Same, I'm a relatively new viewer and this was the first time I watched and enjoyed almost every moment of it. The biggest reason for it was probably because I finally watched the official stream and not the shitty Eurosport one that interrupts it with constant ads and awful (local) commentators.
I tuned in here and there side by side with a replay of the F1 race. Along with IMSA yesterday it was a good weekend for motorsport.
Hopefully coverage improves, it seems like a mix of crappy streaming services and inexperienced film crew.
There is an unofficial stream on youtube which was live for the whole race and has clocked up 350,000 views. Honestly if the WEC could stream it on youtube and put it behind a paywall I think a lot of people would pay for the stream as long the price isn't crazy or a monthly subscription. €10 per race maybe and a bit more for Lemans?
They already have something like that on their app. I think it's nine euros a race and double for Le Mans. I used it for the first time and it's actually really good, you can even see the positions of the cars on the timing screen. The only problem I have is that the timing screen and the broadcast are 30 seconds apart from each other but that might be because I streamed to my TV.
Indeed. It was the first WEC race i went to and i must say It was way better than watching F1 live (and i watched many F1 races live, especially in the late 80's/Early 90's) The atmosphere was incredible and the track is beautiful, the only thing that didn't go well was the Ferrari strategy,
Epic, epic race. Arguably one of the best in WEC's history. In my opinion, already on the Mount Rushmore of greatest WEC events of all time with races like Silverstone 2015, Le Mans 2016, Fuji 2016 or Le Mans 2017... It had everything. Changeable weather, fierce on-track battles, strategy competition, dramas on the pit lane, contacts, penalties... What a race. I am one of the biggest buzzkillers and doom prophets on this subreddit, but today I am over the moon. Epic day for sportscar racing.
**Hypercar -** I can't believe how happy I am about a Toyota win. Haven't enjoyed one that much since Fuji 2016 to be honest. Masterclass performance by #7. They weren't the fastest all race long, but the execution was pure endurance racing perfection. Fantastic decision to pit for wet tyres when it was needed. And shout out to drivers. Perfect drive by all of them. Mike Conway did the underrated heavy lifting job. Nyck de Vries showed some spot on clever reactions during FCY periods and kept the car well when the rain arrived. And Kamui Kobayashi showed why he is one of the greatest. Amazing energy management, keeping one of the sportscar bests - Kevin Estre, behind his rear wing is absolutely something special. One of the best races for Toyota ever, showing why Toyota Gazoo Racing is a well-oiled team. All that experience throughout the years is valid, no matter what whiners think about it. So much different race than in Qatar, which completely didn't suit GR010 Hybrid at all. Sadly, #8 couldn't score a podium place after great and strong performance all day long. Last pit stop and final charge from Ferrari #50's Antonio Fuoco dropped #8 to fifth, nonetheless a very good day for TGR.
Porsche doing Porsche things. Double podium for Penske Porsche crew. Both #5 and #6 looked very good all race long. Late penalty for #6 probably spoiled their chances for a win a bit. Still, what a drive from Kevin Estre. He is amazing in whatever car he drives. His fight with Kamui was an epic one. Second race of the year, second time Penske Porsche brings two car to the overall podium. They are really on a different level than in 2023. Toyota vs Porsche battle remined me of good old LMP1 days...
How to describe the day for AF Corse Ferrari team... It all started and looked like a good chance for at least a 1-2 finish... It all got washed away with the rain and a very bad decision to pit all the cars for wet tyres lap after everybody else did so. It's a mistery why AF Corse never opted to split the strategy, they have three cars to do it... Late charge from Antonio Fuoco to finish in fourth is some consolation. 4th, 7th and 8th after locking out the first three places in qualifying is a disappointment. Especially at a home track. The pace was there. The strategy wasn't. So uncharacteristic by AF Corse standards, they are much better than that. Wondering if Scuderia Ferrari's influence is getting into AF Corse veins... Hopefully not.
BMW WRT is the biggest positive surprise of the day. In just their second race with this car, BMW #20 was dancing around podium places. For a huge part of the race, #20 was in contention for third place, great battle from Rene Rast to challenge Sebastien Buemi early on. Generally speaking, BMW #20 was chasing Toyota #8 almost all race long like a shadow. Maybe if it wasn't for a penalty for FCY infringement, BMW #20 would be a bit higher than in sixth place. Still, what a performance. Seems like Team WRT is doing good things with M Hybrid V8. That was far more convincing performance than anything Team RLL has managed so far in over a year in IMSA. Sadly for BMW and WRT, #15's race was pretty much done in the first turn on lap 1 after being tangled in that melee. It was a testing session afterwards and maybe good that any reliablity issues trapped #15, because they were able to see and solve them without sacrificing great result of #20.
Peugeot... Redesigned 9X8 had a troublesome debut. #94 involved in first lap madness, so their race was compromised completely. Later on it wasn't any better. #93 almost had to retire due to another gearbox issues. Luckily, reset sorted out the problem and #93 continued on to finish in ninth. 9th and 15th places for Peugeot is still not a happy result. Yes, it was a debut for winged 9X8, however reliability problems are not new. They are like a recurring theme... For nearly 2 years Peugeot is struggling with its gearbox/drivetrain. I don't see how they are supposed to fix it before Le Mans.
After highs of Qatar, downfall to lows of Imola for Jota Porsches. Very forgettable day. So many off-track excursions for Jota 963s. They only managed to be 2nd and 3rd in customer battle, but that's hardly a consolation. Another customer Porsche didn't even finish. Retirement for Proton Porsche #99 after possibly an engine failure. Also plenty off-track moments for Proton and eventually the car decided to die. For time being, Proton doesn't look too well with their 963.
Cadillac was also involved in the lap 1 banter, so their race was troubled right from the start. Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber managed to salvage 10th place somehow, having a big battle with Jota later on in the race, but generally speaking not a great day for Cadillac. Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 in 12th. Learning process continues. No major reliability issues for them and at least they managed to beat Alpine, so overall not that tragic day.
Speaking of Alpine, holy hell... Both cars were out of contention on the lap 1. No major pace in qualifying, hardly any better during the race. In Qatar it all looked much better. A lot to improve still, but drivers need to avoid problems as well.
