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Virtual Motorpix

Blog site for Virtual Motorpix with interesting articles on racing, motor sports and cars

Silverstone Surprise

April 29, 2016 by: Virtual Motorpix | Leave a Comment

Porsche #1 and #2 garages at FIA WEC, 6h of Silverstone 2016 on Saturday, 16 April 2016
Porsche #1 and #2 garages at FIA WEC 6H of Silverstone during the unseasonal snow shower on Saturday, 16 April 2016

The opening round of the 2016 WEC season delivered a Silverstone surprise on a number of different fronts, from a snow shower to a spectacularly dramatic accident, including a post-race disqualification. The results have been splashed across the covers of numerous magazines and websites, so we thought some of the other achievements would make for interesting reading.

LMP1 – Rebellion

#12, Rebellion R-One AER, Rebellion Racing, driven by Nicolas Prost , Nick Heidfeld , Nelson Piquet Jr , FIA WEC, 6h of Silverstone 2016
The #12 Rebellion R-One AER driven by Nicolas Prost, Nick Heidfeld and Nelson Piquet Jr, at speed during the opening round of the 2016 WEC at Silverstone on 17 April. They would finish the race in fourth place overall.
#13, Rebellion R-One AER, Rebellion Racing, driven by Dominik Kraihamer, Matheo Tuscher, Alexandre Imperatori, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 17/04/2016, (race)
The #13 Rebellion R-One AER in action during the WEC 6-Hours of Silverstone on 17 April 2016. The car, which finished 3rd overall, was driven by Dominik Kraihamer, Matheo Tuscher and Alexandre Imperatori.

For starters, Rebellion Racing has been beavering away for three years in the LMP1 class against the might of the manufacturer teams, and for their efforts they have lifted the Privateer trophy for the last four years. Despite this accolade, these achievements have gone largely unnoticed. We at Virtual Motorpix thought that this was a little unjust, especially seeing as they clinched a third place overall finish in the LMP1 class at Silverstone after Audi’s exclusion. It didn’t quite work out that way on the day because Audi was credited with the win, but their #7 car was excluded in post-race scrutineering when their front skid block was found to be too thin. This moved Porsche into position one, Toyota into second place and the #13 Rebellion moved from fourth to third. Alright so it isn’t the way you want to earn your place, but a result is a result, and it’s about time (pun not intended!) that Rebellion earned their podium place. Another Silverstone Surprise.

LMP2 – RGR Sport by Morand

#43, Ligier JS P2 Nissan, RGR Sport by Morand, driven by Ricardo Gonzalez, Bruno Senna, Filipe Albuquerque, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 14/04/2016,
The #43, Ligier JS P2 Nissan of RGR Sport by Morand, won the LMP2 class at the first race of the 2016 season at Silverstone. It was driven by Ricardo Gonzalez, Bruno Senna and Filipe Albuquerque.
#43, Ligier JS P2 Nissan, RGR Sport by Morand, driven by Ricardo Gonzalez, Bruno Senna, Filipe Albuquerque, FIA WEC, 6h of Silverstone 2016
The #43 Ligier JS P2 Nissan of RGR Sport by Morand, enters the Luffield complex during the opening round of the WEC at Silverstone on 17 April 2016

The RGR Sport by Morand team with drivers Ricardo Gonzalez (Mexico), Filipe Albuquerque (Portugal), Bruno Senna (Brazil) can be proud of their performance on Sunday 17 April when they snatched the LMP2 class victory. This class is perhaps the most keenly contested of the lot, because the cars are all basically very similar, and it is the skill of the drivers and the efficiency of the team that will determine the winner. Photographing the cars trackside all weekend, it was clear to see that the #43 car was really quick. To illustrate the tightness of the class, the RGR car was placed third in class on the starting grid, two seconds behind the lead car, but with five of the six hours gone in the race, there were four cars on the lead lap. For the next race at Spa, Gonzalez, Albuquerque and Senna will have the satisfaction of starting as class leaders.

