[WEC Race] WEC 2013 Round 1: Silverstone

[Tim the Grey]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Strakka ..... seemed to me Liventus got over the curb onto the grass , lost the end and then was a passanger ..... sadly the Ferrari was in the wrong place at the wrong time .

I was there, live. The Strakka car appeared locked up, backwards, and the 458 was the injured party, as he tried hard to avoid the P1. Nothing else was around, as far as I could see, that could have caused the half spin...

[Mike E]

Originally Posted by Peat

Two things i noticed with them was:

1) They were pulling 4th all the way from the apex of Stowe to Club. Everyone else was upshifting.

2) The car had a really weird wobble through Copse. Like it was very soft of roll at the back. The car seemed stable, but the bodywork (wing and fin) visibly moved back and forth.

Rear wing/bodywork was bobbing around everywhere. I think RLM mentioned a new rear end from Multimatic. Anyone know if this was bodywork or suspension or something else?

Other observations: there was a breeze from the south.
The Audis were mighty through Becketts (must try to get to Porsche Curves come June).
The Rebellions sounded like proper racing cars.
No leader lights! Please...

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Tim the Grey

I was there, live. The Strakka car appeared locked up, backwards, and the 458 was the injured party, as he tried hard to avoid the P1. Nothing else was around, as far as I could see, that could have caused the half spin...

Leventis said he was forced onto the grass in the run-up to the corner by a Ferrari. Not sure but I'm assuming it was the Gerber car. Can't remember if there was another 458 on the scene.

[arakis]

Was there any reason given why porscheas(91 92) spent 10s more at every pitstop then their rivals... I'm guessing its their debut race, and they were doing extra checks each stop

[Rennen]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

Good to see everyone again.

I still think Silverstone is a rather soulless track, and they really need to build a bridge or tunnel across the pit-straight to the 'Wing' rather than running an expensive to provide bus service.

First time I'd been there since the new pit complex was finished, and know what you mean...but the drivers still love the flowing nature of the track. What it lacks is undulations, but they are very expensive to create. A footbridge to the new 'Wing' would be good tho!

[outnumbered]

Very enjoyable day out yesterday, with the Audi battle at the end the icing on the cake. I'd been up there on all three days, so having actual sunshine and (nearly) no rain was fantastic, especially after Saturday's washout.

Various random thoughts...

The number of classes is a bit of a problem, with only P2 really having a somewhat diverse entry, and only 6-8 cars in each of the other categories. Rebellion can pretty much win the P1 privateer race simply by turning up. I think I'd have preferred to see the ELMS field mixed in as well rather than two separate events.

The Toyotas looked absolutely horrible over the bumps, really bouncing around and porpoising badly on the Hangar Straight, far worse than any other cars. Unsurprising that they were having tyre issues, as the setup looked quite compromised.

The Audis through Becketts bloody hell . Looked like they were on rails, and hardly braked at all. Nice battle at the end, that seemed to resolve without team orders.

Would have been nice for the commentators to concentrate more on keeping us up to date with class positions, given that the on-car indicator lights weren't working. I went for long periods having no idea who was leading P2 for example. Maybe this is a drawback of dual purpose TV/trackside commentary ? But apart from that they did a great job I thought, Paul Trusswell providing the usual mine of detail.

I still find Silverstone a pain as a spectator, but unfortunately I think they can afford to run a hell of a lot of buses for the price of building an access bridge or tunnel at the new pits, and I don't think we'll see any development until their planned luxury hotel complex gets built... when the tunnel or bridge will probably be a VIP facility only for Bernie's chums

[Mike E]

Originally Posted by outnumbered

The number of classes is a bit of a problem, with only P2 really having a somewhat diverse entry, and only 6-8 cars in each of the other categories. Rebellion can pretty much win the P1 privateer race simply by turning up. I think I'd have preferred to see the ELMS field mixed in as well rather than two separate events.

Agree with that. I was going to say that with Audi romping away and Strakka shooting themselves in both feet, the field spread in P1 was significant not long after the start. On the other hand, we had 31 cars on the grid, and none of them obviously undeserving of their place. What you gonna do?