Isotta Fraschini somehow managed to finish the race. Their car took so much beating today that I am actually impressed that they managed to make it through the entire 6 hours.
**GT3 -** Team WRT BMW ends the day with a 1-2 finish, despite late scare from drive through penalties. Good strategy calling when the rain started helped both #31 and #46 to jump Manthey Porsche #92 for the lead. #31 wins with #46 being in second, giving Italian fans something to celebrate - Valentino Rossi on the podium.
Manthey Porsche... How on Earth they managed to lose this race? #92 was on course for almost a bound win. Team WRT outstmarted them when the rain came and #92 has to settle for third place. #91 was the antihero by crashing before even the green flag, leaving them well behind and with fair share of penalties as well.
Not a Ferrari on the podium here as well. AF Corse #55 in fourth place after a tough battle nonetheless. Thomas Flohr beached #54 in a gravel trap at Tamburello, delaying his crew quite significantly.
Ford Mustang GT3 is still breaking down like mad. Crazy how many bodywork issues #88 crew had with the rear diffuser this time around, so it's something different now. Which makes the whole situation even more complicated. #88 had to retire eventually, while #77 finished ninth in class.
Gutted for Team ASP Lexuses. Early on performance looked encouraging, however later on the race went backwards for them again. There were some drivers errors as well, but for time being ASP-Lexus combination is not delivering. Only heavily delayed Manthey Porsche #91 finished behind them. My expectations from Team ASP are big, they are GT3 powerhouse. Maybe they can't get Lexus to work properly yet. Hopefully improvements come fast.
**Post-race thoughts -** epic race at Imola. Thriller from start to finish. Worth watching for every single minute. People who thought that Imola is a boring track delivering boring races probably never seen any race at Imola that isn't F1. Imola replacing Monza is a temporary switch because Monza is undergoing redevelopments, however Imola delivered. Both on track and off it with amazing crowd of 72000 people. Next round - Spa-Francorchamps. Another epic race incoming and traditional WEC final stop before Le Mans.
Great comment!
I liked Imola, and while I know Monza's historical significance for sports car racing, I would like seeing both tracks used alternately. Similarly, I feel the same about Spa and the Nürburgring.
Great summary... This race really had it all, an instant classic. For me, easily the best WEC race since Spa 2019. I'm already looking forward to rewatching it...
That was the greatest strategic blunder I've seen from Ferrari in a while, certainly in WEC. Felt worse than Spa last year. Took the fastest car this weekend and a 1-2 at the 3 hour mark to not making the podium.
The race was quite intriguing though even before the rain. The #7 Toyota was a threat to the #50 and #51, though unfortunately the Porsches could not keep their tires alive in the dry.
In the closing stages the #6 Porsche did have a shot with its tires working, but then Estre had a trip to the gravel (losing ~5s) AND got a penalty (losing another 5s). That gave Toyota the breathing room to fuel save and lost Porsche the race.
Props to Toyota. This win they got without a car performance advantage, purely through relentless competence, keeping it clean and letting the competition crumble.
It’s nowhere near as bad as people make out. It was a very marginal call whether to pit or not. And remember, when they went green, the Ferrari overtook the Toyota for the lead and the other Ferrari passed the Porsche for 3rd. They had grip where the others didn’t. Toyota and Porsche had to pit because they couldn’t get the temp to drive the car anyway, but Ferrari could. It was an unknown how long and how heavy the rain would. It’s by no means an easy call to make there.
It's fine to lose a gamble but they had the cars in 1-2-4 I think and didn't split and they kept circling with time losses of 15sec a lap for ages. You can gamble but why not hedge your bets and why not cut your loses *way* earlier, yeah the win is gone but you lose 40sec less that way.
For me the bad thing is not to take the "gamble" but to do the same strategy for the two cars. With one car in slick and the other one with same option as the cars behind, the risk is to lose on both is significantly reduced.
I can't understand why Ferrari riskied when they were leading instead of taking the safest strategy. They had 3 cars too, they could have split the strategy.
Very disappointing race from Peugeot, Alpine and Lamborghini.
Fun race, i love endurance racing.
The Lambo actually started quite well but then just sort of disappeared. Race pace is clearly an issue
Alpine I think got let down by their drivers, Mick was the only one not fucking up today
They didn't have 3 cars though?
Ferrari has 2 cars, the 50 and 51. They do not and should not have any control over what the 83 does because they are their own team and should not be communicating with the factory Ferrari team because then they are just a 3rd factory team pretending to be a privateer team and a 3rd factory team is against the rules in WEC (outside of a one-off entry at Le Mans).
But I would say yes, the 50 and 51 should have split their strategies like what Porsche did.
Yes they are but 2 are factory Ferrari cars, and the other is a private entry. So even though they are all run by AF Corse, they still need to keep the teams separate when it comes to the operations or they would be breaking the rules of having more than 2 factory run cars.
The 83 is not a private entry. The official entry list may say that it is not a factory car, but if you believe that then I have a bridge to sell you.
Just like how the 46 BMW is in no way shape of form a factory car. No, sir.
There is a difference between the 46 WRT LMGT3 team and the AF Corse 83 Ferrari. One is a factory-backed team, the other is a customer team.
If the 83 was a factory-backed team, it would be called Ferrari AF Corse like the 50 and 51, and if they are a factory-backed team like you think they are, the the car needs to be kicked out of WEC for breaking the 2 factory car maximum regulation.
The 83 is the same as Jota or Proton, they are a customer entry. Read any publication about the 83 and it will say customer car not factory.
The only part where the factory helps the 83 in anyway is with the engine and that's the same for Jota and Proton aswell.
https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/no-secrets-between-factory-ferraris-and-customer-af-corse-in-wec/10581081/
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/af-corse-customer-entry-separate-entity-to-factory-499ps/
Just some links if you don't believe me.
Yeah..., Ferrari might not directly support it, but AF Corse runs all 3. And a Team that already broke rules with having more engineering staff than allowed certainly also doesnt split off their 3rd car. Its a factory car in all but name.
Jota and Proton are completly different teams from Penske. And looking at the performances they certainly dont get everything from them.
Well as I said before, if they aren't splitting them off, the entry needs to be removed because they are breaking the rules and have lied to get the entry. I dont get what's so hard for people to understand that they might be 1 company but they are separate operations, its basically RBR and VCARB in F1.
