[WEC Race] 2013 FIA WEC - Round 6 - 6 Hours of Fuji

[TF110]

They had the 2012 car at Silverstone. And ran the 2012 tires. Once on the 2013 tires they were fine. LeMans they were never on the same pace as Audi. But they were definitely closer in mixed conditions.

[hcl123]

Originally Posted by TF110

Well, Nakajima just did the best lap this weekend with a 1:27.117

Yes the Toyotas could match or surpass the pace of the Audi's... just open the throttle, waste how much fuel it takes, which is what happens in practices (though the 2 Audi's are only .181 sec behind for the slowest, that is, less than 2 tens of a second, which is really very little), only in race if they do that there goes the fuel tank capacity advantage down the drain... and worst reliability problems would rise exponentially for a engine that does more than double of the rpm, compared to a diesel.

It is what it is, seems pretty fair to me... if one solution is technically better than another, specially for this kind of races, is not the case to make the best "forcible" worst so that the worst can have a change... and lets race bot pit stop count... (unfortunately ACO/FIA seems bent exactly on the abhorrent).

[Gingers4Justice]

When does qualifying start?

[chernaudi]

1:20 PM Japanese time. WEC's site does have a time zone converter on their site, though.

[hcl123]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

1:20 PM Japanese time. WEC's site does have a time zone converter on their site, though.

No live streaming feed also i suppose... this Fuji edition is full of surprises, things are going real hot fast there, times are already more than 1 sec faster than last year for this 2 teams... of course Toyota wants to win at home at all cost, but Audi wont sell that cheap to then, no matter if they only need to finish podium to be champions lol...

[kober]

According to fiawec.com qualifying will be streamed live.

[tux]

In exactly one hour it will start (5:20 UK time) and it will be shown live on the fiawec.com site.

[nasdriv87]

it's on guys!!!

[nasdriv87]

#97 1:38.605 wow!!!!

[TF110]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

1:20 PM Japanese time. WEC's site does have a time zone converter on their site, though.

It does for me. Says convert to your time right on the page.

[MyNameIsNigel]

Originally Posted by TF110

Toyota were fast in the rain at LeMans. Dont know why you assume its all Audi if it rains They still will take more stops. Maybe one less if it rains throughout, but the same may bode for Toyota?

That's the question. If Toyota and Audi ultimately have to stop the same number of times (and the rain may help Audi in that respect, but not necessarily), this will play in favour of Audi.

[hcl123]

This is very good, this is the way to go ... faster not slower...

First round Audi wins, but remarkable is that everyone is ~1 sec faster than last year.

[hcl123]

Yet those gains are in spite of just a little less "event maximum speed", which means the gains are due to better balance, optimized efficiency(accelerating) and higher speed cornering.

The trend doesn't spell good for privateers, not enough resources to compete on refinement... i foresee a future WEC with only real professional teams backed by factories, let Nissan enter, Honda... perhaps Peugeot again or Renault.. Porsche is confirmed... hardly see room for "enthusiasts".

[chernaudi]

Forecast for Fuji looks pretty godawful. Rain fall estimated to be up to one inch/25mm during the daytime hours. Hopefully the track drains well--I remember much of a F1 race being run under the pace car because of ponding one year.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Forecast for Fuji looks pretty godawful. Rain fall estimated to be up to one inch/25mm during the daytime hours. Hopefully the track drains well--I remember much of a F1 race being run under the pace car because of ponding one year.

That's very unfortunate. Occasionally rain adds a nice element of surprise to a race but ultimately you don't want a flood.

I've mainly been following PLM today so I haven't had much time to check in on the FIA WEC but wow, what a great battle we have on our hands, rain or no rain! Audi, Toyota, Toyota, Audi, and another classic Aston Martin vs. Ferrari vs. Porsche battle in GTE. And great run by Larbre to put the #50 Corvette into 2nd in GTE-Am in quali... very impressive.

And Gainer International (Greaves in hiding) is in 3rd and KCMG 6th... not bad for the Asian part-timers.

[Acid09]

That sucks. The one race where Toyota seems to be really well set up and now the weather will potentially ruin their chances.

[TF110]

The weather is an unknown for everyone. It doesnt automatically give Audi a win. Just because they have part time 4wd does not make them favored in the wet. If anything it will be better for Toyota to extend the fuel economy advantage. Plus they are great in top speed. Sector 1 is Toyotas strong point with the low speed turn 1. I think that will be an area to watch before they hit turn 4 100r.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by TF110

Just because they have part time 4wd does not make them favored in the wet.

It pretty much will, I can't remember Toyota being competitive in rainy conditions ever. It's just too much of a traction advantage you can't make up.

[Gingers4Justice]

Originally Posted by Acid09

It pretty much will, I can't remember Toyota being competitive in rainy conditions ever. It's just too much of a traction advantage you can't make up.

What about at Le Mans? Whenever it rained, Toyota closed. I remember Toyota having something like a 4 second advantage in greasy conditions. Apart from then, when has it ever been seriously wet when Toyota and Audi raced each other?

I'm not convinced Audi's temporary 4WD counts for much in the way of traction in the wet.

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Gingers4Justice

What about at Le Mans? Whenever it rained, Toyota closed. I remember Toyota having something like a 4 second advantage in greasy conditions. Apart from then, when has it ever been seriously wet when Toyota and Audi raced each other?

I'm not convinced Audi's temporary 4WD counts for much in the way of traction in the wet.

I seem to remember the Toyota was decent in changeable conditions but in the full wet I'm not sure they have it.

That said the wet weather makes it a lottery in a lot of other ways.

[gwyllion]

McNish already stated that Toyota has a very good chance to win the race (see post #62). Now Lotterer is doing the same:

The Toyotas will be strong in the race and have two advantages over us – they can use their KERS earlier than we can and are more economical – but hopefully we can overcome them on pure speed.

source: https://www.dailysportscar.com/?p=17240

I fear that Audi has enough extra speed. I think that the race will be a fairly easy win for Toyota.

[Beetle]

A scatter graph giving a bit of a visual regarding the GTE-Pro fight. The majority of the points (to the left) are from FP3, and the right-hand points are from qualifying. I can see immediately that Aston Martin clearly AREN'T struggling.

[Acid09]

One thing is for certain, Toyota winning their home race would be very good news for the WEC in several different ways.

They need to provide a good show for the big wigs.

[tux]

But the rain will help Toyotas fuel economy and their traction control system is more effective than Audi so the race is not instantly an Audi benefit.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Acid09

One thing is for certain, Toyota winning their home race would be very good news for the WEC in several different ways.

They need to provide a good show for the big wigs.

I bet theyre at Fuji now. Nakajima's twitter shows Akio Toyoda at the Tokyo motorsport festival from last week. If he is on hand to show support for that, hes probably happy to see Toyota doing well at home.