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How Alpine and Lamborghini are fighting to overcome similar issues in WEC

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Starting their World Endurance Championship Hypercar programmes one year behind the likes of fellow LMDh entrants Porsche and Cadillac was always likely to mean a period of playing catchup for Alpine and Lamborghini in 2024. Two rounds into the season, that prediction has been borne out and both marques are experiencing similar growing pains. In both camps, the message is very much the same – we need time.

Although LMDh machines use a spec rear-axle hybrid system, compared to the bespoke systems used on the four-wheel-drive Le Mans Hypercars from Toyota, Ferrari and Peugeot, they are still enormously complex beasts. Getting its 963s working efficiently was not the work of a moment for the factory Penske Porsche Motorsport team that has run two cars on both sides of the Atlantic in the WEC and IMSA SportsCar Championship since last season, despite a totally open book for information sharing and regular crossover of senior personnel between the two teams.

PPM’s victory in the WEC season-opener in Qatar demonstrates that an LMDh car can beat the LMHs that won every race last season. But the timescale involved in achieving that feat underlines why Alpine and Lamborghini have little choice but to play down expectations at this stage.

Lamborghini chief technical officer Rouven Mohr has declared that «2024 is really a learning year for us» as the marque tests the water in prototype racing with its lone SC63 entry, developed in collaboration with Ligier Automotive and run by partner team Iron Lynx with significant input from Prema.

«We are still at the beginning in the understanding of the car,» Mohr conceded at Imola before Mirko Bortolotti, Daniil Kvyat and Edoardo Mortara raced to 12th. «Before we had the first race in Qatar, we had more or less two performance tests, because the other tests we did were basic functional development.

«It’s not one thing that is missing, it’s really fine-tuning. The competition level in this category is so high that you need the time to fine-tune and it’s not that you find, okay, now I forgot to make this and then you find two seconds, it’s not the case. It’s really the set-up of all the small parameters.»

Lamborghini was still getting to understand its SC63 at the opening pair of races

Lamborghini was still getting to understand its SC63 at the opening pair of races

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

The noises coming from the Signatech team that runs Alpine’s two A424s, developed together with ORECA, follow a near-identical tune.

«We are at the start of the project so each day we have something to learn,» remarked team principal Philippe Sinault in Imola. «But the base, the foundations are good now. At Imola, we learn each lap also in the new environment. Our target is to learn as much as possible and already as soon as possible.»

BMW is in a similar boat having rejoined the WEC this year, but its WRT-run M Hybrid V8 LMDh does at least have a season of racing under its belt in IMSA with Team RLL to iron out teething problems. Now boasting two-car programmes in both series, BMW’s learning curve should level out more quickly than two marques that are much closer to the start of their respective journeys, both having only rolled out last August for the first time.

Perhaps it should come as little surprise that BMW has the best result of the WEC newcomers to date, courtesy of a sixth-place finish in mixed conditions at Imola with Rene Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde. Lamborghini has yet to trouble the points, while Alpine’s #35 managed seventh place in Qatar after a canny fuel-saving strategy allowed Ferdinand Habsburg, Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi to complete one fewer stops than their rivals.

«There is a big step between the warming process in LMP2 compared to the Hypercar. It’s much more difficult. If you push, you can be a hero, but in one tenth you can be a zero» 
Paul-Loup Chatin

But nobody at Alpine was getting carried away after a Qatar debut that Sinault admitted was «maybe better than we expected». Imola was a tough weekend for the French squad, as both cars were embroiled in a first-lap tangle and each received post-race penalties for drive time infringements. Following a disappointing qualifying, Alpine driver Nicolas Lapierre revealed that the track had «underlined one of our weaknesses».

«It’s the first time we ran on a track with so many bumps and kerbs, it was not part of our testing programme because it’s so specific that we prefer to focus on tracks that we will find more in the season,» he said.

When asked by Motorsport.com if Alpine had identified circuit characteristics that suit the car, Sinault replied «we are not really focused about the lap time at Imola».

After an encouraging start in Qatar, Alpine's progress was stalled at Imola

After an encouraging start in Qatar, Alpine’s progress was stalled at Imola

Photo by: Paul Foster

«In the end, Imola is not the key point for us,» he added. «We have to have a global overview, and the technical key points understanding to warm the tyres, but also energy management and so on.»

While it is correct to note that both teams behind Alpine and Lamborghini are not new to bringing tyres up to temperature from cold since the WEC’s ban on blankets was introduced for 2023, with Signatech and Prema present in LMP2 last year, the Michelin used in Hypercar is a very different tyre to the Goodyears in P2. And it goes without saying, the non-hybrid, normally aspirated ORECA 07 is a very different car.

Chatin explained that getting on top of the tyres is «one of the priorities» for Alpine currently, but that gaining the requisite understanding is taking time.

«There is a big step between the warming process in LMP2 compared to the Hypercar,» he said. «It’s much more difficult. If you push, you can be a hero, but in one tenth, you can be a zero because you lost the car. Right now, it’s one of the most important topics, to be better on that.

«We saw some teams like us, some teams are maybe a bit better than us right now, so there is a big way to improve. It’s not an easy part of the job for the driver. It’s not so obvious how we can improve it. Of course, we can play with the rollbar, we can play with the set-up, with the traction control to improve it, to give more confidence to the driver, because right now it’s difficult to judge the limit.

