2023 [WEC] Sebring 1000 miles

[erwin greven]

[erwin greven]

[Cheeveer]

A bit worrying Peugeot is so far behind still.

https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/wec ... /10443946/

[Everso Biggyballies]

A bit worrying Peugeot is so far behind still.

https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/wec ... /10443946/

Crikey.... slower than the fastest LMP2

[Everso Biggyballies]

LIVE Free Practice 3 (English) | 2023 1000 Miles of Sebring | FIA WEC
WEC youtube channel

Watch live from Sebring the FP3 of the FIA World Endurance Championship season opening race.
Starts in half an hour

[erwin greven]

Ferrari Beats Toyota to Shock 1000M Sebring Pole

Antonio Fuoco puts No. 50 Ferrari 499P on pole for 1000 Miles of Sebring…



Antonio Fuoco claimed the first pole position for the new Ferrari 499P ahead of the Italian LMH car’s FIA World Endurance Championship debut at Sebring International Raceway.

After Toyota led last weekend’s Prologue test and all Free Practice sessions, Fuoco shocked the Japanese manufacturer in qualifying by reeling off a time of 1:45.067.

The Italian beat Brendon Hartley in the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid by 0.214 seconds, while Kamui Kobayashi qualified third in the sister Toyota on a 1:45.548.

Ferrari AF Corse sandwiched the two Toyotas as Alessandro Pier Guidi took fourth with a time of 1:45.874.

Alex Lynn put Cadillac squad Chip Ganassi Racing fifth in the highest-placed LMDh car, ahead of the two LMDh-spec Porsche 963s from Porsche Penske Motorsport.

Peugeot qualified eighth and ninth, with the French manufacturer’s best hybrid-powered 9X8 LMH car ending up 2.3 seconds off the pace.

Glickenhaus Racing beat Floyd Vanwall Racing Team in the battle between the non-hybrid LMH constructors, with Olivier Pla finishing just under two-tenths ahead of Tom Dillmann.

In LMP2, Oliver Jarvis broke the 1:50 barrier to claim the top spot for United Autosports.

The reigning IMSA DPi champion registered a time of 1:49.974 with six and a half minutes to go and stayed at the top of the pile until the end.

Jarvis squeezed ahead of earlier pacesetter Pietro Fittipaldi by 0.093 seconds, putting the No. 23 Oreca 07 Gibson on the front of the grid alongside the No. 28 JOTA Oreca.

Behind Fittipaldi was Team WRT driver Robin Frijns, while Matthieu Vaxiviere produced a late improvement to take fourth for Alpine Elf Team, which won the 1000 Miles of Sebring outright last year as a Hypercar team.

Bovy Beats Keating in GTE-Am Battle

Sarah Bovy claimed the GTE-Am pole for Iron Dames ahead of the Italian team’s first race with Porsche after the Belgian driver beat Ben Keating in a to-and-fro battle.

Bovy and Corvette Racing’s Keating exchanged the fastest lap several times during the 15-minute session reserved for Bronze-rated drivers. The Iron Dames driver ultimately held sway with a time of 1:58.949 that beat Keating’s best effort by four-tenths.

Ahmad Al Harthy slotted Aston Martin squad ORT by TF Sport into third, ahead of the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Luis Perez Companc.

The other GTE-Am driver to break the two-minute barrier was Stefano Costantino who placed fifth aboard AF Corse’s No. 21 Ferrari.

The 1000 Miles of Sebring takes the green flag Friday at 12 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Qualifying

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/fer ... ring-pole/

[Everso Biggyballies]

Got to say I am a bit surprised and had expected a Toyota pole. Shame there is such a spread between the Ferrari and the Toyota front row times.... Peugeot Glick and Vanwall pretty much 3-4 seconds of the pole time. (ok one Peugeot is 2.5 off but the lead Peugeot is nearly a second off the next Pug, though is only one position ahead....)

