FIA WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring - Engineering Notebook
For the return of ACO style racing to Sebring since 2013, this article will take a look at the results, focusing both on the machinery and some of the drivers involved.
In LMP1 we look at any updates and the balance of power in the class pace wise.
LMP2 takes a look at the outright performance of each car/tyre combination but also the amateur drivers.
GTE Pro will have the BoP covered, and GTE Am will have a look at the Am drivers.
Not really. The most noticeable changes were the increase of cabin cooling for both the BR1 (SMP and Dragonspeed) and Rebellion cars.
The BR1s have in the past had only one inlet on the top of the front structure, but here they took the drag penalty for the improved cooling considering this weekend had some of the hottest conditions these Privateers have ever run in.
For the Rebellions, at Silverstone one of the cars had a duct inlet in the window. For Sebring both cars had this. There isn’t much of a penalty for visibility as these windows aren’t easy to look out of anyway! A new little duct inlet was positioned similarly to the BR1s on the front structure as well - this could also be for electronics/driver cooling.
A potentially more significant performance upgrade noticed was the change to the fender upper surface on the SMP BR1s. In the past this area has seen some changes due to being called a contributing factor to the airborne flip at Spa.
Following that flip, a channel was introduced upstream of the big fender holes.
This was used in conjunction with a flick for the low drag bodykit. This flick looked like quite a draggy solution however – the team said they had lost some top speed after the change. At Fuji they ran without this flick in the channel (image above).
Now for Sebring, the team has redesigned this area further and going with another concept.
Instead of having a recessed channel, they have raised the panel higher assumed to have an intermediate solution to help draw from the large holes, but with a lower drag penalty. Let’s see if this is used on the low drag nose as well - they are expected to use the low drag setup at Spa to prepare for Le Mans like last year.
For setup, the BR1s appeared to run a higher downforce setup, judging by their rear wing choices vs the Rebellions. The Rebellion crews looked like they were trying to find more top speed, whereas the SMPs looked to prioritise braking and cornering performance (there are some high-speed corners on this circuit). That said, the SMPs recorded the highest top speed of the weekend, so the turbo AER is supplying some serious power...
As expected, the Toyotas were by far the fastest. The rate of the drop of pace along the plot is minimal, showing how they can replicate these fast laps more readily – the 50th fastest laps were ~2 secs slower than their fastest, whereas the Privateers dropped off up to 3 seconds between the fastest and the 50th. This can be attributed to the fact that Toyotas find it easier in traffic. They are less prone to being held up by slower class cars.
With that considered however, the gap in pure performance is still very large; It is unreasonable to say all the Privateers had all their laps ruined by traffic. Over a second between the fastest laps shows the level they are at.
This is more interesting considering the gaps at Shanghai and Fuji were much smaller. Much, much smaller. Less than a second separated the Toyotas from the #11 SMP at Fuji, and at Shanghai the Privateers could set similar fastest laps.
It comes down to circuit layouts and how the Privateers make time vs the Toyotas. Fuji and Shanghai both each have a long straight letting the powerful non-hybrids to stretch their legs, whereas the Toyotas are lifting and coasting. Hopefully this is representative at Spa and Le Mans as well, reducing the rift in the class before the end of the season. The addition of Privateer-specific Michelins tailored to their non-hybrid layout and more powerful rear axle should also assist here in a balance.
Fuji had the best BoP across the class up to this event, so it will be used as a comparison.
At Fuji, the entire class was separated by around 7 tenths from the trace of best car to worst along their sweeps.
At Sebring however this was around 5 tenths, and there were no major outlier cars in performance. All manufacturers had at least one car within 0.3 seconds to the fastest. Gaps between cars from the same manufacturers increased, however. Especially the BMWs and Fords; poor performance or difference in setup/strategy?
Hopefully this improves further thanks to the BoP algorithm having more data. Who knows who will be on top next time at Spa, considering how far BMW had a swing over the last few races! We can be sure though that some members of the Ferrari contingent will be complaining…
Dunlop introduced its third and final specification of tyre allowed in the season. This ‘C-Spec’ tyre intended to improve the operating window of the softer ‘A-Spec’ tyre without a peak performance compromise. This is significant for a class with amateur drivers and considering the temperature change at Sebring: Start was 40c but dropped to 28c at night!
Both Dunlop and Michelin cars showed good peak performance. The Dragonspeed drop off in their fastest laps was a surprise however considering how good Michelins can be on a single lap. Fastest laps were close between not only the tyre suppliers, but also between the Dallara chassis and the Oreca! This kind of performance has been missing from Dallara time sheets. Now Racing Team Nederland fast man Nyck de Vries is used to the machinery, he can go on to impress through the remainder of the season.