«If you stay under the limit it’s okay, but you are slow and the slower you are, the longer it is to warm the tyres and to bring the tyre in the good window. But as soon as you over-push a tiny bit, you can lose the car just like that. So it’s a part where we have to work.»

Lamborghini has to overcome similar issues too. It triple-stinted tyres at Imola to minimise warming issues in the race’s tricky mixed conditions.

Not only are both one year behind the curve on this topic, but it also doesn’t help that compared to Porsche and BMW, both Alpine and Lamborghini have limited data sets to work from. While Alpine’s two-car team is competing exclusively in the WEC, Lamborghini has divided its efforts between single-car programmes across the WEC and IMSA for its endurance rounds (although both cars will run at Le Mans).

Lamborghini has a sole SC63 in both the WEC and IMSA this year - but both cars will contest Le Mans

Lamborghini has a sole SC63 in both the WEC and IMSA this year — but both cars will contest Le Mans

Photo by: Paul Foster

Mohr acknowledges that «from the pure development perspective it’s a disadvantage» in Lamborghini’s development curve to run only a single SC63 in the WEC. He describes this as a «pragmatic decision» borne of a desire to make a «clear commitment» from the outset to both the WEC and IMSA – North America is a vitally significant market for the brand – while not overstretching its resources.

«We have not [got] the internal capabilities and capacities especially to deal with two cars here, two cars there,» said Mohr. The German later stressed that a decision on expanding to two cars has yet to be made, adding that «we don’t want to disturb ourselves too much about the side discussions» regarding the expectation that manufacturers will have to run two cars to secure WEC entries for 2025.

«We do it step-by-step,» he explained. «It doesn’t make sense also now to shoot over, that we have a lot of cars on the grid and we are not able to deal with the cars. This is, in the end, counterproductive. We have to be a little bit focused because otherwise you risk losing yourself and you run in 10,000 directions and this is ineffective.»

«Knowing how complicated the set-up philosophy is, you need at least one season of learning, it’s clear» 
Rouven Mohr

The Italian manufacturer had two notable setbacks in the build-up to Qatar. A testing crash at Paul Ricard cost it over a month of development, then in March came the unexpected departure of motorsport boss Giorgio Sanna, who can be regarded as the LMDh programme’s architect. Mohr has since held down the role of interim motorsport boss alongside his day-to-day duties and is clear that the time-sapping commitment of managing customers and organisation of the Lamborghini racing series means «it doesn’t make sense to combine the roles» longer-term.

«If you ask me if this is a permanent solution, for sure it is not,» he said. «But we take time to select the adequate successor. We are carefully selecting the right person and then I make the handover back again.»

Mohr is encouraged that the SC63 has so far run «without any big problems» in the WEC, which he believes is a validation of Lamborghini’s in-the-loop simulation tools. He has identified its driveability as a strength as the drivers are «on a very close delta» and reckons the SC63’s downforce «is also strong».

Unlocking the perfect set-up appears to be Lamborghini's biggest challenge so far

Unlocking the perfect set-up appears to be Lamborghini’s biggest challenge so far

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

But this comes with the caveat that Lamborghini has yet to find the best set-up compromise between aerodynamic performance, mechanical grip and traction control – all of which are closely interlinked – and is still coming to terms with how these set-up variations influence the tyres. Although the car’s hardware is homologated, making the software more efficient and improving set-up understanding is an ongoing task.

«To find the optimum of this triangle, this is a huge job that is much bigger than a GT3 car,» Mohr noted. «These cars are quite heavy, much heavier than the old LMP1s, but they also have a huge downforce level. This generates new challenges from the pure set-up understanding.

«Knowing how complicated the set-up philosophy is, you need at least one season of learning, it’s clear. And the set-up is the main focus for development.»

It will be a question of time, miles and stumbling over hurdles already cleared by their rivals before Alpine and Lamborghini are ready to make good on their hard work against the strongest competition at the front of the WEC grid in its modern history. On the point of tyre warming, Sinault’s plea hit at the crux of the matter.

«It’s a key point of our category, so please give us some more time to have a better understanding of that,» he said. «We are really focused on that. We learn each time.»

Can Alpine or Lamborghini challenge for the top spots before the end of 2024?

Can Alpine or Lamborghini challenge for the top spots before the end of 2024?

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images



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How a sportscar friendship prevailed over F1 rivalry

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Of far greater importance to Marc Surer than the results he achieved in his on-and-off partnership with Manfred Winkelhock between 1977 and 1985 is his friendship with the exciting German driver. The late elder brother of the no less flamboyant ‘Smokin’ Jo’ Winkelhock shared BMW, Ford and Porsche machinery with Surer in endurance racing, most notably beating the factory teams with their privateer Kremer-run Porsche 956 at the shortened Monza World Endurance Championship round in 1985.

They were also team-mates in European Formula Two, and rivals in Formula 1, but that fact made no difference to their congenial relationship. The choice of Winkelhock, who died in 1985, as Surer’s favourite team-mate was therefore never in doubt for the Swiss.

Surer remembers “we became friends very quickly” after meeting when they joined the BMW Junior Team in ’77 together with Eddie Cheever. Together, Surer and Winkelhock won the 2.0-litre class in the Nurburgring 1000km that formed part of the World Championship for Makes. Rising star Surer was then based near Stuttgart, near where Winkelhock grew up in Waiblingen, so they socialised frequently. That continued when racing against each other in F1 from 1982 onwards.