I guess the race is another game altogether.

[erwin greven]

[erwin greven]

Sebring WEC Thursday Notebook

Daniel Lloyd’s Thursday notebook on eve of the FIA WEC season-opener at Sebring…



***With Antonio Fuoco’s qualifying result aboard the No. 50 Ferrari 499P, AF Corse becomes the first team to take pole position in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s top prototype division, LMP2, GTE-Pro and GTE-Am.

***Fuoco set a new Hypercar lap record at Sebring with his time of 1:45.067. Last year’s record had already been broken by Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi in Free Practice 2. Ferrari improved on its best lap time of the week by 1.7 seconds in qualifying.

***When asked if Toyota was surprised at Ferrari’s surge to pole, the Japanese manufacturer’s technical director Pascal Vasselon said: “Yes and no. We knew our colleagues from Ferrari had something in the pocket.”

***Similarly to much of 2022, the battle for pole in GTE-Am was fought between Sarah Bovy and Ben Keating, but Bovy expects that the rest of the class will become involved in the battle for qualifying honors in future rounds. “It was the first quali of the year, it was the first quali with the cold tires,” she said. “I’m quite sure that there is some potential for some other driver to come into that close fight.”

***Bovy gave Porsche its first GTE-Am pole since Julien Andlauer at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2021, ending a run of eight qualifying sessions without such a result.

***LMP2 polesitter Oliver Jarvis claimed his first WEC class pole since the 2017 round at the Nürburgring. The British driver also earned United Autosports’ eighth WEC pole.

***Jarvis admitted that he was surprised to be the only LMP2 driver to break the 1:50 barrier. “I wouldn’t say it was an incredible lap,” he said. “I still had a little more on the table, but that’s Sebring. It’s so hard to get the perfect lap.”

***Toyota’s Jose Maria Lopez told Sportscar365 that he had “no warning” before his crash at Turn 17 during FP3. The Argentinian driver spun on his second lap, but dismissed cold tires as the possible root cause. “Maybe [temperatures] were a bit low, but I don’t think it’s 100 percent what happened. I take the blame and it was something about the line and a bump that I hit when I braked.”

***The Vanwall Vandervell 680 Gibson encountered an electronic control unit problem during FP3 when it stopped shortly after leaving the pits. Tom Dillmann went on to qualify 11th in Hypercar, 4.2 seconds off pole. “Quali was more of a Free Practice,” Dillmann told Sportscar365. “We were chasing setup session after session. A finish would be a good result – we haven’t done more than two hours of [continuous] testing”.

***The WEC on Thursday announced an agreement with rental car company Avis which has become the Official Vehicle Rental Services Premium Partner of the championship. Avis electric-powered rentals will be promoted as an “option for fans to travel sustainably to each event” as well as for WEC and team personnel.

***Michelin and Goodyear have set the minimum tire pressure requirements and camber limits for Hypercar and LMP2 respectively. Hypercar’s minimum tire pressure is 1.8 bar on the front and rear, while the lowest permitted pressure in LMP2 is 1.8 bar all around.

***The static camber range for Hypercar is -3 degrees to -1 degree on the front and -2.8 degrees to -1 degree on the rear. For LMP2, the minimum camber values are -2.6 degrees on the front and -1.6 degrees on the rear.

***ACO competition director Thierry Bouvet and FIA Director of Circuit Sport Marek Nawarecki outlined why the Hypercar BoP values Sebring are slightly different than the values for Portimao, Spa and Le Mans. “It’s the same BoP, but we have a slightly different value for this track,” he said. “Just to have a more accurate balance.” Bouvet added: “That’s the result from the simulations.”

***There are three new nationalities competing in WEC this year. Liechtenstein’s Matthias Kaiser, Oman’s Ahmad Al Harthy and Romania’s Filip Ugran are all making their full-season debuts. Flags of nationalities represented on the grid are flying above the temporary team offices in the WEC paddock.

