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Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI
***Lap times on the first day of FIA World Endurance Championship track action in Sao Paulo were considerably slower compared to the series’ last visit to the Interlagos circuit a decade ago. The best time of 1:25.727 set by Sebastien Buemi in the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid compares to a 1:18.349 from Mark Webber’s Porsche 919 Hybrid on Friday practice for the 2014 event.
***As well as Hypercars being slower than their LMP1 predecessors, the fact that the Interlagos asphalt had been freshly relaid ahead of the 2014 event is likely to have played a factor in the gap, with the track surface having since deteriorated considerably. New curbs have also been installed at certain points.
***Mike Conway completed 42 laps aboard the No. 7 Toyota across the day’s two practice sessions as he made his comeback following his injuries, and reported no physical issues upon his return to the cockpit.
***Conway told Sportscar365: “It felt alright. First practice felt a bit achey, but in second practice it felt better, so maybe it was just a case of getting used to the car again. I think it will be ok for the rest of the race weekend. Doing a two-hour stint in the race will be another test, but so far so good.”
***Nicolas Lapierre confirmed to Sportscar365 that a turbo issue that kept the No. 36 Alpine A424 out of action for a significant portion of FP2. The car completed only 41 laps, while the sister No. 35 Alpine turned 73 laps. The pacesetting No. 8 Toyota logged the most laps in the session with 83.
***Ferrari’s head of endurance race cars Ferdinando Cannizzo confirmed to Sportscar365 that one ‘Evo joker’ has been used on the updates rolled out on the Ferrari 499P this weekend, which he revealed are new cooling ducts at the rear brakes and not at the front of the car as originally suspected.
***The updates, which include minor aerodynamic changes for balance purposes, was first tested on-track in March but would have required the Italian manufacturer to debut the changes at Imola, per the FIA and ACO’s requirement of having two races’ worth of data prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
***Cannizzo said: “There were no reasons to push for this because Le Mans is not pretty stressful for the brakes. This was one of the reasons why we said, ‘Let’s start here and see if we can gain experience. It definitely would be better when we go to race at tracks that are really stressful on brakes.”
***When asked about any further updates to the 499P in the future, Cannizzo said: “We are already working, of course, to improve. But we are very prudent and cautious about changing things on the car. We’d like to first understand if we really need something… When we will arrive with something new, I don’t know. As long as the car [remains] quite competitive, it will be the FIA/ACO approving our changes.”
***Cannizzo indicated that tire choice this weekend, which sees Michelin’s Medium and Hard tire range as options in Hypercar, could be dictated more by the “very poor” state of the asphalt at Interlagos rather than ambient temperatures that could lead to high levels of tire degradation.
***IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP points leader Felipe Nasr is serving as Porsche Penske Motorsport’s reserve driver this weekend. As previously explained to Sportscar365 by managing director Jonathan Diuguid, the team is utilizing a rotation of its ten-driver squad as reserves for the remainder of the season. The team’s WEC pilot Michael Christensen was on hand in last month’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
***A three-day test for Hypercar teams at the Circuit of The Americas is planned for July 25-27, not long after the Sao Paulo race. The final day is allocated for Michelin tire testing while the remaining two days are a joint test sponsored by Ferrari.
***Besides Ferrari and its satellite AF Corse operation, the other teams expected to be present are Toyota, Cadillac, Porsche Penske Motorsport, Hertz Team JOTA and Peugeot. BMW meanwhile will be represented by IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship partner squad Team RLL.
***BMW M Motorsport director Andreas Roos explained that RLL will be operating the test with its U.S.-based car simply due to logistical reasons but said there will be personnel from WRT on-site.
***Roos told Sportscar365: “The car is in the U.S. and it makes no sense to send a car from Europe to the U.S. test when we have a car, from Rahal, in the U.S. It’s cost efficient and easier. When we have a test in the U.S., it makes sense to use the test car in the U.S.”
***The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo is a re-tubbed chassis following last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Daniel Mancinelli ended the team’s race upside down. Team principal/driver Ian James told Sportscar365 that the car was shaken down at Silverstone following the rebuild, which was completed in only three days.
***Nicolas Costa, one of two Brazilian drivers in this weekend’s race, revealed that he watched the last WEC race at Interlagos, in 2014, from the adjacent karting track as the then-22-year-old didn’t have a ticket to the race. Costa set the quickest LMGT3 time in Friday’s opening Free Practice session in the No. 59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.
***Yasser Shahin, who in the No. 91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R is tied for the LMGT3 points lead with the sister No. 92 Manthey Pure Rxcing entry, said there’s no specific team orders within the German squad, other than not to hit each other on-track. Shahin and co-drivers Richard Lietz and Morris Schuring ride a two-race class win streak into Sao Paulo.
***Cadillac Racing received a €500 ($545 USD) fine for not respecting the deadline for staff declaration for the event. The Chip Ganassi Racing-run team declared its staff list for the Sao Paulo race on July 4, where the deadline was on July 3.
***Isotta Fraschini, meanwhile, received a €1,000 ($1,090 USD) fine for the same infraction, with the Italian squad having submitted its list two days late on July 5.
John Dagys contributed to this report
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