“We went out in the evenings together, so we spent time privately and also at the track sometimes we had dinner when we didn’t have an engagement with sponsors,” says Surer, who recognises that Winkelhock “was more of a family man” following the birth of son Markus in 1980. “But anyway,” he adds, “we had a lot in common. We had a lot of fun.”

Both drivers were thrust into F2 for 1978 with the works March-BMW team. But unlike F3 graduate Surer, Winkelhock was new to single-seaters and didn’t get a second full season for 1979, when Surer won the title before making his F1 debut at Ensign.

“He had no experience in formula cars and was always over-driving the car,” says Surer. But in touring cars they complemented each other well. Winkelhock was “less sensitive for the set-up of the car, he could drive with the car which was not perfect” in a way Surer says he struggled to do.

Surer (left) was never team-mates with Winkelhock in F1, but the two were great friends from racing together in F2, touring cars and Group C

Surer (left) was never team-mates with Winkelhock in F1, but the two were great friends from racing together in F2, touring cars and Group C

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“Even if I said ‘come on, we have too much oversteer, I cannot drive the car like this’, he’d go out and do the good time anyway,” Surer notes admiringly. “He was just over-driving [around] problems which I sometimes couldn’t. He just forced the car through the corners.

“We could live always with the same set-up, we never had a problem to say ‘I cannot drive the way he wants it set-up’. We were very similar.”

Surer’s F1 career had struggled for momentum after breaking both ankles practicing for the 1980 South African Grand Prix with ATS. He’d twice scored points upon returning to Ensign for 1981, switched mid-year to Theodore, then landed at Arrows for 1982 when Winkelhock joined the grid at ATS. The same year, they collaborated on the Ford C100 programme in the WEC.

«Manfred had the idea and said, ‘if we drive side-by-side, nobody can overtake us’ and so we did!»
Marc Surer

The Zakspeed-run Fords were frequently unreliable, retiring within four laps of each other due to overheating issues at Le Mans, but for the Brands Hatch season finale they locked out the front row courtesy of well-timed laps in changeable conditions. Surer nabbed pole on intermediate tyres in the car he shared with Klaus Ludwig, while Winkelhock was second on Goodyear’s qualifying slicks with Klaus Niedzwiedz. But their part in a race that is remembered for Jacky Ickx’s storming drive to claim the title turned out to be little more than a footnote after “we touched slightly” and Winkelhock was fired into the barriers.

“Always the driver who did the best time in practice was allowed to do the start,” remembers Surer. “Peter Ashcroft came from Ford and he said, ‘BBC is broadcasting the race live on TV, can you try and come back as 1 and 2 in the first lap? Can you agree together how to help the other?’ And we said, ‘Okay, with Manfred I know it was no problem at all’.

“It started to rain before the race, and I said, ‘what are we going to do? In the rain it’s unpredictable’. And then Manfred had the idea and said, ‘if we drive side-by-side, nobody can overtake us’ and so we did!

“There was always one on the outside of the corner who had the better line, because on the inside was more slippery and tighter, so the one on the outside had to lift a little bit to stay side-by-side and we both did. It worked so well, we were still leading, so we did another lap and another lap and the rain got stronger and stronger…”

Surer and Winkelhock drove side-by-side in their Ford C100s for the early laps of the 1982 Brands Hatch 1000km before making contact

Surer and Winkelhock drove side-by-side in their Ford C100s for the early laps of the 1982 Brands Hatch 1000km before making contact

Photo by: Motorsport Images

But the Fords didn’t have it all their own way, as Hans Stuck in the Sauber-BMW loomed large in the mirrors. Autosport’s Quentin Spurring wrote: “Stuck’s progress continued, and by the fifth lap, he was up with the Fords, which came out of Surtees side by side again and set off that way towards Pilgrims Drop. In the kink just a short way down the straight, Surer got his C100 out of shape, his car kissed Winkelhock’s, and Manfred suddenly found himself on the grass and heading for the barrier.”

Without his dance partner, Surer couldn’t hold off Stuck, who took the lead starting lap six. Amid worsening rain and with the guardrail damaged, the race was stopped after nine laps. Winkelhock transferred to the Surer/Ludwig car for the restart on a drying track, but it was never the same competitive proposition as Surer spun at Paddock Bend, then lost three minutes in the pits to a misfire on the way to finishing fifth.

“We touched because of aquaplaning,” says Surer. “It was really difficult to put the power down in these conditions and so it happened. But there was no blaming each other.”

They had to wait until 1985 before racing together again as team-mates, but Surer reveals their collaboration had continued informally in F1, specifically during qualifying for the 1984 South African Grand Prix. ATS had BMW turbo power from 1983, but Arrows remained part of the dwindling group of teams using the long-in-the-tooth Cosworth DFV well into the next season along with Tyrrell.

At Kyalami’s high-altitude, the normally-aspirated cars were “so lost without the turbo”, prompting Surer to seek an out-of-the-box solution. He approached Winkelhock for a tow in qualifying, and the ATS man agreed.

“He said, ‘you go out one lap after I do my fast lap, and when I have finished my fast lap, I do one extra lap and give you a tow,’” chuckles Surer. “And I was the fastest of these four drivers with [Tyrrell drivers Stefan] Bellof and [Martin] Brundle because I got this tow from Manfred!”