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Mike E

Other observations: there was a breeze from the south.

Breeze. Yes, At times a little brisker than a breeze......

[garcon]

I have bright red breeze burn...

[Dario911]

Originally Posted by arakis

Was there any reason given why porscheas(91 92) spent 10s more at every pitstop then their rivals... I'm guessing its their debut race, and they were doing extra checks each stop

I think they didn't pushed anything at its limit, in the first race. I pretty sure they've done some deeper checks to the car. Manthey is a superb team, and 991 has shown to be reliable. I don't think they were there to win since the first race, but they didn't want to take any risk.

[Gingers4Justice]

I feel a bit naughty for saying this as a local...but I really do wish the British WEC round was held at Brands Hatch. All sorts of reasons why that won't happen, of course.

[Pandamasque]

I was rather impresed by the 991's pace and reliabiliry, while the Praga-Lotus had a more 'normal' debut)) But the most impressive thing of all was the stream. 6 hours of flawless 720p with ZERO interruptions or glirches! The stream did crash once after the checkered flag, probably due to contractual obligations))

[Dario911]

According to Porsche crew words, they are pleased by 991 performance. They've learnt a lot to improve the car, and have understood where to work before of the next race. One of the major trouble was the oversteer in the slow corners. About this, Bergmeister has said it was caused by the lack of time to set the car on the dry tarmac. The car is new, and they had not good references to set the car in the best way.
Anyway they are very satisfied, and have scheduled a new step for the car for Spa race.
Excluding Aston (too much helped by BoP), Porsche may have raced to win against Ferrari, because their pace was close enough.
If Astons will be balanced at the same performance level of Porsche and Ferrari, the challenge will be very exciting for all the season.
They have to avoid that any of the cars can be so advantaged as the Aston Martin is now compared to its rivals.

P.S.
Congratulations to Kobayashi. Great race!

[deggis]

What comes to the stream (no problems either, except the few sec death right after the flag), I really no idea how Dailymotion works, but I think partners like ACO have to pay for the bandwidth in a way or another. I presume the only difference (besides 720p quality option) to last year was that they finally bought enough bandwidth.

...and now, noticing how well it went, for Spa they'll probably become cheapskates again and opt for less bandwidth => problems

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by chunder

As far as the place goes, they have vastly improved the bus routes

Shame that both times I used the buses on Saturday and Sunday it took so long for them to arrive. (22 minutes on Saturday and 35 minutes on Sunday). I was at the bus stop on both days at 8:20am.

And they should have them running for a bit longer at the end of the day.

Originally Posted by chunder

and the lack of a Bridge was really obvious!

And they have also knocked the one down near Copse which seems even more stupid!

The bridge at the national pits has been like that since The Wing opened as far as I am aware.

Originally Posted by chunder

Does anyone actually know what they are building? Its quite a big building!

It is the Silverstone University Technical College.

http://www.silverstone.co.uk/about/e...lverstone-utc/

Originally Posted by Mechanic Z

Way to go, Chris Dyson! Podium finish!

#41 was classified 5th in class after a lap was added to the cars overall time, because Marsal didn't respect the minimum driving time. He drove for 10h 10min 01sec, when he is supposed to drive for a minimum of 1h 15min.


Also nice to see people take no notice of a fire alarm. The fire alarm in The Wing was going off about 45 minutes (estimate, didn't look at my watch) after the race, while the teams were packing up. Everybody seemed to carry on as normal (even security). It must have been going off for 5-10 minutes.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Shame that both times I used the buses on Saturday and Sunday it took so long for them to arrive. (22 minutes on Saturday and 35 minutes on Sunday). I was at the bus stop on both days at 8:20am.

Where were you wanting to go that it was worth waiting that long for? We queued for the bus once - the bus was actually there (at the Wing), but the queue was so long we walked. We walked down to the Wing several times over the weekend - as well as around the full circuit.

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Where were you wanting to go that it was worth waiting that long for? We queued for the bus once - the bus was actually there (at the Wing), but the queue was so long we walked. We walked down to the Wing several times over the weekend - as well as around the full circuit.

