[WEC Race] WEC 2017 Round 1: Silverstone

[Sodemo]

A warning for anyone at Silverstone tomorrow, remember to bundle up and prepare for gale force winds. Ignore the predicted temp of 12C, with the wind it will feel more like 6-8 degrees.

[J Jay]

Really, wrapping up warm is good advice for going to Silverstone at any time of the year. Wide open spaces tend to lend themselves to stronger than expected winds.

Those poor grid girls from the 2014 race

[Dani Filth]

Originally Posted by Spyderman

Did anyone manage to get the WEC site to work?

it worked in the end .. english commentary on the french version of the stream

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Artur

If it wasn't for the regulation changes, they could be lapping at low thirties by now which would mean they could be faster than EffWun's race pace.... The safety thing was/is just an excuse for that. If they were honest about it, I would be a little more ok with it.

Doesn't matter what F1 does because they don't race at Le Mans, and that's where the safety issue is. They don't want the cars breaking the mystical 3:20 barrier, and it looks like they'll destroy it. It isn't an excuse, it's to make sure the cars are safe at Le Mans, rather than flying upside down into fences again.

[MaskedRacer]

How about the WEC follow the IMSA model of broadcasting their content over the internet?

[Akrapovic]

Theres nothing wrong with the WEC model, it's just a very badly made website. When it works, it works great. When it doesn't work, it always has the same issues. I don't mind paying for coverage (can't get everything in the world for free), I just want it to work when it does.

Oh and Toby Moody isn't very good. Sorry, he just isn't. Any of the RLM guys in there would be a vast improvement.

[J Jay]

If the stream was free we would still be complaining about the website and rightly so - it should not be experiencing these issues regardless of the paywall. The fact that other series do it near-flawlessly for free only puts the ACO's haphazard mess of code into sharper focus.

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Oh and Toby Moody isn't very good. Sorry, he just isn't. Any of the RLM guys in there would be a vast improvement.

McNish was a fair way behind the action as well, kind of surprising seeing as he was on the ball most of the time with his F1 commentary. I'd be prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt but I hope he comes good at least.

[Akrapovic]

Agreed. I think only having 2 commentators during qualifying meant that McNish struggled a bit. A driver commentator is better in smaller doses, rather than trying to do a full commentary job. Combine that with how poor Moody was (sorry. I do like him but he was terrible in qualifying) and it was just awkward. I'd rather than have combination of the RLM crew.

[TF110]

Didn't get to watch qualifying, but damn, 1:36's were way beyond my expectations. And the fact Kobayashi set the time lends credence to Toyota saying he was their fastest driver. That 1:36.7 is a hell of a lap, nearly 3 seconds faster than the previous qualifying record. And then Porsche in the 1:38's with the LM package is bonkers too. And how about the Ford? About a second faster than any other GTE.

[ModelT]

Originally Posted by chunder

Well I went, and to be honest the most interesting thing about the whole day was the new rallycross track and the WEC driver training thing on the infield.

The teams even in ELMS are ridiculously protectionist, you can't get near garages and everything is all fenced off.

So that means a trip to the pits is rather pointless other than t go "wow, look at all those areas I cant access"

The on track action was fairly weak, only impressive thing was the speed of the P1 cars. Stupid 10 minute qually for the ELMS cars, an hour long seeming 10 lap F3 race!

Shan't be going again sorry, unless they change venue as Silverstone really is a complete and utter dump

100% agree with you, NOT fan friendly at all. The ACO needs to get that changed before all the teams think they are in F1! That started loosing fans when the paddock became out of bounds for the fans. It will happen with thr WEC if they allow this attitude to continue!

[Artur]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Doesn't matter what F1 does because they don't race at Le Mans, and that's where the safety issue is. They don't want the cars breaking the mystical 3:20 barrier, and it looks like they'll destroy it. It isn't an excuse, it's to make sure the cars are safe at Le Mans, rather than flying upside down into fences again.

Toyota and Porsche should prepare for more restrictions, then.

Also, if ACO allows the jump to 10 or 12 MJ, they will make a big cut on the fuel energy in order to not allow an increase in the overall energy

I'm looking forward for the race tomorrow but I fear it will soon become bland(to me anyway, as I don't follow the other classes that much) as the Toyotas will vanish in front of the Porks very quicky

[Maelochs]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Theres nothing wrong with the WEC model, it's just a very badly made website.

Wouldn't that be what is wrong with the "WEC model"?

I just watched the entire ELMS race without a single stumble, zero pixelation, not the slightest issue whatsoever. FOR FREE.

WEC wants me to pay to see a "Sorry, technical difficulties" page when I want to watch ... The Highest Tech, Most Advanced cars on the planet.

You see nothing wrong there?

Every race, I think, "Forget looking for streams, and screw FOX Sports' interminable, almost constant commercial breaks. I can afford this."

Then I see a stream worse than pirated Eurosport, and put away my credit card.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Wouldn't that be what is wrong with the "WEC model"?

No, that's what's wrong with the WEC execution. The model is fine. You pay X amount and you get the races back in return. In fact the WEC price is fine too. €35 (approx) for an entire season - in the UK that'd get you one month of F1. So the model is fine, the actual production and execution is what is not.

You see nothing wrong there?