***Olivier Pla and Christian Ried are the only drivers in the field to have participated in all four of the championship’s Sebring rounds in 2012, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Kevin Estre has also been at all three, however his participation in the 2012 race came as a member of the American Le Mans Series field.

***MDK Motorsports team owner Mark Kvamme said he is “working through” a prospective GTE-Am effort at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in GTE-Am with an already confirmed entry. Kvamme teamed with Jason Hart and Renger van der Zande in a JMW Motorsport-run Ferrari 488 GTE Evo in last year’s edition.

***Kvamme told Sportscar365 that he’s eying a potential full-season WEC effort next year, under the MDK banner, although admitted he’s cognizant of the world championship’s rumored limitation of two cars per GT3 brand in the new-for-2024 LMGT3 category and the likely high demand for entries.

***Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Stephen Mitas is also calling strategy on the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R this week. Mitas is working with lead engineer Carlo Vermeulen, performance engineer Carlo Miano and crew chief Dane Beamsley.

***CGR is keeping its WEC Hypercar and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP crews separate for the Sebring double-header event.

***Cadillac’s Alex Lynn unusually pitted at the start of qualifying, before going on to set the fifth-fastest lap time. “We just wanted him to get a little bit of a feel and then give him a set of tires for quali, and find a gap to try and do the best we could,” said Mitas, who said the CGR squad came away “happy” with its performance.

***Van der Zande is excited about the prospect of taking part in the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with CGR, competing his native Europe with his ‘American racing family.’ “Sometimes in Europe or in Holland, it’s hard to explain what we’re doing here sometimes,” the Dutchman told Sportscar365. “To go with [Ganassi] with them to my European grounds and try to fight for overall wins is something very special.”

***Inter Europol Competition is yet to fill its second LMP2 car for Le Mans according to team principal Sascha Fassbender. Charles Crews is named in the No. 32 Oreca on the entry list but it’s understood that the American is a placeholder. “We have chances to go Pro-Am or to go with a Pro lineup but the numbers always need to be right,” said Fassbender.

***The 1000 Miles of Sebring will take place exactly on the 11th anniversary of the WEC’s first race, which was also held at the Floridian circuit in 2012.

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/seb ... otebook-3/

[erwin greven]

SEBRING 1000 MILES ABOUT TO START.

TWO FORMATION LAPS.

[erwin greven]

Oh dear... Peugeot #94 immediately in the pits

GREEEN FLAAAAAG!!!

[erwin greven]

Both Pugs in troubles!!!! Nooooooo (Pug 206SW driver)

[erwin greven]

Massive crash. Safety Car.

[theracer120]

The #7 Toyota won from its teammate, the #50 Ferrari, #2 Cadillac and #5 Porsche.

The other Ferrari collided with a GT Ferrari, spun across the track and collected a GT Porsche but both cars kept going though the Ferrari lost many laps.

Peugeot had a terrible day with both cars finishing behind the Vanwall despite the Vanwall having some issues of its own. The Glickenhaus dropped out fairly early in the race.

The #48 LMP2 and #33 Corvette won the other classes.

[erwin greven]

Toyota Beats Hypercar Newcomers to Take Sebring 1-2

1-2 for Toyota Gazoo Racing as reigning champion beats Hypercar newcomers…



Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez won the 1000 Miles of Sebring as Toyota Gazoo Racing beat the Hypercar newcomers to take a dominant 1-2 finish.

The Japanese manufacturer opened its FIA World Endurance Championship title defense by seeing off pole-sitter Ferrari AF Corse and the LMDh machinery from Porsche and Cadillac.

Conway finished 2.168 seconds clear of Brendon Hartley who shared the No. 8 Toyota with Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa.

AF Corse achieved an outright podium on the debut of the Ferrari 499P, although the Italian factory team’s No. 50 car driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen ended up two laps behind the winner.

