and Pierre Kaffer, claimed its first pole position since the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps earlier this season, with a best average lap time of 1:50.941. This put the only Michelin-shod car in the LMP2 class ahead of all its competitors by the tiny margin of 0.062 seconds, the No.26 G-Drive Racing ORECA Nissan of Martin-Conway taking second place in the category.

The No.24 OAK Racing Morgan Nissan of Pla-Brundle will start from third place in the class, their lap time of 1:51.718 placing them ahead of the No.41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Nissan – newcomer to the FIA WEC Jon Lancaster doing a good job alongside Bjorn Wirdheim in that car to put them ahead of some more established competitors.

The No.31 Lotus Praga of Vitantonio Liuzzi and another newcomer from single-seaters, Lucas Auer, overcame a long delay in the pits for technical issues to take 7th in class – the young Austrian coping well with late-session pressure.

The 28 cars for the 6 Hours of Bahrain will be back on the grid tomorrow for the race into darkness, beginning at 15:00 hours local. Before then fans can enjoy a pit walk (12:45 to 13:30) and a driver autograph session (12:50-13:20) – all within the price of the entry ticket.

Full results can be found HERE

16:48:43 All 14 LMP cars set a time

16:48:12 In LMP2 No.49 Pecom Oreca fastest from No.26 G-Drive Oreca and No.24 Oak Morgan

16:46:41 In LMP1 No.7 first from No.8 Toyota and No.1 Audi

16:45:49 Chequered Flag

16:44:42 Fassler back out in No.1 Audi

16:42:32 Toyotas lock out front row as Audis in pits

16:41:29 1:50.941 average for No.49 Oreca from No.26 Oreca

16:39:06 1:51.008 now fastest 4 lap ave in LMP2 for No. 49 ORECA

16:38:11 1:53.105 4 lap ave for No.25 Oreca fastest in LMP2

16:37:01 2:03 lap for Davidson - very slow?

16:36:02 1:42.449 4 lap ave for No.7 Toyota fastest

16:35:19 1:43.116 first 4 lap ave for No.1 Audi

16:34:31 No.7 Toyota sets 3 lap ave of 1:42.356

16:33:57 No.1 Audi first to set 3 lap ave with 1:42.685

16:32:50 Fassler and McNish in Audis and Nakajima and Davidson in Toyotas

16:30:58 All LMP cars have done 2 timed laps except No.31 Lotus

16:29:28 1:50.212 fastest 2 lap ave in LMP2 for No.49 Oreca

16:28:46 Wurz in No.7 in pit lane No.1 Audi also in

16:27:40 1:42.218 fastest 2 lap ave for No.7 Toyota

16:26:52 1:50.251 for No.49 Oreca fastest in LMP2

16:25:36 1:42.257 for No.7 Toyota

16:24:54 1:42.252 for No.1Audi

16:23:34 McNish will be 2nd qualifying driver in No.2 Audi

16:22:59 Lotterer and Duval in Audis Wurz and Sarrazinn in Toyotas

16:21:35 Tyre change for No.8 Toyota

16:20:40 Green Flag

16:19:54 No.7 Toyota at head of queue

16:18:46 2 Minutes to LMP qualifying

[Rob]

Race started few minutes ago, #92 Porsche just got collected by the #32 Lotus, left rear damage.

[Rob]

#51 currently running P2 in class.

[Rob]

TOYOTA Racing ‏@Toyota_Hybrid 33s
Position swap at the front, car no. 8 @Sebastien_buemi no leads followed by car no. 7 @Nico_Lapierre #FIAWEC #6hBAH #Toyota

[Rob]

#51 with Vilander at the wheel is leading GTE Pro

()

[Rob]

#12 Rebellion on fire, shame way to finish the year. Had a cracking year.

[Rob]

Alianora La Canta ‏@lacanta 3m
#fiawec #6HBAH The #97 Aston (Turner P15) pits early again due to tyres. Barring disaster, it appears GTE-Pro title will be Ferrari's.

[Rob]

#7 Toyota pulled over just at the end of the pit lane. Was going along main straight.

[Rob]

Andrew Cotton ‏@RacecarEd 3s
Bruni's lap times are consistently quick...2m00 compared to 2'02 for Mucke and 2'01 for Pilet and Kobayashi...

[Rob]

#51 leading still and now #71 AF Corse 2nd

[Rob]

#2 Audi just pulled over.

[Rob]

something up with #71 front right. Came into pits, Fisi saying doesnt feel right.

