WEC Race 2013 FIA WEC - Round 5 - 6 Hours of COTA - Page 16

Eryk03 · 22 Sep 2013, 22:02 (Ref:3307838)

Another win for Audi, Great! Thanks. Good race.

chernaudi · 22 Sep 2013, 22:02 (Ref:3307839)

I noticed the damage a long time ago, and why the ACO/FIA race control didn't call it was either that the race director didn't see it as an issue, or it was bad officiating.

vincegail · 22 Sep 2013, 22:02 (Ref:3307840)

Hope the number shenanigans Hindy was talking about won't rob Audi of the win!

(a racenumber became unattached on the winning Audi which could lead to it being disqualified....)

BullMan · 22 Sep 2013, 22:06 (Ref:3307842)

Great race a great weekend overall. Glad to see sportscars on this circuit.

TF110 · 22 Sep 2013, 22:06 (Ref:3307843)

They pinged Toyota for it at Bahrain, Audi got away with it here. Probably because there was ~10 mins left and it was the opposite side, its also daytime.

Acid09 · 22 Sep 2013, 22:07 (Ref:3307844)

Great race, COTA is a stunning venue.

P1 was terrific, best sports car racing on the planet

chernaudi · 22 Sep 2013, 22:10 (Ref:3307845)

Sadly, it looks like we'll have to wait a while to get it back in the states as far as a regional series.

TF110 · 22 Sep 2013, 22:14 (Ref:3307847)

Aston Martin class ahead today with Mako and Senna.

Lagunaseca_4life · 22 Sep 2013, 22:14 (Ref:3307848)

This was a much better race than Sao palo.was actually worth six hours of attention.toyota had a better pace than I expected and the back and forth strategy with Audi was enjoyable, but still Toyota is no Mach for Audi in full attack speed.good p2 and gt racing as usual. This was a good week end, hope wec/alms pull this off again.I think CoTA might be better for sports cars than f1

CyberMotor · 22 Sep 2013, 22:15 (Ref:3307851)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acid09

Great race, COTA is a stunning venue.

P1 was terrific, best sports car racing on the planet

I agree, great show!

I thought Hindy did a great job talking about the similarities, differences and rule changes approaching for the hybrids. Very interesting times we live in. Great seeing this innovation, testing and application going on in front of our eyes. Great show Audi, Toyota and can't wait for Porsche. Would like to see what Honda has on their planning boards besides the NSX?

jsTrecu · 22 Sep 2013, 22:17 (Ref:3307853)

COTA is already one of my top4 favorite american race tracks.
Great race, enjoyed it a lot...

deggis · 22 Sep 2013, 22:21 (Ref:3307854)

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberMotor

Would like to see what Honda has on their planning boards besides the NSX?

http://www.racer.com/exclusive-hpd-p...rticle/300655/
http://www.racer.com/insight-inside-...rticle/311717/

dj choc ice · 22 Sep 2013, 22:25 (Ref:3307857)

COTA certainly provided some fantastic racing this weekend in both ALMS and WEC, as a circuit it looks like a great place that really encourages close, hard racing. The pyramid curb things though certainly leave less margin for error and the #1 Audi was damn lucky to get away with so little damage, especially after the flying LMPC car and the #97 Aston with its borked suspension.

Maelochs · 22 Sep 2013, 22:32 (Ref:3307859)

Those Pyramids are great--people who want to cut corners are free to do so, at their own risk.

Even better, the race director called cars for going over the lines anyway.

I hate seeing cars getting torn up, but I like the fact that drivers have to keep it on the track or risk the car, without seriously risking the health and safety of the drivers.

dj choc ice · 22 Sep 2013, 22:43 (Ref:3307861)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Those Pyramids are great--people who want to cut corners are free to do so, at their own risk.

Even better, the race director called cars for going over the lines anyway.

I hate seeing cars getting torn up, but I like the fact that drivers have to keep it on the track or risk the car, without seriously risking the health and safety of the drivers.

This.

The Audi's move to get past the Toyota, Morgan-OAK and Ferrari by spearing off track was just ridiculous. It's expected that drivers will push the track limits but that took the perverbial IMO.

The pyramids certainly add a bit of extra danger and excitement to things, but it has to be said it was tough seeing the Aston get ruined and the whole controversy in the final hour in the pits.

TRspitfirefan · 22 Sep 2013, 22:52 (Ref:3307862)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acid09

Great race, COTA is a stunning venue.

P1 was terrific,third best (after ALMS GT and WEC GTE-pro) sports car racing on the planet

Fixed it!

chernaudi · 22 Sep 2013, 22:53 (Ref:3307863)

For Toyota, excellent effort, but I feel that we've seen once again what Audi can do when poked. The McNish in that R18 for that last run was the McNish of old. Perfectly complemented Duval's monster stints.

Too bad that the #1 knocked itself out of contention when it got rear-ended after Audi Sport tried to get Fassler to launch their new airline. That screwed their race, and it'll be hard for them to close on the #2 crew now before the end of the season.

And I do also believe that Toyota did prove that often now, the weak bit's not the car, but the biological being at it's controls. I knew that Toyota would be pushing it with Seb trying to get him to do essentially almost 2 in a half stints, and Seb's body just gave out on him. Sad to see, and it kept Toyota from having any chance of challenging the #2 Audi at the end.

Beetle · 22 Sep 2013, 22:54 (Ref:3307865)

ALMS disappointed me slightly yesterday but THIS, my friends and fellow race fans, was a good race. A really good race.

LMP1 was excellent. I honestly thought Toyota had the race win in the bag for the middle parts of the race. Also, glad to see Toyota really taking the fight to Audi. It bodes well for the next round in Fuji when we'll see two TS030s.