I see plenty wrong there. In fact I've been whining about it for several pages. But I'm not going to declare the entire model and concept as terrible when it's a technical issue. They shouldn't be having technical issues, it should just work, especially because it's a paid stream. But the model is fine.

Originally Posted by Artur

Toyota and Porsche should prepare for more restrictions, then.

Also, if ACO allows the jump to 10 or 12 MJ, they will make a big cut on the fuel energy in order to not allow an increase in the overall energy

I'm looking forward for the race tomorrow but I fear it will soon become bland(to me anyway, as I don't follow the other classes that much) as the Toyotas will vanish in front of the Porks very quicky

Yes they should prepare for more restrictions next year. Yes they should cut the fuel energy so there is not another dramatic increase. I see no problem with either of those situations. I don't understand the constant complaints about how the cars are held back, by people who apparently don't watch the series anymore.

[Le Vieux]

Whilst I sympathise with those who are only able to "participate" via the website, at least there's something there, however inefficient it may be. Older fans of endurance racing will remember when there was nothing available. (Distant memories of BBC Light Programme in the early 60s, doing hourly updates from Le Mans during the night)

I spent an enjoyable day there yesterday, even though it was cold. Today we had plenty of sunshine and I alternated between Club, International Straight and Luffield viewing areas for the disabled - the only places I could get my mobility scooter.

I saw no Tenthers, but since Andrew is the only one I might possibly recognise because of his photos, that's not surprising.

Hope to be there tomorrow at some stage, well wrapped up against, rain, storm and tempest. It's now less than nine weeks to The Big One and sunshine and warmth and good food......

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Le Vieux

Whilst I sympathise with those who are only able to "participate" via the website, at least there's something there, however inefficient it may be. Older fans of endurance racing will remember when there was nothing available. (Distant memories of BBC Light Programme in the early 60s, doing hourly updates from Le Mans during the night)

I see what you're saying, but today many of us paid money to get nothing. The website simply did not work for many people, leaving you with what you remember from before - nothing. But at an additional cost of €35.

[TF110]

I don't think they'll make a cut in the fuel flow. Nothing like -10mj/lap at least. If they do that the lmp2's and the private lmp1's will be just as fast which creates a bottleneck they don't need or want.

I didn't purchase the stream. I'm not sure if I should do it for PC or for Android. Any recommendations? If I do it for PC, can I watch it on any browser, say the PS4? If so that's be better than just restricted to a mobile format. Especially since you can watch it on the browser on your phone!

[Akrapovic]

I bought it on the PC and watch it on the Xbox browser. It worked fine last year and was working this year when the stream was up. I also watched live on th app today using the same payment. I'd recommend buying it on the pc.

[Aysedasi]

Have had an enjoyable, if at times very cold, two days at Silverstone. I didn't get to Becketts on Friday so missed the hoardings debacle but viewed from there today. Instead of bemoaning the position on Friday, I praise the speed with which M Neveu got them to take the hoardings down this morning. Enjoyed WEC qualifying but still can't get used to the silly short format. Toyotas were simply awesome. Good ELMS race which gave us plenty of time to walk most of the circuit and do two laps on the bus! Looks like it could be pretty cold and wet tomorrow, but then, this is Silverstone in April!

[TzeiTzei]

Originally Posted by TF110

I didn't purchase the stream. I'm not sure if I should do it for PC or for Android. Any recommendations? If I do it for PC, can I watch it on any browser, say the PS4? If so that's be better than just restricted to a mobile format. Especially since you can watch it on the browser on your phone!

I bought it last year on PC and it worked fine on iOS too.

[maximus]

Originally Posted by chunder

Well I went, and to be honest the most interesting thing about the whole day was the new rallycross track and the WEC driver training thing on the infield.

The teams even in ELMS are ridiculously protectionist, you can't get near garages and everything is all fenced off.

So that means a trip to the pits is rather pointless other than t go "wow, look at all those areas I cant access"

The on track action was fairly weak, only impressive thing was the speed of the P1 cars. Stupid 10 minute qually for the ELMS cars, an hour long seeming 10 lap F3 race!

Shan't be going again sorry, unless they change venue as Silverstone really is a complete and utter dump

What do you expect on a Friday? It's practice. Not sure what you mean with pit access? You can get in the paddocks, I was able to get a good look in the rear of the garages, I think you'd be hard pressed to get closer at any high level event, this isn't club racing, there are loads of spectators.

[eps]

Today was good! The Toyotas have an amazing punch of speed - noticeably more than the Porsche LMP1 cars.

I hope I'm not going to curse them but the ByKolles car looks quite strong and fairly fast as well.

The LMP3 cars in the ELMS race were a real revelation - great sound!

Looking forward to tomorrow - don't think we'll go for the 8am pit walk tho!!

I've uploaded a few photos to flickr.. here : https://flic.kr/s/aHskXPWTXN I haven't had any time to photoshop or tinker with them, yet!

[chernaudi]

One thing that could help, hinder or make no difference is that rain is likely tomorrow.

[eps]

Oops, flickr had a wobble, album is here : https://flic.kr/s/aHskSWK43b

[TF110]

Originally Posted by eps

Oops, flickr had a wobble, album is here : https://flic.kr/s/aHskSWK43b

Nice shots! Thanks for sharing.

[Hiro]

In QFY, I noticed Porsche changed tires, but did Toyota change tires?