I was parked just up from the Woodcote bus stop and wanted to get to the Wing.


Also the queue for the pit walk was mental.

[wewantourdarbyback]

I spent a huge amount of time at Silverstone when I was growing up, this was the first time I've been since the Wing has been fully completed, last time I was there it didn't have any walls yet.

I was amazed at how difficult it now makes getting anywhere compared to the old days.

I want to go around the track on foot, and we did, because I love walking around the circuit, but I also want to be able to get to the paddock. In the old days it was just a matter of nipping under the tunnel or over the bridge at copse. But now all the paddock is behind the wing and so are all the merch stands and entertainment it means that you need to get infield.

We didn't bother with the pit walkabout or really going to the stalls because at the start we wanted to be in the main grandstand. It meant a trudge up to bridge, across around the back of the loop and down again.

I just cannot fathom why when they were planning it they didn't think, hold on a second, why don't we put a tunnel, or even a bridge, either next to club or across/under the start finish straight. It feels like they've cut the fans off from the teams.

As for the race itself that was fantastic, I wasn't sure Nishy could chase down the lead at the end but he was a demon behind the wheel. Cannot remember the last time he was able to push that hard without making a big mistake (Le Mans 2011 and 2012 spring to mind).

The 991's impressed me too, for a début race they held on to the Aston's very well for a long time and with time I think GTE will see some monster battles between the three. It's just a shame that they have knobbled the 458s too much.

Glad to hear the streams worked well though, hopefully they keep that up for Spa in three weeks time.

[Gingers4Justice]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Where were you wanting to go that it was worth waiting that long for? We queued for the bus once - the bus was actually there (at the Wing), but the queue was so long we walked. We walked down to the Wing several times over the weekend - as well as around the full circuit.

The queues were long but went down fast. The longest I waited for a bus was 15 minutes (including immediately after the pit walk to get back to the other side), and the longest bus journey was also around that long.

I would prefer a bridge but what was really cool was the fact you can see the track for most of the journey. The bus gives you a decent tour of the circuit. Really cool having the cars blast underneath you on the Hangar Straight bridge, and it's also awesome to be moving the same direction as the cars around Maggots/Becketts. An unintended positive, but a positive nonetheless...

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

I was parked just up from the Woodcote bus stop and wanted to get to the Wing.


Also the queue for the pit walk was mental.

We made that walk several times during the weekend. It's not so bad, assuming you're marginally fit. (I'm nearly 56 and not really fit at all!). As a conservative estimate, I'd say we must have walked a good 10-12 miles over the three days.

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

We made that walk several times during the weekend. It's not so bad, assuming you're marginally fit. (I'm nearly 56 and not really fit at all!). As a conservative estimate, I'd say we must have walked a good 10-12 miles over the three days.

Ha!... I wish, using crutches doesn't help.

If there was a proper pavement/path it wouldn't be so bad.

[Aysedasi]

I understand now. I was thinking that there can't be that many people around as unfit as me, but conscious that some may have other reasons for needing to use the bus.....

[GT6]

yes the pit walk queue was so big we decided to give it a miss

[Rodger Davies]

Originally Posted by wewantourdarbyback

I just cannot fathom why when they were planning it they didn't think, hold on a second, why don't we put a tunnel, or even a bridge, either next to club or across/under the start finish straight. It feels like they've cut the fans off from the teams.

You need to remember that every change made to that track was with regards to the Grand Prix and keeping Bernie happy. And this is a world where there is no interaction with fans; there is just them and you/us. Hence the fact there are four empty VIP shuttles to every public bus, and vans adorned with the names of F1 champions porting the odd media soul from one area to another. Hence there is no logically placed bridge anywhere on the new part of the circuit that would lead into the paddock and, despite making the track longer, there are now fewer places to cross it on foot than ever before. Think about it; there is no footbridge any more, because who on earth would need to cross on foot to get to their infield hospitality suite?