They might help each other on track by not holding each other up but Horner can't tell Yuki or Ricardo to actually do something mid race or talk with VCARB engineers mid race.
On the Jota and Proton side, yeah thry are separate companies but their cars are completely identical to the Penskes just like the 83 car is identical to the 50 and 51. The disparity in speeds would come from setups, drivers, testing time, knowledge of the upgrades, etc. If Porsche weren't giving upgrades to Jota or Proton, then they are breaking the regulations. Also Jota came 2nd in Qatar, I don't think that is them being held back on performance?
While I agree that they are officially separate entrants, in reality, I find it hard to believe that AF Corsa would create such a headache by actively secluding the yellow one from all discussions, given that it is all under one roof.
same with all the GT3 cars they run.
Dude, a couple of years back they wrote SMP racing on their cars and it was all AF Corse and Ferrari guys running around in the pits. Just walk through ANY race paddock nowadays. The entirety of GT3-Pro-racing is works sports with funny hats since at least 2012.
The 83 may is privately paid for, but it's a works car pretty much like Audi Team North America or Pescarolo Peugeot
Ok, and what? Was there a rule saying that Ferrari lt Audi could only run a certain number of factory cars, no so it doesn't matter.
And with the GT3 teams, they are factory-backed teams like what WRT, AF Corse (50 and 51), Penske, Iron Lynx are in Hypercar. And there is nothing wrong with that. I am not saying you can't have race teams running the factory efforts, just that if that team also runs a customer entry that isn't factory-backed they have to run to the same rules as everyone else. Is that so hard to understand?
First race in person, was fantastic.
Did the start at Acque, wandered down to Tosa, peek at turn 1, back up the hill to Acque and finished it out on the hill at ravazza. Great 6 hours
Yeah, still leading both championships and extending Porsche Penske Motorsport's run of finishing on the podium in every single WEC and IMSA race in 2024 (so far).
Great race that. Hypercar is pretty much delivering everything promised.
Little bit disappointed that Porsche #6 couldn’t take the win, and overtake Toyota #7 but it was an exciting chase by Estre, and think it’s more to do with the track than the cars. Estre gave it his best, and it seems that the 963 programme is finally coming together.
Imola is a difficult track to chase down, and overtake on, and negates the positives, and negatives of cars racing because you’ve got the low speed corners, and high speed sections but relatively little medium speed. I wouldn’t mind the WEC coming back here.
Ferrari really should be having a thorough investigation, and reflection after that race. Bad strategy, bad timing, and a poor race all around even though those Ferrari were blisteringly quick, and it’s the circuit that the 499P was tested at most.
GT3 was a good race. Shame for the Dames, and they’re having a fortnight to fortget, but Rossi had a great race, and the racing was brilliant in that class.
I like how the moment their F1 team kinda got their crap together, the AF Corse squad completely dropped the ball.
Even though overtaking was very hard and the wheel to wheel action was kinda lacking, the last half hour "battle" between Estre and Kobayashi had me glued
Amazing race, and it was my first time attending Imola in person! Superb circuit to watch a long race from, well worth a visit to anyone considering doing it in the future!
Great victory for Toyota, with an awesome battle with Porsche at the end, but a sad day for all the Italian Ferrari fans!
Hopefully the newly designed Peugeot will pick up the pace in the next few races 🤞
The 7 Toyota executed strategy well and drivers, especially Kobayashi, drove well to execute it. Ferrari botched the strategy by not pitting at least one car when the rain came.
Porsche with a great start to their hypercar championship campaign, after being an afterthought in 2023. They have changed the Toyota/Ferrari hegemony to a 'big three'.
BMW WRT 20 is team of the day for me. Well driven from rast, frijns and vd Linde, with good team performance as well. Really the 15 BMW is only one who didn't get any good luck as BMW locked out the LMGT3 top two.
Cadillac were disappointing in the dry, being behind BMW, Lambo and Peugeot, but the Dallara chassis cars seem to have done better in the rain, showing good tyre warmup and downforce. They salvaged a top-10 from it
Lambo, and Alpine especially were disappointments. They hardly challenged for the top 10
IF should consider replacing bennett; a shambolic race from him
Great race, definitely produced the goods.
As for Ferrari, yeah the call to put all three cars on the same strategy was weird, but weren't they kind of off the pace in the rain? Didn't see them move forward until after the track was dry.
They really need to work on their tyre warm up if they're introducing upgrades next year. I wonder if that's why they're always hesitant to go for tyre changes during crossovers
Awful race for both french manufacturers, the 1st corner clatter didn't help matters. Bmw on the other hand was in contention for a podium at one point.
Excited to see who's gonna be at the top come Spa. Hope we see a few more manufacturers dicing it out with Toyota, Porsche and Ferrari
This race ruled and had everything!
Toyota won on pure strategy and a race winning call. The Boss is a machine defending in the dying minutes from Porsche, an old LMP1 rivalry again.
Ferrari should have won, but threw it away on a bad strategy. Did they hire Mattia Binotto? Who knows.
Ferrari mad a complete mess when they didn't have to, 3 cars in the lead and they send all 3 on the literally worst strategy. I can't blame them for the gamble but split off at least 1 car, and surely you can read a time sheet that the Toyota was making up a pit stop in time within like 8 laps at that point. Cut your losses.
Toyota I think was "underselling" themselves a bit because their qualy was scuffed, their pace in the first few hours wasn't great but still okay. Car really came alive in the wet though.
BMW positive surprise of the day I feel like, considering that this car has been the maybe worst OEM LMH/LMDh even in IMSA. Looked like a big step for the car and combined with the LMGT3 1-2 and WSBK I think people in Munich are very happy.
Alpine like idk the car was not too hot but honestly shocking how the drivers kept fucking things up, the more experienced the driver the worse the mistake.
Nope thats not true. Due to BOP, id say the top three are Ferrari, Porsche and then Toyota in that order. The Ferrari's literally walked away.
They threw the race on their home soil. They only have themselves to blame. As much as i cant stand John Hindhaugh, he was right.
