Метка: Bahrain November testing

Pourchaire in line for Peugeot Hypercar reserve role

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire is under consideration for a test and reserve role with Peugeot’s World Endurance Championship squad along with former sparring partner Clement Novalak.

Poruchaire, who also raced with Arrow McLaren in IndyCar this year, and LMP2 regular Novalak have entered the frame to replace Malthe Jakobsen on his graduation to a race seat in place of Nico Muller for 2025 after taking part in the official WEC rookie test in Bahrain earlier this month.

Peugeot has stated that it wanted to take a look at some new drivers and confirmed that they are in contention for the seventh spot in the Peugeot Sport WEC squad.

Peugeot Sport technical director Olivier Jansonnie said: “It is always interesting to evaluate drivers for the future. The idea of the rookie test for us was to test some proper rookies.

“We looked at some potential drivers: we wanted someone with strong single-seater experience and recent prototype experience, and that is Clement [who raced in the European Le Mans Series with Inter Europol in 2024]. Theo has a bit of a different profile but is obviously very talented.”

When asked if Pourchaire and Novalak were being evaluated for a potential reserve role, Jansonnie replied in the affirmative. He confirmed that Peugeot would go into 2025 with a seventh driver, but he stressed that no decisions had been made.

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Malthe Jakobsen, Théo Pourchaire, Clement Novalak

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Malthe Jakobsen, Théo Pourchaire, Clement Novalak

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Pourchaire stated that he was open to a reserve role with Peugeot alongside a proper return to competition after a season in which he started out in Super Formula with Team Impul before switching to what turned out to be a disjointed IndyCar campaign.

“A reserve driver role in Hypercar, why not?” said the 2023 F2 title winner, who holds a similar position in Formula 1 with Sauber. “It could help me have a full-time role in the future, but for sure I am looking for a drive to actually race.”

Should Pourchaire land a Peugeot drive, it is likely that he would be placed in LMP2 next year to gain race experience. He was spotted with the Algarve Pro Racing P2 squad at Paul Ricard during a Goodyear tyre test last week.

Novalak, a race winner in F2 in ’23, said: “If I could dream of anything it would be getting a reserve role [in Hypercar] and doing the ELMS and the IMSA SportsCar Championships [in P2],” said the London-based Franco-Swiss.

Pourchaire and Novalak are not under consideration for race seats at Peugeot for next year.

The team will go into the new season with an unchanged roster in its two 9X8 2024 Le Mans Hypercars with the exception of Jakobsen. But the Dane will not necessarily slot in as a like-for-like replacement for Muller in the #93 entry alongside Mikkel Jensen and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Jansonnie explained that the final decision on the line-ups in each car had yet to be made.

Peugeot shuffled drivers between cars for 2024 when Stoffel Vandoorne moved up from the reserve role on the departure of Gustavo Menezes. He took Menezes’s seat in the #94 car, driving alongside Loic Duval and Paul di Resta, who swapped places with Muller between seasons.

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Mercedes makes Le Mans return, enters WEC with Iron Lynx

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Mercedes will return to the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time since 1999 as part of a World Endurance Championship campaign with the Iron Lynx team.

The German manufacturer will enter the WEC for the first time in the LMGT3 class with the successful Mercedes-AMG GT3, a winner of the 24-hour classics at Spa and Nurburgring.

That will give Mercedes a spot on the Le Mans grid, 26 years after its last entry with the CLR LM-GTP racer.

That was only Mercedes’s third assault on the French enduro since its 1989 victory with the factory Sauber team and ended on Saturday evening when Peter Dumbreck crashed out in the third aerial accident for the team over the Le Mans meeting.

#6 AMG Mercedes CLR LMGTP: Bernd Schneider, Pedro Lamy, Franck Lagorce

#6 AMG Mercedes CLR LMGTP: Bernd Schneider, Pedro Lamy, Franck Lagorce

Photo by: John Brooks

Iron Lynx is forging a partnership with Mercedes after representing Lamborghini in LMGT3 in 2024, the first season of the new class, as well as in Hypercar with the Italian manufacturer’s SC63 LMDh prototype.

Mercedes is set to become the 10th manufacturer in class and will have two Iron Lynx-run cars in the field, in line with series rules.

Iron Lynx has announced Matteo Cressoni, who switches over from Lamborghini’s factory roster, and Claudio Schiavoni, a partner in the team, as the first drivers of the two Mercs.

Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Christoph Sagemuller said on Wednesady’s announcement: “It’s no secret that we’ve been very keen for some time to bring the Three-pointed Star back to Le Mans.

“The 2025 season with the FIA WEC entry is the right moment – we are returning to La Sarthe after 26 years!

“The first FIA WEC season with LMGT3 cars has already been extremely interesting and we want to bring even more excitement to the field in future.”

