A great weekend of racing!
Friday's conditions were dry but chilly. Track action comprised International F3, ELMS and WEC free practice sessions.
As ever the radio le mans team were on hand to give information and interviews with the drivers and team personnel.
The LMP1 cars were quick, phenomenally quick on both entry and exit of corners. The main LMP1 manufacturer teams traded times as each one went through their testing programmes. FP1 and FP2 allowed the teams to run through their programmes and ensure that drivers got enough time in the cars. The 3 manufacturer teams were obviously watching each other and interested in the relative performance of their competitors. Initially the teams were all running line astern, two by two. The LMP1 teams had a few driver changes over the closed season and of course Porsche had re-entered the LMP1 fray. Rebellion had a largely unchanged driver line up, but were using their old car due to delays with their new car. It's hoped that both of the new cars will be racing at Spa, which is the next round of the WEC for 2014.
The Toyotas looked strong and quick and seemed to have a real urgency about them. The cars look purposeful. The LMP1 Porsches looked purposeful and almost as quick as the Toyotas. The Audis are always impressive, but seemed to lack the edge of the other two manufacturers. It's thought that Audi may well have made an incorrect selection on the combination of Hybrid Power vs. Traditional Power that they have chosen for their car. Of course it's still very early in the season, the cars have had a lot of changes, both in terms of power plant and deploying the hybrid power, so only time will tell and that time may well only be 6 or 8 hours into the 24 hours itself. You can't discount Audi, especially with 3 entries, but Toyota seem to be determined. Porsche will probably be happy with completing the 24 hour race, to gain as much current information as possible about their package.
There were a number of interesting things to do in the Fan Zone. The WEC had an area where race attendees could drive 3 laps of Silverstone. Popbangcolour was completing an installation, quality as always and also interested in talking to fans. The accessibility is something that the WEC has really done well. Unfortunately the same can't be said of Timing - the WEC have locked down the timing data and either you have to pay for access to the information and also get a little information from a free App (Android and iOS).
Qualifying saw the number 7 Toyota take Pole Position. The makes were evenly mixed up, with Audi in 2nd and Porsche in 3rd.
Race day, it was going to be cold, overcast and there was always a threat of rain. The main question would be how much, when and for how long... Audi certainly employ one of the best firms to supply a weather prediction service, would that make the difference for them? Of course the main thing is to look at the circuit conditions you are actually racing in, you can't second guess the weather.
There was an opportunity to meet and greet a lot of the drivers at 10 am on Sunday. The pitlane walk was busy. There were two long queues snaking back from the top and bottom entrances to the pits.. We managed to get close to most of the cars and drivers, but the Porsche LMP1 drivers and cars were mostly impossible to gain access to. In fact at one point the crowd passing the Porsche garages were at a standstill, literally no one could move!! The Porsche team created a real buzz about the race and interest.
The race started at 12:00, prompt. The Audis pushed the Toyotas, with the Porsches taking up a grandstand seat behind those 4 ahead of them and looked to ensure that they completed the 6 hours race with as much data as possible. Audi and Toyota both seemed determined to stamp their authority on the 2014 WEC, neither giving an inch. The two Rebellions ran together and unfortunately looked slow (comparatively). LMP2 seemed to lack a real edge to it, which was a shame, they mostly ran around anonymously. GT Pro and GT Am generated some great battles and there was a real ebb and flow to them. Initially Ginmaria Bruni led the two factory Porsches, but eventually both Porsches found their way past the Ferrari and started to pull away from it. Back in Am, the battle was more evenly spread between the manufacturers, with Aston looking quite decent, but also Ferrari and Porsche featuring.
The Astons didn't perform well and much of the 5mm ride height increase was made, but we're led to believe that the Astons were also quite detuned over the weekend, so maybe a certain amount of brinkmanship is being played out, to ensure that they can surprise their competitors when they get to Le Mans in June...
The race seemed to settle down into a rhythm in the first hour, but as the rain started to fall quite a few events suddenly meant that the Audis lost their lead, in quite dramatic fashion, at what was the penultimate corner before the circuit was reconfigured. The number 1 Audi had a fairly big shunt and as most teams will tell you if the conditions are wet the cars don't lose much speed before impacts and they can be quite heavy. The car was removed and got back to the pits, but the car was retired due to the damage suffered. The lead running Porsche also suffered an odd issue where it seemed to lose one of it's wheels and had to limp back to the pits. This car was eventually retired. Later on in the race the number 2 Audi had a similar incident to the number 1 Audi and was also retired. This is the first double non finish for Audi since 2011. The Toyotas briefly fought each other for the lead of the race, whilst the sole remaining Porsche tried to get on level terms with the Toyotas, but it was never quite on the same pace. The single remaining Rebellion LMP1 managed to hold on to 4th and the top ten was rounded of by a number of the GT runners, the LMP2 cars seemed to quietly fall away from the race and also suffered when running in traffic.