Out of an F1 drive for 1985, Surer joined Winkelhock in a Kremer Racing 956 for that year’s WEC. Second in the Mugello opener, they famously won at Monza when a tree felled by galeforce winds blocked the track before the Lesmo caused the race to be halted 34 laps from the end. The first Group C win for Kremer was somewhat fortunate, as its car had been running out of sync due to an early second stop triggered by contact with Mauro Baldi’s Lancia.

Winkelhock agreed to give Surer a tow in qualifying for the 1984 South African Grand Prix, helping him to top the DFV brigade

Winkelhock agreed to give Surer a tow in qualifying for the 1984 South African Grand Prix, helping him to top the DFV brigade

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“It was a present,” admits Surer, who had been due his final stop shortly before the stoppage. But he is adamant “we would have had a chance also at the end” had the race run to its conclusion. In light of what happened a few months later, it stands as a bittersweet memory.

Fourth at Silverstone, both Winkelhock and Surer missed Le Mans due to clashing F1 commitments in Montreal. Winkelhock had joined RAM, while Surer landed a drive at Brabham in place of the disappointing Francois Hesnault. Reunited at Hockenheim, their 956 suffered a fuel leak that resulted in another dramatic pit fire, mere hours after the works Porsche team’s own incident. But what followed at Mosport was much more serious.

«We could live always with the same set-up, we never had a problem to say ‘I cannot drive the way he wants it set-up’. We were very similar»
Marc Surer

Winkelhock was gravely injured when a puncture caused his car to leave the road and crash heavily at the fast downhill Turn 2 left-hander. Surer accompanied his co-driver to hospital in Toronto, but nothing could be done. Winkelhock died of head injuries the following day. It was left to Surer to notify his wife and manager of the sad news.

“Even now when I think about it, it’s horrible,” he says. But Surer has happy memories of Winkelhock, describing their friendship as “unique”.

“Maybe there were some other drivers having that,” he adds, “but it was very unusual. Even fighting each other, it was always with no problem because you can trust the other one.”

Victory together in their Kremer Porsche at Monza in 1985 is a bittersweet memory for Surer

Victory together in their Kremer Porsche at Monza in 1985 is a bittersweet memory for Surer

Photo by: Motorsport Images



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How a sportscar friendship prevailed over F1 rivalry

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Of far greater importance to Marc Surer than the results he achieved in his on-and-off partnership with Manfred Winkelhock between 1977 and 1985 is his friendship with the exciting German driver. The late elder brother of the no less flamboyant ‘Smokin’ Jo’ Winkelhock shared BMW, Ford and Porsche machinery with Surer in endurance racing, most notably beating the factory teams with their privateer Kremer-run Porsche 956 at the shortened Monza World Endurance Championship round in 1985.

They were also team-mates in European Formula Two, and rivals in Formula 1, but that fact made no difference to their congenial relationship. The choice of Winkelhock, who died in 1985, as Surer’s favourite team-mate was therefore never in doubt for the Swiss.

Surer remembers “we became friends very quickly” after meeting when they joined the BMW Junior Team in ’77 together with Eddie Cheever. Together, Surer and Winkelhock won the 2.0-litre class in the Nurburgring 1000km that formed part of the World Championship for Makes. Rising star Surer was then based near Stuttgart, near where Winkelhock grew up in Waiblingen, so they socialised frequently. That continued when racing against each other in F1 from 1982 onwards.

“We went out in the evenings together, so we spent time privately and also at the track sometimes we had dinner when we didn’t have an engagement with sponsors,” says Surer, who recognises that Winkelhock “was more of a family man” following the birth of son Markus in 1980. “But anyway,” he adds, “we had a lot in common. We had a lot of fun.”

Both drivers were thrust into F2 for 1978 with the works March-BMW team. But unlike F3 graduate Surer, Winkelhock was new to single-seaters and didn’t get a second full season for 1979, when Surer won the title before making his F1 debut at Ensign.

“He had no experience in formula cars and was always over-driving the car,” says Surer. But in touring cars they complemented each other well. Winkelhock was “less sensitive for the set-up of the car, he could drive with the car which was not perfect” in a way Surer says he struggled to do.

Surer (left) was never team-mates with Winkelhock in F1, but the two were great friends from racing together in F2, touring cars and Group C

Surer (left) was never team-mates with Winkelhock in F1, but the two were great friends from racing together in F2, touring cars and Group C

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“Even if I said ‘come on, we have too much oversteer, I cannot drive the car like this’, he’d go out and do the good time anyway,” Surer notes admiringly. “He was just over-driving [around] problems which I sometimes couldn’t. He just forced the car through the corners.

“We could live always with the same set-up, we never had a problem to say ‘I cannot drive the way he wants it set-up’. We were very similar.”

Surer’s F1 career had struggled for momentum after breaking both ankles practicing for the 1980 South African Grand Prix with ATS. He’d twice scored points upon returning to Ensign for 1981, switched mid-year to Theodore, then landed at Arrows for 1982 when Winkelhock joined the grid at ATS. The same year, they collaborated on the Ford C100 programme in the WEC.

