The FIA World Endurance Championship heads to Japan this weekend, for round two of the 2019/20 season. With the first round at Silverstone in the bag, the series has now touched down in the land of the Rising Sun for the first flyaway race. The outcome at Silverstone perhaps left more questions than answers. What are the talking points for the GTEs heading into round two of Season 8?
Porsche scored a one-two finish last time out in Silverstone. It was the best possible debut for the new 911 RSR-19, which managed to beat both Ferrari and Aston Martin in its first ever competitive outing.
Even though it was all smiles for the German manufacturer, the clean sweep for their new car was not entirely representative of the status quo on track. Porsche might have won, but many considered Ferrari the true force to be reckoned with. Richard Lietz, who took victory in the #91 alongside Gianmaria Bruni, said as much after the race.
"I mean, the quickest car was the Ferrari, that’s for sure," said Lietz. "I mean, I don’t know what they did, but they had fantastic pace, and in the end, we were lucky that they had issues. Because otherwise, for sure they would be stronger than us in this race."
As the Austrian said: issues, penalties and a crash for the #71 prevented the Italian squad from capturing victory. There is no success ballast in GTE Pro, so the Porsches will not be slowed down, but it is fairly safe to assume that Ferrari will be looking for retribution after losing a race that was theirs to win.
In the Porsche-Ferrari skirmish, the third party in this GTE Pro drama quietly made their way onto the podium at Silverstone. The #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin took third. This marked the first podium for the duo since winning the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps last May. For Lynn, it was proof of the car's potential. The Briton carries the same mindset heading into round two:
“The car has been a strong contender for a while now, so when we turn up to a race weekend we are already thinking about strategies that allow us to fight for wins,” said Lynn. “We were competitive throughout at Silverstone and I believe we could have won the race under different circumstances. Now it’s Fuji and we know this car performs well here, given that it took pole last year, and the weather can often be changeable which traditionally plays to our strengths. We want to be in the championship mix and it’s important to bank big points early in this campaign.”
When it comes down to it, each of the three manufacturers is bringing along a package that is capable to fight up front. Ferrari proved it with a front row lockout in Silverstone qualifying, which ultimately didn't lead to greater success. Porsche's one-two finish has silenced any doubters about their new car, and Aston Martin's continous development of the Vantage AMR has created a car that can be up there when needed. It will be interesting to see who can find the upper hand in a class that is well known for razor sharp racing and tight margins.
GTE Am, meanwhile, is the only class other than LMP1 in the championship to feature success ballast, which means that those with a favourable result from Silverstone will be carrying extra weight compared to those lower on the table.
At Silverstone, it looked like Aston Martin was going to be the manufacturer to beat. Both Aston Martin Racing and TF Sport looked strong throughout practice and qualifying, but it turned out to be the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Nicklas Nielsen on the top step, much to Perrodo's own surprise.
"Amazing, particularly since we didn’t feel a favorite at all," Perrodo said. "We qualified P4, so not too bad but we knew that there were some faster cars out there."
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"I think Fuji will be a different story, especially now with this success ballast story, so we’re gonna carry more weight," he continued. "And I think as you know, in sector three, coming out, there’s an uphill and then a super long straight, so we’ll see how that one goes."
TF Sport's Charlie Eastwood, who saw his bright red #90 Aston Martin start from pole position, was particularly less happy. He said after the race 'that any problem that could hit us did'. The bright side for Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Jonny Adam is that they will not be hit with weight penalties as a result of Success Ballast, which means the team can fight for their first WEC victory.
