WEC Round One: Qatar - March 2nd, 2024

[Mike E]

It's a long race on Saturday. Could see a bit of this:

'***Numerous drivers were hit with penalties for track limits abuse throughout Tuesday’s two sessions. Three drivers were hit with 10-minute stop-and-hold penalties: Marino Sato in the No. 95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and two of the drivers of the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8, Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann.

***Picking up five-minute penalties were Paul di Resta in the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8, Antonio Fuoco in the No. 50 Ferrari 499P, both Timur Boguslavskiy and Kelvin van der Linde in the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3, Darren Leung in the No. 31 WRT BMW M4 GT3 and Giorgio Roda in the No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3'

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...sday-notebook/

[Mike E]

The race is called 1812km but is it actually going to run to a time like the 1000 Miles of Sebring?

[tomcug]

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...-qatar-podium/
So could have been the fuel indeed...

[flatlandsman]

So sad for Peugeot but if that is the end for that car, I suppose it is fitting for it to end like that, I hate it when a unique design does not work, I love the openness of this category but I also think they were not good enough with certain things.

Also when will these tv idiots learn, they are so completely and utterly obsessed with pit reaction they leave everything else, we do not need to see your pathetic victory graphic when there is a battle still on track on the last lap, it is so bloody orchestrated and boring. You are NOTmaking a movie or a tv show you are covering a sports event, and while the track action is live THAT is your priority not some sad people in a pitbox.

Be original show the body battle the pathetic choreographed garbage can wait until later.

[Adam43]

Oh dear.

[Aysedasi]

Entertaining stuff. Sadly I had to be somewhere else with an hour and a half to go and I was really disappointed to find out what happened to the Peugeot. Great performance until so close to the end. Shame that The Doctor didn't get a podium in GT3.

[GT3_Fan]

Long live the WEC hypercar/GT3 era! And look at how natural a race plays out when you don't have artificial safety cars bunching the field up (ahem..IMSA and SRO). WEC put them to shame today!

[joeb]

Originally Posted by GT3_Fan

Long live the WEC hypercar/GT3 era! And look at how natural a race plays out when you don't have artificial safety cars bunching the field up (ahem..IMSA and SRO). WEC put them to shame today!

That is exactly right, and all races should just be run at this circuit from now on.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Entertaining stuff. Sadly I had to be somewhere else with an hour and a half to go and I was really disappointed to find out what happened to the Peugeot. Great performance until so close to the end. Shame that The Doctor didn't get a podium in GT3.

He didn't, but it was a solid performance from him & the team that was only bettered by, respectively, a hero stint from Malaykhin and two quicker cars on pure pace.

WRT should be pleased with that result, 4th (and 6th) out of 18th is a good start. The Doctor will have his scheduled appointment with the podium at some point this season

[Simmi]

Okay nope they've been DQ'd - https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/9...rama/10582524/

Sucks

[Adam43]

They have been “thrown out of the World Endurance Championships opening round”. Makes it sound like they were barred from the Old Vic.

Someone’s been to journalism school.

Will they ever recover from this?!

[Aysedasi]

I think so. He did a very good job.

[joeb]

One aspect of the new two class format that I didn't know I was going to enjoy so much is the fact that half of the field won't score points. When we had three or four classes they were barely enough cars to make a top 10 in each class in most events. Now getting a point is something to work for and I think it makes the races all that more exciting throughout the field.

[Adam43]

Thanks, I hadn’t seen that. Got a link? Not seen it on the usuals.

[Gerard C]

I found the footage interesting and the on board views were of good quality IMO. Seeing JE Vergne struggling to find a solution to reach the start/finish line was not enjoyable tho. Sad day for this french team.

[veeten]

Can't say that I have any to immediately post, but have been going over some of the more reliable sources and sites. The best post-race analysis usually comes at least 12-18 hours after, when everyone has had a good night's sleep, so's they can come at everything with a more clear view.

It looks like it all centers around that last pit stop, which for Peugeot was a "splash and dash", to keep that 2nd place, if not make an effort for 1st. During that segment, the power graph showed that the #93 had a significant amount as compared to that of the Porsches. But by that penultimate lap, coming around the first turn, the Pug looses power and both Porsches pass him. It couldn't have burned through that much fuel that quickly, unless... Oh no! that's when I figured that the fuel map was not reset for the new amount.

That's my assessment, but I wouldn't be surprised if the data, and others, come to a similar conclusion.

[PanozDP01]

Does WEC have BOP ?

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by PanozDP01

Does WEC have BOP ?

I don't know. If it does I am sure there would be a thread about it.

[v8supes]

6 weeks until the next race. Its an outrage! Cant wait.

[Adam43]

By the power graph do you mean the remaining energy graphic? That shows how much energy has been used / is left in the stint. It isn’t a direct measurement of the fuel in the tank.

The sportscar365 article says they had a problem fueling the car. That graphic wouldn’t change because of that.

[veeten]

... which makes Sebring a great hold-over until Imola. Seeing as Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, and Lamborghini will all be there, as well as Acura. Should be good...

[Adam43]

Top speeds!

Fastest recorded in the speed trap and the average of the Top 50, 100 and 200 laps to see if we can remove the influence of any great tows.