Silverstone is dead. It lost its soul when it eschewed Abbey and Bridge and moved the pits; it became just another fence-lined Tilke-drome and might as well be in a desert in Asia. But for the weather. It's a set of painted lines through a vast tarmac wasteland and it sucks the life and investment out of the rest of the British motor racing scene. Heck, the Bahrain and Korean circuits have smaller run offs.

I walked several times on Saturday and Sunday from out- to in-field, and did several laps of the circuit on foot, but mainly trying to seek out anything scenic, anything left to remind me of the track that used to be there. Even their attempt at a 'fan-friendly' pitwalk was somewhat frustrating as every time you approached the far side of the pitlane there was an official on hand to tell you not to stand there or try and take a photo of that...

As for the race, it was very good from what I could keep up with. I imagine Treluyer must be a tad annoyed that he was passed after the final pitstop but McNish drove in his very unique style throughout and it's hard to begrudge him that win.

The other thing that struck me about the WEC is how few teams there actually are running still. 15 teams is all I make of that list, correct me if I'm wrong:

Joest
Oreca-Toyota
Strakka
Sebah-Rebellion
AF Corse
AMR/Prodrive
Manthey-Porsche
Felbermeyer
IMSA
Krohn
ADR
OAK
Kodewa-Lotus
Labre
Greaves

Pretty much all top-class teams and only a few smaller entrants left; I was particularly intrigued by the ADR/Oak battle and look forward to it continuing at a proper circuit in Spa.

Originally Posted by Gingers4Justice

I feel a bit naughty for saying this as a local...but I really do wish the British WEC round was held at Brands Hatch. All sorts of reasons why that won't happen, of course.

They've removed their main excuse for not running at a real circuit instead of Silverstone; the size of the interesting grid for the last few years. I agree that it won't happen, but I too would much prefer it to be there, despite the mammoth drive it would take to get there.......

In summary; good championship, if too stubborn (not a fan of the separate grids), on an awful circuit.

Few photos:







More at: http://photo.gtnewswire.com

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

You need to remember that every change made to that track was with regards to the Grand Prix and keeping Bernie happy. And this is a world where there is no interaction with fans; there is just them and you/us. Hence the fact there are four empty VIP shuttles to every public bus, and vans adorned with the names of F1 champions porting the odd media soul from one area to another. Hence there is no logically placed bridge anywhere on the new part of the circuit that would lead into the paddock and, despite making the track longer, there are now fewer places to cross it on foot than ever before. Think about it; there is no footbridge any more, because who on earth would need to cross on foot to get to their infield hospitality suite?

Silverstone is dead. It lost its soul when it eschewed Abbey and Bridge and moved the pits; it became just another fence-lined Tilke-drome and might as well be in a desert in Asia. But for the weather. It's a set of painted lines through a vast tarmac wasteland and it sucks the life and investment out of the rest of the British motor racing scene. Heck, the Bahrain and Korean circuits have smaller run offs.

I walked several times on Saturday and Sunday from out- to in-field, and did several laps of the circuit on foot, but mainly trying to seek out anything scenic, anything left to remind me of the track that used to be there.

I agree with you that Silverstone isn't a pleasant place to be. My favourite viewing point was always Woodcote B, because it was close to the track, you could see almost a third of the lap, the starts of the race and there was usually a big screen around Luffield that you could see. It was also a quick walk down towards the Copse tunnel or the bridge over the start/finish straight.

While I lament not having those 'luxuries' anymore, I still think Silverstone is the only suitable place to hold international sportscar racing.

The longer lap lends itself to larger grid sizes, for starters, as do the pit facilities. It is still a good circuit for the drivers, and thankfully they've left Copse and Becketts alone for us spectators. There are also plenty of toilets scattered around for us spectators compared with other circuits. Then there are the likes of the big screens and Radio Silverstone broadcasting all day to keep us well informed.

I haven't been to Brands Hatch before but I don't think any other circuit in the UK has such important facilities for endurance racing.

I do think Silverstone has lost a bit of atmosphere now, though. Perhaps it would be improved with a bridge between Stowe and Vale to give access to the paddock, they have plenty of space around there to develop it a little bit more.