[WEC] Porsche Prototype Discussion

[kobefly]

Originally Posted by kvenom

By the same token, couldn't Toyota theoretically keep developing their LDF till Le Mans while Porsche can't?

Only till Spa where they will be running their low downforce package.

[kvenom]

Originally Posted by kobefly

Only till Spa where they will be running their low downforce package.

Right, forgot about that.

[Simmi]

Lose the battle - win the war. Seems to make sense.

That's assuming Porsche even lose the opening salvo.

[TF110]

The rules have a little bit of lax in them so that the teams can make some changes to the cars even after the package is homologated. Toyota can develop the low downforce package even more than Porsche has but only until Spa. In turn Porsche has more experience running races with the low downforce package even if it isn't as 'developed'.

If you really think about it, Porsche has been running this LM kit for the duration of the winter test. So they should have a good head start on it in those terms. I think the LM kit for Toyota only ran one test before the prologue. So that means Toyota's behind on that front. But they have tested the high downforce package far more. So they're already ahead on that! Either way, it should be an interesting thing to watch over the first two races.

[chernaudi]

And even if Toyota are behind on the LM package, the Prologue should've shown it's potential. And we do have to remember that the 919 at it's core is still the older of the two cars, and, in theory, has less development potential.

IMO, I'm a bit surprised that Porsche are taking such a risk based on Prologue times and how close they came to losing the drivers' title last year. I don't think that Porsche can afford to give up anything, especially given that Toyota are unlikely to be caught off balance this year.

[carbsmith]

Not introducing your high downforce package until post-Le Mans is almost certainly the best way to win the championship. If an extra 3 months of development isn't enough to let Porsche beat Toyota consistently for the last 6 races they sure as hell weren't going to beat them at Silverstone.

The issue is the few weeks of development you give up on the LM kit, given the relative importance of that one race compared to the championship.

[TF110]

It seems like Porsche hasn't been developing/running the high downforce car much. We haven't heard anything about it being run at least. On the other hand Toyota has been testing it all over the off-season like Porsche has done with the LM package. I don't think the prologue showed Porsche's hand. They didn't go for a qualifying run on the last test session like Toyota did.

[Bubak]

Look, nothing new. They (Porsche) run LD spec. in 2014 and 2015 (that spec, that finally had been updated for LM) in Silvestone. Good or not, I still have an option, that Silverstone event is great for summer, not today. Low downforce tracks (Monza, maybe Spa with some fenders etc...) and LM. And after LM sprint races.

[chernaudi]

Take that discussion up with the ACO, who don't seem to want to expand the schedule anymore (several teams complained when they added Mexico last year, including Toyota as it cost them their plans to run a third car at LM and Spa last year) and who seem to want to bundle most of the races that are flyaways post LM.

To do what you're suggesting would mean getting rid of one of the races current on the scheduled (which would likely be COTA at this rate), or having Nurburgring and Silverstone within a couple of weeks of each other.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Take that discussion up with the ACO, who don't seem to want to expand the schedule anymore (several teams complained when they added Mexico last year, including Toyota as it cost them their plans to run a third car at LM and Spa last year) and who seem to want to bundle most of the races that are flyaways post LM.

To do what you're suggesting would mean getting rid of one of the races current on the scheduled (which would likely be COTA at this rate), or having Nurburgring and Silverstone within a couple of weeks of each other.

Doesn't need to be that complicated. You could swap Nurburgring and Silverstone.

[chernaudi]

Weather in Germany is just as bad a lot of times as it is in the UK this time of year. Either way, it's a game of roulette. Remember that Nuburgring is a short distance away from Spa, both are in the Ardennes, and both tracks have often been plagued by changeable weather all year around.

Either way, I think that Porsche are kinda screwed. I know that a lot has changed, but in 2015, they lost the race mostly because of the lack of downforce making their car hard on it's tires. And this year, every sprint race has 4.5 sets of tires to be used, not the 6.5 that Silverstone and Spa had in previous years.

[Akrapovic]

It's been fine for the 2 VLN races this year so far. Spa is only 100 km from the Ring too - if you can race at Spa a couple of weeks later, you can race at the Ring too.

This is what I mean - it really isn't as difficult to move things about as it seems. Of course this also assumes that all flyaway races will remain. Will Mexico stay if the economy is tanked? Will COTA stay if it doesn't really suit anybody? If one of these is dropped then an easy fix is move Silverstone to post-LM and put Monza in as the opening round.

[chernaudi]

The problem is that the ACO can't really expand the schedule, so someone has to go. And it'd probably be Mexico or COTA, since they're both essentially North American races.

Granted, we can make the same argument for Bahrain, as it's not a popular race and is only on the schedule because the royal family pays for it and the ACO and FIA want a middle eastern race.

[rubberduck]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

It's been fine for the 2 VLN races this year so far. Spa is only 100 km from the Ring too - if you can race at Spa a couple of weeks later, you can race at the Ring too.

Oh if you knew how deep frozen i came back home after some VLN Openers during the years, even from races in May. We had nights with zero degrees during the 2010 24h, which is in June.
It's nothing more than a coincidence that March 2017 was pure gold weather wise (10 deg C above normal during some periods)

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by rubberduck

Oh if you knew how deep frozen i came back home after some VLN Openers during the years, even from races in May. We had nights with zero degrees during the 2010 24h, which is in June.
It's nothing more than a coincidence that March 2017 was pure gold weather wise (10 deg C above normal during some periods)

Yeah, it gets bloody cold, especially at night, but remember it was below zero for Silverstone during the day and it snowed.

[TF110]

Monza as the first round sounds like a good idea. Then Spa follows with Le Mans it's traditional date. Then all the teams could use their LM kit for the first part of the season and save the high downforce package until after Le Mans. Then you'd see like for like comparisons instead of the compromise we have now with Porsche.

[chernaudi]

When I was reading the DSC piece about the 919 this season, I wonder if some of the redesign of the front end was to keep tire rubber from building up on parts of the front diffuser. Namely the area below the headlights that seem to have brake duct intakes on them. That was something hinted at in that DSC article.

[Artur]

If Porsche re-thought their decision to not run a third car at LM this year(sadly won't happen), 99% chance that Alonso(and Montoya) would race for them

[hondafan37]

Originally Posted by Artur

If Porsche re-thought their decision to not run a third car at LM this year(sadly won't happen), 99% chance that Alonso(and Montoya) would race for them

Maybe we could see Alonso and Montoya racing together on an Acura Penske DPI in the next 24 hours of Daytona.

[CyberMotor]

Originally Posted by hondafan37

Maybe we could see Alonso and Montoya racing together on an Acura Penske DPI in the next 24 hours of Daytona.

Wow!

That would possibly bring in a million new fans.

[TF110]

Wow, look at the size of that gurney on the rear deck!

Taken from sportscar365

[Spyderman]

I suspect that this is going to be a very tough qualifying session to watch if you are a Porsche fan.

[Spyderman]

Porsche PR:https://presse.porsche.de/prod/press...otorsport-news

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Spyderman

Porsche PR:https://presse.porsche.de/prod/press...otorsport-news

Lotterer saying lots of wear on the fronts. That might be an issue with the limited sets of tires. Their long run pace was pretty close to Toyota, but the tires are going to determine the outcome imo.

[Piritos]

Unfortunately I could not watch Silverstone, obviously I know the results but can you tell me who seemed to be the fastest Porsche driver?