2012 FIA World Endurance Championship
- Thread starter OverTake.gg
- Start date
Jens only said about defending the title was obvious after they struck the deal
And I dont have a source... its just what was said to the employees at the time.
TOYOTA Racing completed its first long-distance endurance test during a three-day session at Paul Ricard in France, which ended this evening. In just its second full test, and its third time on track including a roll-out, the TS030 HYBRID was faced with the tough challenge of a 30-hour endurance run.
The long-distance test began on Thursday afternoon following initial sessions to evaluate various performance developments. Sébastien Buemi, in his first test as an official TOYOTA Racing driver, started the marathon session, followed by his team-mate in car #8 at Le Mans, Hiroaki Ishiura. Car #7 team-mates Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima also took turns behind the wheel of the TOYOTA TS030 HYBRID. The test ended with TOYOTA Racing having achieved its primary goal of completing a significant number of laps to evaluate the car over very long distances.
TOYOTA Racing will now concentrate on preparing and updated package for the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, its first race of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season. The next tests are scheduled for April.
Pascal Vasselon, Technical Director: “We have done some valuable tests and this has contributed to our ongoing development of performance, reliability and organisation. The endurance test was an interesting experience; we were expecting challenges for everyone in the team and we weren’t disappointed! It’s not easy on the car or the people but we are all passionate about this project so a strong team spirit saw us through to the end. We are content with the results and the conclusions we have been able to draw, which will accelerate our preparations for our first race.”
Hisatake Murata, Hybrid Project Leader: “This was the first time we have run the TOYOTA HYBRID System – Racing over such a long test session so we never expected a trouble-free week and we did experience a few issues, but nothing major. Thanks to a large amount of data and the detailed feedback of all the drivers, we have a lot of information about how the THS-R powertrain behaves. We have been able to use this already to refine our systems and before the next tests we will work more on some of the issues raised. We have achieved our primary goals for this test and I am happy with how it has gone.”
Alex Wurz: “The test has been interesting and we have gained valuable experience. In terms of development, we continue to optimize the interaction between all components, including the hybrid system. As a result, the car is progressing. During our endurance test we did encounter some issues but that is why we are testing. The team sprit here at TOYOTA Racing really strong and it has again been a pleasure to work with the guys; we know and understand each other better and better with each day. Overall I would say I am generally pleased with this test.”
Hiroaki Ishiura: “It was a really exciting experience to drive the TOYOTA TS030 HYBRID during an endurance run for the first time. Actually, this was my first time to drive this lay-out of Paul Ricard and I had to do it in the dark, so my first task was to find my way around! We don’t drive much at night in Super GT so I don’t have a lot of experience of this; it was a very useful test for me in that sense. It was good to complete a lot of laps and I’ve enjoyed working with the team again.”
Kazuki Nakajima: “Overall the test was good. It was the first time for me to participate in an endurance test and it allowed us to prepare in circumstances much closer to race conditions. This meant running in some very cold conditions but even then the car and tyres were working well. I did a lot of stints so I was really busy and we put plenty of mileage on the car. We have a sound basis and the car shows good potential but we now need to work on the details and develop some areas. We are on the right track and things continue to go well.”
Nicolas Lapierre: “I did some development work and also participated in the endurance test. I am quite positive about how it went for a first long-distance simulation with the TOYOTA TS030 HYBRID. We can see how the car reacts to various different conditions, such as the cold track temperatures we may encounter during the night at Le Mans. The car felt pretty good in these conditions, which is not always easy here at Paul Ricard. The package is evolving and improving; we have fixed some issues, corrected some little details and overall we are moving forward.”
Sébastien Buemi: “It was nice to discover more about the endurance racing environment. I have been in the driving simulator at TMG so I had an idea of what to expect but the reality is always a bit more complex. From a technical point of view the car is very impressive although we still need to make progress in some areas, which is normal at this stage of testing. I did some long stints and learned about new aspects of endurance racing, like driving at night, managing fuel consumption and adapting my driving style. I can see that every detail is important in order to be fast in this discipline.”
Source: Toyota Hybrid Racing press release
The long-distance test began on Thursday afternoon following initial sessions to evaluate various performance developments. Sébastien Buemi, in his first test as an official TOYOTA Racing driver, started the marathon session, followed by his team-mate in car #8 at Le Mans, Hiroaki Ishiura. Car #7 team-mates Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima also took turns behind the wheel of the TOYOTA TS030 HYBRID. The test ended with TOYOTA Racing having achieved its primary goal of completing a significant number of laps to evaluate the car over very long distances.