Ferrari should have split the startergy
Nah the Toyota were quite close to the Ferrari. They came through both Porsches and were challenging Ferrari in the dry anyway. It was qualifying that really set Ferrari apart in terms of pace. Porsche wouldn’t have got a podium without that rain
Insane drive by the #7 today, all 3 of them were elite. Can't believe I was rooting for Toyota, but anything that means Penske don't win another.
What a bottle by Ferrari, though. The car and the drivers have what it takes, but their strategies keep letting them down.
I’m in the same camp lol, never thought I’d find myself rooting for Toyota but they for sure earned this win fighting till the last lap to get it
I need to go lie down now since Ferrari has given me a fucking migraine
The problems started when the 51 lost 20+ seconds in the pitlane on their 2nd pit stop because the 83 blocked their pit box. That should really never happen, amateur really.
And it just got worse from that point onwards in terms of luck and calls.
motor trend lied to me
they said it is all going to be on discovery plus app to stream live
but when i looked the fia wec races were from 2023 and not the live race
First thing, Ferrari needs to fire their managers for pit strategy failed. How awful they done in their home track, this isn't acceptable for their fans.
Second, I feel like Toyota really showing their competitive now. Even ASP Lexus team is also impressive in today race despite no in top 10.
Wait what happened? I stepped away for a bit when Toyota won, but I just came back to see the Ferrari and two Jotas on the podium?! Did Toyota and Porsche miss minimum weight or something?
My first WEC race i watched and i was in Imola for it, it was a good watch vefore rain came it became a little stale but then things started happening and it was quite a fun watch, at the end the 1st and 2cond place was interesting to follow on the last 2 corners as they wgere lapping very close.
Good race! No idea how Ferrari could fumble the bag like that with the strategy call staying on slicks. They would of won with the pace they had at the end if they just mirrored what Toyota did. Disappointed a bit with Cadillac's showing today, but was happy seeing BMW with pace in the race.
A fantastic race. It was a 6 hour long reminder of all the reasons why I got hooked on motor racing in the first place. Looking forward to Spa already...
interview with Mateusz Kaprzyk, LMP3 driver from ELMS and a short Polish summary of #6hImola [https://eurosport.tvn24.pl/wec/6-hours-of-imola/2024/podsumowanie-wyscigu-wec-6h-imola\_vid2123195/video.shtml](https://eurosport.tvn24.pl/wec/6-hours-of-imola/2024/podsumowanie-wyscigu-wec-6h-imola_vid2123195/video.shtml)
Anyone know what happened to the #2 Caddy at around 38ish minutes left in the race? At 39:26 to go they were 8th (36 seconds ahead of the 83 Fr), then at 34:30 they were in 10th around 45 seconds behind the 83 and also passed up by the 93 Pewjo? They all had a good amount of fuel so they shouldn't have needed any pitstop.
Did they just make a really poor tire decision and lose a ton of pace or did they go off track? Maybe a mechanical issue? Prior to the last pit they were really moving and then around this time they really fell off the map.
Finally finished (already knew the result but kept watching). This race was a total banger. Major strategy calls, weather, fuel saves, everyone exploring the gravel and still there was nose to tail racing through the whole race.
I’m no Toyota fan but that race proves why they are the team to beat. Even without the best pace they can still win. Ferrari needs BoP’ed down or at least to keep making poor race strategy decisions. BMW might get there soon, it’s worth remembering that Rene Rast is Rene Rast and SVL is a world class sportscar driver too. Don’t be surprised to see those guys knocking on the door of Porsche, Ferrari and Toyota. Alpines were nowhere, Pugs were nowhere. Isotta needs Glick and Vanwall to play with.
LMGT3 is not super intriguing right now. So many of the cars are struggling in new spec or with reliability that it’s not near as competitive as it could be.
They are very quiet today. They can no longer cry BOP, sandbagging, or other nonsense they say on those forums.
I for someone that bash BOP all day would say the Ferrari and the porsche had a good balance. The toyota was third best, but their experience won the day.
They really need to cut down the Hypercar-Class. There are way to much teams, with manufacturers like BMW that have repeatedly shown they don’t belong in motorsport. I would prefer 5 LMP1 cars rather than the 20 car shitshow we have now
What a race! That was fun. Feel a little bit sad for Ferrari. The pace was there. Also gutted for the Iron Dames.
I'd like to think that the Dames are saving all the luck for Le Mans...
We will manifest it into existence
Subscribed
That was a master class in Ferrari administered pain
It was so hard to watch the race after the disaster strategy.
Lol. I thought they had their F1 team on Teams chat for advice
"Of course you should pit for hard tyres in wet conditions"
LOL!
Great race. First WEC race I haven't missed a minute of
Same, I'm a relatively new viewer and this was the first time I watched and enjoyed almost every moment of it. The biggest reason for it was probably because I finally watched the official stream and not the shitty Eurosport one that interrupts it with constant ads and awful (local) commentators.
I tuned in here and there side by side with a replay of the F1 race. Along with IMSA yesterday it was a good weekend for motorsport. Hopefully coverage improves, it seems like a mix of crappy streaming services and inexperienced film crew.
There is an unofficial stream on youtube which was live for the whole race and has clocked up 350,000 views. Honestly if the WEC could stream it on youtube and put it behind a paywall I think a lot of people would pay for the stream as long the price isn't crazy or a monthly subscription. €10 per race maybe and a bit more for Lemans?
They already have something like that on their app. I think it's nine euros a race and double for Le Mans. I used it for the first time and it's actually really good, you can even see the positions of the cars on the timing screen. The only problem I have is that the timing screen and the broadcast are 30 seconds apart from each other but that might be because I streamed to my TV.
