Even if you choose the "privateer way" without any Sponsor Logos on the Car you are forced by the ACO at least to have the Michelin and Total Stickers on it....
Image Unavailable, Please Login [photo: ferrari.com] I've just stumbled upon this http://races.ferrari.com/en/competizioni-gt/news/2018-fia-wec-intensive-work-at-the-le-mans-tests/ and ... what do you guys think about ferrari's "pure performance" this year at Le Mans? It is quite sad that we are not in the front of the pack .
AM expecting 'balance of performance' changes for the Le Mans round of WEC. (For its new Vantage GTE) https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/136550/aston-expects-bop-change-for-le-man After the test day it looks like Ford (with all its 4 cars) is easily a second faster than the rest , then comes Porsche RSR, BMW M8 and our fastest 488 GTE Evo on 7th place, on par with steady times posted by both Corvettes. Where are the ferraris - is a good question. But let's wait to the qualifying and hope for better performance , or .. I'm losing interest in this year's le Mans.
A small correction to the previous post , in the timesheets I missed two Porsche RSRs that were even faster (1/2 second) than Ford GTs. So ... the gap between the fastest and us is even bigger. As for now, the fastest ferrari hardly in the top ten (exactly in 9th position).
ferraris are handicapped by BOP and they lost most of their efficiency,, now they are one of the weakest cars in the grid.. so where the Balance exists...??
If no changes before the start next week they can not beat Porsche or Ford unless magic happens . Who knows....
Still hoping for the qualifying results and even until the race starts. "The BoP can change between the official test and race week, and again between qualifying and the start of the 24 Hours." "The sporting regulations also allow for penalties in the race to be given to manufacturers who have been deemed to be hiding their performance." [source: https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/136243/gte-pro-bop-for-2018-le-mans-released] "The 24 Hours of Le Mans race is treated separately and do not form part of the WEC BOP procedure. Therefore, it is not possible for a competitor to freely perform at a lower level before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the hope of obtaining a favourable adjustment for the main event in June. The 24 Hours of Le Mans BOP will be published independently of the first WEC events, and will be based on a system similar to 2016 (reporting system and penalties applicable in the event of non-compliant performance)." [source: http://www.dailysportscar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/BOPWEC2017_EN.pdf]
http://races.ferrari.com/en/competizioni-gt/news/2018-24-hours-of-le-mans-the-ferrari-of-pier-guidi-calado-serra-to-start-from-second-row/
Last pre-race BoP changes. Porsches, Fords getting weight penalties, Ferraris stay untouched. https://www.motorsport.com/lemans/news/porsche-ford-penalised-in-final-gte-pro-bop-1046261
Amazing battles just after 30mins into the race. Ferraris fighting Fords side by side. The grid looks (till now) quite balanced. GTE-Pro pack is chasing 1st and 2nd place Porsches. #54 Ferrari leading in the GTE-Am category. You can follow on mobile. Fingers crossed for all Ferrari teams, and hoping for great battles on track!
But again, after 2hrs of race things looking like in preliminary tests. #51 ferrari of James Calado falling down the order onto 10th position in GTE-Pro. Can the ferraris have the pace today? EDIT: Oh no, complete disaster, #51 ferrari just punctured and lost the tyre :-/. Looks like problems with tyres previously caused #51 ferrari to lose pace.
2018 Le Mans 24hrs, results for Ferrari: GTE-Pro category: 6th - AF CORSE (#52) Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, (Vilander, Giovinazzi, Derani) 8th - AF CORSE (#51) Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, (Pier Guidi, Calado, Serra) 10th - AF CORSE (#71) Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, (Rigon, Bird, Molina) GTE-Am : 2nd - SPIRIT OF RACE (#54) Ferrari F488 GTE, (Flohr, Castelacci, Fisichella) 3rd - KEATING Motorsports (#85) Ferrari F488 GTE, (Keating, Bleekemolen, Stolz) 5th - JMW Motorsport (#84) Ferrari F488 GTE, (Griffin, MacNeil, Segal) 8th - Clearwater Racing (#61) Ferrari F488 GTE, (Mok, Griffin, Sawa) 9th - MR Racing (#70) Ferrari F488 GTE, (Ishikawa, Beretta, Cheever) Congrats, anyway, to all the teams and drivers who took part in 24hrs race at Le Mans.
GT Pro was a disaster for Ferrari and Aston Martin. Maybe when Ferrari starts sponsoring the ACO with millions they might get a better BoP ;-)
Today I have enjoyed the main race of 2018 "Blancpain GT Sports Club" event at Misano Circuit. To my eyes content, almost half of the grid were Ferraris , a pole setting 458GT3 (yes, 458! of BMS Scuderia Italia) and 5 488GT3-s brought to the track by various teams. It is a gentlemen drivers racing class (bronze) but nice to see some ferraris in action. For anyone interested to see the race afterwards I won't disclose the results .
I raced in this series the last two years with becoming vice champion in 2017. The BoP is (still) very much in the favor of the 458 but I'm glad you enjoyed the event and some really nice chaps there.I always enjoyed the friendship with the other drivers. This year I moved to the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Thank you for adding interesting facts. I always appreciate some insider info and I want to congratulate our F-chat friend the successful season of 2017. Yes it was a very nice race, and not only because of the presence of glamorous ferraris, but also because of the drivers, driving talents and sheer friendly atmosphere. There were no losers in that race, really. As of 458 and BOP I think the smooth driving style and balance of the car was the winner at Misano where mister Lucchini won both races. And surely I want to check the Michelin Le Mans Cup too Thank you!
Italian GT racing weekend at Mugello http://www.acisport.it/en/CIGT/news/2018/41844/the-bmw-m6-gt3-of-comandini-krohn-wins-race-1-of-the-4th-round-of-the-italian-gt-championship Sunday's race starts in a few hours, at 4p.m. local time.
Image Unavailable, Please Login [photo by ferrari.com] WEC - (19-Aug-2018) #51 Ferrari wins at Silverstone http://races.ferrari.com/en/competizioni-gt/news/fia-wec-2018-6-hours-silverstone-race/
After CarGuy Racing winning the race of Asian LMS at Buriram, Thailand, the 488 GT3 already won 200 victories in 406 races, a win rate of 49.25%!Amazing! https://races.ferrari.com/en/competizioni-gt/news/2019-cgt-200th-win-for-the-488-gt3/