[WEC Race] 2014 FIA WEC - Round 1 - Silverstone

[Aysedasi]

I've been searching my photos, I'm sure I took a picture of you. I'm going to have to find it now and post it for posterity!

Pink Panther eh? Like this one? Note the name on the door.....

[Bandicoot17]

Less rain forecast. Latest BBC is no rain till about 4. Thank god for that

[outnumbered]

Originally Posted by Bandicoot17

Less rain forecast. Latest BBC is no rain till about 4. Thank god for that

Just seen the forecast - it looks pretty good now actually. Maybe the odd shower to spice things up a bit !

I only saw the WEC quali. today so really looking forward to seeing the main event tomorrow...

[Intimidator]

Originally Posted by Mal

Go and stand at the entry to Becketts for an hour and then come back and say it is boring...... if you can you have no petrol in your veins.

Becketts is part of the old layout. With Maggots and Chapel it's the best sector of the track. I can't be at Silverstone this year and I've never been there than I watch on TV and watching on TV the track doesn't look like one of the best

[nasdriv87]

here's LMP qualy video!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQa-z4xpFIk

BTW, Did someone found out GT qualy video???

[Gingers4Justice]

Originally Posted by nasdriv87

here's LMP qualy video!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQa-z4xpFIk

BTW, Did someone found out GT qualy video???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq9KmINOTGg

[hcl123]

Strange to see Audi setup... in "event maximum speed" http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/index.html they are even below one of the Rebellions lol

~30Kmh below the Porsches and 8 to 10 kmh below the Toyotas, not only max downforce, better said ground effect all the time... but perhaps also gearbox setup and engine management ( smaller tank how much you obliges!.. but get close to Toyota's top speed and could be an easy win lol). Doubt this will be the setup for La Sathre...

hmmm... curious to see the Hybrid release strategy... any onboard "telemetry" youtube/other video ?

[nasdriv87]

Originally Posted by hcl123

Strange to see Audi setup... in "event maximum speed" http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/index.html they are even below one of the Rebellions lol

~30Kmh below the Porsches and 8 to 10 kmh below the Toyotas, not only max downforce, better said ground effect all the time... but perhaps also gearbox setup and engine management ( smaller tank how much you obliges!.. but get close to Toyota's top speed and could be an easy win lol). Doubt this will be the setup for La Sathre...

hmmm... curious to see the Hybrid release strategy... any onboard "telemetry" youtube/other video ?

i guess i think everyone is sandbagging here, even the GTs one...

Did u remember last year with Aston Martin rules from ACO...

If your car was better u got a restriction from ACO... thus...

[Bandicoot17]

The Prototype 'EoT' is locked until after Le Mans, so Audi ahve nothing to gain by 'sandbagging'.

Personally the answer is simple, Audi is simply running more DF and have more drag. They monster the high speed turns and are the last of the brakes, but lack the accel that the other two have and so lose out on the straights. If they matched Toyota's speed they'd probably be slower through the corners and the laptime would be similar so why sacrifice the extra grip. With rain forecase the DF will help anyway.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Performances and results in these first two races mean nothing in GTE, they're all sandbagging and lobbying BoP for Le Mans.

You can say that again!! Aston is sandbagging...Why can't they set all the cars back to the original form? We already saw the devastating pace of the Aston's when they got help last year. ACO won't make that mistake again? 3:54.xx at Le Mans in a GTE car???

[Articus]

Originally Posted by Bandicoot17

The Prototype 'EoT' is locked until after Le Mans, so Audi ahve nothing to gain by 'sandbagging'.

They'll unleash the Audi at Le Mans.

[Salamus]

Just to confirm. The race starts at 12pm in England, so 7am in Eastern Time Zone, yes?

[Articus]

Right!

[chernaudi]

TWC say that rain is likely after 11:00 AM, and there is very high likelihood of rain for the whole 6 hours.

[Mal]

The UK met office is now saying the rain may not arrive until after the race.

[TF110]

If Audi are sandbagging theyre fooling only themselves. The aco will know the performance of the cars and probably has known for a bit thanks to the test. Gains can be made with the car itself and the efficiency of the powertrains. In the Toyota thread, their press release was telling. Wurz said he was surprised they took pole, not because he doubted their performance, but because the setup on the car. Seems geared toward the race and the long runs, which Nakajima was quite good with. I assume every car is doing the same compromise.

[Mal]

Putting a high downforce set up on the car has really destroyed any chance the ACO has to compare.

[TF110]

Toyota running a high downforce package as well.

[MyNameIsNigel]

Nobody is or rather should be sandbagging in the LMP1 category. If that were to be the case, the dissuasive penalty will be applied at LM. Besides, the EoT is not supposed to balance the overall packages but merely the various ICE and ERS packages. In that respect, the ACO-FIA have all the necessary tools (fuel flow measurements, torque measurements, ...) to measure the BSFC of all competitors. Fortunately, the LMP1 competitors still have various performance variables (outside of the EoT) to play with, and this includes aero setups.

One may wonder why Porsche run with such a low-downforce package at Silverstone. Is that already a preparation for LM or "hiding" a possible power deficit ? The one-lap performance is impressive, but I expect them to struggle during the race, especially if it rains.

[tux]

Dry but overcast at the moment.

[Aysedasi]

Keep your fingers crossed then - its pouring here on the south coast.....

[ger80]

Originally Posted by MyNameIsNigel

One may wonder why Porsche run with such a low-downforce package at Silverstone. Is that already a preparation for LM or "hiding" a possible power deficit ? The one-lap performance is impressive, but I expect them to struggle during the race, especially if it rains.

I think they just want to get as much data on the low downforce package as possible. Not the fastest way around Silverstone, but if you can make it handle ok there, then it will do as well in Le Mans
Where and when is the 10/10 get together again?

[fergus_r]

Met now forecasting rain all day from around 10am, starting with a heavy shower.

Yesterday was very cold until the sun properly came out and the wind eased off, which didn't happen until late afternoon. Quite relieved to be watching on TV today.

[TF110]

From qualifying, it seems the Toyota (#7 at least) can hold on its tires quite well. Not sure about the #8, they didnt have any third practice in comparison. It wont matter unless it goes dry though.

[Simmi]

A few wee spots of rain at the track now on pit straight. Seems no one quite knows how bad the rain will be. Forgot my brolly so I'm hoping it's not too bad. Enjoy the race all.