«Manfred had the idea and said, ‘if we drive side-by-side, nobody can overtake us’ and so we did!»
Marc Surer

The Zakspeed-run Fords were frequently unreliable, retiring within four laps of each other due to overheating issues at Le Mans, but for the Brands Hatch season finale they locked out the front row courtesy of well-timed laps in changeable conditions. Surer nabbed pole on intermediate tyres in the car he shared with Klaus Ludwig, while Winkelhock was second on Goodyear’s qualifying slicks with Klaus Niedzwiedz. But their part in a race that is remembered for Jacky Ickx’s storming drive to claim the title turned out to be little more than a footnote after “we touched slightly” and Winkelhock was fired into the barriers.

“Always the driver who did the best time in practice was allowed to do the start,” remembers Surer. “Peter Ashcroft came from Ford and he said, ‘BBC is broadcasting the race live on TV, can you try and come back as 1 and 2 in the first lap? Can you agree together how to help the other?’ And we said, ‘Okay, with Manfred I know it was no problem at all’.

“It started to rain before the race, and I said, ‘what are we going to do? In the rain it’s unpredictable’. And then Manfred had the idea and said, ‘if we drive side-by-side, nobody can overtake us’ and so we did!

“There was always one on the outside of the corner who had the better line, because on the inside was more slippery and tighter, so the one on the outside had to lift a little bit to stay side-by-side and we both did. It worked so well, we were still leading, so we did another lap and another lap and the rain got stronger and stronger…”

Surer and Winkelhock drove side-by-side in their Ford C100s for the early laps of the 1982 Brands Hatch 1000km before making contact

Surer and Winkelhock drove side-by-side in their Ford C100s for the early laps of the 1982 Brands Hatch 1000km before making contact

Photo by: Motorsport Images

But the Fords didn’t have it all their own way, as Hans Stuck in the Sauber-BMW loomed large in the mirrors. Autosport’s Quentin Spurring wrote: “Stuck’s progress continued, and by the fifth lap, he was up with the Fords, which came out of Surtees side by side again and set off that way towards Pilgrims Drop. In the kink just a short way down the straight, Surer got his C100 out of shape, his car kissed Winkelhock’s, and Manfred suddenly found himself on the grass and heading for the barrier.”

Without his dance partner, Surer couldn’t hold off Stuck, who took the lead starting lap six. Amid worsening rain and with the guardrail damaged, the race was stopped after nine laps. Winkelhock transferred to the Surer/Ludwig car for the restart on a drying track, but it was never the same competitive proposition as Surer spun at Paddock Bend, then lost three minutes in the pits to a misfire on the way to finishing fifth.

“We touched because of aquaplaning,” says Surer. “It was really difficult to put the power down in these conditions and so it happened. But there was no blaming each other.”

More from the favourite team-mate series:

They had to wait until 1985 before racing together again as team-mates, but Surer reveals their collaboration had continued informally in F1, specifically during qualifying for the 1984 South African Grand Prix. ATS had BMW turbo power from 1983, but Arrows remained part of the dwindling group of teams using the long-in-the-tooth Cosworth DFV well into the next season along with Tyrrell.

At Kyalami’s high-altitude, the normally-aspirated cars were “so lost without the turbo”, prompting Surer to seek an out-of-the-box solution. He approached Winkelhock for a tow in qualifying, and the ATS man agreed.

“He said, ‘you go out one lap after I do my fast lap, and when I have finished my fast lap, I do one extra lap and give you a tow,’” chuckles Surer. “And I was the fastest of these four drivers with [Tyrrell drivers Stefan] Bellof and [Martin] Brundle because I got this tow from Manfred!”

Out of an F1 drive for 1985, Surer joined Winkelhock in a Kremer Racing 956 for that year’s WEC. Second in the Mugello opener, they famously won at Monza when a tree felled by galeforce winds blocked the track before the Lesmo caused the race to be halted 34 laps from the end. The first Group C win for Kremer was somewhat fortunate, as its car had been running out of sync due to an early second stop triggered by contact with Mauro Baldi’s Lancia.

Winkelhock agreed to give Surer a tow in qualifying for the 1984 South African Grand Prix, helping him to top the DFV brigade

Winkelhock agreed to give Surer a tow in qualifying for the 1984 South African Grand Prix, helping him to top the DFV brigade

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“It was a present,” admits Surer, who had been due his final stop shortly before the stoppage. But he is adamant “we would have had a chance also at the end” had the race run to its conclusion. In light of what happened a few months later, it stands as a bittersweet memory.

Fourth at Silverstone, both Winkelhock and Surer missed Le Mans due to clashing F1 commitments in Montreal. Winkelhock had joined RAM, while Surer landed a drive at Brabham in place of the disappointing Francois Hesnault. Reunited at Hockenheim, their 956 suffered a fuel leak that resulted in another dramatic pit fire, mere hours after the works Porsche team’s own incident. But what followed at Mosport was much more serious.

«We could live always with the same set-up, we never had a problem to say ‘I cannot drive the way he wants it set-up’. We were very similar»
Marc Surer

Winkelhock was gravely injured when a puncture caused his car to leave the road and crash heavily at the fast downhill Turn 2 left-hander. Surer accompanied his co-driver to hospital in Toronto, but nothing could be done. Winkelhock died of head injuries the following day. It was left to Surer to notify his wife and manager of the sad news.

“Even now when I think about it, it’s horrible,” he says. But Surer has happy memories of Winkelhock, describing their friendship as “unique”.

“Maybe there were some other drivers having that,” he adds, “but it was very unusual. Even fighting each other, it was always with no problem because you can trust the other one.”

