[WEC] 6 Hours of COTA

[airbusA346]

Damn 51 got out in front of 92

[gert]

Originally Posted by Articus

Porsche 92 leads!!

It doesn't. 51 got out just in front...

[Articus]

spoke too soon.

[airbusA346]

When did 2 and 1 switch round

[Articus]

Don't think Porsche has anything for 51 Ferrari. How lucky was AF Corse! Pier Guidi masterclass to bring the car in so quickly!

[TF110]

#2 will win the title now. Wish Porsche would let them race.

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by TF110

#2 will win the title now. Wish Porsche would let them race.

Hopefully they'll let #1 win at least one race

[Articus]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Hopefully they'll let #1 win at least one race

Probably if they are in a position to do so, they will be allowed to win the last race of the season as long as the 2 car championship is safe.

[airbusA346]

Is 77 still in the garage?

[Articus]

Good for the #51 car to get the win, but wow they are cursed. Had to be feeling it when they got the puncture....

[TF110]

Good race for about 3 and a half 4 hours up front. When Sarrazin got his stint and couldn't close up on fresh tires, the Porsche win was sealed. Good race in GTE though. It was close most the way through.

[gert]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Is 77 still in the garage?

No, it did 1 lap at the end, and Cairoli parked it when he crossed the finish line.

That should net them 4th place points.

[gert]

Originally Posted by TF110

When Sarrazin got his stint and couldn't close up on fresh tires, the Porsche win was sealed.

Not sure it was only Sarrazin's fault.

Where was #7 and who let thet one down?

[Akrapovic]

Wasn't Sarrazins stint before the SC? So it wouldn't have made a difference anyway?

Sarrazin wasn't great, but the reserve driver never is, they've had a lot less running. I think it's a bit harsh laying all the blame at his feet. It isn't like every other driver was gapping the Porsches.

[Starfish Primer]

I didn´t like the Porsche team orders being so obvious.

[chernaudi]

From the Porsche LMP1 thread:

"For those who don't like team orders, I have bad news, irrespective of my own views on it:

1: the practice has been around forever basically in motorsport,

2: Porsche will probably keep doing it until the #8 Toyota is out of it for the drivers' title,

3: This is what happens when LM is double points, the ACO say you can't get points at LM or any other WEC round unless you run 70% distance and do the last lap in less than a set time,

4: This makes Toyota dropping the ball at LM all the more regrettable,

5: I think a lot of us are spoiled by teams like Joest, Champion and Corvette Racing letting their drivers/teams race each other almost all the time in the ALMS and such. However, even the Audi teams (though rarely) used team orders, like Nurburgring in '08 and PLM the same year, mostly after the lack of at least temporary team orders cost them a race at Road America in '07.

Annoying though it may be, most attempts to ban or restrict team orders--much like cost control--have been failures. And since multicar teams in road racing aren't like Indy Car or NASCAR (where each team has their own sponsors), you're going to get more team orders stuff.

And it's not like Toyota aren't guilty of it either, since the #8 is in damage control mode after LM imploded on the team."

I hate team orders, especially since Porsche and the #2 crew have a commanding leading in both the manufacturers' and drivers' championships. But if they DNF and don't score points in any of the up coming races because of how the ACO dole out points, their opposition can take back a huge chunk of what they lost.

Hence team orders will likely continue until the last race or two when we know that the #8 crew will probably be out of it if the status quo continues, or if the #8 team DNF's in one of the up coming races, which what would pretty much lock up the title for the #2 unless they don't show up for the rest of the races.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Wasn't Sarrazins stint before the SC? So it wouldn't have made a difference anyway?

Sarrazin wasn't great, but the reserve driver never is, they've had a lot less running. I think it's a bit harsh laying all the blame at his feet. It isn't like every other driver was gapping the Porsches.

I didn't say or mean "it was all his fault" I said his stint pretty much sealed the deal for Porsche winning. The #8 was the closer car and the only one in that period of the race that had a shot at catching either Porsche. He had fresh tires on for his stint while Porsche was on their 2nd stint of theirs. Conway lost ground too for the #7 while he was on old tires. Toyota wasn't strong enough and had to have the perfect race, sadly.

[chernaudi]

Toyota were in contention because early on they matched Porsche for pace and tried a different strategy (if you're as fast as your opposition, you're not likely to get ahead by dong as they do).

Problem is, probably as the track and ambient temp warmed up, Toyota couldn't maintain that pace throughout a whole run. That seems to explain why they faded late.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Toyota were in contention because early on they matched Porsche for pace and tried a different strategy (if you're as fast as your opposition, you're not likely to get ahead by dong as they do).

Problem is, probably as the track and ambient temp warmed up, Toyota couldn't maintain that pace throughout a whole run. That seems to explain why they faded late.

