[WEC Race] 2013 FIA WEC - Round 7 - 6 Hours of Shanghai

[Beetle]

After a torrential typhoon nearly rained out the entirety of the 6 Hours of Fuji just a few weeks ago, teams are hoping for a better outing as the FIA WEC makes the short trip to Shanghai, China, for round 7 of the season. Meteorology is definitely on the minds of all of those attending the 6 Hours of Shanghai on November 9. Despite having a classified "humid subtropical climate", morale going into the event, on and off the track, is high, as the region generally stays cool and dry in the late autumn. Shanghai International Circuit, located in Jiading district, will be the venue for round 7. Built as ultramodern as possible, rather like the city itself, the track lacks history and character and isn't a favorite among drivers or viewers. It has often been criticized for overuse of runoff area and lack of elevation change, but while it's not exactly pretty to look at, the circuit generally produces surprisingly thrilling racing. Most notably (and surprisingly), Toyota will again bring two of their cars, not just one, to the event. After a Toyota victory was tinged with disappointment by an Audi championship wrap-up and a victory in the wet, which some would call "chance", the team is certainly hoping for a bare-knuckle brawl at Shanghai to prove who is truly the quickest, not just in the wet and by circumstance. Fielding two cars will definitely improve their chances against Audi. Also, after winning the final race of the American Le Mans Series, Nicolas Prost will return to the FIA WEC at Shanghai as third driver in the #12 Rebellion Racing Lola Toyota with Andrea Belicchi and Mathias Beche, who are looking to pick up the scraps from the two battling factory teams. Also of note, Greaves Motorsport will return to the WEC under its usual name (it was under the GAINER International moniker last race), with Eric Lux, and Nissan GT Academy champion Mark Shulzhitskiy, a newcomer to the series. The Aston Martin lineup continues to be in flux, with Frederic Makowiecki, Bruno Senna, Richie Stanaway, and Paul Dalla Lana still not confirmed for Shanghai. The entry list remains relatively unchanged for the rest of the grid as 28 sportscars from around the world will do battle at the massive, intimidating, and intense Shanghai International Circuit from November 8-9. Come one, come all, to the 6 Hours of Shanghai!

After a rather uninteresting stretch of races after the 24 Heures du Mans, including the washed out 6 Hours of Fuji, it seems like things might be finally going in the right direction for the LMP1 class with Toyota closing the gap to Audi in pace. The Japanese squad again fields two of their cars, the #7, winner at Fuji, driven by Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre (Kazuki Nakajima appears to be absent from the entry list), and the #8, driven by Anthony Davidson, Stephane Sarrazin, and Sebastien Buemi, as usual. Audi can no longer be considered firm "favorites" after Toyota all but matched the German team's overall pace and managed to take the victory in treacherous conditions.

In LMP2, OAK Racing finally managed to find a break in G-Drive Racing's defenses and pounced on the opportunity, taking the win and breaking G-Drive's two-race winning streak (Interlagos and Austin). The winning car at Fuji, the #35 driven by Ricardo Gonzalez, Bertrand Baguette, and Martin "Plowey" Plowmann, leads the championship for LMP2 drivers, just ahead of Luis Perez Companc, Pierre Kaffer, and Nicolas Minassian, the drivers for Pecom Racing's sole entry. The next OAK Racing machine follows closely after, in the hands of David Heinemeier-Hansson, Olivier Pla, and The Cookie Monster (Alex Brundle), while G-Drive's Roman Rusinov, John Martin, and Mike Conway are still suffering from a shaky start to the 2013 season as well as a disqualification at Le Mans for a technical infringement. David Cheng, the only Chinese driver in the race, will replace Erik Maris in OAK Racing's distinctive "art car", unveiled at Le Mans. Finally, Lotus is anxious to repeat the success they had at Circuit of the Americas after a challenging weekend in Japan.