Victory together in their Kremer Porsche at Monza in 1985 is a bittersweet memory for Surer

Victory together in their Kremer Porsche at Monza in 1985 is a bittersweet memory for Surer

Photo by: Motorsport Images



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Toyota weighs up third Hypercar for WEC

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Japanese manufacturer has revealed that it could take a leaf out of arch-rival Ferrari’s book and run a third car on a satellite basis in the future.

But Toyota WEC race director Rob Leupen has revealed that it is already too late to put such a plan into place for next season and that an extra full-season entry in the Hypercar class could not come on stream before 2026.

«We see what Ferrari is doing with its customer or satellite car, and we like that,» Leupen told Motorsport.com.

«Clearly running an extra car gives you more possibilities, so it is something we are looking into. We are reviewing it.»

The lead time involved in building an additional car and setting up the infrastructure to run it would make it impossible for a third GR010 to arrive in the WEC in 2025, explained Leupen.

«If we were going to do it next year, we would have had to have made the decision already, and at the moment nothing is decided,» he said.

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

«It cannot be a short-term decision because we know what the lead times for all the components would be in the current circumstances.»

Toyota favours going the Ferrari route: the factory AF Corse team runs the additional 499P LMH for this year driven by Robert Kubica and works drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman on a customer basis.

«We are not at the stage yet where we say this is how we want to do it, but if you ask me, the way Ferrari does it, I like that,» said Leupen.

He stressed that the complexities of running a four-wheel-drive LMH would mitigate against the direction Porsche has taken by selling its 963 LMDh to privateer teams.

An additional Toyota would not be able to accrue WEC manufacturer’s points and instead would compete in the World Cup for Teams in which the extra AF Ferrari and the Jota and Proton Competition Porsches currently participate.

What is unclear is if there would be room for an additional Toyota the year after next.

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Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

The WEC grid is on course to expand to 40 cars next year at the same time as manufacturers look certain to be obliged to run two cars.

With the arrival of Aston Martin with two Valkyrie LMHs, an expansion of the current one-car Cadillac, Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini Hypercar programmes would potentially mean the grid is oversubscribed.

Asked if there would be room for an additional Toyota with a continued expansion of the Hypercar field, Leupen replied: «How many cars does Porsche run? How many cars does Ferrari run? So why should we not run three?»

Leupen added that there could be an overlap between the GR010 LMH and the hydrogen combustion prototype it is planning to develop after the reveal of the GR H2 Concept at last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

The new hydrogen class is not set for an introduction into the series until at least 2027.



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Schumacher confident Alpine can optimise WEC tyre warming procedures

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The timing of a red flag in qualifying, triggered following a spin for Dries Vanthoor’s BMW, contributed to Alpine’s two A424 LMDhs lining up 17th and 18th for last weekend’s second round of the championship at Imola.

But speaking ahead of a difficult race for the French marque, which was compromised by both cars being embroiled in a first corner incident, sportscar rookie Schumacher stressed that the new-for-2024 cars run by the Signatech team are «improving with each event» and expressed confidence in the growing knowledge it has in working with Michelin tyres.

Asked for his impressions of bringing the tyres up to temperature as he adapts to the WEC, former Haas Formula 1 driver Schumacher noted that while he had previously raced without the luxury of tyre warmers in Formula 2 and Formula 3, the rear-axle hybrid Alpine «is a lot heavier».

«That means you have a tyre sensation which feels like it gives you a lot of grip and then suddenly it might snap on you and you don’t actually quite grasp why,» the German said. 

«That’s what we’re trying to understand right now, is where is the cut-off line between how much do you push on each set. 

«Frankly, for us being in the second event and to already have an understanding of being able to, after a couple of laps, be able to switch the tyres on – maybe not as fast as some other teams, but we’re still able to switch them on – I think we’re in a very good position. 

«At the end of the day, Imola is quite a bit different compared to Qatar, but I think it’s already a step forward. 

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher

Photo by: Andreas Beil

«We’re improving with each event and we’re improving with each test in the knowledge that we’re grasping.

«I don’t have a real concern there that we’ll be able to get on top of it and at some point be able to put in the lap whenever we want to put in the lap.»

Alpine is returning to the top class of the WEC this year for the first time since 2022, when it used a grandfathered ORECA LMP1 chassis rebadged as an A480, having raced in the LMP2 class last year as the ban on tyre warmers in the WEC came into force.

Schumacher’s team-mate Paul-Loup Chatin explained that «there is a big step» between the procedures involved with bringing the Michelin used in Hypercar up to temperature and what the team experienced on the Goodyear tyre in LMP2 last season.

«It’s much more difficult,» noted Chatin, who took a class pole at Le Mans last year in IDEC Sport’s ORECA-Gibson 07 before rejoining the Signatech squad he’d last raced for in 2015 for its Hypercar programme.

«If you push, you can be a hero, but in one tenth you can be a zero because you lost the car. 

«And right now, it’s one of the most important topics, to be better on that. 

It was a bruising start for Alpine at Imola

It was a bruising start for Alpine at Imola

Photo by: Paul Foster

«We saw some teams like us, some teams are maybe a bit better than us right now, so there is a big way to improve. 

«It’s not an easy part of the job for the driver.»

Alpine’s frustrating race at Imola was capped when both cars were issued post-race penalties, as Hypercar debutant Jules Gounon and Nicolas Lapierre didn’t complete the minimum driving time.