GTE PRO – Ford GT

#67, Ford GT, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, driven by Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 15/04/2016, (FP2)
The #67 Chip Ganassi Team Ford GT of Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell finished a fine 4th in the GTE Pro class at the 6-Hours of Silverstone on 17 April 2016. It is seen here rounding The Loop during FP2 on 15 April.
#66, Ford GT, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, driven by William Johnson, Stefan Mucke, Olivier Pla, FIA WEC, 6h of Silverstone 2016
The #66 Ford GT driven by William Johnson, Stefan Mucke and Olivier Pla finished 5th in the GTE Pro class of the Silverstone 6-hours, just behind its sister car.
#67, Ford GT, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, driven by Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 17/04/2016, (race)
The #67 Ford GT of Marino Franchitti/Andy Priaulx/Harry Tincknell on its way to a fine fourth place finish in class during the 6-Hours of Silverstone on 17 April 2016.

At the beginning of the year the racing world welcomed the return of the Ford GT to its ranks. In the Daytona 24-Hours they finished quite well down the field, and in the Sebring 12-Hours they splashed their way to a 5th and 8th place finish in class. Importantly though, both cars finished both races. At Silverstone, the #66 qualified third in class with the #67 car in fourth, as if tied together with a team rope. This was despite Olivier Pla in the #66 car not having driven the Ford in the wet, and Andy Priaulx/Harry Tinknell qualifying the #67 car with just 3rd and 4th gears, as they encountered gear selection problems. In the race proper, watching these two cars circulating in formation was almost comical, but in reality it was far from that, as the one car would be followed by the other, lap after lap. In the final analysis, it was the #67 car that led the #66 car home by just over a second, and that is after six hours of fierce racing. In reality, the two cars were never separated by much more than that gap for the entire race. The team reported no mechanical problems during the race, and so consistency is the only word that you can use to describe such a finish, and they get our vote as the team to watch this year. What a Silverstone Surprise!

GTE AM – Larbre Competition

#50, Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06, Larbre Competition, driven by Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti, Pierre Ragues, Silverstone 6h, 2016 (afternoon of scrutineering 14.4.16)
The #50 Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06 was driven by Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti and Pierre Ragues. It is seen here being wheeled to scrutineering on Thursday, but on Sunday 17 April, it gave a good account of itself by snatching 3rd in the GTE Am class.
#50, Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06, Larbre Competition, driven by Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti, Pierre Ragues, FIA WEC 6hrs of Silverstone 2016, 15/04/2016, (FP2)
The #50 Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06 rounds The Loop during FP2 ahead of the 6-Hours of Silverstone on Friday 15 April 2016.
#50, Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06, Larbre Competition, driven by Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti, Pierre Ragues, FIA WEC, 6h of Silverstone 2016
The #50 Chevrolet Corvette C7.Z06 of Yutaka Yamagishi, Paolo Ruberti and Pierre Ragues reaches the end of the Wellington Straight. Following a steady run, the Corvette was rewarded with a fine 3rd place finish in the 6-Hours of Silverstone on 17 April 2016.

Perseverance is the best way to describe the effort of the Larbre Competition #50 Corvette, because it just kept on coming around, without any fireworks, lap after lap. The Corvette was chased all the way by three Porsche RSRs, so this may have been their motivation to get a bit of a hurry up, but that factor aside, the car ran without any mechanical maladies. Apart from some unfortunate timing with Full Course Yellows and Safety Car sessions, the Corvette C7.R put in an impressive performance despite two of the three drivers not having driven the car in the wet. The #50 Larbre Corvette also set the fastest race lap by more than a quarter of a second. Well done to Yutaka Yamagishi, Pierre Ragues and Paolo Ruberti.

#2, Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team, Romain Dumas , Neel Jani , Marc Lieb, 6 Hours of Silverstone 2016 (race day)
Following a brief off-piste excursion, the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb finished 2nd in the 6 Hours of Silverstone 2016, but they were later elevated to first place overall when the Audi was excluded from the results. The mud down the sides of the car is as a result of evasive action taken to avoid contact with a Ford GT.

The official spectator numbers given by the FIA WEC was 52,000 which is very encouraging considering the weather that Silverstone delivered. The next race at Spa can of course also serve up some unexpected surprises. With Audi’s exclusion from the results, all the teams moved up a place, and this has opened up the Championship right at the outset.

Written by: Glen Smale

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Categories: Automotive Photography, Car Racing, Featured Articles Tags: Corvette, Ford GT, Larbre Competition, Rebellion, RGR Sport, Silverstone

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