Average Maximum Speed

Rank	Car	Top Speed	Top 50	Top 100	Top 200	Most Common
1	93 Peugeot	309.5	304.9	303.3	301.4	300.8
2	5 Porsche	308.6	304.3	303.2	301.8	301.7
3	35 Alpine	309.5	304.2	303.1	301.8	301.7
4	36 Alpine	307.7	304	303	301.8	301.7
5	12 Porsche	307.7	303.2	302.4	301.3	301.7
6	6 Porsche	306.8	303.1	302.1	300.6	300.8
7	94 Peugeot	306.8	303	301.5	299.6	300.8
8	83 Ferrari	307.7	302.9	301.5	299.4	300.8
9	51 Ferrari	305.9	302.5	301.4	299.9	300
10	50 Ferrari	305.1	302.1	300.9	299.4	299.2
11	7 Toyota	305.9	301.8	300.7	299.4	299.2
12	99 Porsche	303.4	301.2	300.5	299.4	300
13	38 Porsche	306.8	301.2	300.4	299.2	299.2
14	8 Toyota	304.2	301	300.3	299.2	299.2
15	63 Lamborghini	302.5	300.5	299.7	298.6	299.2
16	15 BMW	308.6	300	299	297.8	297.5
17	20 BMW	301.7	299.1	298.4	297.4	298.3
18	2 Cadillac	305.1	299.6	298.4	296.9	297.5
19	11 Isotta Fraschini	300.8	297	296	282.1	295.1

Ranked by top 100.

Isotta Fraschini was closer in practice, but loses out here as they didn't get as many laps in.

Of the factory teams the Cadillac and BMW have different approaches.

[Adam43]

How did they compare?

Ranked by average of top 100 laps:

Rank	Car	Fastest	F (%)	Top 50	50 (%)	Top 100	100 (%)	Top 200	200 (%)	Laps
1	6 Porsche	1:40.592	100.8%	1:41.749	100%	1:42.193	100%	1:42.749	100%	335
2	5 Porsche	1:39.748	100%	1:41.827	100.1%	1:42.212	100.0%	1:42.759	100.0%	335
3	12 Porsche	1:40.795	101.0%	1:42.099	100.3%	1:42.468	100.3%	1:42.964	100.2%	335
4	93 Peugeot	1:41.441	101.7%	1:42.185	100.4%	1:42.480	100.3%	1:42.919	100.2%	334
5	2 Cadillac	1:41.625	101.9%	1:42.457	100.7%	1:42.752	100.5%	1:43.184	100.4%	334
6	50 Ferrari	1:41.595	101.9%	1:42.526	100.8%	1:42.842	100.6%	1:43.263	100.5%	333
7	94 Peugeot	1:41.804	102.1%	1:42.638	100.9%	1:42.957	100.7%	1:43.490	100.7%	316
8	83 Ferrari	1:41.699	102.0%	1:42.650	100.9%	1:42.973	100.8%	1:43.389	100.6%	334
9	99 Porsche	1:41.414	101.7%	1:42.631	100.9%	1:42.994	100.8%	1:43.466	100.7%	333
10	36 Alpine	1:42.014	102.3%	1:42.808	101.0%	1:43.156	100.9%	1:43.640	100.9%	332
11	38 Porsche	1:41.738	102.0%	1:42.825	101.1%	1:43.159	100.9%	1:43.641	100.9%	309
12	8 Toyota	1:42.553	102.8%	1:42.915	101.1%	1:43.186	101.0%	1:43.631	100.9%	333
13	7 Toyota	1:41.990	102.2%	1:42.908	101.1%	1:43.205	101.0%	1:43.604	100.8%	334
14	51 Ferrari	1:41.842	102.1%	1:42.974	101.2%	1:43.230	101.0%	1:43.655	100.9%	332
15	20 BMW	1:42.247	102.5%	1:42.999	101.2%	1:43.296	101.1%	1:43.704	100.9%	332
16	35 Alpine	1:42.042	102.3%	1:43.044	101.3%	1:43.313	101.1%	1:43.733	101.0%	333
17	15 BMW	1:41.898	102.2%	1:43.019	101.2%	1:43.336	101.1%	1:43.795	101.0%	327
18	63 Lamborghini	1:42.296	102.6%	1:43.223	101.4%	1:43.506	101.3%	1:43.974	101.2%	330
19	11 Isotta Fraschini	1:43.883	104.1%	1:44.666	102.9%	1:45.313	103.1%	NA	NA%	157

It remains super close. Toyota 1.0% of it's performance relative to the others and it appears in 12th! Crazy!

The chart shows the fastest of each car (by Top 100), but I also added the #5 Porsche in as it had fastest lap.

[GT3_Fan]

Should be good music to our ears at the end of the S365 post race notebook:

***The race ran to the full 1812 kms (1125 miles), having reached 335 laps some four minutes before the maximum ten-hour duration. The faster-than-expected pace was attributed to there being only two Full Course Yellows and no safety cars.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by GT3_Fan

Should be good music to our ears at the end of the S365 post race notebook:

***The race ran to the full 1812 kms (1125 miles), having reached 335 laps some four minutes before the maximum ten-hour duration. The faster-than-expected pace was attributed to there being only two Full Course Yellows and no safety cars.

Probably goes back to the parking lot lay-out of the track. Imola will be a rather different story.

Originally Posted by tomcug

Nope. How can you enjoy watching BOP series being a real motorsport fan!?

Go see it in person - always has and always will be the best way to watch race cars!