After Aston Martin Racing claimed the second win in a row at Fuji in the GTE-Pro category, AF Corse and Porsche AG Team Manthey must be as eager as ever to claim a win in what can only be described as a mostly one-sided season. Strangely, the points don't reflect that. In the World Cup for GT Drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni lead 3rd placed Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner by 9.5 points, with the lethal Lieb/Lietz combo in the middle. Despite Frederic Makowiecki's consecutive race wins, a retirement at Le Mans and an absence in Brazil has lodged him firmly down the points. However, in the chase for the manufacturer's championship, Aston Martin only lags 4.5 points behind Ferrari, with Porsche lying a further 16.5 points behind the leader. GTE-Pro is a turbulent world and the racing is incredibly close. Expect to see a bumper-to-bumper battle between the two AF Corse Ferrari 458s, at least one of the Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantages, and the two Porsche 911s... for six grueling hours!

Finally, in the GTE-Am category, Aston Martin Racing continues to dominate with their "Young Driver" program. For the #95 car, it is all about catching up after a devastating Le Mans, both statistically and emotionally, and a retirement at Sao Paulo. However, the #95 has shown stunning speed and surprising endurance at the Circuit of the Americas (2nd place) and Fuji Speedway (win), and hopes are high as rapid Danish driver Nicki Thiim returns to his duties at Aston Martin Racing replacing the late Allan Simonsen. The #96 Aston Martin has proven more consistent over the course of the season, with three podium finishes in the last three races and no finishes outside the top five in class. Therefore, they lead the championship, but the induction of Roald Goethe back onto the team may cost them valuable time as the Goethe's pace, when compared to the pros, is simply not up to par. The #76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche has been a lurker all year, with consistent finishes, even a win at Le Mans... and if any of the drivers in the #96 AMR car make a mistake, IMSA Performance Matmut will be there to pick up points. Finally, the South African Jack Gerber is hoping to finally turn things around for the #61 car, which has had a very disappointing season due almost exclusively to Gerber's mistakes. All in all, an exciting, dynamic race will be on our hands in GTE-Am.

HELPFUL LINKS

CIRCUIT WEBSITE

TICKETS

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8

Start	End	Race	Session	Duration
08:00	10:00	FIA WEC	FREE PRACTICE 1	120'
10:15	10:45	Boss GP	FREE PRACTICE	30'
10:45	11:15	Media Hot Laps		30'
11:15	11:45	VIP Hot Laps		30'
12:00	14:00	FIA WEC	FREE PRACTICE 2	120'
14:15	14:45	VIP Hot Laps		30'
14:45	15:15	VIP Hot Laps		30'
15:15	15:45	Boss GP	QUALIFYING	30'
16:00	16:25	FIA WEC	QUALIFYING - LMGTE Pro & LMGTE Am	25'
16:35	17:00	FIA WEC	QUALIFYING - LMP1 & LMP2	25'
17:10		FIA WEC	QUALIFIYING PRESS CONFERENCE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9

Start	End	Race	Session	Duration
08:45	09:15	Boss GP	RACE	30'
09:00	09:30	FIA WEC	AUTOGRAPH SESSION	30'
09:20	09:50	FIA WEC	PIT WALK	30'
09:20	09:50	VIP Hot Laps	AUDI	30'
10:00		FIA WEC	PITS OPEN
10:10		FIA WEC	PITS CLOSED
10:15		FIA WEC	GRID WALK opening	35'
10:40		FIA WEC	GRID WALK gate closing
10:50		FIA WEC	GRID WALK end of the track evacuation
10:56		FIA WEC	GREEN FLAG
11:00	17:00	FIA WEC	RACE
17:15		FIA WEC	PRESS CONFERENCE

ENTRY LIST

EXTENDED WEATHER FORECAST

HOTELS AND ACCOMMODATIONS

TRANSPORTATION
From central Shanghai to the circuit by car
From Shanghai West Railway Station (Shanghai Metro, Line 11)

TRACK MAP

LAP OF SHANGHAI INTL.

ANDY BLACKMORE SPOTTER GUIDES

FRC PREDICTIONS COMPETITION!

