The final laps of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship season have concluded now that the chequered flag has fallen on the official post-season WEC Rookie Test.
The three drivers chosen by the Promoter from championships within the ACO’s aegis including the WEC, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series, all completed laps with the three LMP1 Hybrid manufacturers, including the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain winner Audi. Aside these tests, Porsche and Toyota conducted some tyre testing with Michelin.
LMP2 Champion Gustavo Menezes, who drove so convincingly this season for the Signatech Alpine team, completed 30 laps in the World-Championship winning Porsche 919 Hybrid. He described the 1000-horsepower prototype as a “LMP2 car with nitrous and steroids.”
“It was hard to put the smile away on the first lap,” Menezes told Sportscar365. “The acceleration on the car is incredible. It’s like getting in a rocket ship. No offense to an LMP2 car but it’s on another level.
“I really enjoyed it. Obviously the overall grip of the car is amazing; it’s so stable and so good. They gave me all the advice they could under braking and the rotation of the car, but I think a lot of the stuff you have to get a feel for yourself and understand why you have to drive in that style.
“Every lap I understood I was like, ‘Oh now I understand why he said that.’ It was great. I’m really grateful for Porsche for having me here. They worked really well with me. They brought me in and treated me like any of the other drivers, so it was a great time.”
Paul-Loup Chatincompleted nine laps in the No.7 Audi R18 before a front drivetrain issue unfortunately brought the marque’s day to a premature close. The Baxi DC Racing Alpine LMP2 driver thus made a little bit of history by becoming the last driver to take the wheel of the Audi R18 in a WEC event.
“It’s like a dream. It’s such a good feeling, and you really feel the power and electronics. When you drive it, you understand you are not alone behind the steering wheel; there is a lot of help for the driver, but you still have to manage some stuff. The power, the brakes and grip are impressive, and I’m really happy Audi gave me this incredible opportunity – it was a lot of fun for me. It was a great honour to drive this car.”
Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Brazilian Pipo Derani drove the No.5 car and completed a total of 32 laps in three stints, showing consistency and speed. The Extreme Speed Motorsports driver said afterwards: “It was a great opportunity to test with Toyota Gazoo Racing. I am a lucky guy to get this chance because not many drivers are able to test an LMP1 car nowadays.
“It was great for me to see how an LMP1 team goes about its work and to understand how the hybrid system works. At the end of the day, an LMP1 car is not massively different to the LMP2 cars that I am used to; the big difference is the amazing hybrid boost coming out of the corners. It was a nice experience to push the throttle coming out of turn one! You certainly feel the 1,000hp.”
Of the other drivers taking part today in Bahrain, former F1 driver Robert Kubica was the most high profile. The Pole’s first experience in the ByKolles Racing Team LMP1 car was the first time he’d driven on a circuit for several years and he said that today’s LMP1 sports prototypes were like “F1 with covered wheels.”
Aston Martin Racing, who won the LMGTE Pro championship this year, were testing a number of different drivers including 2015 Aston Martin Racing Academy winner Ross Gunn, and a number of LMP2 teams tested including British team Manor who ran the ELMS LMP3 championship winners as part of their prize.
Thank you to all WEC competitors, media, fans and everyone who has followed the championship this year, and see you at Silverstone for the start of the 2017 season!
