New Look To Spa
There are two noticeable changes to the Spa Francorchamps infrastructure from May last year when the 2018/19 FIA WEC last visited.
Most significantly the new FIA World Rallycross arena has been completed (above), set to be used in anger for the first time next weekend, the long-standing, and somewhat ramshackle stands on the run down to Eau Rouge on drivers left were demolished to accommodate some of the new track, which will utilise part of the main track through Eau Rouge and up to Raidillon where the cars will turn sharply to come back down the hill and back into the new purpose-built arena.
The other noticeable works have occurred opposite the main Grand Prix pits where the rather rough ground between the main stand and a Source has seen significant groundworks, a new retaining wall, and levelling and surfacing to create a level area of hardstanding – in use this weekend for the Spectator zone, but also useable for temporary stands.
Lap records fall
All four WEC class qualifying records fell on Saturday, three of which were set last year, the other, in LMP1, back in 2017.
The #8 Toyota’s combined 1:53.747 betters the 2017 mark set by the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid of 1:54.097.
In LMP2 there was a significant improvement on the 2:02.405 set by the #36 Signatech Alpine crew at the start of the current season by Job van Uitert and Jean-Eric Vergne, 2:00.674 a mark of the pace of both G-Drive Racing drivers, and the strides taken since last May in the tyre battle between Michelin and Dunlop. It also scored a very rare first WEC pole position for a driver on their WEC debut for van Uitert.
The margin of improvement in GTE Pro saw the record set last year by the #67 Ford crew (2:12.947) shaved by the same Priaulx/ Tincknell pairing by under a tenth to 2:12.885.
And in GTE Pro a last gasp push from Salih Yoluc claimed a combined aggregate time of 2:16.061 with Charlie Eastwood to score TF Sport’s first WEC pole position and a new GTE AM qualifying record, bettering the mark set by the #88 Dempsey Proton Porche crew last year who managed a 2:16.357 average.
Orudzhev’s Impressive Pace
Some of the chatter prior to qualifying had been around how close one of the non-hybrid cars could come here to Toyota’s pace.
The answer came from Igor Orudzhev in the #17 SMP Racing BR1 AER whose best effort, a 1:54.303 beat the qualifying time of Kazuki Nakajima in the #7 Toyota.
It helped to just a half-second gap on aggregate to the second Toyota, and just under a second to the pole setting #8 car.
The qualifying aggregate for the #17, 1:54.711 would have been quick enough for the qualifying lap record as recently as 2016 and also beat the pole time set by Toyota here at the start of the current season by a quarter of a second
Porsche Cup
There are a number of familiar faces in the supporting Porsche Carrera Cup France and Benelux races this weekend:
Come Ledogar and Enzo Guibbert are joined on a 30+ car grid by Xavier Maassen, Max van Splunteren, long-time racers David Hallyday and Howard Blank, Ex ELMS and Le Mans Cup LMP3 racer Marvin Klein, and current Le Mans Cup LMP3 man Victor Blugeon. Nicolas Selens meanwhile is the cousin of ex Panoz factory LMP1 man David Saelens.
