[WEC Sportscar & GT Championship 2018-2019]

[John]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Absurd. Just absurd.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Many of the affected drivers have kicked up a storm and many others not affected have commented adversley.... the latest to add his disapproval is none other than good mate Jenson Button who is of course now based in Japan, and drives for Honda in JSGT

"It's a shame that a race is changed for one driver when the change hurts so many other drivers who have contracts in place," Alonso's former teammate Jenson Button, now a Super GT driver in Japan, said on Twitter.

And Andre Lotterer said: "Wouldn't it have been a lot easier for everyone if Alonso would just miss a F1 race? Is that going to change much for him?"

Not going to happen, especially after McLaren's statement on the Alonso WEC programme, in which they confirmed Fernando's Toyota deal is to drive only, with no promotional or sponsor work for Toyota permitted, and any clashing sponsors with McLaren that Toyota might have and Fernando is forbidden to even show their logo on his driving suit. He is first and foremost a McLaren F1 driver.

It is absurd that the FIA can make a move for one mans benefit when so many other are detrimentally affected. (Just a thought but is Petit Le Mans an FIA sanctioned event, or something independent and run under an American authority?)

[erwin greven]

It is absurd that the FIA can make a move for one mans benefit when so many other are detrimentally affected. (Just a thought but is Petit Le Mans an FIA sanctioned event, or something independent and run under an American authority?)

No, it is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). Some tracks in the Weathertech Sportscar Championship don't have a FIA grade one grading. Road America for instance. I doubt if Road Atlanta has a grade one.

[Everso Biggyballies]

So in essence no detriment to any FIA sanctioned event and no doubt in making such a decision of moving a date, the fact the revised date would clash with an IMSA event would likely be really a case of who (at the FIA) gives a fuck. IMSA's problem.

[Ian-S]

IMSA should move their date to the original WEC slot lol

[Michkov]

It is absurd that the FIA can make a move for one mans benefit when so many other are detrimentally affected. (Just a thought but is Petit Le Mans an FIA sanctioned event, or something independent and run under an American authority?)

No, it is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). Some tracks in the Weathertech Sportscar Championship don't have a FIA grade one grading. Road America for instance. I doubt if Road Atlanta has a grade one.

Not sure what the tracks grade has to do with this, P2s can run grade 1 and 2 as far as I'm aware. Same as Indaycar so all tracks they race on DP2s can go to as well. Road Atlanta has grade 2, cant find a grading of Elkhart Lake at the moment, but I'd assume it has grade 2 as well.

In the end all the grade does is give the track the ability to host a FIA sanctioned race, not completely sure what this entails but I'd wager it's insurance based. Which would mesh with the increased fees for a higher grading. Keeping mind that you technically can have a full spec grade 1 track but only apply for a grade 4 licence. For example, the current Kyalami is a grade 1 track but only licenced to grade 2.

For further details consult FIA Appendix Oscar

[erwin greven]

FIA Grading circuits

Road America, or Elkhart Lake has a Grade 2.

[erwin greven]

Kubica to test for Manor LMP1 squad at Aragon

Robert Kubica could race in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Manor LMP1 team this year if a test with the British team next week goes smoothly.

After missing out on a full-time Formula 1 comeback with Williams to Sergey Sirotkin, Kubica remains keen on a return to competition in 2018 alongside his reserve driver commitments with the Grove-based team.

He will join Manor for a three-day test at the Aragon circuit in Spain to sample the British squad’s Mecachrome-powered Ginetta G60-LT-P1, starting on Monday.

Should the test prove successful, Kubica would be set to join two-time F1 champion and new Toyota signing Fernando Alonso on the WEC grid this season.
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He was set to race for the ByKolles team last year but withdrew ahead of the opening race at Silverstone.

Manor will enter two cars in the LMP1 division of the 2018/19 season under the CEFC TRSM Racing banner, with Oliver Rowland and Charlie Robertson the first two drivers confirmed for the programme.

WEC’s controversial decision to grant Fuji a change of date to avoid a clash with F1 would mean Kubica could contest all the championship’s races this year – including the Le Mans 24 Hours – without affecting his Williams commitments.

Kubica previously raced for Manor back in 2004 in the Macau Grand Prix alongside Lewis Hamilton, beating the Briton to pole position and finishing second in the main event behind Alexandre Premat.

https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/kub ... n-1006141/

[erwin greven]

WEC could penalise privateer LMP1s if faster than Toyota

FIA World Endurance Championship rule makers have reserved the right to penalise LMP1 privateers if they outperform the factory Toyotas.

WEC promoter the Automobile de l'Ouest has stated that there will be a system of penalties in place for the 2018/19 WEC superseason to ensure a balance between the non-hybrid privateers and the hybrid Toyota factory cars in LMP1.

The ACO has yet to fully disclose or explain the procedure, but it reflects the fact that three new cars in the Ginetta, Dallara-built BR1 and the Rebellion developed by Oreca are arriving in LMP1 in 2018.

It has been reliant on data provided by the constructors in its formulation of the Equivalence of Technology designed to give non-hybrid cars lap-time parity with hybrids.

ACO sporting director Vincent Beaumesnil told Motorsport.com: "There will be a penalty system, of which we will release details later, in case a non-hybrid car is faster than a hybrid.

"The reason for a non-hybrid going faster can only be that we have not been given the correct data [by the relevant constructor]."

"We are saying that we have given you a certain level of performance and if you are above this level, you have misled us."

He said the system was "quite clever" and "would not disrupt the racing".

The principle of the new system is laid down in the 2018/19 sporting regulations, which state: "All competitors and manufacturers that deliberately provided misinformation, tried to influence the EoT process, or whose level of performance is higher than the expected result may be sanctioned with a penalty before, during or after a race."

The rules lay down a minimum penalty of a five-minute stop-go and state that a one-lap penalty can be awarded at the end of the race.

This is primarily aimed at the opening two rounds of the season, May's Spa race and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The EoT cannot be modified prior to Le Mans, after which it can be changed if necessary based on the data collected during the opening races. It is then set in stone until the following season.

Beaumesnil stressed that the privateers would not be given any performance breaks after Spa should they prove substantially slower than the Toyota TS050 Hybrids.

The outright performance of the TS050 Hybrid has not been reduced on last season's levels, only its fuel allocation (from 44.1kg to 35.1kg) to reduce the length of stints between pitstops.

https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/pri ... y-1004986/

What else could Toyota think of not winning the Le Mans 2018 with Alonso? Audi and Porsche aren't there and the non hybrids can not be faster than you? If you fail now....

[MonteCristo]

Jesus. Make a car faster than another because you do a better job, and by the rules we'll penalise you? What a fkn stupid mess.

[erwin greven]

They want to BoP the class in such a way that they try to equalize both technology. EoT. If the non-hybrid teams sandbag they are going to be penalized.

[MonteCristo]

Equalising technologies is stupid if you in any way open up technologies to be explored. It defies the whole purpose.

[Everso Biggyballies]

That^^

[Ian-S]

Loosely translated is they don't want any of the old, kitten killing technology being better than the new fangled planet saving bullshit stuff, even though anybody who understands the technology knows given a level playing field, kitten killers would wipe the floor with the bullshit stuff.

[theracer120]

Also they probably don't want Toyota to leave because they got beaten by a small sports car company's car whose entry is being run by a failed F1 team and some other non-road car building privateers.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Also they probably don't want Toyota to leave because they got beaten by a small sports car company's car whose entry is being run by a failed F1 team and some other non-road car building privateers.

You mean another failed F1 team.....