He added the “experienced Iron Lynx team is the right pairing” for its WEC entry.

Iron Lynx team principal and CEO Andrea Piccini said: «We are extremely proud to welcome Mercedes-AMG as a partner. In addition to being an amazing brand, they are highly motivated, determined, and hungry for success.”

Stephen Wendl, head of customer racing at Mercedes-AMG, thanked the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest for their cooperation in allowing Mercedes into LMGT3 at the second time of asking.

The brand tried to gain an entry for the inaugural year of LMGT3. but lost out when the FIA and the ACO allowed in only nine manufacturers.

An expansion of the WEC grid from this year’s 37 to cars to potentially as many as 40 and fewer than expected entries in Hypercar has made space for Mercedes.

The significance of the announcement, which has come ahead of the full reveal of the 2025 WEC grid after entries closed on 18 November, on Iron Lynx’s relationship with Lamborghini is not entirely clear.

Lamborghini’s LMDh programme is under review, with marque chief technical officer Rouven Mohr revealing that all options are possible.

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He explained that the new rule demanding that Lamborghini run two SC63s in WEC was proving problematical for reasons of resource, both financial and technical.

It appears that the most likely option is that the Italian manufacturer will concentrate on GTP in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America, its biggest market, and leave the WEC’s Hypercar class.

Iron Lynx made no reference to Lamborghini in its announcement made at the same time as the statement from Mercedes.

Mercedes is planning a new GT3 car to replace the long-serving current car after bringing development for the class in-house rather than using long-term partner HWA.



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Calado reveals hospitalisation after «dangerous» WEC weight loss effort

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ferrari driver James Calado has revealed that he was hospitalised with malnutrition early in this year’s World Endurance Championship campaign as a result of his efforts to lose weight.

The Briton has disclosed that he became «properly ill» after the Qatar season-opener as he strived to overcome the performance disadvantage that comes with carrying extra kilogrammes in the WEC’s Hypercar category, which does not include the driver in the minimum weight of the car.

«I was sick this year because I lost so much weight — I went to hospital after Qatar with malnutrition,» he explained. «I was on medication because I was running and not eating, trying so hard to lose weight.

«It’s too dangerous for me to go down to the weight I want.»

Calado explained that he is «70-something kilos» and that could result in a performance disadvantage of as much as half a second a lap on a regular circuit to a driver who weighs 20kg less.

«I would love to be able to qualify, but I’m too heavy,» he said. «I would love something to make it more equal like karting or in other championships.

#51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

#51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

«It’s not easy to manage because it’s endurance racing — three drivers per car, two in others — I know that, but let’s try and do something.»

Calado’s revelation comes at a time when there is a push to mitigate the advantage that running lighter drivers brings.

BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos revealed to Motorsport.com that he has raised the issue with the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which jointly run the WEC.

«There should be compensation for driver weight as there was in the past in LMP1 and we are pushing for that,» he said.

«We shouldn’t get to a situation where the manufacturers are looking for the lightest drivers; there should be a situation where every driver can be competitive.

«This is also a safety topic: drivers try to lose weight, but this is endurance racing so it can be dangerous.»

James Calado, Ferrari AF Corse

James Calado, Ferrari AF Corse

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

ACO technical director Thierry Bouvet admitted that the idea is being discussed, but stressed that no decision has been made.

«When people have ideas, we and the FIA look at the pros and cons and see if they need to be adopted or not,» he said.

A rule introduced in LMP1 for the 2015 WEC season increased the minimum weight of a car in which the average weight of its two or three drivers was less than 80kg.

Three drivers with an average weight of 75kg had to carry 5kg of ballast in their car, for example.

The rule didn’t remove the advantage a lighter driver had over heavier co-drivers but equalised the cars across the grid.

The cars of Formula 1 drivers who weigh less than 80kg in their racewear have to carry ballast to bring it up to the 798kg minimum.

The Hypercar technical rules for 2025 have already been approved and published but could be changed with the unanimous support of the manufacturers.



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Lamborghini assessing LMDh future; won’t rule out axing programme

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Lamborghini looks set to downscale its LMDh programme for 2025 and to compete in either the World Endurance Championship or the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

The Italian manufacturer, which has partnered with the Iron Lynx team in both series, is undertaking a review of its activities with the SC63 LMDh.

All options are on the table, including axing the programme entirely, according to Lamborghini chief technical officer and acting motorsport boss Rouven Mohr.

Mohr explained that the new regulatory requirement in the WEC next year for manufacturers competing in the Hypercar class to run two cars is the reason for the reassessment for next year.

“At the moment we are investigating all the opportunities for next year,” Mohr told Motorsport.com.