TOYOTA Racing will now concentrate on preparing and updated package for the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, its first race of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season. The next tests are scheduled for April.
Pascal Vasselon, Technical Director: “We have done some valuable tests and this has contributed to our ongoing development of performance, reliability and organisation. The endurance test was an interesting experience; we were expecting challenges for everyone in the team and we weren’t disappointed! It’s not easy on the car or the people but we are all passionate about this project so a strong team spirit saw us through to the end. We are content with the results and the conclusions we have been able to draw, which will accelerate our preparations for our first race.”
Hisatake Murata, Hybrid Project Leader: “This was the first time we have run the TOYOTA HYBRID System – Racing over such a long test session so we never expected a trouble-free week and we did experience a few issues, but nothing major. Thanks to a large amount of data and the detailed feedback of all the drivers, we have a lot of information about how the THS-R powertrain behaves. We have been able to use this already to refine our systems and before the next tests we will work more on some of the issues raised. We have achieved our primary goals for this test and I am happy with how it has gone.”
Alex Wurz: “The test has been interesting and we have gained valuable experience. In terms of development, we continue to optimize the interaction between all components, including the hybrid system. As a result, the car is progressing. During our endurance test we did encounter some issues but that is why we are testing. The team sprit here at TOYOTA Racing really strong and it has again been a pleasure to work with the guys; we know and understand each other better and better with each day. Overall I would say I am generally pleased with this test.”
Hiroaki Ishiura: “It was a really exciting experience to drive the TOYOTA TS030 HYBRID during an endurance run for the first time. Actually, this was my first time to drive this lay-out of Paul Ricard and I had to do it in the dark, so my first task was to find my way around! We don’t drive much at night in Super GT so I don’t have a lot of experience of this; it was a very useful test for me in that sense. It was good to complete a lot of laps and I’ve enjoyed working with the team again.”
Kazuki Nakajima: “Overall the test was good. It was the first time for me to participate in an endurance test and it allowed us to prepare in circumstances much closer to race conditions. This meant running in some very cold conditions but even then the car and tyres were working well. I did a lot of stints so I was really busy and we put plenty of mileage on the car. We have a sound basis and the car shows good potential but we now need to work on the details and develop some areas. We are on the right track and things continue to go well.”
Nicolas Lapierre: “I did some development work and also participated in the endurance test. I am quite positive about how it went for a first long-distance simulation with the TOYOTA TS030 HYBRID. We can see how the car reacts to various different conditions, such as the cold track temperatures we may encounter during the night at Le Mans. The car felt pretty good in these conditions, which is not always easy here at Paul Ricard. The package is evolving and improving; we have fixed some issues, corrected some little details and overall we are moving forward.”
Sébastien Buemi: “It was nice to discover more about the endurance racing environment. I have been in the driving simulator at TMG so I had an idea of what to expect but the reality is always a bit more complex. From a technical point of view the car is very impressive although we still need to make progress in some areas, which is normal at this stage of testing. I did some long stints and learned about new aspects of endurance racing, like driving at night, managing fuel consumption and adapting my driving style. I can see that every detail is important in order to be fast in this discipline.”
Source: Toyota Hybrid Racing press release
Jens only said about defending the title was obvious after they struck the deal
And I dont have a source... its just what was said to the employees at the time.
I can't find anything on that to be honest. i know they retreated from Le Mans etc but never heard them cancelling 2012 for ALMS.
Let me know if you find a source.
According to Audi. Very interesting development
awsome carnt wait to go to le manns this year now
I guess I read in between the lines. They are still running the ALMS but they have not entered the WEC or Le Mans which says to me ALMS/LMS series are not their focus right now, nor should it be with thier DTM adventure. I read that Schnitzer is going to run 2 cars in the LMS series but I haven't heard who is driving them yet. But they are also running the DTM as well.
Aston Martin Racing will embark upon an exciting new challenge in 2012 as it prepares to make a return to international GT motorsport in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team will campaign a V8-powered Vantage in the GTE Pro category of the eight round series, which spans three continents. At the third round of the championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Aston Martin Racing will field a second works Vantage GTE.
