The 2021 WEC thread.

[VladD]

The prologue (testing) is coming up at Spa. It looks like two sessions on Monday (09:00 - 11:00 and 13:00 - 16:55) and two sessions on Tuesday (08:05 - 11:00 and 13:00 - 16:00), according to the WEC app.

For some reason the WEC countdown timer is counting down to 23:00 on Sunday, so I'm not sure what's supposed to be happening then.

Not sure if any of it will be on TV or streamed. Maybe Radio Le Mans will be doing coverage. I'll do some more research tomorrow.

[VladD]

In practice 1 the Hypercars are slower than the LMP2s.

United Autosports: LM P2: 2:04.968
Toyota Gazoo Racing: Hypercar: 2:06.896

The Alpine Hypercar set a time but the second Toyota didn't.

Edited by VladD on Monday 26th April 10:58

[VladD]

FredericRobinson said:

Eurosport are scheduled to have the first 2 and last 2 hours, for what a Eurosport schedule is worth

FIA WEC said:

Eurosport will televise qualifying as well as well as the race’s first two hours and closing two hours live across Europe. Moreover, the full race will be live on Eurosport Player.

..so that's good news if you have Eurosport Player, which I have.

[VladD]

Fishlegs said:

The app is a great way to view. No adverts, reasonably priced, and high quality stream. Cast it to your TV and it still looks good at 4k.

It's so good I assumed I could do the same on more popular series, such as F1 and Moto GP. Errr, no. F1 don't want you doing this at all, and MotoGP does have an app, but charges £170+ per season!

I think the WEC app should be applauded for being usable and good value.

Eurosport Player also has an advert free stream. I got an annual subscription for £25 a while ago. As well as WEC you also get a load of other content.

I do like the WEC app though, I had it last year.

[VladD]

BraveSirRobin said:

VladD said:

In practice 1 the Hypercars are slower than the LMP2s.

United Autosports: LM P2: 2:04.968
Toyota Gazoo Racing: Hypercar: 2:06.896

The Alpine Hypercar set a time but the second Toyota didn't.

Edited by VladD on Monday 26th April 10:58

Oh dear - that wasn't supposed to happen, was it?
Does this mean another round of performance cuts for LMP2s? It will be quicker to walk round soon!

A Hypercar was on top by the end of Practice 4, but it was tight to the LMP2s. Top 5:

8 - Toyota Gazoo Racing - 2:04.669 (H)
22 - United Autosports - 2:04.874 (LMP2)
36 - Alpine Elf Matmut - 2:05.339 (H)
7 - Toyota Gazoo Racing - 2:05.624 (H)
24 - PR1 Motorsports - 2:05.958 (LMP2)

[VladD]

It'll be interesting to see how often they have to pit, to see if the Hypercars have a distinct advantage in the race. It'll also be interesting to see how they compare in a straight line. Last year on long straights the LMP2s were catching the hybrid LMP1s due to having a higher top speed. Also, as the Alpine is a "grandfathered" LMP1 rather than a genuine Hypercar, it may have a higher top speed than the Toyotas too, but will probably lose out on acceleration to the AWD and electric power of the Toyotas.

[VladD]

strudel said:

I'm a bit surprised WEC doesn't get more attention on PH, but then the thread is hidden away. I prefer it to F1.

I did ask PH if they might consider creating a WEC forum and putting this thread in it, but got nothing back. I like WEC and F1, but as you say, F1 gets huge coverage on PH, but WEC virtually nothing.

[VladD]

outnumbered said:

The Programme guide on Virgin Media is wrong for tomorrow as it doesn't mention any WEC coverage. But the ES website confirms the first and last 2 hours are on Eurosport 2.

FIA WEC

Eurosport will televise qualifying as well as the race’s first two hours and closing two hours live across Europe. Moreover, the full race will be live on Eurosport Player.



Qualifying tonight at 17:10.

Edited by VladD on Friday 30th April 15:43

[VladD]

Yep, they both looked painful.

[VladD]

NoBrakesWC said:

VladD said:

outnumbered said:

The Programme guide on Virgin Media is wrong for tomorrow as it doesn't mention any WEC coverage. But the ES website confirms the first and last 2 hours are on Eurosport 2.

FIA WEC

Eurosport will televise qualifying as well as the race’s first two hours and closing two hours live across Europe. Moreover, the full race will be live on Eurosport Player.



Qualifying tonight at 17:10.

Edited by VladD on Friday 30th April 15:43

When I looked on BT Sport they were showing last years 8 hours of Bahrain.

That was on at the same time on a different feed.

[VladD]

Yep, good work Peugeot, that looks great.

Monza this weekend. A bit of a shame it clashes with the British GP, but I guess too much motorsport is better than not enough, especially with on-demand streaming available.