[ELMS Race] 4 Hours of Le Castellet

[gert]

FCY coming up. Time for the splash for SMP and both Dragonspeeds I guess.

[TheMightyM]

An intervention quad-bike — now I've seen anything.

[gert]

27 did not take the stop, 22 did

[Akrapovic]

They're putting tyres on the 22 as well.

Very confused as to why the SMP 27 didn't pit.

Edit: Commentators just twigged it needs a stop now.

[TheMightyM]

And a note to the ACO: you might not want to schedule a race at the same time as the Belgian GP. It kills whatever viewership you get (stream only at 650 to 700, compared to the usual 2,000). And Spa looks so much better than Paul Ricard.

[gert]

That's not AF Corse running SMP here is it? I don't think they would go wrong on strategy.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

And a note to the ACO: you might not want to schedule a race at the same time as the Belgian GP. It kills whatever viewership you get (stream only at 650 to 700, compared to the usual 2,000). And Spa looks so much better than Paul Ricard.

This weekend is a nightmare. F1 (+GP2, GP3), IMSA, ELMS (+Le Mans Cup), Blancpain (x2), Creventic 24H Series, BTCC, Super GT.

[gert]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

And a note to the ACO: you might not want to schedule a race at the same time as the Belgian GP. It kills whatever viewership you get (stream only at 650 to 700, compared to the usual 2,000). And Spa looks so much better than Paul Ricard.

True. I'm one of those 700. Still need to watch the race at Spa, but that has been recorded.

[Akrapovic]

If this is another FCY then it's perfect (and lucky) for SMP.

[gert]

nother FCY. pit now, SMP!

Unless they think they don't have too?? But that would be a sursprise.

[Akrapovic]

Only issue with this is that the SMP is on the Mistral now, miles from the pit lane entry. This FCY needs to last a good couple of minutes.

[gert]

1:18 gap, 5 minutes (and a lap? to go) and SMP still has not stopped.

1:18. How long does a full stop take?
Just do not run out of fuel.

--

EDIT: They don't stop

[Akrapovic]

I wonder if the 2 FCYs allowed them to save enough fuel, because it's longer than what we're used to seeing for an LMP2.

[Akrapovic]

Well wel well, they did it on 4 stops. Didn't see that coming. But they did have time for a 5th stop. Seems no matter how the race went, SMP had it covered.

Edit: 51 minutes on a tank of fuel. Significantly longer than normal stints.

[gert]

I'm even more impressed by Isaakyan than by Orudzhev, even thouh the latter has more experience and a bigger CV in single seaters. Both did a great job, though.

Great job by SMP for their first ever overall win.
If they are running the car themselves, they have proved they can do that, too.

[J Jay]

That was a flawless performance from SMP, even the Isaakyan's save on the last corner was prompt and without fuss! Emergency Dallara-specific BoP incoming...

More seriously, has any other LMP2 managed a 50+ minute stint before? The much-needed chicane (which is not as unpopular as you might think) would have helped the mileage slightly, but not to this extent.

[Akrapovic]

SMP win ELMS Paul Ricard 4 Hours

SMP Racing take their first ever LMP2 class win at the 4 hours of Le Castellet. Quick work in the pit stops and a flexible strategy gave the #27 Dallara P217 the lead in the first hour, which increased as the race progressed. The Russian squad took advantage of late race full course yellows to save enough fuel to complete the race with 1 less stop than the rest of the LMP2 field.

A clean start to the race saw the DragonSpeed Orecas stretch their legs and pull a comfortable gap over the leading pack. Ben Hanley led in the #21 car, with Leo Roussel close behind in the G-Drive branded sister car. As the first round of pit stops shook out, the SMP Dallara had lept from 4th to 1st and looked in control for the rest of the race. Isaakyan and Orudzhev kept the SMP Dallara firmly at the top of the standings whilst the rest of the field ebbed and flowed as teams ran through the Silver rated drivers.

