Braun’s Acura beats AXR Cadillac in first practice
Braun’s Acura topped the 90-minute session for the 34-car entry with a quickest time of 1m07.341s, over three quarters of a second clear of all rivals at the fabled sportscar track near Toronto. Ricky Taylor’s Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 set the early benchmark at 1m09.803s. That was soon pipped by Alexander […]
WEC tyre warmer ban return won’t be «key factor» at Monza
The WEC introduced new rules for 2023 prohibiting the use of tyre warmers, but this was temporarily relaxed for the Le Mans 24 Hours last month after several incidents for drivers fresh out of the pits on cold tyres amid cool temperatures at Spa. However, with temperatures for the Italian round of the WEC significantly […]
Toyota edges Ferrari in second practice
Kamui Kobayashi was quickest initially in the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar and then improved to a 1m36.363s to give him a margin of just under two tenths over Antonio Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari 499P LMH. The Italian driver jumped to second just under halfway through the 90-minute afternoon session to split […]
Pier Guidi Ferrari shades Jota Porsche for top spot in FP1
Le Mans 24 Hours winner Pier Guidi snared the top spot aboard the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar by just 0.003s over Ye’s Porsche 963 LMDh in a 90-minute session that was red flagged with a little over two minutes left on the clock. Pier Guidi logged a best effort of 1m37.533s in the […]
WEC podium target still “difficult” despite Le Mans progress
Last month’s double-points round of the WEC at Le Mans was described as “a turning point” for the Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar programme by its technical director Olivier Jansonnie straight after the race. But Jansonnie stressed ahead of the post-Le Mans resumption of the WEC at Monza this weekend that the 9X8 still lacks […]
SUPER GT updates pitstop rules after Suzuka confusion
The third round of the season was cut short just after 75 percent distance following a huge crash at 130R involving the NISMO Nissan of Tsugio Matsuda and the JLOC Lamborghini of Kosuke Matsuura. At the time of the stoppage, the NDDP Racing Nissan shared by Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi was leading by virtue […]
Porsche/Penske alliance needs ‘more time to gel’
This year Porsche returned to the top flight of the WEC for the first time since 2017 with the 919 Hybrid LMP1, partnering up with US squad Penske to run its two-car works programme. So far its best result has been a third place at the Portimao 6 Hours with the #6 car crewed by […]
Toyota reveals cause of Hirakawa spin at end of Le Mans 24 Hours
Pascal Vasselon, Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director, explained that the Japanese driver who shared the second-placed GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar with Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley was caught out by a rearward brake balance setting at the tight Arnage right-hander. This had not been communicated to Hirakawa when he took over from Hartley […]
Sylvain Guintoli targets Le Mans 24 Hours win on four wheels
Frenchman Guintoli, 41, last raced in MotoGP in 2019 as a wildcard and test rider for Suzuki, but has stayed active in motorcycle racing with the Hamamatsu brand’s endurance racing programme. Alongside Yoshimura SERT team-mates Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon, he won the Le Mans 24 Hours motorcycle race in 2021 and scored a second […]