“The biggest issue for us is that the second car [in WEC] was not foreseen. “It generates in our company issues to support the second car in an adequate way.”

#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: Andreas Beil

“Our wish would have been to continue with one car in IMSA [for the full season rather than in just the endurance races as this year] and one car in WEC.

“Now we are in a situation where we need to find a way to manage two cars in WEC and one car in IMSA, or it could be that we have to decide which programme we run.”

He said that a decision “depends a little bit on the package we can afford”, adding “this at the end of the day, this is the question mark”.

Asked if ending the SC63 programme was the least likely option, he replied: “Yes, for sure.»

“I can say it could be every option, but our wish and clear target is to continue,” he added.

Mohr pointed out that Lamborghini, although part of the Volkswagen group, is a small company in comparison with its rivals running in Hypercar in the WEC and GTP in IMSA.

“We are different to other manufacturers because we are quite new in this field of motorsport,” said Mohr.

#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: Andreas Beil

“Squadra Corse [Lamborghini’s in-house motorsport department that manages the LMDh project] is less than 30 people.

“Before we did GT3 and this is another step for us — you cannot grow from one week to the other.”

Mohr’s latest comments represent a slight change in rhetoric from Lamborghini.

At the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, the company’s top brass stressed the benefits of running two cars in WEC, at the same time as stopping short of continuing in IMSA.

Lamborghini’s slot for the 2025 IMSA series was listed as an enduro-only entry when IMSA took the wraps off next year’s grid last month.

Should Lamborghini opt against continuing in WEC, it would close the door on its participation next year at Le Mans.

Iron Lynx boss Andrea Piccini told Motorsport.com that the team was ready to run two cars in WEC and one in IMSA next year, but directed questions about the future of the programme to Lamborghini.

He pointed out in Bahrain ahead of last weekend’s WEC finale that Iron Lynx and Lamborghini were taking part in the official rookie test the day after the race and also in a Michelin test focussed on development of a new range of tyres for 2026 on Tuesday.

The presence of Michele Gatting and Celia Martin – who are part of Iron Lynx’s Iron Dames programme for female drivers – in a Manthey Racing Porsche 811 GT3-R at the Bahrain rookie test has fuelled speculation of a breakdown in the relationship between the Italian team and Lamborghini.

Mohr suggested that not too much should be read into this and it should not be “interpreted as a negative thing”. He insisted that Lamborghini and Iron Lynx are “still in partnership”.

It appears increasingly certain, however, that the Iron Dames programme will switch to a Manthey Porsche from one of the Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2s for next year.

Mohr pointed out that time was ticking for Lamborghini and that it was taking longer than expected to come to a decision.

Entries for the WEC close on 18 November.

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Rossi stars in WEC’s Bahrain rookie test aboard BMW Hypercar

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Bike legend Valentino Rossi was a tenth from the fastest time by a Hypercar newcomer on his participation with BMW in the World Endurance Championship rookie test in Bahrain. 

The seven-time MotoGP champion posted a 1m50.577s aboard the #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh late in the afternoon session of the test on Sunday, the day after the WEC championship finale in Bahrain. 

That compared with Arthur Leclerc’s 1m50.460s at the wheel of the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar also set in the final hour of the afternoon period. 

BMW factory driver Rossi, who raced a WRT-run M4 GT3 in the WEC this year, revealed that he should have gone quicker on his first experience of a Hypercar class contender. 

He had two runs on fresh sets of the medium compound Michelin tyre at the end of the day. 

The first was curtailed by a red flag and then he spun on his second before restarting and getting down to his 1m50.5s.

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Valentino Rossi

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Valentino Rossi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

“I was a little bit unlucky because on the second set you can improve,” said Rossi. “On the first set I had a red flag and on the second set when I pushed I had traffic with GT3s, and I spun. 

“Normally when you spin you destroy the tyres, but luckily it was good — I could restart and make the 50.5.”

Leclerc, brother of Charles and a Ferrari Formula 1 development driver, also had what he described as a pair of “performance runs” but he did use fresh rubber. 

The third fastest rookie was Alpine academy driver Victor Martins. The Formula 2 race winner was quickest of the drivers having a first run in a Hypercar class entry in the morning, setting a 1m50.934s and then improving to a 1m50.717s in the afternoon. 

His afternoon mark stood as the fastest time by a rookie when he completed his test before the quicker conditions of the late afternoon. 

Max Hesse was fourth fastest in the #15 BMW with a 1m50.819s. Thomas Neubauer was fifth in the #51 Ferrari while Dan Harper, who shared the #15 BMW with Hesse, took sixth.

The fastest set over the course of the five hours of track time on Sunday was set by Cadillac regular Earl Bamber in the solo Ganassi V-Series.R LMDh. 

He posted a 1m49.566s in the course of a short run early in the morning session.

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