2019 FIA Endurance Challenge

[Normal32]

Le Mans to feature 4th drivers?

Following several rumours, FIA EC chairman Johnny Winchester has finally announced his plan to allow a 4th driver per car in the big event of the season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

When asked about the why, he said the following, on his usual Eastern European accent:

"I think that drivers should be allowed to try and get the victory at the biggest motorsport event". He further expanded, "Having the likes of Daniel Melrose on the grid will not only be good for the series, but also good for the ratings - think about having Davies, Melrose, and Vettel duking it out, trying to get the most prestigious trophy on motorsport".

Rumours have already been floating that the likes of Daniel Melrose, Sebastian Vettel, Jamie Whincup, amongst others, have been offered 4th drives on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

----

OOC: Yes, this is happening. The entries for that will be done once the time comes for Le Mans.

On other news, Rebellion want a large engine upgrade.

Deadline is Monday 17th, 13:00 ART.

[novitopoli]

Medium engine "upgrade" for Adriatica, please.

[AndreaModa]

Can I use my second upgrade at this point?

If so, Jones will take a medium upgrade to car grip please!

[TomWazzleshaw]

JLD would like to get a medium grip upgrade

[Miguel98]

Two things: Lotto will go for a big engine upgrade.

In the #68 car, Rocha will step down from driving duties to take full control of Fusion in ARWS, and Wulfric Wombesi will drive the car as well.

[FantometteBR]

Équipe Fantomete wants a medium car grip upgrade, if we can do it

[Ataxia]

ByKolles to bench Trummer and Rossiter?

FIA Endurance Challenge outfit ByKolles Racing is expected to bench Simon Trummer and James Rossiter at upcoming events, as the team assesses potential fourth drivers for its #9 car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Team principal Colin Kolles has been looking at both Polish single-seater racer Artur Janosz and European Le Mans racer Yann Ehrlacher, and is expected to tie up deals for both drivers after the 6 Hours of Puebla-Amazoc round at the Miguel E. Abed circuit.

If the deals go ahead, it is expected that Ehrlacher will replace Trummer for one of two races before Le Mans, before Janosz replaces Rossiter at the other.

The team is also believed to have settled on a four-driver lineup in its #4 car, with Josef Kral expected to join the scheduled lineup of Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Deividas Lukauskis.

[Normal32]

Rebellion

1-30 Success
31-100 Failure

Result: 22

BHP: 6-9

Result: 8

Adriatica

1-50 Success
51-100 Failure

Result: 34

BHP: 4-7

Result: 4

Jones

1-50 Success
51-100 Failure

Result: 15

Grip: 50-125

Result: 117´

JLD

1-50 Success
51-100 Failure

Result: 37

Grip: 50-125

Result: 87

Lotto

1-30 Success
31-100 Failure

Result: 24

BHP: 6-9

Result: 6

Fantomette

1-50 Success
51-100 Failure

Result: 67

[Normal32]

TELEMEX 6 HOURS OF PUEBLA-AMAZOC



QUALIFYING:


RACE:


Fastest Laps:

LMPs: Tandy / Parente / Bell - 1m 20.705s

GTE-Pro: Bruni / Franchitti / Priaulx - 1m 30.890s

GTE-Am: Serafim / Anderson / Eskola -1m 32.221s

Positives:

AF Corse - first win of the season after superb driving.

#50 Larbre - was in a league of it's own.

MBR - very good drive seems them in 5th.

Jones Racing Group - fantastic driving after the upgrade and a shoot-in for INFINITE IMPROBABILITY DRIVE OF THE RACE

Negatives:

GTE Engines - lasted not too long.

People's Republic Racing - they were very slow.

Rebellion Racing - not much to show for the upgrade.

Sandra Yoo - what were you doing?! From 3rd to nowhere, REJECT OF THE RACE this is.

Drivers' Championship:

LMP:

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   MEX   AKR   NUR   LMS   NOR   PAR   CAT   IND   Total
1   Mucke / Pilet / Makowiecki   850   850   560                        2260
2   Vanthoor / Gisbergen / Bamber   150   780   700                        1630
3   Modena / Lapierre / Duval   490   350   420                        1260
4   Kuntz / Moll / Da Costa   630   420   140                        1190
5   Shizuka / Mignolet / Redman   560   210   210                        980
6   Tandy / Parente / Bell   0   0   930                        930
7   Fassler / Davies / Kikkawa   210   560   0                        770
8   Battani / Batistuta / Glotch   420   280   0                        700
9   Mignolet / O'Heagan / Suarez   350   0   280                        630
10   Horford / Coelho / Restov   0   490   0                        490
11   Gauthier / Tucker / Raikkonen   0   0   490                        490
12   Jones / Ocon / Gilson-Clarke   0   0   350                        350
13   Tuscher / Menezes / Gutierrez   280   0   0                        280
14   Trummer / Rossiter / Karthikeyan   140   0   0                        140
15   Webber / Mortara / Nakajima   0   140   0                        140
16   Wade / Sunset / Larsen   70   0   70                        140
17   Lotterer / Schneider / Yoo   0   70   0                        70

