GT World Challenge Europe 2021

[tux]

There were numerous punctures in the super trofeo race 1 resulting in the championship adding a mandatory tyre change to the pit stop in race 2. Now in the GTWC race multiple tyre failures again, admittedly wet tyres on a drying track. Is it time for the championship to introduce something like an intermediate?

The track is drying but not ready for slicks, too dry for wets though.


Back to green...

Very few things actually scare me about motorsport but this is it, cars cruising around with punctures, others going full speed while battling with other cars, track too dry for wets, terrifying scenes of cars cruising down the straights off the line and others still racing.

[WyldStallion]

-Biggest loser of the day was Pirelli tire company. Their brand looks horrible after all of those punctures.

-Driving standards was quite good with the weather conditions testing them for sure. I think the field being 42 cars helped. Would have had more problems if it was 55-60 cars. Hope the grid sizes remain as it is although we could trade a couple Audis or Mercedes for a Lesus or an Acura though.

-FCY/Safety car system STILL sucks

-On track action was quite good. Great looking cars and they do race well together. We had Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Mercedes battling it out a the end. Audi fleet had a rough day.

-GTWorld coverage was great and all of the practicice, qual, and race is quite rewatchable.

-Dinamic team is great. And Cairoli/Bachler/Engelhart is a VERY VERY underrated drving squad. I don't think I see them make any mistakes. Would love to see this trio in GTE Pro or GTLM. Won't get to but they would compete for victory for sure.

[bella]

Originally Posted by tux

There were numerous punctures in the super trofeo race 1 resulting in the championship adding a mandatory tyre change to the pit stop in race 2. Now in the GTWC race multiple tyre failures again, admittedly wet tyres on a drying track. Is it time for the championship to introduce something like an intermediate?.

teams already do have an intermediate - scrubbed wets. if those are overheating then it’s the driver who needs to drive according to conditions.

you have to er, bat with the stick you’ve got. so if it’s too wet for slicks then you’ll have to stay offline and keep them cool. if teams are sending drivers out with the wrong pressures for the track and tyre conditions then it won’t help either. it’s not a matter of pirelli needing to set more specific pressure ranges or bring more tyres - an inter would last for a very short period of time - it’s drivers and teams managing the situation better.

would be interested to know exactly where on the tyre the punctures were occuring in super trofeo. might be like the mclaren issue the other season.

[AndrewCherry]

There were so many to start with that I wondered if a kerb somewhere had cut up/lifted! Clearly not as they eased off when people went to slicks. The performance of the Porsche on both tyres just goes to show how much difference set up and mechanics can make in that situation - plus probably driver technique. Superb drive from all three Dinamic drivers, and an interesting and enjoyable race, even if maybe not an absolute classic. The last half hour was gripping, but by the last 10 minutes it was obvious that barring a big mistake from someone (or Fuoco having no breaks at all and going straight through the back of Feller) they were probably going to finish line astern. Good racing though, pushing hard, and fair.

[bentley speed 8]

Last time it rained at Monza, it was pretty good too. I agree that a smaller field seems to help. 50 cars is nice to watch, but maybe a bit too much to handle?

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by bentley speed 8

Last time it rained at Monza, it was pretty good too. I agree that a smaller field seems to help. 50 cars is nice to watch, but maybe a bit too much to handle?

I think if we are really honest, the difference between 40 and 50 cars is 10 more cars to increase the risk of congestion, crashes, safety cars.

Visually, you wouldnt really tell on TV the difference between 40 and 50 cars, except at the green flag, and after that 40 cars is plenty enough to provide a full circuit, and action a plenty.

[WyldStallion]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

I think if we are really honest, the difference between 40 and 50 cars is 10 more cars to increase the risk of congestion, crashes, safety cars.

Visually, you wouldnt really tell on TV the difference between 40 and 50 cars, except at the green flag, and after that 40 cars is plenty enough to provide a full circuit, and action a plenty.

Indeed, the TV coverage of the Monza race showed no lack of quantity of automobiles on the track. No grid for any of the 3/6 hour races should be bigger than 42. Spa 24 should be no bigger than 48.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by WyldStallion

Indeed, the TV coverage of the Monza race showed no lack of quantity of automobiles on the track. No grid for any of the 3/6 hour races should be bigger than 42. Spa 24 should be no bigger than 48.

I'm not sure. There is rarely any carnage in this series. The field is closely matched overall, it's not like there are the same hazards as we get in big entry events that have vast performance differences.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by chunterer

I'm not sure. There is rarely any carnage in this series. The field is closely matched overall, it's not like there are the same hazards as we get in big entry events that have vast performance differences.

hmmm. The Spa 24 has regularly been carnage. The years of 60 car grids were horrendous races.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

hmmm. The Spa 24 has regularly been carnage. The years of 60 car grids were horrendous races.

Not all the time! And what about the rest of the calendar?

[Bcarr6]

It wasn’t so much carnage, as bad management of incidents

[WyldStallion]

Imagine having 2 hours of green flag racing. You are the fastest car out there and after that two hours you build a 1 minute and 20 second lead over 2nd place but you never lapped them. An instance of a single car stalling on track will throw a safety car out and wipe away that lead right away.

