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WEC Prologue Sunday notebook

By Stephen Kilbey / Images by LAT

News and notes from the second day of pre-season World Endurance Championship testing at Monza:

Bamber confirms 24-hour Porsche 919 test

Porsche LMP1 driver Earl Bamber confirmed that Porsche Team's off-season preparation for this year's FIA WEC season included a 24-hour test.
As part of the TS050 launch, Porsche's rival in LMP1 – Toyota Gazoo Racing – confirmed that endurance testing had been a major part of its pre-season preparation, clocking up 18,500 miles, completing four 30-hour endurance tests in the process.
"Yeah," the 2015 Le Mans winner told RACER when asked if Porsche had completed any 24-hour tests with the 2017 919. "We mixed long runs and endurance stuff. The key for us is getting the performance over 24 hours – we're confident it will be good.
"The car has held up well; they've done a lot of developments because Toyota was strong where it mattered – at Le Mans," he continued. "The weather and fog kept following us around, though, so we lost a lot of time."
Toyota affirms its WEC commitment
Toyota Gazoo Racing was keen to comment on the Japanese-manufacturer's commitment to its WEC program, amid speculation from news outlets that it could come an end as early as the end of the 2017 season.
"The commitment to FIA WEC has long been linked to company-wide R&D, and our current position is no different," a team spokesperson told RACER. "And while the commitment to advancing hybrid technology continues in the FIA WEC."
That means, that Toyota's LMP1 program is therefore set to continue until at least the end of the 2019 season, after which the major rule-set change in LMP1 is due.
New faces in the paddock
Among the many personalities in the FIA WEC paddock in Monza, there were a few unexpected faces spotted by RACER.
Both Ginetta technical director Ewan Baldry and Ginetta LMP1 design consultant Paulo Catone made an appearance as the 2018 LMP1 project continues to progress. Its next milestone is a planned industry event at the Silverstone WEC round later this month.
Ex-F1 driver Pastor Maldonado, former Lamborghini factory driver Fabio Babini and ex-Audi LMP1 driver Marco Bonanomi were also present. The notable name here being Maldonado, who was a guest of ByKolles. In the past, the Venezuelan has been reported as interested in competing in sports cars.
Reigning LMP1 World Champion and Le Mans winner Romain Dumas also attended the Prologue, driving with Signatech Alpine. This year Dumas will drive for the French outfit in its No. 36 A470 in place of Nicolas Lapierre at Spa and Le Mans who Lapierre rejoins Toyota in its third TS050.
Prototype lap times
It's been a long time since Le Mans Prototypes have hit the track at Monza in an official setting – eight years to be precise – and things have changed since.
A lot has been said about the top speeds of the LMP2 runners in particular, but the times being set in the dry are also significant, especially with the teams running high-downforce kits and still getting to grips with the new machinery.
Back in 2008, the pole lap at the Le Mans Series race was a 1:31.470 set by Nic Minassian in a Peugeot 908 HDI FAP. The best LMP1 time at Monza was a 1:30.547 set by Nicolas Lapierre for Toyota, while Bruno Senna set a 1:36.094 to top LMP2 yesterday for Vailliante Rebellion, which would have put him ninth on the grid, and pole in LMP2 by just under a second.
It must be taken into account, too, that this is a test. One manjor difference in the current breed of LMP1, sees the LMP1 Hybrids lifting and coasting down the straights to save fuel – something the V12 Audi and Peugeot diesels didn't have to be concerned with. On multiple occasions the cars set best times in Sectors 1 and 2 before backing off in Sector 3, too, while the LMP2 runners are still getting acclimatized to their new machinery.
Plans unclear for Alpine's second A470
Signatech Alpine's No. 35 A470 LMP2 entry – which features the line-up of Andre Negrao, Nelson Panciatici and Roberto Gonzalez – is yet to have its full program defined for the season, RACER has learned.
A team spokesperson said that the car will not race at Silverstone as originally planned but also that it is only confirmed to race at Spa and Le Mans at this point. The remaining rounds of the season are yet to receive the green light for the car's 2017 program.
The No. 36 car featuring last year's champions Gustavo Menezes, Nicolas Lapierre and former Manor WEC driver Matt Rao, meanwhile, is still set to take on the full season.
LMP2 teething troubles continue
Many new racecars suffer teething troubles early in their life cycle, and this year's crop of LMP2 machinery is no exception.
Throughout pre-season testing, as well as at Monza, several teams have confirmed to RACER that they have suffered multiple issues, some more serious than others, which have lost them valuable on-track time.
The most widespread of the problems appear to be with the Cosworth electronics packages. Most WEC teams have suffered issues with compatibility, which has caused varied and intermittent issues. RACER understands, though, that further work is being done on site in Monza to iron out the problems for the opening round of the season in two weeks' time, with one team reporting that the progress made over the weekend has given real cause for optimism.
Gearbox issues have also been reported, though there appears to be no widespread or serious problems for the ORECA runners specifically prior to the season opener at Silverstone. With Ligier though, it's a different story, with more major concerns around the gearboxes in its JS P217s carrying over from IMSA, into the ELMS camp.