COUNTDOWN AND TIME CONVERSION PAGES
FP1
FP2
Qualifying
Race

DRIVER STANDINGS AFTER FUJI
1. (#2) McNish / Kristensen / Duval - 147
2. (#1) Lotterer / Fässler / Tréluyer - 106.5
3. (#8) Davidson / Sarrazin / Buemi - 81.25
4. (#12) Beche - 51.5
5. (#7) Wurz / Lapierre - 49.5
...
1. (#35) Baguette / Plowmann / Gonzalez - 114.5
2. (#49) Companc / Kaffer / Minassian - 103
3. (#24) Pla / Heinemeier-Hansson / Brundle - 96.5
4. (#26) Rusinov / Martin / Conway - 81
5. (#25) Walker / Graves - 44
...
1. (#51) Fisichella / Bruni - 108
2. (#92) Lieb / Lietz - 102
3. (#97) Mücke / Turner - 99.5
4. (#?) Senna - 76
5. (#71) Kobayashi / Vilander - 73
6. (#?) Makowiecki - 72.5
7. (#92) Dumas - 72
8. (#91) Pilet / Bergmeister - 66.5
9. (#91) Bernhard / (#?) Dumbreck - 42
10. (#81) Malucelli - 30
11. (#96) Campbell-Walter / Hall - 28












Bring it on, Shanghai!

[Beetle]

Alright, for starters, the first course of pre-race chatter.

Where's KCMG? They are a Chinese-based team, they raced at Fuji just a few days ago... you'd think that if they made it to Fuji they would make it to Shanghai, as well, as it could be considered their home race. They didn't have any car-destroying crashes at Fuji, as far as I'm aware of, and there's no Asian Le Mans Series duties until December 8th at Sepang... so what's stopping them?

Also, as the Aston Martin driver lineup continues to flex about, will Bruno Senna or Frederic Makowiecki be racing? Since Goethe's back, where to for Bruno Senna? And why hasn't Mako been immediately confirmed? He's racing at Twin Ring Motegi for Super GT on November 3rd... that gives him plenty of time to hop over to Shanghai for the 6 Hours. If Paul Dalla Lana comes back aboard, considering he is done with those "business commitments", there will be a bit of a fight for the third seat in the #99, I think: Stanaway or Senna.

Where's Kaz Nakajima? He'll be racing at Twin Ring Motegi on the 3rd also but surely he could make it to Shanghai... he has five days to do it. Then again, it looks like a sealed deal since there's no "TBA" in the 3rd slot for the #7; just a " - ".

[banzailap]

Kazuki Nakajima (and Richard Bradley) will be competing in the final Super Formula Meeting in Suzuka on the Shanghai week-end. Given that the 7 car participation is a recent decision, Kazuki had that prior commitment. As he is one of the stars in Super Formula and neither Lotterer or Duval will race in Suzuka, it would have been a serious blow for that last SF meeting. Kazuki's presence is more valuable at Suzuka than at Shanghai this time.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by banzailap

Kazuki Nakajima (and Richard Bradley) will be competing in the final Super Formula Meeting in Suzuka on the Shanghai week-end. Given that the 7 car participation is a recent decision, Kazuki had that prior commitment. As he is one of the stars in Super Formula and neither Lotterer or Duval will race in Suzuka, it would have been a serious blow for that last SF meeting. Kazuki's presence is more valuable at Suzuka than at Shanghai this time.

I agree. Thanks for the info, banzailap!

[TF110]

Hes also in contention for a championship in S-F. The #7 Toyota is not in contention for a championship in the wec. Also, he was MIA from the #7 car at Shanghai last year, but Toyota won the race. Imo, its not a big deal but he is quick. I betcha they stay with 4 hybrid zones like last year. But those zones were all in favor of Toyota in terms of speed in the exit of the corner. Only turn 11 may be close to 120kmh.

[KA]

Originally Posted by Beetle

Where's KCMG? They are a Chinese-based team, they raced at Fuji just a few days ago... you'd think that if they made it to Fuji they would make it to Shanghai, as well, as it could be considered their home race. They didn't have any car-destroying crashes at Fuji, as far as I'm aware of, and there's no Asian Le Mans Series duties until December 8th at Sepang... so what's stopping them?

