WEC 2024: Round 2, Imola

[seanyb505]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Good plan. Try the ACO? Keep it civil and considered. Can't hurt.

In the spirit of civil and considered, is there anyone on the forum that might be able to provide an unbiased perspective as to why this production choice is routinely made? Anyone that provides global commentary?

[Adam43]

It’s just the style I think. Adds to the narrative. Other sports do it, in most other sports there are pauses in the game which helps this.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by KlBD

The tidbit from the S365 article about the team seemingly misinterpreting the weather data also boggles the mind. If that's true then doesn't it mean they were on the radio to the drivers with incorrect information when they were telling them the rain "won't last"?

You can add Ferrari's decision to triple-stint tyres because they expected rain earlier in the race to that. Hopefully they realise that while the wrong decisions at Imola hinged on the incorrect weather data, their communication and decision-making procedures need a review.

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by flatlandsman

I think with Isotta it is not the car, the drivers are next to useless to be honest they have very little experience at this level, if you put two or three decent drivers in that car I am sure it would be much better and have less incident, I think the car is fairly decent considering how late it all came together and the team issues.

Problem is, unless (or until) a quick (or two) is hired to pilot the car, we simply won't know. The programme feels out of step with the other 18 cars on the grid. BOP cannot hide the realities of a privateer style effort on a limited budget. I'd love to be proved wrong with my perception, but I sense the IF programme will be forever on an uphill struggle.

[SpikerJack]

From a track point-of-view the Isotta car isn't bad at all, especially in the hands of Vernay, he did a couple of very consistent stints. I think that the level of the other manufacturers is simply unreachable for them, plus, Serravalle and Bennet are not worthy.

[DasModell]

Isotta has the 2 weakest drivers in Hypercar, and if we exclude the Bronze, the whole field, 3xVernay caliber would likely sneak a point of two if they stay reliable over the whole season

[Mike E]

If Isotta were up against 2 Toyotas, a grandfathered Rebellion/Alpine, 2 Glickenhauses and a Vanwall, they would be scoring points every time. But that ship has sailed...
If they survive this year, which I hope they do, next year should be the current huge field plus another Lambo and at least one Aston. A tough gig.

[flatlandsman]

I do think it is very harsh to judge the Isotta so soon, I think they are doing fine considering how recently the team had to turn it around, the exchange of teams running it and the relatively poor driver lineup, presumably linked to money./

Compared to the Vanwall which was really rather a more secure team and car and base car, they were more reliable initially, ran well but slowly, but when they started to try and find pace it became a joke.

The Isotta I think is a decent effort, it just needs someone better to drive it, that surely has to be their aim.

I think the issue with coverage is that the French approach sport in a different way to us, I recall watching a lot of French tv on Motors and early Eurosport and they were always far more interested in interviews than track action.

It seems that the people running the tv direction are trying to make every moment of the race into some F1 type of reaction thing, they are waiting for reaction all the time, there are countless pit cameras in the lane just for this. They are trying to push the human element to give the sport more depth when it is live, this is not necessary, you can do that in a highlights or behind the scenes package they ALREADY bloody do!

That suggests it is s directive from the ACO or whoever runs the tv show. What I do not understand is that all you get all day is Haven and Goodwin (on the ACO payroll remember) pushing the youtube show which comes around later in the weeks. THAT is where reaction needs to be, that is why the F1 tv shows took off, as you see behind the scenes.

Showing endless shots of people who know they are being filmed looking at a screen is not good television, especially when there is plenty of on track action, it is scripted, and looking for something that is not and will never be there until something crazy happens on track.

[Adam43]

I fear the Isotta will plateau at the current position. The lack of testing and continual development means it will struggle to get closer. It is relatively close, but that seems a long way nowadays. Gone are days of being 2.5s off the quickest car being considered close!

The drivers don’t help either as the consistency charts show.

[PhilipR]

Went to the race. Impressed by the large numbers of spectators and that grandstands had to be closed for the race start as they were full. Have not seen this at a sportscar race except Le Mans before.

I also have to say as a spectating venue I find it is better than Monza and easier to reach different parts of the track. Not to mention how easy is to make your way from the Imola train station to the track and back (was based in Bologna for the weekend)

I also find it funny that some people have their houses 10 meters from the front straight. Wonder do they get free entry to races since it is literally on their front yard? Would be a bit crappy if they need to pay haha

[joeb]

Originally Posted by PhilipR

I also find it funny that some people have their houses 10 meters from the front straight. Wonder do they get free entry to races since it is literally on their front yard? Would be a bit crappy if they need to pay haha

I noticed this during the race broadcast and have to say I didn't realize there were residences that close to the circuit! I hope they are race fans!

[valedave]

Originally Posted by KlBD

Yeah true, it's nice that it worked out for the Audi team both times. Maybe the key is whoever wins the argument, you reach a conclusion quickly enough to react on track?

The tidbit from the S365 article about the team seemingly misinterpreting the weather data also boggles the mind. If that's true then doesn't it mean they were on the radio to the drivers with incorrect information when they were telling them the rain "won't last"?

You're right, it is mind-boggling.


I was stood at Variante Alta when the rain properly came, so kind of the direction it was arriving from (although I believe Rivazza was wetter). I was also looking at the apps and there were indeed breaks in the showers being displayed. But if you just used your eyes you could quite clearly see low, dark clouds surrounding the whole circuit. I couldn't see any blue sky at that point, in fact I didn't see it again for the whole day.



So, in my view, it was almost impossible that – let's say – the rain would stop, the sun would come back out and the track would dry. It really was quite obvious that the track would stay wet for a while. The air was cold and damp, the wind was cold. Even if it had stopped immediately it would have taken a while until the surface was good enough to not stick it into the barriers on cold slicks. And my view was that if they'd just popped their heads outside they would have realised that.


I suppose what made it more difficult was that the first half of the race it was absolutely sweltering in the sun. By the end I was properly shivering.



Obviously the smart choice would have been to stick one car on wets and leave one on slicks, but that's by the bye.

[PhilipR]

What surprised me is when the cars got going after the Safety Car when the rain started, I was sat next to the Tamburello and to me it did not look too wet or that the rain was quite heavy. Heck the ground next to me was not very wet either. But then I saw all the cars struggling for traction in the chicane and the Gt3s overtaking lmdhs and I realised it was a lot wetter than I thought (maybe I am qualified for a job at Ferrari after all :P )

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by valedave

I was stood at Variante Alta when the rain properly came, ...

Originally Posted by PhilipR

… I was sat next to the Tamburello and to me it did not look too wet or that the rain was quite heavy. …

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[Coach Ep]

Race replay has been posted for a few days now, just starting to watch.

This screenshot pic is already my personal highlight of the 7 hours broadcast!