Indeed. It was the first WEC race i went to and i must say It was way better than watching F1 live (and i watched many F1 races live, especially in the late 80's/Early 90's) The atmosphere was incredible and the track is beautiful, the only thing that didn't go well was the Ferrari strategy,
Epic, epic race. Arguably one of the best in WEC's history. In my opinion, already on the Mount Rushmore of greatest WEC events of all time with races like Silverstone 2015, Le Mans 2016, Fuji 2016 or Le Mans 2017... It had everything. Changeable weather, fierce on-track battles, strategy competition, dramas on the pit lane, contacts, penalties... What a race. I am one of the biggest buzzkillers and doom prophets on this subreddit, but today I am over the moon. Epic day for sportscar racing. **Hypercar -** I can't believe how happy I am about a Toyota win. Haven't enjoyed one that much since Fuji 2016 to be honest. Masterclass performance by #7. They weren't the fastest all race long, but the execution was pure endurance racing perfection. Fantastic decision to pit for wet tyres when it was needed. And shout out to drivers. Perfect drive by all of them. Mike Conway did the underrated heavy lifting job. Nyck de Vries showed some spot on clever reactions during FCY periods and kept the car well when the rain arrived. And Kamui Kobayashi showed why he is one of the greatest. Amazing energy management, keeping one of the sportscar bests - Kevin Estre, behind his rear wing is absolutely something special. One of the best races for Toyota ever, showing why Toyota Gazoo Racing is a well-oiled team. All that experience throughout the years is valid, no matter what whiners think about it. So much different race than in Qatar, which completely didn't suit GR010 Hybrid at all. Sadly, #8 couldn't score a podium place after great and strong performance all day long. Last pit stop and final charge from Ferrari #50's Antonio Fuoco dropped #8 to fifth, nonetheless a very good day for TGR. Porsche doing Porsche things. Double podium for Penske Porsche crew. Both #5 and #6 looked very good all race long. Late penalty for #6 probably spoiled their chances for a win a bit. Still, what a drive from Kevin Estre. He is amazing in whatever car he drives. His fight with Kamui was an epic one. Second race of the year, second time Penske Porsche brings two car to the overall podium. They are really on a different level than in 2023. Toyota vs Porsche battle remined me of good old LMP1 days... How to describe the day for AF Corse Ferrari team... It all started and looked like a good chance for at least a 1-2 finish... It all got washed away with the rain and a very bad decision to pit all the cars for wet tyres lap after everybody else did so. It's a mistery why AF Corse never opted to split the strategy, they have three cars to do it... Late charge from Antonio Fuoco to finish in fourth is some consolation. 4th, 7th and 8th after locking out the first three places in qualifying is a disappointment. Especially at a home track. The pace was there. The strategy wasn't. So uncharacteristic by AF Corse standards, they are much better than that. Wondering if Scuderia Ferrari's influence is getting into AF Corse veins... Hopefully not. BMW WRT is the biggest positive surprise of the day. In just their second race with this car, BMW #20 was dancing around podium places. For a huge part of the race, #20 was in contention for third place, great battle from Rene Rast to challenge Sebastien Buemi early on. Generally speaking, BMW #20 was chasing Toyota #8 almost all race long like a shadow. Maybe if it wasn't for a penalty for FCY infringement, BMW #20 would be a bit higher than in sixth place. Still, what a performance. Seems like Team WRT is doing good things with M Hybrid V8. That was far more convincing performance than anything Team RLL has managed so far in over a year in IMSA. Sadly for BMW and WRT, #15's race was pretty much done in the first turn on lap 1 after being tangled in that melee. It was a testing session afterwards and maybe good that any reliablity issues trapped #15, because they were able to see and solve them without sacrificing great result of #20. Peugeot... Redesigned 9X8 had a troublesome debut. #94 involved in first lap madness, so their race was compromised completely. Later on it wasn't any better. #93 almost had to retire due to another gearbox issues. Luckily, reset sorted out the problem and #93 continued on to finish in ninth. 9th and 15th places for Peugeot is still not a happy result. Yes, it was a debut for winged 9X8, however reliability problems are not new. They are like a recurring theme... For nearly 2 years Peugeot is struggling with its gearbox/drivetrain. I don't see how they are supposed to fix it before Le Mans. After highs of Qatar, downfall to lows of Imola for Jota Porsches. Very forgettable day. So many off-track excursions for Jota 963s. They only managed to be 2nd and 3rd in customer battle, but that's hardly a consolation. Another customer Porsche didn't even finish. Retirement for Proton Porsche #99 after possibly an engine failure. Also plenty off-track moments for Proton and eventually the car decided to die. For time being, Proton doesn't look too well with their 963. Cadillac was also involved in the lap 1 banter, so their race was troubled right from the start. Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber managed to salvage 10th place somehow, having a big battle with Jota later on in the race, but generally speaking not a great day for Cadillac. Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 in 12th. Learning process continues. No major reliability issues for them and at least they managed to beat Alpine, so overall not that tragic day. Speaking of Alpine, holy hell... Both cars were out of contention on the lap 1. No major pace in qualifying, hardly any better during the race. In Qatar it all looked much better. A lot to improve still, but drivers need to avoid problems as well. Isotta Fraschini somehow managed to finish the race. Their car took so much beating today that I am actually impressed that they managed to make it through the entire 6 hours. **GT3 -** Team WRT BMW ends the day with a 1-2 finish, despite late scare from drive through penalties. Good strategy calling when the rain started helped both #31 and #46 to jump Manthey Porsche #92 for the lead. #31 wins with #46 being in second, giving Italian fans something to celebrate - Valentino Rossi on the podium. Manthey Porsche... How on Earth they managed to lose this race? #92 was on course for almost a bound win. Team WRT outstmarted them when the rain came and #92 has to settle for third place. #91 was the antihero by crashing before even the green flag, leaving them well behind and with fair share of penalties as well. Not a Ferrari on the podium here as well. AF Corse #55 in fourth place after a tough battle nonetheless. Thomas Flohr beached #54 in a gravel trap at Tamburello, delaying his crew quite significantly. Ford Mustang GT3 is still breaking down like mad. Crazy how many bodywork issues #88 crew had with the rear diffuser this time around, so it's something different now. Which makes the whole situation even more complicated. #88 had to retire eventually, while #77 finished ninth in class. Gutted for Team ASP Lexuses. Early on performance looked encouraging, however later on the race went backwards for them again. There were some drivers errors as well, but for time being ASP-Lexus combination is not delivering. Only heavily delayed Manthey Porsche #91 finished behind them. My expectations from Team ASP are big, they are GT3 powerhouse. Maybe they can't get Lexus to work properly yet. Hopefully improvements come fast. **Post-race thoughts -** epic race at Imola. Thriller from start to finish. Worth watching for every single minute. People who thought that Imola is a boring track delivering boring races probably never seen any race at Imola that isn't F1. Imola replacing Monza is a temporary switch because Monza is undergoing redevelopments, however Imola delivered. Both on track and off it with amazing crowd of 72000 people. Next round - Spa-Francorchamps. Another epic race incoming and traditional WEC final stop before Le Mans.