Watch: BrrrakeF1 — How IMSA use Advanced Data to Enforce the Rules



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Lamborghini not concerned over Le Mans reliability despite rain-interrupted test

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The track was wet for the majority of the three days of testing at Portimao for the single long-distance test scheduled by Lamborghini and its Iron Lynx factory squad ahead of the double-points round of the World Endurance Championship on 15-16 June, team principal Andrea Piccini has revealed. 

But the ability of the new-for-2024 Lambo SC63 to go the distance without significant issues on its first appearances in the WEC and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America has allayed any fears over reliability, he insisted. 

“There was a lot of rain and it was not ideal,” Piccini said of the test at the Portuguese Algarve circuit on 26-28 March. 

“But we don’t think it will be a problem: we’ve finished a 10-hour WEC race at Qatar and a 12-hour IMSA race at Sebring, so the reliability seems good,” he said.

“I don’t think reliability is the problem; more important for us is to work on the performance of the car — that is our focus right now.”

The SC63’s race finishes on debut at Qatar and then at Sebring in 13th and seventh positions respectively were followed up by another clean run on the way to 12th position in last weekend’s Imola WEC race. 

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

Piccini explained that the WEC schedule does not allow time for another endurance run before Le Mans, when Iron Lynx’s solo WEC entry will be joined by the SC63 competing in three of the IMSA enduros this year. 

“After Portimao we had to get ready for Imola and then we are into Spa [round three of the 2024 WEC on 11 May] and after that it will all be about preparing the cars for Le Mans,” he said. 

Piccini did not put a figure on the mileage the Lambo achieved at Portimao’s Algarve circuit, but he stressed that the test was still of value. 

“Quite often you have to race in the rain at Le Mans,” he said. “We did get some dry laps, probably about a third of the running.”

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Five of Lamborghini’s roster of LMDh drivers were present at Portimao, with Romain Grosjean absent courtesy of his IndyCar commitments with Juncos Hollinger Racing. 

Piccini confirmed that Iron Lynx and Lamborghini have abandoned the plan outlined on the launch of the SC63 last year to field its IMSA car alongside its regular WEC entry in Austin at the beginning of September.

He pointed out that there would unlikely be room for an additional entry at a circuit with one of the smaller pit garage allocations on the WEC schedule, adding that it would also be difficult for the team to run a second car. 

“Doing Le Mans with two cars is already difficult in our first year, so it is not in plan now,” he said. 



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Peugeot won’t replace Vergne, Vandoorne for Spa WEC amid Formula E clash

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The French manufacturer has not nominated a replacement for either Jean-Eric Vergne or Stoffel Vandoorne, who will be competing with Peugeot sister marque DS and Penske in the clashing Berlin round of the Formula E World Championship on the weekend of 11/12 May.

It means Nico Muller and Mikkel Jensen will race the #93 Peugeot as a duo and Paul di Resta and Loic Duval likewise in the #94 Hypercar class entry.

Peugeot has passed up on the opportunity to give Malthe Jakobsen, who was signed as the WEC team’s junior driver last May, a first race outing in the 9X8.

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It was not considering anyone else except the 20-year-old Dane for Spa, which meant that one of the 9X8s was always going to have two drivers in the absence of Vergne and Vandoorne.

Jean-Marc Finot, who is motorsport boss of Peugeot and all the Stellantis group brands, said at the Qatar WEC season-opener in March that he would “not be looking outside of the Peugeot family” to fill the vacant seats.

The confirmation of Peugeot’s two-driver plan came with the release of the entry list for the Spa 6 Hours on 11 May on Wednesday.

Jota Porsche driver Norman Nato and Iron Lynx Lamborghini’s Edoardo Mortara will also miss Spa as planned to fulfil their FE commitments with Andretti and Mahindra respectively.

Nato will not be replaced alongside Will Stevens and Callum Ilott in the #12 Porsche 963 LMDh as already confirmed.

#12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Nato

#12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Nato

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Long-time Lambo factory driver Andrea Caldarelli will swap over from the Iron Lynx IMSA SportsCar Championship programme in three of the endurance rounds to join Mirko Bortolotti and Daniil Kvyat in the solo WEC SC63 LMDh.

Alpine has nominated Ferdinand Habsburg for its #35 A424 in the expectation that he will have recovered from the back injuries sustained in a crash in testing last month.

Philippe Sinault, boss of the Signatech team that runs the factory Alpines, stated last weekend at the Imola WEC round that he was “expecting good news” from Habsburg this week.

But it is understood that the Austrian has yet to receive the sign-off from doctors to get back in a racing car.

Harry Tincknell is listed in the Proton Competition Porsche 963 LMDh, but is more likely to be in Laguna Seca fulfilling his obligations in the IMSA series as part of Ford’s GT Daytona Pro programme with the Mustang GT3.

Larry Holt, whose Multimatic organisation masterminds Ford’s GT3 activities, said at Imola that it is likely that this drive will take precedence for Tincknell.

Toyota Hypercar class reserve driver Ritomo Miyata will drive the #78 Auto Sport Promotion Lexus RC F GT3 in place of Kelvin van der Linde.

The South African will racing for the Abt Cupra FE squad in Berlin instead of Nico Muller in his capacity as reserve driver for the German team.