Chip Ganassi Racing took fourth with the sole Cadillac V-Series.R in the field ahead of the two Penske-run Porsche 963s.

Toyota took control of the season-opener in the first hour when Fuoco pitted under a safety car period that was caused by a huge roll at Turn 1 for Luis Perez Companc.

Both Ferraris came in from first and fourth, releasing Toyota into a commanding one-two position that it held until the end.

The No. 8 led until shortly before the five-hour mark when Kobayashi was instructed past Hartley.

The gap between the Toyotas expanded and contracted during a pair of stints between Lopez and Hirakwa, before Kobayashi increased the gap over Buemi to more than ten seconds.

Conway and Hartley then took the reins for the final stint and the No. 8 car ate into the gap, however the No. 7 held on to win for an early drivers’ championship lead.

Instead of benefiting from its alternate pit strategy, Ferrari moved into a battle for the final podium spot against Porsche Penske Motorsport and Chip Ganassi Racing.

The three manufacturers battled each other directly at times until the Ferrari gained the upper hand when Molina overtook the No. 6 Porsche 963 of Andre Lotterer at the halfway mark

Both Porsches lost time with lengthy pit stops in the second half, which contributed to the Ferrari getting away and the Cadillac reaching fourth. Earl Bamber ended up ten seconds behind Fuoco in the Cadillac that he shared with Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook.

The No. 5 Porsche completed the top five, with Frederic Makowiecki crossing the line two laps behind Bamber and 23 seconds ahead of his No. 6 teammate Kevin Estre.

The No. 51 Ferrari was also in podium contention for a while, but it dropped out of the mix when Alessandro Pier Guidi made contact with a pair of GTE-Am cars after six hours.

The reigning GTE-Pro world champion had a side-on touch with Francesco Castellacci at Turn 15, which caused Pier Guidi to lose control and hit the rear of the Project 1-AO Porsche 911 RSR-19.

While Ferrari saw one of its LMH cars hit trouble, fellow LMH manufacturer Peugeot had a disastrous race as both of its hybrid-powered 9X8s encountered significant delays.

The No. 94 Peugeot got stuck in first gear on the formation lap before a problem with the hybrid system took hold later on.

Paul Di Resta kept the sister Peugeot with the other Hypercars in the opening hour, but the No. 93 car dropped out of contention in the second hour with an unspecified issue.

Floyd Vanwall Racing Team had a reliable run behind the main Hypercar pack for large portions of the race, although an incident with one of the Peugeots at Turn 17 caused rear-end damage.

Glickenhaus, meanwhile, encountered a problem with the ignition early on and retired after stopping on track.

JOTA, Corvette Take Category Honors

Hertz Team JOTA prevailed in the LMP2 class with its No. 48 Oreca 07 Gibson driven by Will Stevens, Yifei Ye and David Beckmann, while Corvette Racing won in its GTE-Am debut.

JOTA beat Prema Racing in a fuel mileage battle, as Stevens profited from a late fuel splash for Mirko Bortolotti with three minutes to go.

Bortolotti, Daniil Kvyat and Doriane Pin dropped to third behind the No. 22 United Autosports Oreca of Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson and Frederick Lubin.

United controlled the first few stints of the race with its pole-sitting No. 23 car until Josh Pierson retired with a loss of drive that was reportedly caused by a loose onboard camera.

In GTE-Am, Corvette Racing made a successful start to its first GTE-Am campaign as Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone and Ben Keating won by a lap.

The American team, which raced in the discontinued GTE-Pro class last year, controlled the second half of the race after its main rival Iron Dames encountered damage in the third hour.

Rahel Frey bounced over the grass at the exit of Turn 1, causing parts of the rear bodywork to detach from her class pole-sitting Porsche 911 RSR-19.

A different Porsche – the No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing example – finished second in class, 15 seconds ahead of the No. 57 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo in third.

RESULTS: 1000 Miles of Sebring

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/toy ... bring-1-2/