[Rob]

#51 still leading GTE Pro, #97 Aston pulled into pits 5 min ago, seems a problem on engine. Left bank.

[Rob]

Aston Martin Racing ‏@AMR_Official 45s
Unfortunately, the #97 has had to retire from the race

[Rob]

now the #99 Aston is in pits, same problem as before on #97. shame. Bad luck for them.

[Rob]

As it stands now, just over 30 minutes left, Bruni will be GTE Pro Champ, and AF Corse teams' champions and Ferrari constructors' champions.

[Rob]

Yeeeeeessssss Bruni driver world champ, AF Corse teams title and Ferrari wraps up Manufacture title.

[Rob]

FERRARI CELEBRATE DOUBLE WORLD ENDURANCE CUP VICTORIES

It was a day of extreme highs and lows for many of the entrants in the LMGTE Pro and Am classes of the 6 Hours of Bahrain. At the chequered flag for the final round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, it was Ferrari and AF Corse who were celebrating after winning three titles including the coveted World Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers by a margin of 8.5 points over Aston Martin.

The No.51 Ferrari 458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander dominated the race after the first 40 laps, crossing the finish line to wild applause from the AF Corse team who – like the two drivers, performed faultlessly throughout the race. Following the demise of the two LMGTE Pro Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8s, both to an engine problem, Ferrari was unchallenged in securing the World Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers and, for Bruni, the World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers.

Aston Martin Racing had been looking in line to win the GT Manufacturers’ title, thanks to the No.99 Vantage V8 of Bruno Senna, Pedro Lamy and Richie Stanaway but suffered heartbreak when it was brought into the pits with the terminal engine issue. This followed the earlier retirement of the No.97 Vantage of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke who had been leading the LMGTE Pro Drivers’ points classification going into the race.

Second in class went to the No.91 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Pilet, ahead of the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari of Kamui Kobayashi and Giancarlo Fisichella. Although the Italian had driven with Bruni for the remainder of the season, the decision by Ferrari to split the pairings for this final race means that on the third step of the podium applauding his friend and team mate instead of alongside him. Fourth in class was the No.92 Porsche 911 RSR of Marc Lieb, who overcame sickness to compete today, and Richard Lietz.

Softening the blow for Aston Martin Racing was the double success of a race win for the No.95 Vantage V8 of Nicki Thiim, Kristian Poulsen and Christoffer Nygaard, and the sealing of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers’ title for Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall. Their fifth place finish, secured with their team mate Roald Goethe, was enough to confirm that the title was theirs.

Second in class was the No.81 8Star Motorsport Ferrari and this result was good enough to give the American/Italian team, which is run in association with AF Corse, the LMGTE Am Teams’ title by 3 points over Aston Martin Racing’s No.96. The No.76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche of Raymond Narac, Jean-Karl Vernay and Markus Palttala saw its chance of winning titles wiped out by contact with a prototype. The repairs to its damaged suspension meant that it finished 11 laps behind the class leader. Third in LMGTE Am went to the No.61 AF Corse entry of Matt Griffin, Emanuel Collard and Francois Perrodo – the result adding icing to Italian team’s cake.

2014 will soon be upon us and the battles seen this season will recommence at Silverstone on the 20th April.

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

Felt sorry for these to crews, had a storming year, gave us right good fight and battles.

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

ASTON MARTIN DENIED WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN BAHRAIN

30 November 2013, Bahrain - Aston Martin Racing has finished second in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) after an eventful final round of the series, the Six Hours of Bahrain, which saw the British racing team cruelly denied the manufacturers’ world championship title in the final hour.

After an intense, season-long battle with Ferrari and Porsche, the team went into the final round leading the LMGTE Manufacturers’ World Cup. Luck, however, was not on the side of the team and, after 109 laps of the International Circuit of Bahrain, the #97 Vantage GTE was forced to retire leaving the #99 and #95 Vantage GTEs to battle on to try and score enough points.

“We had a problem with the engine,” comments Darren Turner (GB), who shared the #97 machine with Stefan Mucke (DE). “It’s such a rare issue and it’s incredibly disappointing – I feel a bit like we were robbed of the Trophy for GTE Pro Drivers. It wasn’t the end we hoped for but we took it to the wire and gave it our best shot and the rest of the team continued on in the spirit that has carried us through this year.”

With little more than an hour to go, the #99 of Bruno Senna (BR), Pedro Lamy (PT) and Richie Stanaway (NZ) was in a comfortable third and in line to take 15 points. The #95 was leading the GTE Am class and seventh overall, now contributing a vital six manufacturer points for the team, still enough for it to take the most coveted title in international GT racing.