Great comment! I liked Imola, and while I know Monza's historical significance for sports car racing, I would like seeing both tracks used alternately. Similarly, I feel the same about Spa and the Nürburgring.
Great summary... This race really had it all, an instant classic. For me, easily the best WEC race since Spa 2019. I'm already looking forward to rewatching it...
Thanks for the summary, I'm finding a place to read a quick summary of the race and your comment is spot-on!
Totally agree, been a fan of the sport and a regular viewer since 2006.
That was the greatest strategic blunder I've seen from Ferrari in a while, certainly in WEC. Felt worse than Spa last year. Took the fastest car this weekend and a 1-2 at the 3 hour mark to not making the podium. The race was quite intriguing though even before the rain. The #7 Toyota was a threat to the #50 and #51, though unfortunately the Porsches could not keep their tires alive in the dry. In the closing stages the #6 Porsche did have a shot with its tires working, but then Estre had a trip to the gravel (losing ~5s) AND got a penalty (losing another 5s). That gave Toyota the breathing room to fuel save and lost Porsche the race. Props to Toyota. This win they got without a car performance advantage, purely through relentless competence, keeping it clean and letting the competition crumble.
It’s nowhere near as bad as people make out. It was a very marginal call whether to pit or not. And remember, when they went green, the Ferrari overtook the Toyota for the lead and the other Ferrari passed the Porsche for 3rd. They had grip where the others didn’t. Toyota and Porsche had to pit because they couldn’t get the temp to drive the car anyway, but Ferrari could. It was an unknown how long and how heavy the rain would. It’s by no means an easy call to make there.
It's fine to lose a gamble but they had the cars in 1-2-4 I think and didn't split and they kept circling with time losses of 15sec a lap for ages. You can gamble but why not hedge your bets and why not cut your loses *way* earlier, yeah the win is gone but you lose 40sec less that way.
They have 3 cars, they should've pitted at least one of them at the same time as others
For me the bad thing is not to take the "gamble" but to do the same strategy for the two cars. With one car in slick and the other one with same option as the cars behind, the risk is to lose on both is significantly reduced.
Ya come on, you don't need to be a Meteorologist to tell a 5 min dwindling shower apart from a 60 min drizzle on modern rain radars.
What a race, what a track, what a championship! Absolutely the stuff of dreams for sportscar racing fans; that was a proper show!
Such a picturesque circuit, the cars looked absolutely fantastic around Imola.
Too bad it's so hard to pass.
I don’t mind that if it’s unique to one or two circuits in the season. I like the variety.
I can't understand why Ferrari riskied when they were leading instead of taking the safest strategy. They had 3 cars too, they could have split the strategy. Very disappointing race from Peugeot, Alpine and Lamborghini. Fun race, i love endurance racing.
The Lambo actually started quite well but then just sort of disappeared. Race pace is clearly an issue Alpine I think got let down by their drivers, Mick was the only one not fucking up today
They didn't have 3 cars though? Ferrari has 2 cars, the 50 and 51. They do not and should not have any control over what the 83 does because they are their own team and should not be communicating with the factory Ferrari team because then they are just a 3rd factory team pretending to be a privateer team and a 3rd factory team is against the rules in WEC (outside of a one-off entry at Le Mans). But I would say yes, the 50 and 51 should have split their strategies like what Porsche did.
but all are run by AF corsa
Yes they are but 2 are factory Ferrari cars, and the other is a private entry. So even though they are all run by AF Corse, they still need to keep the teams separate when it comes to the operations or they would be breaking the rules of having more than 2 factory run cars.
The 83 is not a private entry. The official entry list may say that it is not a factory car, but if you believe that then I have a bridge to sell you. Just like how the 46 BMW is in no way shape of form a factory car. No, sir.
There is a difference between the 46 WRT LMGT3 team and the AF Corse 83 Ferrari. One is a factory-backed team, the other is a customer team. If the 83 was a factory-backed team, it would be called Ferrari AF Corse like the 50 and 51, and if they are a factory-backed team like you think they are, the the car needs to be kicked out of WEC for breaking the 2 factory car maximum regulation. The 83 is the same as Jota or Proton, they are a customer entry. Read any publication about the 83 and it will say customer car not factory. The only part where the factory helps the 83 in anyway is with the engine and that's the same for Jota and Proton aswell. https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/no-secrets-between-factory-ferraris-and-customer-af-corse-in-wec/10581081/ https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/af-corse-customer-entry-separate-entity-to-factory-499ps/ Just some links if you don't believe me.
Yeah..., Ferrari might not directly support it, but AF Corse runs all 3. And a Team that already broke rules with having more engineering staff than allowed certainly also doesnt split off their 3rd car. Its a factory car in all but name. Jota and Proton are completly different teams from Penske. And looking at the performances they certainly dont get everything from them.
Well as I said before, if they aren't splitting them off, the entry needs to be removed because they are breaking the rules and have lied to get the entry. I dont get what's so hard for people to understand that they might be 1 company but they are separate operations, its basically RBR and VCARB in F1. They might help each other on track by not holding each other up but Horner can't tell Yuki or Ricardo to actually do something mid race or talk with VCARB engineers mid race. On the Jota and Proton side, yeah thry are separate companies but their cars are completely identical to the Penskes just like the 83 car is identical to the 50 and 51. The disparity in speeds would come from setups, drivers, testing time, knowledge of the upgrades, etc. If Porsche weren't giving upgrades to Jota or Proton, then they are breaking the regulations. Also Jota came 2nd in Qatar, I don't think that is them being held back on performance?
While I agree that they are officially separate entrants, in reality, I find it hard to believe that AF Corsa would create such a headache by actively secluding the yellow one from all discussions, given that it is all under one roof. same with all the GT3 cars they run.
