[WEC Race] 2013 FIA WEC 6 Hours of São Paulo ◦◦◦ RACE THREAD

[Articus]

To be honest I think that there is actually alot to read from the practice sessions even though everyone normally says otherwise...At Le Mans, Spa, etc.... We always noticed that the quick cars are always topping the practice sheets...At Le Mans the general storyline was Audi near the top and Toyota seconds back. But here Toyota actually look extremely competitive already. I already get that feeling. Whereas in F1 practice sessions some people are doing low fuel runs. Comparatively WEC practice sections are much more straighforward because the aim is race setup through and through. Maybe Audi was using a harder tire, Maybe Toyota was using a softer tire, who knows but what I do know is this never happened at Le Mans. Toyota wasn't topping any time sheets. So to top a time sheet is always a good sign.

[TF110]

Toyota was pretty dominant here last season and have a good setup to go on. With improvements to the car and engine its no wonder they're already besting last year's pole (Don't forget it was Audi who set the best lap in last year's race).

[MJones94]

Originally Posted by TF110

Toyota was pretty dominant here last season and have a good setup to go on. With improvements to the car and engine its no wonder they're already besting last year's pole (Don't forget it was Audi who set the best lap in last year's race).

Do you know what they've improved to the engine, specifically?

[TF110]

Japanese Samurai posted an interview with Hisatake Murata about the upgrades Toyota would bring.

Whats noticeable from practice is that in practice 1 Toyota and Audi have gone better than they did last year. But Rebellion are over a second slower than their best time, as are the lmp2 cars. So imo, this isn't down to ideal track conditions alone, but the Audi and Toyota cars are definitely a lot faster.

[avvelenamento]

No improvement at all, at le mans TMG sacrified power to be able to finish the race without fails like 2012, now that race is 6 hours long, can be used all the power the engine can get.

[avvelenamento]

Anyway last year was more about michelin toyota (peugeot conpound) vs michelin audi.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by avvelenamento

No improvement at all, at le mans TMG sacrified power to be able to finish the race without fails like 2012, now that race is 6 hours long, can be used all the power the engine can get.

1:22.3 vs 1:21.8 is a decrease of .5 second, I call that an improvement.

Toyota used the 2013 compounds at Spa and were over a second back on Audi... that is an improvement.

[Eryk03]

But 0.5 sec fastert it's not "a lot faster". And Audi even less.

[avvelenamento]

MJones94
asked about engine's improvement. I replied writing that the engine is the same of LM with a more aggressive set-up because has to work just for 6 hours and not 24.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Eryk03

But 0.5 sec fastert it's not "a lot faster". And Audi even less.

Sorry, but thats just silly. To beat POLE time from last year in PRACTICE 1 by a half second is a lot faster.

[Simmi]

We've only had FP1 so it stands to reason they can go quicker. But likely so can Audi.

[Bandicoot17]

Yes but this is FP1 so the times should get faster, last seasons fastest FP1 time was a 24.370 by the #1 Audi and the Toyota did a 25.055.

I doubt we'll see improvements of 3 seconds ala last year, but they should go quicker as the track rubbers in and they finalise setups etc.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Simmi

We've only had FP1 so it stands to reason they can go quicker. But likely so can Audi.

Audi is already 3 tenths faster than their fastest qualifying time, so both teams have made gains.

[TF110]

Practice 2 underway now, about 30 minutes in. Audi down to 1:21.9

[MyNameIsNigel]

A series of quick laps by MrLM on his first run. He is regularly doing 1:22s laps even after more than 30 laps on the same set of tires. That's very consistent.

[TF110]

33 laps then they pit. See how far the Toyota goes.

Edit- they pit one lap after

[MyNameIsNigel]

And a quick lap by Sarrazin as well. Audi pitting after 32/33 laps. Toyota still running.

[Eryk03]

Toyota one more lap.

[TF110]

Not sure that was as far as they can go. They went a bit further in race than in practice before.

[MyNameIsNigel]

Any issue with Duval's car ? Pitting after just a few laps...

[MyNameIsNigel]

Originally Posted by TF110

Not sure that was as far as they can go. They went a bit further in race than in practice before.

Possibly hiding their cards ?

[TF110]

Darren Turner just sets the best time in GTE.

[gwyllion]

Since Audi and Toyota started practice 2 with a long run, I decided to calculate the average lap times (excluding in and out laps):

• Audi #1: 33 laps, 1:23.690 average
• Audi #2: 33 laps, 1:23.519 average
• Toyota #8: 34 laps, 1:24.825 average

It is difficult to draw to conclusions from these numbers.

I am surprised that Toyota could only do one more lap than Audi given the favorable BoP they received before Le Mans. Maybe they are not showing their cars, or they are running a less economical engine mapping.

For some reason, Sarrazan was unable to set the fast lap times that Davidson was able to do.

[gwyllion]

According to https://www.dailysportscar.com/?p=13947 Audi had a cooling issue during practice 1, which they were able to fix.

Appropriately perhaps, it was a cooling issue affecting both cars that possibly blunted Audi’s performance in the first practice session; “We had a small problem with the radiator, but it’s already been sorted,” said Marcel Fässler.

Perhaps that explains why the performance Audi was on a bit better during the second practice session.

[Beetle]

After looking through the practice results from today, it seems like it will again be an uphill battle for the lone Toyota. But the #8 isn't vastly slower, so I fancy it'll hang with the lead two.

In LMP2, it seems that G-Drive will be dominant again (only LMP2 car to break into the 1:27s). If your "weak link" Roman Rusinov that should tell you something.

Also it seems like GTE may be a Silverstone repeat for Aston. 1-2, 4, 8, and 11 overall in FP2. Also it's fabulous to see every GTE car except the Krohn Racing Ferrari separated by less than 2.5 seconds. That makes me think possibly GTE and GT3 as two separate classes in the future if GTE-Am teams are getting so fast...