I wondered about that as well- I could have sworn that they originally said they planned to do Fuji and Shanghai. Seems weird that the Chinese team would do the Japanese race, but not their 'home' one. Maybe a question of $$$?

Is it a case of they only had the budget for the Asian LMS races post-Le Mans? They had a couple of Japanese drivers in the car at Fuji, so maybe that was underwritten by Japanese sponsors, and they've not been able to cut a deal with anyone for Shanghai? Still seems strange though...

[TF110]

Heres the track map with speeds in the corners from Audi's 2012 wec preview-

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by TF110

I betcha they stay with 4 hybrid zones like last year. But those zones were all in favor of Toyota in terms of speed in the exit of the corner. Only turn 11 may be close to 120kmh.

No need to bet. The braking zones for Shanghai were already announced in April: http://www.fia.com/sites/default/fil...s_SHANGHAI.pdf

[TF110]

Originally Posted by TF110

Hes also in contention for a championship in S-F. The #7 Toyota is not in contention for a championship in the wec. Also, he was MIA from the #7 car at Shanghai last year, but Toyota won the race. Imo, its not a big deal but he is quick. I betcha they stay with 4 hybrid zones like last year. But those zones were all in favor of Toyota in terms of speed in the exit of the corner. Only turn 11 may be close to 120kmh.

I was wrong, was thinking Bahrain! Nakajima wasn't absent at Shanghai last year.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by TF110

Hes also in contention for a championship in S-F. The #7 Toyota is not in contention for a championship in the wec.

AFAIK Nakajima is no longer in contention for the Super Formula championship. At the moment Lotterer has 37 points and Nakajima 16 points. In Suzuka at most 18 points can be earned.

[Gingers4Justice]

For goodness sake Beetle, couldn't you put a bit of effort into these race threads?

[TF110]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

AFAIK Nakajima is no longer in contention for the Super Formula championship. At the moment Lotterer has 37 points and Nakajima 16 points. In Suzuka at most 18 points can be earned.

He and Lotterer are a part of Team Tom's who are leading the championship. If he or his teammates don't finish or doesn't race they could lose to the 2nd placed team.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

No need to bet. The braking zones for Shanghai were already announced in April: http://www.fia.com/sites/default/fil...s_SHANGHAI.pdf

Cheers for the link, gwyllion.

Originally Posted by Gingers4Justice

For goodness sake Beetle, couldn't you put a bit of effort into these race threads?

Glad that you like them, sir! Over the winter I'll be working with online magazine creators and websites to continue developing a prototype WIP that stems almost exclusively from these race threads. The content will be the same, if not a little more thorough with extra bits added on, and I can guarantee that all 10 Tenths members will be able to download the associated files absolutely for free.

I hope that's a suitable cliffhanger.

[Samoan Attorney]

Beetle,

I am sure that everyone on this board appreciates your efforts, I know some journalist (so called) who do less. So a big thank you.

[Beetle]

An article from Autosport.com by Gary Watkins...

(http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/110770)

A fourth graduate of Nissan's GT Academy is to join the prototype ranks with a one-off at the Shanghai round of this year's World Endurance Championship in November.

Mark Shulzhitskiy, the winner of last year's Russian Academy, will follow in the footsteps of Lucas Ordonez, Jordan Tresson and Jann Mardenborough when he moves up to P2 to drive a Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SNs in China on November 9.

The 24-year-old, who is racing with the RJN Academy team in this year's FIA GT and the Blancpain Endurance series, is being given a try-out in a P2 ahead of a possible Le Mans 24 Hours debut next year.

The move parallels the way Ordonez was assessed with a run in the KSM team's Lola-Judd at the 2010 Silverstone Le Mans Series round prior his full-time graduation to the category.

Nissan global motorsport director Darren Cox said: "Mark has done an excellent job so far and we want to see if he is ready for Le Mans. We're doing the same thing as we did with Lucas, and look what he has gone on to achieve.