The Vantage GTE is a development of the Vantage GT2, with significant improvements to all areas including the engine, drivetrain and suspension. Carrying the iconic Gulf colours, the new car will make its competitive debut at round one of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 60th anniversary edition of the Twelve Hours of Sebring, on March 17th. The driver line-up has been confirmed as Darren Turner (GBR), Stefan Mücke (D) and Adrian Fernandez (MX).
Aston Martin Lagonda Chairman David Richards shared his enthusiasm for the new project: "It's great to be returning to our core motorsport activity; production-based GT racing. It formed the basis for Aston Martin's return to competition when the DBR9 GT1-racer was launched in 2004, and it was in GT racing that we achieved our famous victories at Le Mans in 2007 and 2008.
"The GT category is also now the most competitive class in world sports car racing and with the new FIA World Endurance Championship the GTE class will, I believe, offer the closest fought and most exciting spectacle. We will see many premium sports car brands competing with great sounding racing cars based on their production models, which all the fans can relate to."
In order to give the team more competitive experience of the Vantage GTE ahead of Le Mans, Aston Martin Racing will also contest the Long Beach and Laguna Seca rounds of the American Le Mans Series on April 14th and May 12th respectively.
At the heart of the Vantage GTE is the road-going Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The GTE is a significantly updated version of the original GT2 car and has been specifically designed to compete in championships running to the Automobile Club De L'Ouest GTE regulations. Under the bonnet, the engine is based on the standard Aston Martin V8, but with competition components including cylinder heads, connecting rods, valves, camshafts and a racing exhaust system. As in the road car, the transmission is mid-rear mounted, but with a six-speed semi-automatic sequential transmission and competition clutch. The transmission also has a dedicated oil/air cooling system.
The bonded aluminium structure is taken directly from the V8 Vantage road car. Into this, Aston Martin Racing integrates an aerospace specification steel roll cage built to FIA standards. With the exception of the roof, the bodywork is manufactured from lightweight carbon fiber and features an advanced aerodynamic package with carbon fiber splitter, flat floor and diffuser, and a carbon fiber rear wing designed using the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. The Vantage GTE retains the road car's double wishbone suspension layout at the front and rear, but with bespoke wishbones and coil springs over Koni adjustable aluminium bodied dampers. Powerful but lightweight six-piston Brembo racing calipers are fitted to the front axle with similar four-piston calipers at the rear.
Aston Martin Racing's decision to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship will ensure that the brand continues to compete at the very highest level of endurance sports car racing. As of the 2012 season, all of Aston Martin Racing's competition cars are based on the road-going Vantage, reflecting its status as the sportiest car in Aston Martin's model range.
Factory driver Darren Turner said: "I'm excited about this program as it's our opportunity to take Aston Martin back to the top of the world of GT racing. The Vantage GTE is a great car; she's coming along nicely now and we're ready to take on what we expect will be tough competition. The FIA World Endurance Championship calendar looks good to me, especially as I've already won in an Aston Martin at half of the tracks: Sebring, Silverstone, Interlagos and of course at Le Mans. We are going to Sebring next month with a brand new car, but that's exactly what we did with the DBR9 back in 2005 and we won that race. I'm not promising we can repeat that but we'll certainly try!"
Teammate Stefan Mücke explained the team's ambitions for its first year in the FIA World Endurance Championship: "I'm really looking forward to racing the Vantage GTE and I'm optimistic that the car will be competitive. We always aim high and target podium finishes at every race, but we are also determined to prove the speed and reliability of the Vantage GTE in 2012."
Adrian Fernandez added: "GT racing will be a new experience for me because I have raced single-seaters and prototypes for the majority of my career. It's always a pleasure to try something new as a racing driver and with Aston Martin's past success in the GT category, I'm sure I will learn how to get the most out of the Vantage GTE very quickly. We have a strong driver line-up with my teammates Stefan and Darren, who have a lot of experience in GT racing. I am excited for the start of the season as well as the opportunity to represent Lowe's both in a world championship and the American Le Mans Series."
Aside from a two-car campaign at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Aston Martin will also host the inaugural Aston Martin Racing Festival, which gives all owners of its GT competition cars the opportunity to participate in an exclusive 45-minute race on the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe on the morning of the 24-hour epic.
Source : Aston Martin Racing
What a sound! :eek:
Yes x10!
Nice! Great find Bram!
Only under 120km/h. Hence, the only place they could really kick in the system is the high speed corners and the straights, where it wouldn't be much use.
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