Larbre’s best driver on paper was new to prototype racing, and this was reflected in the peak performance recorded. I expect Signatech Alpine to improve in peak performance vs Sebring results as they are still working out their tyres.
The performance above can mean little however if your amateur driver(s) aren’t up to speed. The plot below compares the fastest times recorded by each amateur driver. There is a discrepancy in amateur driver rating permitted in the class, and this is reflected in the legend.
Returner to LMP2 Heinemeier-Hansson and Roberto Gonzalez shared the best performances here at Sebring. Aubry in the #37 had worse track conditions for his stints, so had a lower consistency despite putting in the fastest Am laps. Then there’s a gap to the Larbre Ams and Thiriet in the Signatech Alpine.
The best Bronzes were by far the Larbre drivers, with Perrodo and van Eerd further back. It’s unfortunate that there’s such a rift in performance, but it would be harmful to the class numbers if it barred Bronze rated ‘Gentleman Drivers’.
Despite having a brand-new 911 RSR chassis delivered just before track action started (after their car burned down in testing a week prior), Project 1’s Edigio Perfetti had a stellar run. This was closely matched by Paul Dalla Lana in the Aston Martin Vantage. These are the cars to watch going forward considering their other drivers are also up to scratch!
After a small gap, most of the class is clustered together within a few tenths, consisting of Yoluc in the 90 Aston, Ried in the 77 Porsche, Roda in the sister 88 Porsche and Flohr in the 54 Ferrari. Ishikawa in the 70 Ferrari and further behind Wainwright in the Gulf Porsche bring up the rear.
Considering how close the Pro drivers are in this class are, the real differences on track are made between these drivers. So this information should give an idea of who’s going to compete for the title when Le Mans comes around.
All in all, I had an enjoyable experience following the 1000 Miles of Sebring event, and can’t wait to attend the next one at Spa!
In LMP1 we look at any updates and the balance of power in the class pace wise.
LMP2 takes a look at the outright performance of each car/tyre combination but also the amateur drivers.
GTE Pro will have the BoP covered, and GTE Am will have a look at the Am drivers.
LMP1
LMP1 is a class with open development allowed for Privateers. So, were there significant updates for this race since the last one?Not really. The most noticeable changes were the increase of cabin cooling for both the BR1 (SMP and Dragonspeed) and Rebellion cars.
The BR1s have in the past had only one inlet on the top of the front structure, but here they took the drag penalty for the improved cooling considering this weekend had some of the hottest conditions these Privateers have ever run in.
 |
A potentially more significant performance upgrade noticed was the change to the fender upper surface on the SMP BR1s. In the past this area has seen some changes due to being called a contributing factor to the airborne flip at Spa.
Following that flip, a channel was introduced upstream of the big fender holes.
 |
Now for Sebring, the team has redesigned this area further and going with another concept.
Instead of having a recessed channel, they have raised the panel higher assumed to have an intermediate solution to help draw from the large holes, but with a lower drag penalty. Let’s see if this is used on the low drag nose as well - they are expected to use the low drag setup at Spa to prepare for Le Mans like last year.
For setup, the BR1s appeared to run a higher downforce setup, judging by their rear wing choices vs the Rebellions. The Rebellion crews looked like they were trying to find more top speed, whereas the SMPs looked to prioritise braking and cornering performance (there are some high-speed corners on this circuit). That said, the SMPs recorded the highest top speed of the weekend, so the turbo AER is supplying some serious power...
 |
LMP1 EoT
Now let’s break down the pace of each car in this class. Going into the race the Privateers had a slight fuel energy per lap reduction, ~2% for NA cars and ~3% for Turbo cars. Maximum fuel flow and energy per stint was unchanged, so it wasn’t intended as a performance change. It came down to the circuit characteristics of Shanghai and Sebring, time on throttle etc and accounting/giving an allowance for extra fuel to avoid lifting and coasting.As expected, the Toyotas were by far the fastest. The rate of the drop of pace along the plot is minimal, showing how they can replicate these fast laps more readily – the 50th fastest laps were ~2 secs slower than their fastest, whereas the Privateers dropped off up to 3 seconds between the fastest and the 50th. This can be attributed to the fact that Toyotas find it easier in traffic. They are less prone to being held up by slower class cars.
With that considered however, the gap in pure performance is still very large; It is unreasonable to say all the Privateers had all their laps ruined by traffic. Over a second between the fastest laps shows the level they are at.
This is more interesting considering the gaps at Shanghai and Fuji were much smaller. Much, much smaller. Less than a second separated the Toyotas from the #11 SMP at Fuji, and at Shanghai the Privateers could set similar fastest laps.