The rain started to fall quite heavily with about 1 1/2 hours left to go... With about 45 minutes left to run the Safety Car (SC) was deployed, but the rain got heavier and heavier with the race eventually being red flagged. Toyota triumphed with a 1-2 and Porsche posted a 3rd place finish in their first WEC race of 2014. Both teams will be happy to have completed the races, gaining lots of data that they can use to further understand their packages and hopefully improve their setups.
Toyota looked dominant. Audi seemed flustered. Porsche quietly studious. The 2014 WEC got off to an excellent start!
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Monday, 17 June 2013
Le Mans Live Timing Android App has been succesfully launched!
Just in time for this years race, Torque Soft are proud to announce that they have launched an eagerly anticipated and much requested App, a Live Timing one. It was Beta tested over the Test Day weekend 2 weeks ago. Some fine tuning and tweaks were made and now it's ready for public consumption. It has been launched on Google Play and the Amazon App Store. It should launch on Slideme.org once they've completed their approval process.
:)
More updates to come from trackside, once we're at La Sarthe.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=torquesoft.lemanslivetiming
Enjoy!
:)
More updates to come from trackside, once we're at La Sarthe.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=torquesoft.lemanslivetiming
Enjoy!
Friday, 24 May 2013
Monaco
Thoughts from FP1 and FP2... We were seated at the grandstand at Casino.
Both Saubers were always out on track first. The RBRs are unbeatable around that twisty part of the circuit, although that's obviously not the case elsewhere. Mercedes are obviously able to do stunningly quick laptimes. With Alonso tracking just behind them... It Raikkonen as though Alonso was lining up his race strategy for both sessions.. Raikkonen also, but not quite as close.
On Super Softs, whilst on long runs the Mercs were slow.. on Softs they were quite quick. The Ferrari looked quick on both and Raikkonen was super quick on Softs. These were whilst doing long runs.
I think the difference between Mercs and Lotus was a second or even two seconds a lap..!
Alonso seems to be working out how to get his best grid slot possible, whilst having a lot of focus on race pace.. He must be thinking about making up one grid slot place in the race and looking to nick another if the opportunity arises. Q3 is going to be highly entertaining!
Both Saubers were always out on track first. The RBRs are unbeatable around that twisty part of the circuit, although that's obviously not the case elsewhere. Mercedes are obviously able to do stunningly quick laptimes. With Alonso tracking just behind them... It Raikkonen as though Alonso was lining up his race strategy for both sessions.. Raikkonen also, but not quite as close.
On Super Softs, whilst on long runs the Mercs were slow.. on Softs they were quite quick. The Ferrari looked quick on both and Raikkonen was super quick on Softs. These were whilst doing long runs.
I think the difference between Mercs and Lotus was a second or even two seconds a lap..!
Alonso seems to be working out how to get his best grid slot possible, whilst having a lot of focus on race pace.. He must be thinking about making up one grid slot place in the race and looking to nick another if the opportunity arises. Q3 is going to be highly entertaining!
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Le Mans 24hrs App updated for 2013
Our popular Le Mans App for the 24 hour race at La Sarthe has been updated for 2013. This includes all Runners and Riders (some still TBC) and photos of the cars who entered the Silverstone round of the WEC. The remaining details will be updated before and just after the Official Le Mans test day, capturing all of the missing photos.
It's the 90th Anniversary of the 1st ever race at La Sarthe. Whilst the Toyota challenge looks to be a little muted at the moment, you can be sure that the inter-team rivalry at Audi will keep things interesting. The number one and number two cars both really want the win.
In LMP2 there is a dazzling array of machinery and a number of entries, so the action should last for the whole weekend.
GT (Pro and Am) sees the return of the Vipers! All of the manufacturers seem to have upped their commitment here. For us the Aston Martin team look the strongest, but you never know...!
The Motorsport Calendar Team are off to Monaco this weekend to partake of the F1 race there! :)
It's the 90th Anniversary of the 1st ever race at La Sarthe. Whilst the Toyota challenge looks to be a little muted at the moment, you can be sure that the inter-team rivalry at Audi will keep things interesting. The number one and number two cars both really want the win.
In LMP2 there is a dazzling array of machinery and a number of entries, so the action should last for the whole weekend.
GT (Pro and Am) sees the return of the Vipers! All of the manufacturers seem to have upped their commitment here. For us the Aston Martin team look the strongest, but you never know...!
The Motorsport Calendar Team are off to Monaco this weekend to partake of the F1 race there! :)
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Start to the 2013 Sportscar season
The Motorsport Calendar team made the trip to Silverstone over the weekend, to see the ELMS and 1st round of the 2013 WEC Championship. In addition to this, there were two races for the 2013 Euro F3 Championship.