The strategy wasn't really different, they just double stinted first. It was inevitable that it'd need to be done though. Fuji is hopefully a better race for them.

[Melcor]

Originally Posted by TF110

The strategy wasn't really different, they just double stinted first. It was inevitable that it'd need to be done though. Fuji is hopefully a better race for them.

Do you realize that this "I hope Fuji is a better race" gets old
First was Nurburgring.1-2 for Porsche

Toyota at Nurburgring : Nurburgring is damage limitation,track is more suited for Porsche hybrid system,in Mexico we will be better with that long straight - They were lapped at 3 hour mark,even worst than Nurbugring!

Toyota at Mexico : Awful race,but we will come back at COTA stronger.Yes they were stronger, but not enough...3 consecutive 1-2 victories.I think Porsche have advantage over them,and yes i am Porsche fan but i want more close fights.So right now Toyota have to figure something out because how it looks their season may end with next race!

[chernaudi]

Toyota do need to figure out something. Even if there's a limit on what teams can do to modify their bodywork once it's homolgated, there's still stuff they can change. They also need to figure out if it's aero, chassis set up, or hybrid strategy.

Yes, the ACO's rules for this year make it basically default that you're going to have to double stint almost every tire run. Toyota did it first before Porsche did to try and gain track position.

IMO, one of two things happened. Either Porsche snookered Toyota by being the last to run their high downforce bodywork, or apples to apples, the Porsche is the better car right now. I still also feel that Toyota placed too much emphasis on LM and in the end their success or failure hinged on a good LM result, which they pretty much didn't get.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Melcor

Do you realize that this "I hope Fuji is a better race" gets old
First was Nurburgring.1-2 for Porsche

Toyota at Nurburgring : Nurburgring is damage limitation,track is more suited for Porsche hybrid system,in Mexico we will be better with that long straight - They were lapped at 3 hour mark,even worst than Nurbugring!

Toyota at Mexico : Awful race,but we will come back at COTA stronger.Yes they were stronger, but not enough...3 consecutive 1-2 victories.I think Porsche have advantage over them,and yes i am Porsche fan but i want more close fights.So right now Toyota have to figure something out because how it looks their season may end with next race!

Don't read my comments, that's the only thing I can suggest to you if it "gets old". The season is already over in terms of the championship. If you are only watching because of the slim chance Toyota gets the driver's title then you're wasting your time. I watch to see a good race. COTA was a good race. Especially compared to Mexico. What can Toyota 'figure out'? The Porsche has more downforce, they've acknowledged that. So tracks with lots of turns or ones that require lots of downforce (like Nurburgring and Mexico) they're going to be stronger. It's good Toyota were closer at COTA. Even last year when they didn't have as good of a car, they were close here, and won at Fuji. So please forgive my optimism

[chernaudi]

Only thing that's left for Toyota is try and win races and get back the form they had before Le Mans. However, seeing the roll that Porsche is on since winning LM, I think that's a tall order.

They need to find out why they're lacking pace, address that, and even then they're probably going to need a bit of luck to win some of these remaining races.

Their race pace improved at COTA, but still, so far since LM, no dice.

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Only thing that's left for Toyota is try and win races and get back the form they had before Le Mans. However, seeing the roll that Porsche is on since winning LM, I think that's a tall order.

They need to find out why they're lacking pace, address that, and even then they're probably going to need a bit of luck to win some of these remaining races.

Their race pace improved at COTA, but still, so far since LM, no dice.

The equivialnt to what Toyota is going throug in GTE is Ford. The Ford GT's just don't seem to have it. They seem to be a second off everybody else. Even Porsche got their act together somewhat at COTA. It seems though Aston Martin and AF Corse Ferrari are the big 2 right now and are the favorites to win the rest of the races over Porsche and Ford. Which stinks. The later are the two I cheer for.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Only thing that's left for Toyota is try and win races and get back the form they had before Le Mans. However, seeing the roll that Porsche is on since winning LM, I think that's a tall order.

They need to find out why they're lacking pace, address that, and even then they're probably going to need a bit of luck to win some of these remaining races.

Their race pace improved at COTA, but still, so far since LM, no dice.

Why is this a surprise? Porsche spent more time and resources on the high downforce package than Toyota did. The car has more downforce. Toyota said this themselves. The only thing Toyota can do is play to their car's strength, which is tire wear, top speed and the hybrid. Top speed might only come into affect at Fuji and Shanghai. Tire wear isn't that much better than Porsche. The hybrid factor depends on the track length. I think Fuji and Shanghai is their best bet. Fuji is their best track and their home track. They have won every race there bar 2015. If they only get one more win this year it will be there