A series of late race Full Course Yellows had the potential to disrupt the SMP party, as G-Drive used the yellows to do a short final fuel splash and give Roussel fresh tyres. But SMP used the yellows to their advantage, saving fuel and allowing them to complete an amazing 51 minutes in the final stint. G-Drive had to settle for second, but extended the championship lead.

Championship contenders United Autosports were forced into recovery mode after a spin on lap 1 sent the car to the back of the pack. The team spent entire race fighting back, eventually claiming a podium spot from Graff in the final minutes of the race. Despite the strong recovery, the team loses points to the G-Drive Oreca, now 7 points adrift.

United Autosports win LMP3

United Autosports take their third LMP3 class win of the season, taking a commanding lead in the LMP3 standings. A superb middle stint from Sean Rayhall lifted the car from 4th to the lead, which gave John Falb the advantage he needed to bring the car home. The win moves the #2 United Autosports Ligier 12 points clear of the now second placed #18 M.Racing – YMR car.

LMP3 was the usual street fight, with contact a regular occurrence and the class attracting the attention of the race director multiple times. The rough and tumble nature of the race was costly for Ultimate Racing. After a strong start, contact with other cars dropped them back into the pack, eventually finishing 6th and losing second in the championship.

Two in a row for Spirit of Race

A dominant display at the Red Bull Ring was followed up by an equally dominant race at Paul Ricard for the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari. The team finished a massive 50 seconds ahead of TF Sport Aston Martin, who nipped the JMW Ferrari for second by little over a second.

The Ferrari was clearly the dominant car, with Aston Martin and Porsche drivers blaming the BoP For lack of performance. It took a while for the true performance of the Ferrari to become clear, as the Proton Racing Porsche led the early laps, and the Beechdean Aston Martin kept the leaders honest.

The Proton Porsche suffered badly as the race went on, with even Christian Reid struggling to extract speed from the 911 RSR. The car looked a handful, struggling to hit apexes and power on oversteer being issues throughout the race.

Conversely, the TF Sport Aston Martin struggled with dive plane damage for the opening hours, but came good at the end. Nicki Thiim dragged the V8 Vantage up the order, grabbing second from the JMW Ferrari at the end of race.

ELMS heads to Spa

There are a few talking points as the ELMS paddock heads to Spa for the 4th round of the championship. SMP and Dallaras first win, the performance of the LMP2 chassis, the Norma performance, the GTE BoP, and more. Stick around for all that and more.

Dave Ellis / theRacingLine.net / I'm just mashing the keyboard ove here

[Akrapovic]

United Autosports lose podium

United Autosports have lost the third place finish at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet after a post-race investigation. Race officials investigating full course yellow speeds penalised the #32 United Autosports Ligier 30 seconds, dropping it to fifth overall. The decision promotes Graff Racing #39 to third and Panis Barthez to fourth.

The decision extends the championship lead of the G-Drive by DragonSpeed Oreca from 7 points to 12 points over the United Autosports crew. Multiple cars were investigated and penalised for full course yellow speeds, but only United Autosports penalty has an effect on the results.

Penalties

#32 United Autosports LMP2 Ligier – 30 seconds
#5 By Speed Factory LMP3 Ligier – 30 seconds
#12 Eurointernational LMP3 Ligier – 30 seconds
#15 RLR MSport LMP3 Ligier – 30 seconds
#77 Proton Competition Porsche – 10 seconds

Dave Ellis / theRacingLine.net / I totally know what I'm doing

[Ospi]

Nice job by SMP, their drivers utilising the old gradual throttle lift and coast technique it seems!

[old man]

Great to see the multi car dicing with 5 or 6 cars in close proximity, what is it that allows LMP cars to run so close when aero in F1 prevents it apparently?

Same question asked in Rules thread under F1

Any comments from techies reading this?

[Akrapovic]

I presume that the cars are simply less aero dependant. They qualify about 18 seconds slower than F1 cars at Spa, so there's quite a bit of difference. Could be there's a much wider gap in driver skill levels too.