It comes down to circuit layouts and how the Privateers make time vs the Toyotas. Fuji and Shanghai both each have a long straight letting the powerful non-hybrids to stretch their legs, whereas the Toyotas are lifting and coasting. Hopefully this is representative at Spa and Le Mans as well, reducing the rift in the class before the end of the season. The addition of Privateer-specific Michelins tailored to their non-hybrid layout and more powerful rear axle should also assist here in a balance.
GTE Pro
This race gave a nice follow up to the analysis done after Shanghai to compare how BoP has improved over the season. Going into this race the BoP was unchanged. The wet race at Shanghai did not give a good indication of performance to make changes with.Fuji had the best BoP across the class up to this event, so it will be used as a comparison.
At Fuji, the entire class was separated by around 7 tenths from the trace of best car to worst along their sweeps.
At Sebring however this was around 5 tenths, and there were no major outlier cars in performance. All manufacturers had at least one car within 0.3 seconds to the fastest. Gaps between cars from the same manufacturers increased, however. Especially the BMWs and Fords; poor performance or difference in setup/strategy?
Hopefully this improves further thanks to the BoP algorithm having more data. Who knows who will be on top next time at Spa, considering how far BMW had a swing over the last few races! We can be sure though that some members of the Ferrari contingent will be complaining…
LMP2
This class had some changes going into the Sebring round. Front-runners Signatech Alpine switched tyres to Michelin from Dunlop. Following a financial issue, Jackie Chan DC Racing (JCDC) entered with a new driver line-up in the number 37 of Jordan King, David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) and Will Stevens replacing the all-Malaysian crew (who were mighty impressive). More on this new lineup later.Dunlop introduced its third and final specification of tyre allowed in the season. This ‘C-Spec’ tyre intended to improve the operating window of the softer ‘A-Spec’ tyre without a peak performance compromise. This is significant for a class with amateur drivers and considering the temperature change at Sebring: Start was 40c but dropped to 28c at night!
Peak Performance
First up we’ll look at the upper edges of performance windows for each car, focusing on what was recorded arranged in the usual top n-laps format.Both Dunlop and Michelin cars showed good peak performance. The Dragonspeed drop off in their fastest laps was a surprise however considering how good Michelins can be on a single lap. Fastest laps were close between not only the tyre suppliers, but also between the Dallara chassis and the Oreca! This kind of performance has been missing from Dallara time sheets. Now Racing Team Nederland fast man Nyck de Vries is used to the machinery, he can go on to impress through the remainder of the season.
Larbre’s best driver on paper was new to prototype racing, and this was reflected in the peak performance recorded. I expect Signatech Alpine to improve in peak performance vs Sebring results as they are still working out their tyres.
The performance above can mean little however if your amateur driver(s) aren’t up to speed. The plot below compares the fastest times recorded by each amateur driver. There is a discrepancy in amateur driver rating permitted in the class, and this is reflected in the legend.
Returner to LMP2 Heinemeier-Hansson and Roberto Gonzalez shared the best performances here at Sebring. Aubry in the #37 had worse track conditions for his stints, so had a lower consistency despite putting in the fastest Am laps. Then there’s a gap to the Larbre Ams and Thiriet in the Signatech Alpine.
The best Bronzes were by far the Larbre drivers, with Perrodo and van Eerd further back. It’s unfortunate that there’s such a rift in performance, but it would be harmful to the class numbers if it barred Bronze rated ‘Gentleman Drivers’.
GTE Am Bronze Driver Performances
GTE Am requires at least one Bronze rated driver, so that’s who we’ll compare here. Unfortunately the new-look Clearwater racing team that looked fast in free practice did not compete after a substantial crash in qualifying.Despite having a brand-new 911 RSR chassis delivered just before track action started (after their car burned down in testing a week prior), Project 1’s Edigio Perfetti had a stellar run. This was closely matched by Paul Dalla Lana in the Aston Martin Vantage. These are the cars to watch going forward considering their other drivers are also up to scratch!
After a small gap, most of the class is clustered together within a few tenths, consisting of Yoluc in the 90 Aston, Ried in the 77 Porsche, Roda in the sister 88 Porsche and Flohr in the 54 Ferrari. Ishikawa in the 70 Ferrari and further behind Wainwright in the Gulf Porsche bring up the rear.
Considering how close the Pro drivers are in this class are, the real differences on track are made between these drivers. So this information should give an idea of who’s going to compete for the title when Le Mans comes around.
All in all, I had an enjoyable experience following the 1000 Miles of Sebring event, and can’t wait to attend the next one at Spa!
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