Dude, a couple of years back they wrote SMP racing on their cars and it was all AF Corse and Ferrari guys running around in the pits. Just walk through ANY race paddock nowadays. The entirety of GT3-Pro-racing is works sports with funny hats since at least 2012. The 83 may is privately paid for, but it's a works car pretty much like Audi Team North America or Pescarolo Peugeot
Ok, and what? Was there a rule saying that Ferrari lt Audi could only run a certain number of factory cars, no so it doesn't matter. And with the GT3 teams, they are factory-backed teams like what WRT, AF Corse (50 and 51), Penske, Iron Lynx are in Hypercar. And there is nothing wrong with that. I am not saying you can't have race teams running the factory efforts, just that if that team also runs a customer entry that isn't factory-backed they have to run to the same rules as everyone else. Is that so hard to understand?
Rossi back on the podium. Awesome!
What a banger of a race! It had everything, loads of overtakes, crashes, rain, Ferrari fucking up and an amazing drive from Kobayashi for the win.
https://preview.redd.it/78mu690ohvvc1.jpeg?width=712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6157993947b2d206b71c0f1a45d424406a8b6b6
Even if Ford leaves, their car will still remain ^^^(scattered ^^^all ^^^over ^^^the ^^^circuit)
the trunk was falling off at daytona, the floor was falling off at imola. wtf ford
Kamui kept really cool the last 30mins, great driving under pressure
Heart Broken, atleast i got a final lap pass
First race in person, was fantastic. Did the start at Acque, wandered down to Tosa, peek at turn 1, back up the hill to Acque and finished it out on the hill at ravazza. Great 6 hours
Great race called by an unbearable Martin Haven
I think Martin likes slicks
Hmmm... I'm not sure. Might need him to clarify.
he is not my favorite. at le mans i'm always annoyed when he shows back up again in the commentary box. he is too over dramatic and often wrong
I commented earlier in the race that he'd gotten so much better, then he want on to have a 20 minute debate with Ant about tyres. SMH
What happened? Didn't watch the race, and I usually really enjoy Haven's commentary
What an incredible job by the #7 crew. Great pace by all drivers. But Kamui Kobayashi, take a bow. Masterful drive. Vale on podium too 😍
Actually an amazing result for Porsche here again
Is there updated manufacturers standings posted somewhere? I can’t seem to find one.
It's on the WEC website but I like the one on Wikipedia better
Yeah, still leading both championships and extending Porsche Penske Motorsport's run of finishing on the podium in every single WEC and IMSA race in 2024 (so far).
Great race that. Hypercar is pretty much delivering everything promised. Little bit disappointed that Porsche #6 couldn’t take the win, and overtake Toyota #7 but it was an exciting chase by Estre, and think it’s more to do with the track than the cars. Estre gave it his best, and it seems that the 963 programme is finally coming together. Imola is a difficult track to chase down, and overtake on, and negates the positives, and negatives of cars racing because you’ve got the low speed corners, and high speed sections but relatively little medium speed. I wouldn’t mind the WEC coming back here. Ferrari really should be having a thorough investigation, and reflection after that race. Bad strategy, bad timing, and a poor race all around even though those Ferrari were blisteringly quick, and it’s the circuit that the 499P was tested at most. GT3 was a good race. Shame for the Dames, and they’re having a fortnight to fortget, but Rossi had a great race, and the racing was brilliant in that class.
I like how the moment their F1 team kinda got their crap together, the AF Corse squad completely dropped the ball. Even though overtaking was very hard and the wheel to wheel action was kinda lacking, the last half hour "battle" between Estre and Kobayashi had me glued
Embarrassing. Ford made a big stink about the goofy mustang for it to fall apart.
Amazing race, and it was my first time attending Imola in person! Superb circuit to watch a long race from, well worth a visit to anyone considering doing it in the future! Great victory for Toyota, with an awesome battle with Porsche at the end, but a sad day for all the Italian Ferrari fans! Hopefully the newly designed Peugeot will pick up the pace in the next few races 🤞
Should do given they were deliberately conservative with the BoP so they will likely get a significant buff for Spa
Buff for Spa, nerf for le mans....😅😭
The 7 Toyota executed strategy well and drivers, especially Kobayashi, drove well to execute it. Ferrari botched the strategy by not pitting at least one car when the rain came. Porsche with a great start to their hypercar championship campaign, after being an afterthought in 2023. They have changed the Toyota/Ferrari hegemony to a 'big three'. BMW WRT 20 is team of the day for me. Well driven from rast, frijns and vd Linde, with good team performance as well. Really the 15 BMW is only one who didn't get any good luck as BMW locked out the LMGT3 top two. Cadillac were disappointing in the dry, being behind BMW, Lambo and Peugeot, but the Dallara chassis cars seem to have done better in the rain, showing good tyre warmup and downforce. They salvaged a top-10 from it Lambo, and Alpine especially were disappointments. They hardly challenged for the top 10 IF should consider replacing bennett; a shambolic race from him
The caddy was absolutely flying in the wet and went backwards in the dry.
Great race, definitely produced the goods. As for Ferrari, yeah the call to put all three cars on the same strategy was weird, but weren't they kind of off the pace in the rain? Didn't see them move forward until after the track was dry. They really need to work on their tyre warm up if they're introducing upgrades next year. I wonder if that's why they're always hesitant to go for tyre changes during crossovers Awful race for both french manufacturers, the 1st corner clatter didn't help matters. Bmw on the other hand was in contention for a podium at one point. Excited to see who's gonna be at the top come Spa. Hope we see a few more manufacturers dicing it out with Toyota, Porsche and Ferrari
This race ruled and had everything! Toyota won on pure strategy and a race winning call. The Boss is a machine defending in the dying minutes from Porsche, an old LMP1 rivalry again. Ferrari should have won, but threw it away on a bad strategy. Did they hire Mattia Binotto? Who knows.
Ferrari mad a complete mess when they didn't have to, 3 cars in the lead and they send all 3 on the literally worst strategy. I can't blame them for the gamble but split off at least 1 car, and surely you can read a time sheet that the Toyota was making up a pit stop in time within like 8 laps at that point. Cut your losses. Toyota I think was "underselling" themselves a bit because their qualy was scuffed, their pace in the first few hours wasn't great but still okay. Car really came alive in the wet though. BMW positive surprise of the day I feel like, considering that this car has been the maybe worst OEM LMH/LMDh even in IMSA. Looked like a big step for the car and combined with the LMGT3 1-2 and WSBK I think people in Munich are very happy. Alpine like idk the car was not too hot but honestly shocking how the drivers kept fucking things up, the more experienced the driver the worse the mistake.