"We want to give Mark a chance in P2 and we reckon he will be good."

Shulzhitskiy's only confirmed team-mate so far is American Eric Lux, who drove with the team in the Sebring 12 Hours and the Le Mans 24 Hours earlier this year.

Former British Formula 3 champion Robbie Kerr will return to the G-Drive/Delta-ADR P2 squad to drive its second ORECA-Nissan 03 at Shanghai after a two-race absence.

US-based Chinese driver David Cheng will get his chance in the WEC with the OAK team with which he won the most recent Asian Le Mans Series race at Zhuhai in China.

The 23-year-old will share the French squad's third Morgan-Nissan LMP2 with team boss Jacques Nicolet and Keiko Ihara.

LMP2 is a constantly changing world. Up-and-coming sportscar drivers often join LMP2 teams only to find themselves with a factory LMP1 seat a few years later. It bodes well for stiff competition in 2014!

I had a chance to see Mark Shulzhitskiy at Paul Ricard for the Blancpain Endurance race and I recall he was very quick.

[Simmi]

Looking forward to seeing how Shulzhitskiy gets on. It's a name I need to learn how to spell (rather than just copy and pasting off Beetle).

Another driver announcement - Craig Dolby in at ADR-Delta: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/110859

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Looking forward to seeing how Shulzhitskiy gets on. It's a name I need to learn how to spell (rather than just copy and pasting off Beetle).

Another driver announcement - Craig Dolby in at ADR-Delta: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/110859

If I weren't quoting this post, I wouldn't know how to spell Schulzitski either.

To be honest, I've never heard of Craig Dolby, nor do I know what to expect of him. He seems like a pretty talented young driver with some potential, at least from what I've read. James Walker really hasn't been that impressive this year. His pace simply hasn't been up to par with the rest of the post-open-wheel young guys like Turvey, Beche, Panciatici, Hartley, etc.

I hope Craig can get a good result this round. We need more guys like him.

[cmk]

Curious, how do you judge Walker as being off the pace of a whole bunch of ELMS drivers he doesn't compete against?

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by cmk

Curious, how do you judge Walker as being off the pace of a whole bunch of ELMS drivers he doesn't compete against?

I got Archie Hamilton and James Walker mixed up, apologies for the inaccurate assessment of his pace. Looking at his times now, he seems pretty up to par.

[ger80]

Whats the Boss GP in the program? Doesnt look like its the old F1 cars series from Europe. Poor program considering its a world championship ...

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by ger80

Whats the Boss GP in the program? Doesnt look like its the old F1 cars series from Europe. Poor program considering its a world championship ...

On long haul events I don't think anyone can be picky about support events.

F1 can't even put together a support package in these territories so the WEC has pretty much no chance.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by Simmi

On long haul events I don't think anyone can be picky about support events.

F1 can't even put together a support package in these territories so the WEC has pretty much no chance.

And their race is hardly 90 minutes long. If your race is a full six hours, support races aren't that important..imo.

[wewantourdarbyback]

Originally Posted by Simmi

On long haul events I don't think anyone can be picky about support events.

F1 can't even put together a support package in these territories so the WEC has pretty much no chance.

F1 has never been able to put together a decent support package beyond the series it owns, even in Europe.

[deggis]

Originally Posted by wewantourdarbyback

F1 has never been able to put together a decent support package beyond the series it owns, even in Europe.

Not sure if "able" is the best way to say that. Not sure if they really need, especially for those European races where they already have GP2+Supercup.

[Beetle]

Sorry for my prolonged absence, gents. I've been extremely busy in school at the moment.

So, breaking the silence, here's a minor update to the entry list going into Shanghai: Bruno Senna will drive along Pedro Lamy in the #99 Aston Martin. It looks like Fred Mako won't be competing. Sad, I had the privilege to meet him and he was kind enough to give me a tour of the pits just a few hours before the start of the race. That being said, I hope he returns for the 6 Hours of Bahrain.