Friday, mainly for Testing and Qualifying (Euro F3 only), was a little wet and windy, as Silverstone always can be!! The newer International Pits were used by the WEC cars, with the ELMS and F3 teams based in the National Pits. However it should be noted that the Start - Finish line for all of the races was in fact on the International Pits straight. There was a lot of action on the track and so it was quite an interesting day, all cars took the track apart from the (only) new Aston Martin, number 97, due to some sensor settings indicating an engine issue, which meant that it had to be changed. The LMP1 cars looked imperious on track, quick and purposeful. Of note, the new Porsche cars looked good, but were actually a little slow overall. The Astons looked quick, mighty quick. We also noted that the Rebellion cars looked and sounded awesome, with the G Drive cars also looking like they were going quicker than they should have been. The WEC cars were the last session on the track and after a short downpour all of the cars returned to the Pits. We took the tactical decision to go back home then, as it was felt that with about 20 minutes left, it was unlikely that too many cars were going to return to the action and even then, wouldn't improve.
The whole circuit was busy, with a single decker bus running from the rear of the International Pits up to the National Pits Scrutineering area, just inside Copse. This was handy, as access to the rear of the International Pits is a bit limited and quite a trek. Why didn't they build a pedestrian tunnel or bridge from the outside to the inside of the track, when constructing the International Pits complex? Surely a big oversight. To the rear of the Pits, there was of course the Paddock area, which was open to all and a FanZone, which whilst a little underwhelming was a welcome area for those with young children.
Saturday, the WEC cars took to the track first and the Motorsport Calendar team were able to get some good photos for their Le Mans App, which is in the process of being updated. The cars all used the circuit to good effect, whilst it was dry and pumped in a good number of dry laps. The F3 races were interesting to see, with some good battles and a little sprinkling of rain to spice things up! Josh Hill had a disappointing race, posting a DNF. The 3hr ELMS race was an entertaining one, again the elements helped in making things a little more interesting. Brendan Hartley drove an excellent first stint, but then wasted all that good work and effort by visiting the kitty litter. There were a number of changes at the front of the race while drivers attempted to gain an advantage over their rivals, but in the end those that exercised a little caution in the conditions managed to prosper. Whilst the rain came and went and came back again (and again!) the amount of rain wasn't particularly of note, but the track surface just never fully dried out. A Safety Car session then meant that the racecars weren't clearing the track of water and so it just kept on being wet and slippery. The race was eventually allowed to run, under the Safety Car to 75% and then halted by the Race Director.
Sunday, the WEC 6hrs race was an entertaining one, especially in the final few laps. The Number 2 Audi being driven by Alan McNish overhauled the Number 1 car and won. Admittedly whilst it looked very impressive, the Number 1 car had, had a front drive issue, which meant that the supplemental Hybrid Power didn't work. Toyota completed the podium. The Astons took a clean sweep of the GT classes, winning both Pro and Am classes. In LMP2 the G Drive car of Tor Graves, Pizzonia and Walker took the top step of the podium.
Alledgedly the Toyota cars (2012) made the wrong Tyre selection, which hampered their race pace early on. The Audis were incorrectly set up, so used a lot more fuel than they should have and were slowed down. The 2013 Toyotas will be much more tightly focussed in their design, as the 2012 cars were designed to accept Hybrid power being delivered to the front or rear wheels. The 2013 car only puts the extra power generated by the hybrid system to the rear wheels.
As ever the Radio Le Mans team gave excellent coverage and banter, keeping the spectator updated and informed of what was occurring and why. They were joined by some guest commentators who took over the reins during the F3, single seater, races.
Spa next and of course the Le Mans 24hrs to look forward to! The Motorsport Calendar team will be attending the race at La Sarthe.
Friday, mainly for Testing and Qualifying (Euro F3 only), was a little wet and windy, as Silverstone always can be!! The newer International Pits were used by the WEC cars, with the ELMS and F3 teams based in the National Pits. However it should be noted that the Start - Finish line for all of the races was in fact on the International Pits straight. There was a lot of action on the track and so it was quite an interesting day, all cars took the track apart from the (only) new Aston Martin, number 97, due to some sensor settings indicating an engine issue, which meant that it had to be changed. The LMP1 cars looked imperious on track, quick and purposeful. Of note, the new Porsche cars looked good, but were actually a little slow overall. The Astons looked quick, mighty quick. We also noted that the Rebellion cars looked and sounded awesome, with the G Drive cars also looking like they were going quicker than they should have been. The WEC cars were the last session on the track and after a short downpour all of the cars returned to the Pits. We took the tactical decision to go back home then, as it was felt that with about 20 minutes left, it was unlikely that too many cars were going to return to the action and even then, wouldn't improve.