GTE-Pro:

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   MEX   AKR   NUR   LMS   NOR   PAR   CAT   IND   Total
1   Llosa / McKenna / Milner   780   560   780                        2120
2   Bruni / Franchitti / Priaulx   710   150   710                        1570
3   Rigon / Turner / Pla   700   700   0                        1400
4   van Walwijk / Voeckler / Crescenzi   420   0   700                        1120
5   Valenti / Fisichella / Trulli   490   0   490                        980
6   Rees / Adam / O'Sullivan   350   490   0                        840
7   Schultz / Ribeiro / Gavin   210   350   280                        840
8   Bernhard / Bergmeister / Lietz   0   420   420                        840
9   Sorensen / Jensen / Thiim   0   780   0                        780
10   Neuberg / Lieb / Dumas   280   0   350                        630

GTE-Am:

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   MEX   AKR   NUR   LMS   NOR   PAR   CAT   IND   Total
1   Serafim / Anderson / Eskola   1000   710   640                        2350
2   Bovy / Soderstrom / Geisler   630   630   560                        1820
3   Taylor / Catsburg / Knight   0   850   850                        1700
4   Rossi / Belloc / Nakagawa   490   490   420                        1400
5   Paul / Gabrysiak / Crabtree   560   0   630                        1190
6   "Dragon" / Bauer / Toure   210   420   140                        770
7   Santa-Ana / Evans / Jha   70   350   280                        700
8   Navarro / Ragues / Jackson   280   0   350                        630
9   Yan / Jaafar / Cao   350   0   210                        560
10   Broniszweski / Henzler / Camathias   420   0   0                        420
11   Lumiere / Garnier / Weston   140   210   0                        350
12   Le Blan / P. Eckner / T. Eckner   0   280   70                        350
13   Scotti / Cinotti / Pritchard   0   140   0                        140
14   Tawfeek / Sandoval / Urbina   0   70   0                        70

Triple Crown Cup:

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   LMS   Totl
1   Mucke / Pilet / Makowiecki   850   850      1700
2   Kuntz / Moll / Da Costa   630   420      1050
3   Vanthoor / Gisbergen / Bamber   150   780      930
4   Modena / Lapierre / Duval   490   350      840
5   Shizuka / Mignolet / Redman   560   210      770
6   Fassler / Davies / Kikkawa   210   560      770
7   Battani / Batistuta / Glotch   420   280      700
8   Horford / Coelho / Restov   0   490      490
9   Mignolet / O'Heagan / Suarez   350   0      350
10   Tuscher / Menezes / Gutierrez   280   0      280
11   Trummer / Rossiter / Karthikeyan   140   0      140
12   Webber / Mortara / Nakajima   0   140      140
13   Wade / Sunset / Larsen   70   0      70
14   Lotterer / Schneider / Yoo   0   70      70
15   Tandy / Parente / Bell   0   0      0
16   Gauthier / Tucker / Raikkonen   0   0      0
17   Jones / Ocon / Gilson-Clarke   0   0      0

[Pinkd56]

Le Mans a "Dream" for Albertini
Former ARWS race winner and current MRT reserve Jean-Vincent Albertini has told us of his long-held dream of Le Mans 24hr glory - and believes he could win this year if he was selected for the Melrose sister team BMW Efficiency Dynamics JLD Motorsport.

"It would truly be a dream for me, I nearly had the chance to do it back in '06 but it didn't come to be. Now being a part of the Melrose organisation, I hope an opportunity can present itself."

Critics along the paddock see his eagerness to publicise his interest as an act of desperation, but many believe Albertini to be capable enough to give Le Mans a good go. Perhaps no-one more than himself:

"It makes no sense to tire out one of the regular race drivers by forcing them to do a enduro in between Britain and Austria and I'm a firm believer of strength coming from within the team."

More on this as we get it.

[Normal32]

ALLBIZ 6 HOURS OF AKROTIRI BAY


QUALIFYING:



RACE:



Fastest Laps:

LMPs: Brooks / Button / Adhikari- 1m 24.151s
GTE-Pro: Sorensen / Jensen / Thiim - 1m 30.822s
GTE-Am: Serafim / Anderson / Eskola - 1m 31.469s

Positives:

JLD Motorsport - dominant win.

#04 Corvette - fantastic and clean drive seems them in the top of the class.

Esteban Gutierrez - amazing stint seems him recover some points in the dying stage of the race; INFINITE IMPROBABILITY DRIVE OF THE RACE.

