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Virtual Motorpix

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

6 HOURS OF NÜRBURGRING

July 22, 2016 by: Virtual Motorpix | Leave a Comment

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
The start of FP1 for the WEC 6 Hours of Nürburgring race, 22 July 2016

The fourth round of the 2016 WEC series kicks off this weekend with the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, boasting a full field of 33 cars. Set in the beautiful Eifel Mountains, the Nürburgring is both daunting and heroic, demanding precision and concentration from the drivers. Thursday saw torrential showers, and more is forecast for today (Friday).

#8, Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Audi Sport Team Joest, driven by Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
The #8 Audi driven by Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis leads the #7 sister car driven by Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer during FP1 ahead of the WEC 6 Hours of Nürburgring, 22 July 2016

This year, the teams have had a real mixed time, with Audi being disqualified in the first race, and then Toyota’s car failing in the penultimate lap of the Le Mans race. Leading the LMP1 championship coming into this race, Porsche is in top spot but this means that the other two manufacturers will be gunning for the Stuttgart team in the 6 hours of Nürburgring. In the WEC, three aero configurations per season are allowed to be homologated, and to date Porsche has tried two of these. They started the season with the first spec, the second one was for low drag on the long straights of Le Mans, and now, with narrower circuits coming up, a higher downforce level is required which will see the third aero package being deployed.

#36, Alpine A460 Nissan, Signatech-Alpine, driven by Gustavo Menezes, Stephane Richelmi, Nicolas Lapierre, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
Negotiating a corner during FP1 were last month’s Le Mans winners Gustavo Menezes, Stephane Richelmi, Nicolas Lapierre in the LMP2 class in the #36 Alpine A460 Nissan Signatech-Alpine

Toyota have of course shown, in no uncertain terms, that they have got the pace and the potential to beat both Porsche and Audi. Having led a good deal of the Spa race, and most of the Le Mans race, Toyota will be more eager than ever to make amends. Toyota too will have their new high downforce aero package in action, and with this weekend’s race just an hour’s drive away from the team base in Cologne, they will be keen to put the Le Mans memories behind them.

#66, Ford GT, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, driven by Stefan Mucke, Olivier Pla, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
The #66 Ford GT is seen in action at the Nürburgring driven here by Stefan Mucke, Olivier Pla, ahead of WEC 6 Hours event

On the team news front, Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer in the number 7 will not be joined by their teammate Benoît Tréluyer, as he was injured in a cycling accident in late June. But the trio in car number 8, Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis, travel to Audi’s ‘home race’ in second spot in the championship.

#8, Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Audi Sport Team Joest, driven by Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
The #8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis hopes to narrow the gap in the LMP1 class, as it rounds a bend during FP1 at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring on Friday 22 July

With the first three races of the year behind us, the scores in LMP1 manufacturer rankings looks as follows: Porsche (127 pts), Audi (95 pts), Toyota (79 pts). In the GTE manufacturer’s PRO class, the order is: Ford #66 (60 pts), Ferrari #71 (52 pts), Aston Martin #95 (51 pts). In the LMP2 class, Signatech Alpine is out in front with 87 points, with G-Drive Racing in second place with 66 points and RGR Sport by Morand with 56 points. The top of the GTE AM table is occupied by AF Corse (number 83 Ferrari 458), who are way ahead with 93 points. In second place is Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing (number 88 Porsche RSR) with 55 points, with Larbre Competition (number 50 Corvette C7-Z06) a point back on 54 points.

#2, Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team, Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, Marc Lieb, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
Championship leader! The #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, Marc Lieb gets warmed up during FP1 at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, Friday 22 July 2016

It is to be expected that the driver’s table would follow the manufacturer’s table: Porsche’s Lieb, Jani and Dumas on 94 points, Audi’s Duval, Di Grassi and Jarvis on 55 points, with Toyota’s Kobayashi, Conway and Sarrazin on 54 points. With Ford having won their class at Le Mans, the GTE PRO driver’s standings are as follows: Ford’s Johnson, Pla and Mücke on 60 points, Ferrari’s Rigon and Bird on 52 points, with Aston Martin’s Turner, Sorensen and Thiim on 51 points.

#71, Ferrari 488 GTE AF Corse Ferrari, driven by Davide Rigon, Sam Bird, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
The #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE is driven by Davide Rigon and Sam Bird during FP1 at the WEC 6 Hours of Nürburgring
#26, Oreca 05Nissan, G-Drive Racing, driven by Roman Rusinov, Rene Rast, Alex Brundle, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
Always looking fast is the #26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 05Nissan driven by Roman Rusinov, Rene Rast, Alex Brundle, seen here at speed during FP1 for the WEC 6 Hours of Nürburgring on Friday 22 July 2016

Following today’s FP1, Porsche set the pace in LMP1 with the #2 car just ahead of the #1 car, followed by the #7 and #8 Audis and the #5 and #6 Toyotas. In the GTE PRO class, Ford are playing the waiting game as the two cars are languishing down in fifth and sixth place, with the #51 Ferrari and #97 Aston Martin occupying the top two spots. In the LMP2 class, the #26 G-Drive car heads the class with the #44 Manor team car in second. The #98 Aston Martin heads the GTE AM class with the #50 Corvette in second place.

#88, Porsche 911 RSR, Abu Dhabi Proton Racing, driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi, Pat Long, David Heinemeier Hansson, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
Locking up the rear under braking is the #88 Abu Dhabi Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR of Khaled Al Qubaisi, Pat Long, David Heinemeier Hansson seen here during FP1 at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring on Friday 22 July 2016

With only the FP1 behind us, it is of course way too early to read anything into the time sheets, but at least the cars have been out and they will begin to settle in with two more free practice sessions before qualifying tomorrow afternoon. It is all too easy to become complacent midseason, but these races are often where the championship can be won or lost. So book your seat for Sunday afternoon…and enjoy!

#83, Ferrari F458 Italia, AF Corse, driven by Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard, Rui Aguas, FIA WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring, 22/07/2016,
Currently holding a comfortable lead in GTE AM class is the #83 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia driven by Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard, Rui Aguas, seen here in action during FP1 for the 6 Hours of Nürburgring

The programme for this weekend is as follows:

Free Practice 1 Fri 22nd July 12h00

Free Practice 2 Fri 22nd July 16h30

Free Practice 3 Sat 23rd July 09h15

Qualifying LMGTE Sat 23rd July 14h15

Qualifying LMP Sat 23rd July 14h45

Race Sun 24th July 13h00-19h00

Written by: Glen Smale

Images by: John Mountney

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Categories: Automotive Photography, Car Racing, Featured Articles Tags: Audi, Ferrari, Nurburgring, Porsche, Toyota, WEC

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