LMP2 was entertaining as well, especially in the beginning when the battle raged between G-Drive, OAK, and Pecom. As a huge AMR fan I was quite saddened to see the #97 and #98 have problems, but the #99 did a fantastic job and held off the Ferraris with what seemed like ease. Especially Mako, he was truly flawless. And of course there was the epic battle between the two Astons in Am. AMR was undoubtedly the team of the race.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TF110

Aston Martin class ahead today with Mako and Senna.

Indeed. I had the chance to meet Fred at dinner last night. He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet in racing, and truly an amazing talent - I have tremendous respect for the man and like him very much. He even gave me a short tour of the AMR pit garage just a few hours before the race. Also met with Paul DL, Pedro Lamy, and Bruno very briefly while asking questions like an idiot.

Good job, Fred and Mako! You deserve the champagne!!!

For me, I'd give the race 10/10... and SO glad I decided to go.

chernaudi · 22 Sep 2013, 23:02 (Ref:3307868)

I'd hope so as far as LMP1, but I think that again that Toyota showed their cards, and Audi will try and come up with better countermeasures for the rest of the season.

I did faithfully believe that Audi couldn't double stint, but the #1 in the middle of the race did it and did it well--as well or even potentially better than Toyota did. Ben's times on the double stint was fast and consistent aside from that lock up and spin.

I think that Audi may now have some new tools in the toolbox for Fuji. Both Audi and Toyota should maybe benefit from cooler temps to help with double stinting.

TRspitfirefan · 22 Sep 2013, 23:11 (Ref:3307873)

It was a very enjoyable race. Great job by Aston Martin in both GT classes.
The P1 duel between Audi and Toyota was very entertaining. P2 was also very fun to watch.

Breitling24 · 22 Sep 2013, 23:20 (Ref:3307878)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beetle

ALMS disappointed me slightly yesterday but THIS, my friends and fellow race fans, was a good race. A really good race.

LMP1 was excellent. I honestly thought Toyota had the race win in the bag for the middle parts of the race. Also, glad to see Toyota really taking the fight to Audi. It bodes well for the next round in Fuji when we'll see two TS030s.

LMP2 was entertaining as well, especially in the beginning when the battle raged between G-Drive, OAK, and Pecom. As a huge AMR fan I was quite saddened to see the #97 and #98 have problems, but the #99 did a fantastic job and held off the Ferraris with what seemed like ease. Especially Mako, he was truly flawless. And of course there was the epic battle between the two Astons in Am. AMR was undoubtedly the team of the race.

Indeed. I had the chance to meet Fred at dinner last night. He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet in racing, and truly an amazing talent - I have tremendous respect for the man and like him very much. He even gave me a short tour of the AMR pit garage just a few hours before the race. Also met with Paul DL, Pedro Lamy, and Bruno very briefly while asking questions like an idiot.

Good job, Fred and Mako! You deserve the champagne!!!

For me, I'd give the race 10/10... and SO glad I decided to go.

As a Porsche fan, I was somewhat sadder than you.

But the 99 team did an excellent job all around. If Porsche didn't win, I'm OK with AM.
Agree that it was a interesting and exciting race the whole day.

Beetle · 23 Sep 2013, 00:00 (Ref:3307893)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breitling24

As a Porsche fan, I was somewhat sadder than you.

But the 99 team did an excellent job all around. If Porsche didn't win, I'm OK with AM.
Agree that it was a interesting and exciting race the whole day.

Yeah we just don't want Ferrari winning, do we?

Acid09 · 23 Sep 2013, 00:24 (Ref:3307898)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chernaudi

And I do also believe that Toyota did prove that often now, the weak bit's not the car, but the biological being at it's controls. I knew that Toyota would be pushing it with Seb trying to get him to do essentially almost 2 in a half stints, and Seb's body just gave out on him. Sad to see, and it kept Toyota from having any chance of challenging the #2 Audi at the end.

I'm not sure what to make of Toyota's drivers really, I think there would be room for improvement there in the future.

I think the fastest guys on the squad are Sarrazin, Buemi & Lapierre.

Wurz is obviously the development mastermind but he does lack some race pace. Nakajima is the token Japanese guy and I guess we can be glad that Toyota HQ is satisfied with just 1/6 of the driver crew being Japanese.

And then there's Davidson, I still feel like he's not fully clicking with the car yet. I haven't seen a single completely convincing performance from him in the car yet. He's not slow, but he was such a star in the Peugeot and he's just not there yet with Toyota.

It's wishful thinking but I wish Toyota would put together an all-out attack crew for a third car for Le Mans next year. Something like Bourdais, Montagny & Pla... wouldn't that be something?

Simmi · 23 Sep 2013, 00:44 (Ref:3307903)

Just finished watching the race on delay. Awesome stuff. COTA is the real deal I think.

Good range of battles across the classes - big championship implications all round.

Very happy to see Toyota back in touch again. Gives them a nice boost heading into Fuji.

CyberMotor · 23 Sep 2013, 00:51 (Ref:3307905)

Quote:

Originally Posted by deggis

http://www.racer.com/exclusive-hpd-p...rticle/300655/
http://www.racer.com/insight-inside-...rticle/311717/

Initial talks had the P1 ERS unit coming online in 2014, but Griffiths confirmed it has been moved back one year. Preparing the non-hybrid solution and signing a team to use its P1 engine, rather than concentrating on the engine's bells and whistles, has now become the overriding priority.

Me thinks Honda needs to arrive on the scene in 2014 to be a real player.

View Poll Results: Will you be attending the International Sports Car Weekend at COTA?
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No	45	67.16%
Maybe so	1	1.49%
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