De Baar Racing Technology - was running in the top 7 before retiring. Incredible stuff.

Negatives:

Jenson Button - crashed and wasted a great opportunity.

Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK - absolutely embarassing and abysmal showing; REJECT OF THE RACE.

KC MotorGroup fuel strategists - what were they thinking?

AF Corse - weren't there today.


Drivers' Championship:


LMP:

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   MEX   AKR   NUR   LMS   NOR   PAR   CAT   IND   Total
1   Mucke / Pilet / Makowiecki   850   850   560   560                     2820
2   Vanthoor / Gisbergen / Bamber   150   780   700   0                     1630
3   Modena / Lapierre / Duval   490   350   420   140                     1400
4   Kuntz / Moll / Da Costa   630   420   140   210                     1400
5   Fassler / Davies / Kikkawa   210   560   0   630                     1400
6   Shizuka / Mignolet / Redman   560   210   210   350                     1330
7   Horford / Coelho / Restov   0   490   0   700                     1190
8   Tandy / Parente / Bell   0   0   930   150                     1080
9   Gauthier / Tucker / Raikkonen   0   0   490   490                     980
10   Mignolet / O'Heagan / Suarez   350   0   280   280                     910
11   Jones / Ocon / Gilson-Clarke   0   0   350   420                     770
12   Battani / Batistuta / Glotch   420   280   0   0                     700
13   Tuscher / Menezes / Gutierrez   280   0   0   140                     420
14   Brooks / Button / Adhikari   0   0   0   150                     150
15   Trummer / Rossiter / Karthikeyan   140   0   0   0                     140
16   Webber / Mortara / Nakajima   0   140   0   0                     140
17   Wade / Sunset / Larsen   70   0   70   0                     140
18   Lotterer / Schneider / Yoo   0   70   0   0                     70

GTE-Pro:

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   MEX   AKR   NUR   LMS   NOR   PAR   CAT   IND   Total
1   Llosa / McKenna / Milner   780   560   780   490                     2610
2   Sorensen / Jensen / Thiim   0   780   0   860                     1640
3   Bruni / Franchitti / Priaulx   710   150   710   0                     1570
4   Schultz / Ribeiro / Gavin   210   350   280   700                     1540
5   Bernhard / Bergmeister / Lietz   0   420   420   630                     1470
6   Rigon / Turner / Pla   700   700   0   0                     1400
7   Valenti / Fisichella / Trulli   490   0   490   350                     1330
8   van Walwijk / Voeckler / Crescenzi   420   0   700   0                     1120
9   Rees / Adam / O'Sullivan   350   490   0   280                     1120
10   Neuberg / Lieb / Dumas   280   0   350   420                     1050

GTE-Am:

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   MEX   AKR   NUR   LMS   NOR   PAR   CAT   IND   Total
1   Serafim / Anderson / Eskola   1000   710   640   780                     3130
2   Taylor / Catsburg / Knight   0   850   850   710                     2410
3   Rossi / Belloc / Nakagawa   490   490   420   490                     1890
4   Paul / Gabrysiak / Crabtree   560   0   630   700                     1890
5   Bovy / Soderstrom / Geisler   630   630   560   0                     1820
6   Santa-Ana / Evans / Jha   70   350   280   350                     1050
7   "Dragon" / Bauer / Toure   210   420   140   0                     770
8   Le Blan / P. Eckner / T. Eckner   0   280   70   420                     770
9   Navarro / Ragues / Jackson   280   0   350   0                     630
10   Yan / Jaafar / Cao   350   0   210   0                     560
11   Broniszweski / Henzler / Camathias   420   0   0   0                     420
12   Lumiere / Garnier / Weston   140   210   0   0                     350
13   Scotti / Cinotti / Pritchard   0   140   0   210                     350
14   Von Schweiger / Collard / Harrison   0   0   0   280                     280
15   Cabello / Tsukuda / Adamakis   0   0   0   140                     140
16   Tawfeek / Sandoval / Urbina   0   70   0   0                     70

Code: Select all

Pos.   Driver   DAY   SEB   LMS   Totl
1   Mucke / Pilet / Makowiecki   850   850      1700
2   Kuntz / Moll / Da Costa   630   420      1050
3   Vanthoor / Gisbergen / Bamber   150   780      930
4   Modena / Lapierre / Duval   490   350      840
5   Shizuka / Mignolet / Redman   560   210      770
6   Fassler / Davies / Kikkawa   210   560      770
7   Battani / Batistuta / Glotch   420   280      700
8   Horford / Coelho / Restov   0   490      490
9   Mignolet / O'Heagan / Suarez   350   0      350
10   Tuscher / Menezes / Gutierrez   280   0      280
11   Trummer / Rossiter / Karthikeyan   140   0      140
12   Webber / Mortara / Nakajima   0   140      140
13   Wade / Sunset / Larsen   70   0      70
14   Lotterer / Schneider / Yoo   0   70      70
15   Tandy / Parente / Bell   0   0      0
16   Gauthier / Tucker / Raikkonen   0   0      0
17   Jones / Ocon / Gilson-Clarke   0   0      0

Deadline for upgrades is Wednesday 8th of November, 00:00 ART.

