[WEC] WEC 2019/20 season

[chernaudi]

Admittedly, Kyalami doesn't look good from a logistics perspective right now for a short term replacement of Sao Paulo, considering that the next round after whatever that will be is Sebring.

[Akrapovic]

Mexico City is the obvious one, as said before.

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Mexico City is the obvious one, as said before.

Uh..no. COTA is.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by MaskedRacer

Uh..no. COTA is.

If you're trying to keep a latin American round, and not duplicating 2 rounds in the same country...then yeah, Mexico City is the obvious choice.

[TF110]

Neither one excites me, honestly. Was looking forward to Interlagos since it's at altitude and has a unique layout. COTA and Mexico City are boring, the former having issues with the track that might not even let them race because it'll be shut down for renovation.

[Mike E]

Eurasia have submitted an entry request for one of their Ligiers for Spa.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/1...p2-ligier.html

[Juntos]

Originally Posted by Mike E

Eurasia have submitted an entry request for one of their Ligiers for Spa.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/1...p2-ligier.html

I don't see a single sponsor in that car. I wonder where the moneys comes from.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

Update on the possible (likely?) Interlaces cancellation and potential replacement(s) - seems Kyalami is out, leaving Mexico City and CotA:

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...-future-round/

Man, you just gotta love Neveu's continuous delusions of grandeur...

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Mexico City is the obvious one, as said before.

Originally Posted by MaskedRacer

Uh..no. COTA is.

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

If you're trying to keep a latin American round, and not duplicating 2 rounds in the same country...then yeah, Mexico City is the obvious choice.

It appears the ACO has spoken and COTA it is instead of Brazil. It will make back-to-back US rounds within 1 month as the new race is scheduled for Feb 22-23, 3 weeks later. It appears the later date is to avoid the Formula E event at Mexico City and the Super Bowl (Feb 2 for those who believe football should actually be played with your feet). Frees up drivers for Bathurst 12 Hour BUT it is direct conflict with the AsianLMS and multiple drivers are in both WEC and AsLMS cars.
All of of course pending approval from the motorsports council

[Coach Ep]

Disappointing on many levels but also comes with some benefits (non Bathurst clash, reduced freight costs).

[TheMightyM]

One thing that the later February date at COTA does versus earlier in the month is get you (on average) 3°F or 4° F higher temperatures in Austin, which can make a difference.

The average temperature in Austin in late February is a high of 67°F and a low of 46°F. That said, it’s still winter and there’s a chance that the weekend could be rather cold. Or swelteringly hot. Or both, within the same week.

As an example, the high temp on Feb. 8, 2019 was 39°F (4°C). A week later, it got to 91°F (33°C).

Source: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/au...weather/351193

[Coach Ep]

Let's hope the weather will be kind. I'm also hoping they'll be able to secure World Challenge America as support series - currently WCA is scheduled to have their opening event at the same track only a week later (first weekend of March). We'll see.

[Purist]

They'd better hope winter isn't too harsh, so they can actually get that repaving and whatever else done in time. The WEC would really have egg on their face if this one fell through, too.

And yes, I very much echo TF110 in my feelings about either Austin or Mexico City not particularly exciting me, especially relative to Interlagos.

If they're actually doing a reshuffle, as well as possibly a net new event, that will be interesting to see how it pans out. And I would imagine with Sebring already ensconced, Austin is a one-off as a stop-gap measure.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Purist

The WEC would really have egg on their face if this one fell through, too.

Egg on face is practically a WEC business plan by now.

[TF110]

I would have liked to see an effort made to run the Argentine track I spoke about before but I guess America is there for the taking.

[Purist]

And Potrero de los Funes has the added bonus of going from 2,500 (Interlagos) up to 4,000 ft in elevation.

[TF110]

It would be great to see the cars there. Nothing is that high up except for Mexico City. Would be a good test of downforce but turbo cars would be favorable for sure.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by TF110

It would be great to see the cars there. Nothing is that high up except for Mexico City. Would be a good test of downforce but turbo cars would be favorable for sure.

But they would change the bop to downplay the effects of attitude so I'm not sure how that matters at all

Anyway obviously Portrero's a great circuit as itself

[joeb]

Does anybody else think it is funny that Jan Magnussen is in the WEC rookie test with High Class Racing?

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/1...okie-test.html

I mean, he has been racing for 30 years!

[Purist]

It's like when Fernando was a "rookie" at Indy, I suppose. But yes, it feels weird.

As for BoP at altitude, there are limits. A few years back in World Challenge, K-PAX withdrew their McLarens from the round at Miller, because according to them, the cars just wouldn't run right with the settings they were told they had to use. Also, it's kind of impossible to fully account for all the knock-on effects, like the interplay of cooling, downforce, and engine power.

I'm less concerned with ByKolles, but it was good to see that Glickenhaus is treated like their own nameplate, so they won't have to find a "partner" to be eligible.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by joeb

Does anybody else think it is funny that Jan Magnussen is in the WEC rookie test with High Class Racing?

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/1...okie-test.html

I mean, he has been racing for 30 years!

That’s great Didn’t Alonso do the rookie test? Or was that Montoya? Anyway, it’s great he’s in the car and fun it's at a rookie test.

[MaskedRacer]

I don't think Toyota is too worried about the rest of the WEC season. As long as they get their 2nd place finishes one of them will still be comfortably in the points lead. And of course Le Mans has no success ballast. Honestly that is the only race people remember who won in the years ahead. They don't mind playing ball with this handicap ballast for this year. If they don't win a race for the rest of the pre Le Mans WEC season. They won't cry. They will just focus on keeping 4 wheels on the track.

[Deleted]

I guess there's a race or something at Bahrain this weekend but look what the P1 success bop nonsense & accelerated-and-to-be-missed P2 tire war have done to the difference between classes

2019 fastest Q lap
LMP1 - 1:42.396
LMP2 - 1:44.869

2017 fastest Q lap
LMP1 - 1:39.084
LMP2 - 1:47.058

[TF110]

lmp2 is really close to lmp1 now.

[chernaudi]

And I do blame the ACO's success ballast for LMP1 making the LMP1s heavier than last year and cutting power to them, while there's also a tire war in LMP2.

Not to mention that Shanghai and Bahrain are your typical start-stop Tilkedromes where you have long straight, slow corner, long straight, slow corner.

[Columbus]

Anyone know where I can watch WEC on UK TV?