Here's some post race thoughts -

» Traditionally, Paul Ricard has had problems with track run off violations. A side effect of ELMS adding the chicane to the Mistral was that track limit became a non-issue for the race. Signes, the fast right hander at the end of the Mistral, is usually where the majority of the track penalties are generated. By adding the chicane on the Mistral, the speeds for Signes were lower, and cars were not running wide and being penalised. ELMS has stumbled upon a fix for the track limits issues at Paul Ricard

» The original intention of the chicane was to slow down the LMP2 cars. Concerns were raised that the more powerful 2017 LMP2 cars would be too fast down the Mistral. The full length Mistral is 1.8km, which brings it in slightly shorter than a couple of the straights at Le Mans.

» The SMP win was a first in many ways. First LMP2 class win for SMP in ACO competition. First wins for Isaakyan and Orudzhev in an LMP. First win for the standard Dallara P217.

» Isaakyan and Orudzhev have both won races in the World Series Formula V8 3.5 for SMP this season. Isaakyan leads the championship, with Orudzhev currently third. With SMP planning to run a Dallara LMP1 in WEC, todays win will have raised their stock even further.

» The final stint for the SMP Dallara was a massive 51 minutes long. An LMP2 fuel stint tends to be around the 40-42 minute mark, depending on the circuit. 2 Full Course Yellows will have helped, but it was still an impressive effort, especially considering the fast lap times. The LMP2s all use the same spec Gibson V8, but is the Dallara easier to conserve fuel with?

» There was no major difference between the performance of the high downforce kits for the LMP2 cars. Oreca did have the most cars running at the front, in the shape of DragonSpeed and Graff, but this wasn't purely through performance. The Dallara had the speed, but only SMP were able to capitalise on it. A Ligier finished third, but had the potential to be higher. An incident on the opening lap dropped the United Autosports Ligier to the back, putting it into recovery mode for the entire race.

» A big factor in the LMP2 fight was the silver rated drivers performance. SMP had the luxury of running 2 very impressive silver drivers, allowing them to run a flexible strategy. G-Drive are also in a strong position with silver drivers, as Leo Roussel has been the star of the show at many events. The young French driver regularly matches Minassian and Lapierre on lap times. Picking a strong silver driver, or coaching your silver driver up to speed, is having a big effect on the championship.

» Another possible effect of the chicane was the poor performance of the Norma. The new M30 has been the surprise of the LMP3 season, with teams being able to take the fight to the Ligiers. The car is particularly slippery as well, giving it great straight line speed. A win in the Le Mans Cup on Saturday looked promising, but the ELMS teams weren't able to replicate the performance, and the highest placed Norma was 10th.

» The dread acronym "BoP" was mentioned in GTE driver interviews again. Ferrari dominated the GTE class, with Spirit of Race finishing 50 seconds up the road from the next closest car. A 10 second penalty robbed JMW of a solid second place. The Aston Martins struggled for pace all race. Works driver Darren Turner was unable to match the Ferraris for pace, and Nicki Thiim managed to drag the TF Sport Aston Martin to a second placed finish despite damaged dive planes. The Proton Porsche looked lost, as even Christian Ried was all at sea, trying to tame the 911 RSR. Unlike the automated WEC BoP, ELMS still uses a manual BoP.

[gert]

The Norma cause wasn't helped by all the problems they had:
* penalty for the YMR car (IIRC)
* multiple spins for #7
* drive-through for #10, stopped off-track a few times, got assaulted by #15

[silente]

hi guys,

i did a performance analysis of Paul Ricard race in my Blog:

https://drracing.wordpress.com/2017/...race-analysis/

What Akrapovic said is pretty much confirmed by my analysis, with just a bit more numbers on the back.
Although i didn't speak about it in the article, SMP car could run a bit longer on a tank of fuel, but probably mainly because of a more aggressive strategy (probably they were able to use really nearly all the fuel they had in the tank and could take the risk of stopping a bit later already at the first pit stop).

There are anyway some other interesting points, including the crew composition and the pure pace of different cars.