[Normal32]

Rebellion will do a medium grip upgrade.

We will also change the qualifying driver of the #12 to Richie Stanaway.

6 Hours of Norway to be cancelled?

Following safety concerns at the venue of As Fartway, it has been rumoured that the FIA Endurance Challenge race at the circuit, the 6 Hours of Norway, could be cancelled. The race already had it's toll in the previous year, with driver Rui Onorio getting a season-ending injury after his car went flying and smashed at high speeds with the wall. Testing hasn't gotten much better, and the round could cancelled, and replaced with a round at Spa-Francorchamps.

[Ataxia]

ByKolles would like to replace Simon Trummer with Yann Ehrlacher for the 6H of Nurburgring, as James Rossiter becomes the qualifying driver for the #9.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Good to see the lead #76 car has reasonable pace, not a bad start to the season. Shame about the reliability issues though.

[novitopoli]

Subaru to gain full control of EC team - but no divorce from Adriatica

Amid speculations of a drift between Scuderia Adriatica and long-time partner Subaru, Autosport understands that the Japanese company is going to completely take over the Scuderia Adriatica powered by Subaru entry for the 2020 FIA Endurance Challenge season. The decision seems to have been consensual between the two parties, as Scuderia Adriatica is looking to shift its focus towards single-seaters.

Nevertheless, the chassis will be branded Adriatica-Subaru for the next year as well, as the Italian outfit will contribute to the chassis design. Furthermore, the Formula E partnership between the Italian team and the Japanese car maker will go on as planned in the 2019-20 season.

[TomDilain]

Please kindly put me in the waiting list

[TomWazzleshaw]

Melrose, Albertini to make Le Mans Debuts

BMW JLD Motorsport have become the first team to take advantage of the new driver rules for Le Mans by announcing that both Daniel Melrose and Jean-Vincent Albertini will be making their debuts in the twice-around-the-clock classic. Team owner Melrose has long held ambitions to become a Triple Crown winner, and will strive to achieve that as the fourth driver in the #73 lineup. The Australian will be running alongside the three regular drivers of Laurens Vanthoor, Earl Bamber and Shane van Gisbergen.

"Le Mans is a race that I've always wanted to tackle, and the stars have finally aligned to make it happen" said Melrose at the team's press conference earlier today. "It's a special place to race, and I'm honoured to be here today with the rest of the squad. It'll be a tough task to win it first time out in such a high-quality field, but we have the best possible crew around us to do it."

Albertini meanwhile will join the #74 squad alongside Anita Horford, Laurindo Coehlo and Evgnevy Restov, who took victory at the last race in Akrotiri Bay. Despite some criticism laid towards the Monegasque driver for preempting his guest appearance, the team appear unperturbed in promoting him to a race seat.

With Le Mans now less than a month away, all eyes will now be focused on the all-star lineup and the reactions other teams will have towards it.

[kevinbotz]

McLaren responds: Vettel and Hamilton in for Le Mans

Formula One world champions Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have been announced as the permissible fourth drivers for the #58 and #59 Garage 59 McLaren prototypes, respectively, at the upcoming 2019 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a press conference earlier today. The move, understood to have been made partly in response to JLD's recruitment of Daniel Melrose and Jean-Vincent Albertini for the famous race, has caught most of the paddock by surprise in regard to the magnitude of the escalation that such a maneuver constitutes.

"This is a great, unmissable opportunity for me; after all, every racing driver has a dream of winning the Triple Crown," said Vettel, who has reportedly long harbored an ambition to emulate the achievement of the late Graham Hill. "It's such a formidable race, Le Mans, with such a rich history, that I feel a bit humbled by everything, and to be at McLaren, a team with a very realistic shot at winning, with such a rich pedigree of its own...it's a really exciting feeling."

"When Ron [Dennis] initially approached me with the idea, I'll admit, I was a bit hesitant at first," said Edouard Martel, Caterham team principal. "But I very quickly warmed to the idea, and it took very little to convince both Sebastian and Lewis; in fact, Seb was pretty much biting my head off in the months after ACO's announcement allowing fourth drivers to take advantage of the opening!"

"It's a wonderful chance to accomplish something historic, something that drivers haven't really been able to do since the '60s and the '70s. To be able to collaborate more closely with McLaren, with whom we already share a very close relationship, is really just icing on top of the cake."