[WEC Race] 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone

[Aysedasi]

You see, that doesn't make sense to me - where is the logic of requiring the privateers to run on the same tyres that have been developed for Toyota? I confess with my limited technical knowledge, I hadn't realised this.

[Akrapovic]

It's because Michelin developed the tyres to suit the LMP1 class as it was a couple of years ago, and the best way to make Porsche, Audi and Toyota happy was design them to work best with the 4WD cars. They didn't bother making a set specifically for ByKolles because...it's ByKolles.

It's not that the teams are required to run those tyres, it's more that that's all that's available for them to run.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

You see, that doesn't make sense to me - where is the logic of requiring the privateers to run on the same tyres that have been developed for Toyota? I confess with my limited technical knowledge, I hadn't realised this.

Given the opportunity, does this mean the privateer cars would choose a narrower front tire? Would they actually be more competitive then? What size is the lmp2 front in comparison? Would that have been an option from Michelin? The P2 cars seem to have decent pace on it.

[chernaudi]

Also, I don't think that any of the privateer teams are able or maybe even willing to pay Michelin to make special tires for them. Same issue as the Acura ARX-02. HPD never paid or asked Michelin to make the special wide front tires, mostly because the program got canned at the end of 2009 and with no Audi Sport full time in the ALMS that year, there was no incentive to develop the wide front tires.

[andrewn7]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Also, I don't think that any of the privateer teams are able or maybe even willing to pay Michelin to make special tires for them. Same issue as the Acura ARX-02. HPD never paid or asked Michelin to make the special wide front tires, mostly because the program got canned at the end of 2009 and with no Audi Sport full time in the ALMS that year, there was no incentive to develop the wide front tires.

I can't read the article either, but agree things need to change, but perhaps in a different way. What entrants crave is rules stability, so let's dump the poorly thought out hypercar regs, that were a knee-jerk to Audi/Porsche leaving. Instead, stick with what we've got with a sensible cap on hybrid MJ's and make a plug and play hybrid pack available to all. Free up the regs a bit to encourage cars that look different to each other (cue manufacturer resemblance if you like) and off we go....

Give the ruleset time to "mature", keeping costs sensible, get some good racing and the OEMs will come of their own accord, probably.. Rather than doing what ACO are now, which is trying to sell a non-existent product to a non-existent market!

[TF110]

I think with bespoke tires they could definitely close the gap. If they do they'd also be able to double stint them and keep them in the operating range for their duration.

[Akrapovic]

http://theracingline.net/2018/race-c...ues-explained/

A very smart Ten Tenths member (who is not me) has written a proper explanation into what Jenson was talking about and why the current tyres aren't the best for privateers.

Feedback welcome on that style of technical explanation article. It's something we haven't tried before.

[EffectiveSprinkles]

I'll be honest I skipped past most of the formulas part but it was worth reading for sure.

[Adam43]

As Stephen Hawkins said in a Brief History of Time (he was quoting someone else) every equation will halve the number of readers. Which is an equation in itself.

I am looking forward to reading it later when I’m back home

[GregUK]

Originally Posted by EffectiveSprinkles

I'll be honest I skipped past most of the formulas part but it was worth reading for sure.

Wot he said.

[Akrapovic]

Ok, so the article is good, but people didn't enjoy the equations as much.

Would similar type articles be of interest? For example, the ideas we discussed were the G-Drive DQ at Le Mans, and the Toyota DQ at Silverstone - brief articles on those. Or is there anything anyone would like to see explained? We can't guarantee it can be done, but it's worth asking people what they think.

[Irie]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Ok, so the article is good, but people didn't enjoy the equations as much.

Would similar type articles be of interest? For example, the ideas we discussed were the G-Drive DQ at Le Mans, and the Toyota DQ at Silverstone - brief articles on those. Or is there anything anyone would like to see explained? We can't guarantee it can be done, but it's worth asking people what they think.

I think a G-Drive DQ article would be well appreciated! It was a very technical matter with the different regulated zones and where the team inserted parts. I imagine an article could explore this with different images and explanations (for example could also include the view of the team).

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Ok, so the article is good, but people didn't enjoy the equations as much.

Would similar type articles be of interest? For example, the ideas we discussed were the G-Drive DQ at Le Mans, and the Toyota DQ at Silverstone - brief articles on those. Or is there anything anyone would like to see explained? We can't guarantee it can be done, but it's worth asking people what they think.

The equations are good. I’m always wary of using this physics when tyres are involved as they quite often don’t behave in a linear fashion. However this article wasn’t building a simulator and the point of the article was how the tyres behave differently depending on how they were treated anyway, so no real false assumptions.

The article was also written so that you didn’t need the equations. So it was relevant for those who appreciate it and those that aren’t so bothered.

Don’t cut out things just because every part of the article isn’t liked or needed by everyone. That is what the rest does (or they aren’t capable of adding this additional content).

Good stuff

[TF110]

It was a detailed article. On the matter of power transmitted to the tires, you have to remember that Toyota sends hybrid power to the rear wheels in addition to the front because it has dual kers. It would be nice to find out how much it's split between the two. The tires must be pretty durable on the rear as well when you think about that burst of power sent to them.

[MaskedRacer]

Watching the youtube replay of the race now. I am trying to pretend the Toyotas are not there.

[Adam43]

Shame, they put on a good race, best in LMP1.

[geordiecriag101]

Forgive the slight lateness of the post, but here's my trackside vid from Practice 3, Qualifying for the WEC and the 4hrs ELMS race from Silverstone this year if anyone interested:
https://youtu.be/0R3FlGhr9XI