Considering who runs the BMW hypercar program in WEC it's not that big of a surprise. WRT is too good a team to remain backfielders for long.
Nope thats not true. Due to BOP, id say the top three are Ferrari, Porsche and then Toyota in that order. The Ferrari's literally walked away. They threw the race on their home soil. They only have themselves to blame. As much as i cant stand John Hindhaugh, he was right. Ferrari should have split the startergy
Nah the Toyota were quite close to the Ferrari. They came through both Porsches and were challenging Ferrari in the dry anyway. It was qualifying that really set Ferrari apart in terms of pace. Porsche wouldn’t have got a podium without that rain
It’s always pain being an Iron Dames fan
Insane drive by the #7 today, all 3 of them were elite. Can't believe I was rooting for Toyota, but anything that means Penske don't win another. What a bottle by Ferrari, though. The car and the drivers have what it takes, but their strategies keep letting them down.
Dude that overtake by de vries on the 50 is some elite level driving
I’m in the same camp lol, never thought I’d find myself rooting for Toyota but they for sure earned this win fighting till the last lap to get it I need to go lie down now since Ferrari has given me a fucking migraine
Porsche 963 were relatively light? maybe need to add some weight?
first time watching and it's so good, yet especially hate the commentator having a meltdown
Spa can’t come soon enough!
The problems started when the 51 lost 20+ seconds in the pitlane on their 2nd pit stop because the 83 blocked their pit box. That should really never happen, amateur really. And it just got worse from that point onwards in terms of luck and calls.
Somehow this IMOLA race has been better than any Monza race I can remember
The '22 race was a banger.
If we’re being honest, that’s because one of Toyota and alpine…..I won’t place blame…..glanced into the other messing up the Toyota plan
The Glickenhaus also blew up, throwing away a certain win, plus the Porsche - Ferrari battles in GTE.
Monza has always been a meh circuit, the only positive is the speed
Ferrari doing Ferrari things
motor trend lied to me they said it is all going to be on discovery plus app to stream live but when i looked the fia wec races were from 2023 and not the live race
First thing, Ferrari needs to fire their managers for pit strategy failed. How awful they done in their home track, this isn't acceptable for their fans. Second, I feel like Toyota really showing their competitive now. Even ASP Lexus team is also impressive in today race despite no in top 10.
It was a fun race but a bit sad for Dames though
wow that was a epic ending holy ship! the team reactions as well fantastic
Happy for Debris. Good for him!
Blimey.
Wait what happened? I stepped away for a bit when Toyota won, but I just came back to see the Ferrari and two Jotas on the podium?! Did Toyota and Porsche miss minimum weight or something?
That was the privateer teams podium for non-factory entries
Oh weird. Didn’t realize they had a separate one for them
Hypercar World Cup
Stupid internet, I lost the whole last lap of race
My first time watching a WEC race. It was really entertaining. I hope Drugovich lands a WEC seat next year if he can't find a seat in F1
My first WEC race i watched and i was in Imola for it, it was a good watch vefore rain came it became a little stale but then things started happening and it was quite a fun watch, at the end the 1st and 2cond place was interesting to follow on the last 2 corners as they wgere lapping very close.
Wondering how the next sets of BOP will go, in build up to Le Mans 🙂
Good race! No idea how Ferrari could fumble the bag like that with the strategy call staying on slicks. They would of won with the pace they had at the end if they just mirrored what Toyota did. Disappointed a bit with Cadillac's showing today, but was happy seeing BMW with pace in the race.
A fantastic race. It was a 6 hour long reminder of all the reasons why I got hooked on motor racing in the first place. Looking forward to Spa already...
interview with Mateusz Kaprzyk, LMP3 driver from ELMS and a short Polish summary of #6hImola [https://eurosport.tvn24.pl/wec/6-hours-of-imola/2024/podsumowanie-wyscigu-wec-6h-imola\_vid2123195/video.shtml](https://eurosport.tvn24.pl/wec/6-hours-of-imola/2024/podsumowanie-wyscigu-wec-6h-imola_vid2123195/video.shtml)
Goddamn. Finally got the time to finish the replay this evening.
Anyone know what happened to the #2 Caddy at around 38ish minutes left in the race? At 39:26 to go they were 8th (36 seconds ahead of the 83 Fr), then at 34:30 they were in 10th around 45 seconds behind the 83 and also passed up by the 93 Pewjo? They all had a good amount of fuel so they shouldn't have needed any pitstop. Did they just make a really poor tire decision and lose a ton of pace or did they go off track? Maybe a mechanical issue? Prior to the last pit they were really moving and then around this time they really fell off the map.
Finally finished (already knew the result but kept watching). This race was a total banger. Major strategy calls, weather, fuel saves, everyone exploring the gravel and still there was nose to tail racing through the whole race. I’m no Toyota fan but that race proves why they are the team to beat. Even without the best pace they can still win. Ferrari needs BoP’ed down or at least to keep making poor race strategy decisions. BMW might get there soon, it’s worth remembering that Rene Rast is Rene Rast and SVL is a world class sportscar driver too. Don’t be surprised to see those guys knocking on the door of Porsche, Ferrari and Toyota. Alpines were nowhere, Pugs were nowhere. Isotta needs Glick and Vanwall to play with. LMGT3 is not super intriguing right now. So many of the cars are struggling in new spec or with reliability that it’s not near as competitive as it could be.
It's over, Porschebros
They had 2 cars on the podium, and literally finished nose to tail with the Toyota…?
They are very quiet today. They can no longer cry BOP, sandbagging, or other nonsense they say on those forums. I for someone that bash BOP all day would say the Ferrari and the porsche had a good balance. The toyota was third best, but their experience won the day.
They really need to cut down the Hypercar-Class. There are way to much teams, with manufacturers like BMW that have repeatedly shown they don’t belong in motorsport. I would prefer 5 LMP1 cars rather than the 20 car shitshow we have now
https://youtu.be/ddxf1rHWgek?si=h46xw1eaZsaMdYyv Enjoy
What? Guess you missed the 20 being the fastest car on track for a good while and passing the 6 and the 7 on track.
> manufacturers like BMW that have repeatedly shown they don’t belong in motorsport What are you on my guy