The whole circuit was busy, with a single decker bus running from the rear of the International Pits up to the National Pits Scrutineering area, just inside Copse. This was handy, as access to the rear of the International Pits is a bit limited and quite a trek. Why didn't they build a pedestrian tunnel or bridge from the outside to the inside of the track, when constructing the International Pits complex? Surely a big oversight. To the rear of the Pits, there was of course the Paddock area, which was open to all and a FanZone, which whilst a little underwhelming was a welcome area for those with young children.
Saturday, the WEC cars took to the track first and the Motorsport Calendar team were able to get some good photos for their Le Mans App, which is in the process of being updated. The cars all used the circuit to good effect, whilst it was dry and pumped in a good number of dry laps. The F3 races were interesting to see, with some good battles and a little sprinkling of rain to spice things up! Josh Hill had a disappointing race, posting a DNF. The 3hr ELMS race was an entertaining one, again the elements helped in making things a little more interesting. Brendan Hartley drove an excellent first stint, but then wasted all that good work and effort by visiting the kitty litter. There were a number of changes at the front of the race while drivers attempted to gain an advantage over their rivals, but in the end those that exercised a little caution in the conditions managed to prosper. Whilst the rain came and went and came back again (and again!) the amount of rain wasn't particularly of note, but the track surface just never fully dried out. A Safety Car session then meant that the racecars weren't clearing the track of water and so it just kept on being wet and slippery. The race was eventually allowed to run, under the Safety Car to 75% and then halted by the Race Director.
Sunday, the WEC 6hrs race was an entertaining one, especially in the final few laps. The Number 2 Audi being driven by Alan McNish overhauled the Number 1 car and won. Admittedly whilst it looked very impressive, the Number 1 car had, had a front drive issue, which meant that the supplemental Hybrid Power didn't work. Toyota completed the podium. The Astons took a clean sweep of the GT classes, winning both Pro and Am classes. In LMP2 the G Drive car of Tor Graves, Pizzonia and Walker took the top step of the podium.
Alledgedly the Toyota cars (2012) made the wrong Tyre selection, which hampered their race pace early on. The Audis were incorrectly set up, so used a lot more fuel than they should have and were slowed down. The 2013 Toyotas will be much more tightly focussed in their design, as the 2012 cars were designed to accept Hybrid power being delivered to the front or rear wheels. The 2013 car only puts the extra power generated by the hybrid system to the rear wheels.
As ever the Radio Le Mans team gave excellent coverage and banter, keeping the spectator updated and informed of what was occurring and why. They were joined by some guest commentators who took over the reins during the F3, single seater, races.
Spa next and of course the Le Mans 24hrs to look forward to! The Motorsport Calendar team will be attending the race at La Sarthe.
Friday, 22 March 2013
2013 season is go go go!
As most of you will have noticed, the Motorsport Calendar Free App has been updated for 2013. Featuring more races and series than before, it now offers a much more up-to-date experience and continues to rise in the number of Active Users, we've now got the most Active Users for the App that we've ever had.
We've also been busy updating our other Apps, the Stock Car Calendar App (BriSCA, UK based only) and the Olympic Calendar - in readiness for Sochi 2014, which is less than a year away now! We're looking to bring some serious improvements to the Apps in terms of User Experience and all for free. We will be looking to bring Paid For versions of the Apps to the market this year, with extra features and no Advertisements of course. We are looking to improve and enhance the User Experience for all, please let us know if there are features you would like to see.
Please stay tuned for more updates, as and when they occur.
:)
We've also been busy updating our other Apps, the Stock Car Calendar App (BriSCA, UK based only) and the Olympic Calendar - in readiness for Sochi 2014, which is less than a year away now! We're looking to bring some serious improvements to the Apps in terms of User Experience and all for free. We will be looking to bring Paid For versions of the Apps to the market this year, with extra features and no Advertisements of course. We are looking to improve and enhance the User Experience for all, please let us know if there are features you would like to see.
Please stay tuned for more updates, as and when they occur.
:)
Monday, 28 May 2012
Le Mans 2012 Android App
The team behind TheMotorsportCalendar are proud to announce the launch of our new Le Mans 2012 Android App
Available now (for free!) on the Google Play market.
The application gives details of all the entries in this year's race along with some humourous comments and tips.
Information will be updated as the entry list evolves and once the track action from the Test Day has taken place.
Your indispensable Guide to Le Mans 2012.
Available now (for free!) on the Google Play market.
The application gives details of all the entries in this year's race along with some humourous comments and tips.
Information will be updated as the entry list evolves and once the track action from the Test Day has taken place.
Your indispensable Guide to Le Mans 2012.
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