SRO and IMSA still are notorious for this. It goes against the spirit of endurance racing. Leave this stuff for NASCAR and Indycar. Virtual FCY is needed in this situation and that is it. I've been saying on the IMSA thread forever that code 60/FCY should be used for stalled car and debris situations so that the gaps can be preserved and to cause no further delays after the car/debris has been removed.

Thankfully there has been a couple instances such as in the 6 hours of Paul Ricard in 2020 where they did have debris. They threw an FCY only and got racing again within a minute or so without bunching the cars together. But they don't do it as often as they should.

[W2Motorsport]

I've not seen much mention of it in any sportscar media but I'm interested to see how the conflict between GTWC Europe and the N24 quali race plays out. I know a lot of factory drivers are involved in GTWC Europe and are listed on the entry list for Magny Cours. I guess we'll have to wait for the N24 Quali race entry list to see how things shake out.

[Racing Harz]

Originally Posted by W2Motorsport

I've not seen much mention of it in any sportscar media but I'm interested to see how the conflict between GTWC Europe and the N24 quali race plays out. I know a lot of factory drivers are involved in GTWC Europe and are listed on the entry list for Magny Cours. I guess we'll have to wait for the N24 Quali race entry list to see how things shake out.

They´ll race in Magny Cours. Many of them drove NLS3 instead of die qualirace.

[gert]

Safety car failed to pick up the leader again (see Spa 2020) and went to sit in front of the 3rd car. IT took them 2 laps to realize that.
Pathetic.

[hoffman66]

indeed, class form winners, miles faster than everyone, restarts made everyone else look stupid. Not a great track for GT cars, not a great track for any car racing really, but bikes are OK there!

[chunterer]

Paul Ricard 1000 this weekend!!

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Paul Ricard 1000 this weekend!!

Regardless of what some say, I think Paul Ricard with 47 GT3 cars going around it is a great site.

I will admit, im not a wild lover of watching too much night racing (only full dark racing, I love watching the sunset and sunrise hours), so I tend to watch the early parts of this race live then my interest slips a little as they hit full darkness.

But, it does totally make sense to do this prior to Spa, the less experienced need the practice.

[bentley speed 8]

Unlike some others, I have enjoyed the races at Paul Ricard over the years, so I'm definitely watching this one too.

[Aysedasi]

My lad is there, although I don't know who he's working with....

[WyldStallion]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

Regardless of what some say, I think Paul Ricard with 47 GT3 cars going around it is a great site.

I will admit, im not a wild lover of watching too much night racing (only full dark racing, I love watching the sunset and sunrise hours), so I tend to watch the early parts of this race live then my interest slips a little as they hit full darkness.

But, it does totally make sense to do this prior to Spa, the less experienced need the practice.

I watched the first half of the race. Had to stop when it got dark at halfway. Eyes can't handle it. Thought FFF had this in the bag. But this is Jaminet/Cambpell/Bamber we are talking about here.

But look at 2021 results so far. Porsche 911 GT3 RS victories in Monza 3 hours, Nurburgring 6 hours (N24 Q-Race), Paul Ricard 6 hours, Sebring 12 hours (GTLM and GTD), and WEC Spa 6 hours.

All different teams too. Dynamic, Frikadeli, GPX, Manthay, Proton/Weatertech, and Pfaff. Very impressive stuff. Daytona as been the only miss so far.

[bentley speed 8]

That a pretty clean race, only 1 FCY. Quite a good battle at the very end, although I was surprised at how much the #63 Lamborghini faded away at the end. Maybe the nighttime conditions just didn't suit the car that much?

[W2Motorsport]

Originally Posted by WyldStallion

I watched the first half of the race. Had to stop when it got dark at halfway. Eyes can't handle it. Thought FFF had this in the bag. But this is Jaminet/Cambpell/Bamber we are talking about here.

But look at 2021 results so far. Porsche 911 GT3 RS victories in Monza 3 hours, Nurburgring 6 hours (N24 Q-Race), Paul Ricard 6 hours, Sebring 12 hours (GTLM and GTD), and WEC Spa 6 hours.

All different teams too. Dynamic, Frikadeli, GPX, Manthay, Proton/Weatertech, and Pfaff. Very impressive stuff. Daytona as been the only miss so far.

I expect a BOP "rebalance" for Porsche to be given at some point for all of their hard work.

[WyldStallion]

Originally Posted by W2Motorsport

I expect a BOP "rebalance" for Porsche to be given at some point for all of their hard work.

Ahhh not predicting a Porsche to win the Spa 24 hours this year I see :-) I myself would like to see a car other than Audi, Porsche, and BMW win myelf. Those 3 makes have won every race since 2010 except for Mercedes in 2013.

[chunterer]

Cracking race and my my how strong was the GPX Porsche as the race wore on!!

Was the Lambo just not as strong in the hands of the last stint driver?

Mercs were a bit off, there were two in the frame early on?

BMWs were in the thick of it and they too faded badly in in the last 3rd of the race? The M4 can't come quickly enough.