Éric Damagnez passes
All at DSC were upset to read today of the untimely passing of our friend and sometime DSC contributor Éric Damagnez.
Éric was an ever-present at Paul Ricard, and was often part of the press pack far beyond. We will never forget, at a time when one of our number needed help, Éric was the first to step forward and offer assistance.
A talented photographer, but much more than that, a very good man indeed.
Our profound condolences to his beloved wife Marie Pierre and his countless friends in motorsport and beyond.
AO entry changes
There are two new faces at Project 1 AO this weekend, with Portuguese racers Guilherme Oliveira and Miguel Ramos set to join Matteo Cairoli in the team’s Porsche 911 RSR 19.
The pair are racing in place of P.J. Hyett and Gunnar Jeannette who are competing in the clashing IMSA race at Long Beach this weekend.
Breen tribute
The FIA WEC has paid tribute to WRC driver Craig Breen, who tragically lost his life earlier today in a crash during testing.
On behalf of the FIA WEC, we are deeply saddened to hear about Craig Breen’s tragic accident. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Craig’s family, friends and the entire rallying community. https://t.co/iaoJ3lEwF7
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) April 13, 2023
DSC also extends its condolences to Breen’s family and friends.
Interlagos & CoTA to return?
French outlet Auto Hebdo has reported that the FIA WEC could be returning to both Interlagos and Circuit of The Americas next season. The round in Brazil, the piece says, would likely replace the race in Portimao, while CoTA would replace Sebring and move to later in the year, allowing the WEC to bring the race in Monza forward to a slot before Le Mans.
The full story can be found HERE >>>
Qatar is set to also join the schedule next year, with the FIA WEC expected to expand to an eight-race championship.
Brand new chassis for AF Corse
The #83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO which was written off in the big incident at Turn 1 in the opening laps of the Sebring 1000 Miles has been replaced with a brand new chassis.
DSC understands the car being used this weekend was due to serve as the #83’s chassis for Le Mans in June.
DSC also believes that the replacement chassis for the #88 Proton Porsche that was withdrawn from Sebring following a shunt in practice, is also brand new.
Holland encouraged by Tipo 6 rollout
DSC caught up with Vector Sport team principal Gary Holland, who arrived in Portugal from the first track test for the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH earlier this week. He told DSC he was very encouraged by the two-day test that saw significant progress to the effort, with no issues that stopped the car on track and much work behind the scenes to fine tune the complex systems of the LMH car.
The next stages are a return to the windtunnel, followed by more 4WD dyno testing, with the car’s next track test due to take place within the next moth.
Holland did not disagree with DSC when suggestion was made that Fuji looks set look to be the first possible oppourtunity for the race debut for the car.
“The most important thing is that we have a reliable and quick platform, at the point of homologation,” he said. “We have seen great progress to this point. It’s exciting to see what the next steps will be.”
Faces in the paddock
Former FIA WEC CEO Gerard Neveu is present this weekend, and was spotted by DSC roaming the paddock, getting a closer look at the new breed of top-class machinery.
Giorgio Sanna, the head of motorsport at Lamborghini Squadra Corse is also here.
Keating uses DIL simulator to prepare for Portimao
In preparation for this weekend’s race, Corvette Racing driver Ben Keating took his first trip to the GM Technical Center in Charlotte to get some seat time in a Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) simulator.
“Most people don’t realize that all of these cars and equipment went into shipping containers to go from Sebring to Portugal for the next race,” Keating, who has only previously raced at Portimao once, said. “There is no opportunity to test these cars at these tracks. Corvette Racing has never been to Portimão, so the ability to have the Driver in the Loop simulator available to us as a tool is just a huge game-changer in terms of separating us from the field in our performance in two different ways.
“One is that it gets me as a driver the opportunity to turn some laps in the Corvette at Portimão, which I haven’t been to since 2021 and never in the Corvette. It’s a nice refresher for me. I’m going to be up to speed much quicker when I get in the car at the real track than I would be just trying to refresh myself in that first session. We only get three practice sessions when we get to the track, and we have three drivers trying to get in and out of the car and get familiar with this car at this track in three short practice sessions.
“In addition to that, we have a team that is really good at setting this car up but only have three practice sessions to get it right before we go racing. Having the simulator at the GM Tech Center for Corvette Racing to be able to use is such an amazing tool not only from the situation of giving the driver an opportunity to refresh themselves with the track and to be more comfortable, but also to try different setups for the engineers and the car to have a much better idea of what works and what doesn’t.
“I feel much better that the engineers will come into the weekend with a game plan. If we have understeer, we know what to change. If we have oversteer, we know what to change. It feels like we are so much better prepared because we have the ability to use the simulator. Portimão is one of those tracks that isn’t on iRacing, so I can’t hop on that on my simulator at home and drive on that.”