#78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Arnold Robin, Timur Boguslavskiy, Kelvin Van Der Linde

#78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Arnold Robin, Timur Boguslavskiy, Kelvin Van Der Linde

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Miyata will be making his second race appearance in one of Toyota sister marque Lexus’s GT3 cars after contesting the Daytona 24 Hours IMSA round with the Vasser Sullivan squad.

Iron Dames Lamborghini driver Doriane Pin will miss the Spa WEC race to begin her Formula Renault Regional Championship by Alpine campaign at Hockenheim with the same team.

She will be replaced in the Iron Lynx-run Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2’s all-female line-up by Rahel Frey, who was part of the team’s WEC line-up alongside Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting in 2021-23.

Pin will return to the Iron Dames Lamborghini for the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round in June before concentrating on her single-seater commitments in FRECA and F1 Academy.

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Alpine confident for ‘good news’ in Habsburg injury recovery

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The French manufacturer dropped hints at last weekend’s Imola WEC race that it expects the Austrian to retake his place alongside Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin in the #35 Alpine A424 LMDh at the Spa 6 Hours on 11 May.

“We are expecting good news from Ferdy this week,” said Philippe Sinault, boss of Signatech squad that runs the factory Alpines.

“We hope he can be with us as soon as possible. His environment, the personal one and the medical one also, is very good.”

Asked specifically about the chances of Habsburg being back in the cockpit at the Belgian WEC round, Sinault suggested that a decision could be imminent.

“We will have a clearer view at the end of this week,” he stated.

The entry list for Spa will be published this week, although Habsburg’s presence on it would not necessarily mean he will be in the car for round three of the WEC.

He is still awaiting sign-off from his doctors to get back in a racing car after fracturing two lumbar vertebrae while testing for Alpine at the MotorLand Aragon circuit at the end of March.

Photo by: Alpine

It is understood that he will have a series of scans in the run-up to Spa to assess his recovery from the injuries, which were sustained in a head-on impact at Turn 7 of the Spanish venue.

There is no expectation that Habsburg will be ready to race one week before Spa at the Paul Ricard round of the European Le Mans Series, in which he is contracted to the Cool Racing LMP2 team.

He was replaced by Chatin in the Cool ORECA-Gibson 07 LMP2 in the ELMS opener at Barcelona earlier this month and then by Jules Gounon, Alpine’s official reserve driver, in the A424 at last weekend’s Imola 6 Hours WEC round.

Sinault confirmed that Habsburg’s accident was the result of a problem with the car and not driver error.

“We continue to investigate, but we had a technical issue,” he said. “Everything is under control; we have worked very hard after this accident, but now it is okay.”

Habsburg’s accident curtailed an endurance test, but Sinault insisted that it wasn’t a major problem for Alpine as it builds towards the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

He revealed that the solo car present at Aragon had already completed 26 of the planned 30 hours and that the test was still a productive one.

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Toyota not “getting over excited” over WEC Imola triumph

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David Floury, technical director at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, made the claim after Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway took victory in the Imola 6 Hours after Ferrari made two key strategic errors.

«I don’t think we should be over-excited because it was a race decided on a tyre call, not on pure pace,» he said.

«If you look at pure pace on fastest lap time, Ferrari is four tenths faster than us. We won without being fastest, so it was won on strategy and team execution.»

He added that the lack of pace of the GR010 in comparison with Ferrari’s 499P LMH was «not something we are happy with».

Floury paid tribute to Kobayashi’s drive over the final two hours to seal the victory when rain started to fall.

The Japanese driver, who is also team principal of the TGR WEC squad, had to go into extreme fuel-save mode over his final stint to avoid the need for a late splash-and-dash stop at the same time as fending off a challenge from the factory Porsche 963 LMDh with Kevin Estre at the wheel.

«When we started the final stint we were scratching our heads a bit, wondering how we were going to manage it,» explained Floury.

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

«Kamui did a fantastic job-saving energy while staying in front.

«We did the job today: the team did the perfect execution and Kamui was brilliant at the end.»

Ferrari was in the ascendency for nearly four hours in Sunday’s race before delaying the change from slicks to wet-weather tyres on both factory cars and the customer or satellite AF Corse entry when it started to rain.

The Italian manufacturer admitted to making tactical mistakes after the race, saying that it misinterpreted its weather forecast.

It also revealed that a plan to split its strategies on the two factory cars was not executed as a result of what it described as a communication problem.

The victory for Toyota on Sunday follows a disappointing performance in the Qatar 1812Km WEC season-opener in March, in which it scored a best result of fifth, a lap in arrears of the winning Porsche Penske Motorsport entry.

A Balance of Performance change helped shake up the order at Imola, although Floury hinted that he believes that the playing field has yet to be fully levelled in the Hypercar class yet.

He talked about the discrepancies in straightline speed between the cars after both qualifying and the race.

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Floury described the 5-6km/h difference in top speeds between the 499P and the GR010 as «big in a BoP world» after qualifying and then suggested that Ferrari was «out of sight» post-race.

A new component in the BoP known as «power gain» is set for introduction in the Hypercar class of the WEC this year with the aim of levelling the performance profiles of the cars down the straights.

A plus or minus figure will be applied to the maximum power figure for each car above 210km/h (130mph) to more accurately match their acceleration and top speeds.

The system was trialled by some manufacturers during the pre-Qatar Prologue test and had looked set for an Imola introduction.

The FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which jointly run the WEC, have yet to reveal to the manufacturers when it will be introduced.

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