However, disaster struck when Lamy was forced to bring the #99 into the garage with an engine issue, ending the hopes of the Aston Martin Racing team and its fans in the Manufacturers' title race.

Still upholding team honours, though, was the #95 Vantage GTE which took the chequered flag in the GTE Am class by a comfortable margin to give the all-Danish trio of Christoffer Nygaard, Kristian Poulsen and Nicki Thiim their third win of the year.

“We are really happy to convert a pole into a win,” comments Nygaard. “All year, the pace was there but so many small problems that were out of our hands stopped us from winning. It really came together today but I didn’t believe we were going to win until we crossed the line!”

“Yes, it was a near perfect first race,” adds Thiim. “We struggled with our tyres in the first stint as the conditions were so hot but we managed them well, which is testament to how good the car is. As the sun went down the temperatures cooled and we showed strong pace and we all did a great job to control the gap. The whole team did a great job.”

Further consolation for the team came as the #96 Vantage GTE celebrated championship success, with British drivers Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall clinching the Trophy for GTE Am Drivers, ably supported by Roald Goethe who returned to share the driving duties for the season finale.

“It’s a dream come true,” comments Campbell-Walter. “I have three thank you messages; the first is for Stuart for being a fantastic team-mate all year, the second is for Roald, without him we wouldn’t be here at all and the third is for the team at Aston Martin Racing.”

“It looked like we weren’t going to do it but I always say that as long as you are in the race you can win it and we have proved that this year,” adds Hall.

John Gaw, Team Principal comments: “Engine failure is so rare, so for it to happen to us twice in one race is of course highly unusual. We came here at the end of an incredibly strong year and, thanks to fantastic work by all of the team, we were leading the championship. We did everything within our control to leave here champions and we can all be very proud. The outcome was not what we wanted on the day and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be in GTE Pro.

"However, everyone at Aston Martin Racing is so proud of the #96 crew for winning the Trophy for GTE Am Drivers and it was fitting that the #95 car finished the season on a high with its third race win of the season.”

Aston Martin Racing will announce its 2014 works team programme in the early part of next year. Until then, keep up-to-date on the website www.astonmartin.com/racing on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/astonmartinracing and on Twitter using @amr_official.

- ENDS -

[Rob]

[Rob]

Victory in Bahrain, three titles won

SAKHIR, December 1st - Triple top in Bahrain: Gianmaria Bruni, Ferrari and AF
Corse took all three titles in the GTE Pro category. An extraordinary outcome to the “Bahrain 6 Hours”, the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

At Sakhir, few hours ago, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander – in their AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia #51 – took the chequered flag in first position giving the three titles. Giancarlo Fisichella, who played a key role in Bruni’s successes earlier in the year, is vice-champion: in Bahrain, the F1 former, raced together with Kamui Kobayashi to maximise the team’s chances of success.

Starting from fourth on the grid, the two drivers and their No 51 Ferrari moved into a solid lead after the first pit stop (at the end of the first hour), maintaining it from then on. No one could match their pace and their rivals were given no chance as as could be seen from the fact: the 43 second lead over the Bergmeister-Pilet Porsche at the flag is proof of what a great day it was for the 458 GT2. The other Ferrari 458 ItaliaGT2 in the GTE Pro, driven by Fisichella and Kobayashi, finished third in Bahrain tooking a double podium at the end of the race for Ferrari and AF Corse.

GTE AM - A great day was completed by 8 Star Motorsport taking the team title in the GTE AM category, thanks to a second place for Enzo Potolicchio, Rui Aguas
and Davide Rigon in their 458 Italia #81. Potolicchio and Aguas are second in the Drivers standing. Considering the third place thanks to a great perfomance of Matt Griffin, Francois Perrodo and Emmanuel Collard in the AF Corse Ferrari 458 #61, the FIA World Endurance Champioship ended for Ferrari and AF Corse in the best way possibile.

MONTEZEMOLO PLEASED – President Luca di Montezemolo was very pleased to hear about the triumphant performance from the 458 GT2 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. “I am very happy that we have won everything for a second consecutive year,” he told www.ferrari.com. “This result rewards AF Corse’s efforts and consistency and I congratulate them on it. I am also very pleased to see an Italian driver crowned world champion: Bruni has been with us for a long time now and he deserves this victory. The 458 Italia is an amazing car and what it has achieved over the past years on the racing front confirms that fact.”

Riccardo Delfanti - AF Corse Press Office

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Nova]

Bravo Ferrari..Great news, big news...big, great news...