1,000 Miles of Sebring: What to Remember

The 1,000 Miles of Sebring concluded on Friday: Toyota knocked out the competition, Ferrari confirmed their dominance, while Peugeot disappointed in the Hypercar category. In LMP2, the victory remained uncertain before ultimately going to the Hertz Team Jota; finally, the Iron Dames missed a great opportunity for victory, which instead went to Corvette in GTE-AM. This first round of the season certainly kept everyone on the edge of their seats before the next races.

Hypercar: Toyota is still the boss, the competition has work to do

It was expected that the N°7 and N°8 would be the clear favorites of these 1,000 Miles. And yet, it’s a red car that came and stole the pole position from them, during the night from Thursday to Friday! Ferrari N°50 emerged from the shadows, while N°51 was lying in wait in fourth place.

Of course, the pole position was just a small part of the job: the eight hours of racing that followed clearly showed that Toyota, thanks to its experience in Hypercar, was going to be far ahead. One could regret the lack of direct confrontations between the two cars, which still managed to lap the competition by two laps… but when the competition is coming back in numbers like that, it’s wiser not to tempt fate, as was the case with Mercedes in Formula 1 during the Hamilton-Rosberg era.

Ferrari has fallen back into line… figuratively speaking at least! Because car number 50, with Antonio Fuoco, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and Nicklas Nielsen, brilliantly maintained its position as the best among the others. Car number 51, on the other hand, could have easily given up: its off-track incident at the halfway point resulted in a puncture, after colliding with Ferrari number 54 from AF Corse, and then with Porsche number 56 from Project 1.

The other pleasant surprise comes from Cadillac: the American manufacturer’s only LMDh (No. 2) finished in a very impressive 4th place, after a cautious and diligent race. The car still has room for improvement, but reliability was on point for the Americans, who missed the podium by only about ten seconds.

The Porsches No. 5 and No. 6, on the other hand, were a bit slower in terms of pace: they finished 5th and 6th respectively, still four laps behind the Toyotas. Their only hope, at least in the beginning of the season, will be a Balance of Performance (BoP) more inclined to bring the field closer together.

On the other hand, the immense disappointment comes from Peugeot. It would be hard to say that it was expected, but maybe not to this extent: car No. 94 returned to the pits even before the start due to a faulty gearbox selector: it completed only 141 laps out of the scheduled 239. Car No. 93 was also struggling, due to the hybrid system.

Not to mention this disturbing scene, where a hood is being mounted… but quickly needs to be adorned with a number! All in all, Peugeots only have two cards up their sleeve: their development capacity and the likability associated with the beauty of the 9X8.

The CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, even attended the race. Obviously, when the top boss is there, it signifies the group’s commitment to motorsports. But from here in Portimao, it will be necessary to work hard and address a good portion of the issues.

Finally, the two “small” ones from the Hypercar category did not have the best of Fridays: the only Glickenhaus car entered (the 708) had to retire due to mechanical failure in the last turn. Romain Dumas was behind the wheel and was unable to see the finish.

Then Vanwall, with the return of Jacques Villeneuve to competition on car number 4, had a relatively trouble-free race. The Quebecois driver made a mistake in the last corner and had to complete a full lap on three wheels. To temper our comments from Thursday regarding the pace, it must be recognized that Vanwall’s performance is relatively commendable: for a car that had limited running, the pace was decent, only two seconds off the fastest times.

For a Vanwall, it’s forgivable; for a Peugeot or a Porsche, much less so…

LMP2: Jota confirms, Alpine stumbles, United disappointed

It is always complicated to try to dethrone the reigning champions right from the first race. Even more so when the Hertz Team Jota wants to make a statement, before transitioning to Hypercar during the season, with a customer Porsche 963.

Already in qualifications, the gaps were extremely narrow: the first eleven (out of twelve) were within less than a second of each other.

In the race, anyway, the fight had begun between the United, Jota, Prema…and even Alpine, especially the No.36, which had shown itself to be in the mix. And until the finish, everything remained very undecided.

The biggest turning point of the race was the retirement of the United N°23, which was in the lead… and who took advantage of it? The Alpine N°36, which took the lead! At that moment, the Full Course Yellow was deployed, allowing Charles Milesi, who was at the wheel, to take the top spot in the rankings.

We could have then bet on a pleasant surprise with the blue cars, considering that the N°35 and N°36 were quite far behind during the free practice sessions. But this last one, then virtually leading after a pit stop, had to return to the pits: a spark plug change would be the cause of the extinguishing of the chances of victory. What a pity.

In the end, the best strategy was executed by Hertz Jota, who was able to take over the Prema No. 63 when it made a pit stop. Despite that, it still finishes 3rd, along with the promising Doriane Pin! Ultimately, the battle could remain tight throughout the season between all the cars… and we can’t wait!

GTE-Am: the girls lit a fuse!

Finally, in these 1,000 Miles of Sebring, the GTEs began their final dance. And it was the Iron Dames, in their pink Porsche No. 85, who secured a resounding pole position, ahead of the Corvette No. 33!

Unfortunately for them, Sarah Bovy’s efforts were not rewarded: a track exit destroyed the rear diffuser…the girls failed to achieve a disappointing 8th place in GT, leaving the path wide open for Corvette, who intends to win Le Mans next June.

The other anticipated female driver, Lilou Wadoux, who was promoted to an official driver at Ferrari, wasn’t able to prove herself in the race: her teammate Luis Perez Companc, driving the AF Corse Richard Mille N°83, sent the car rolling, causing the only intervention of the Safety Car.

See you in Portimao on April 14th!