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The TDS-entered ORECA-Gibson 07 entered under the Tower Motorsports banner suffered heavy damage when Thomas clouted the TF Sport-run D'station Aston Martin Vantage GTE that Casper Stevenson had spun into the barriers at the fast sweeper before Tertre Rouge. Several cars avoided the stranded machine before bronze driver Thomas, who was a late replacement for the original entrant John Farano following the Canadian's IMSA SportsCar Championship crash at Laguna Seca, locked up and hit British rookie Stevenson. The stewards found that Thomas had failed to slow sufficiently before the impact, and will have to serve his penalty within four laps of it being formally announced by the race director when the 24 Hours gets underway. TDS and D'station both missed qualifying on Wednesday afternoon while replacement chassis were sourced, and so will start from the back of the grid. TDS driver Rene Rast told Motorsport.com: "We're going to lose probably one and a half laps within the … [Read more...] about TDS LMP2 car gets three-minute penalty for Le Mans FP1 crash

The drivers have all put in their best efforts over one lap, and the grid for Le Mans 2023 has now officially been set as the world’s most iconic endurance race celebrates its 100th anniversary. Qualifying on Wednesday saw the top eight cars in each class qualify for Hyperpole on Thursday night, which set up the battle for pole in each category for Le Mans 2023 ahead of the Centenary running of the legendary 24-hour race. In Hypercars, the long-dominant Toyota team, piloted by ex-F1 drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Brendon Hartley in qualifying, have got a serious challenge on their hands if they are to retain their stranglehold on the race this year. Ferrari, on their factory return to the top class after over 50 years away, qualified first and second for the big race, and by a healthy margin. The race itself will begin on Saturday 10 June at 4pm local time at the Circuit de la Sarthe (3pm BST). PlanetF1.com recommends Le Mans 24 Hours: The 18 ex-Formula 1 drivers to look out … [Read more...] about Le Mans 2023 starting grid: What is the grid order for the iconic 24 hour race?

Ferdinando Cannizzo, Ferrari’s sportscar racing technical director, explained that the 3m22.982s lap with which Antonio Fuoco claimed the pole for this weekend’s blue riband round of the World Endurance Championship exceeded expectations. Fuoco ended up seven tenths quicker than team-mate Alessandro Pier Guidi as the two Ferrari 499Ps Le Mans Hypercars blocked out the front row starting positions. The pole-winning time was 1.5s quicker than last year’s qualifying mark set by Toyota driver Brendon Hartley. Read Also: Le Mans 24h: Ferrari locks out front row, Cadillac suffers fire Toyota: Le Mans win possible with hydrogen prototype from 2026 Van der Zande fears rivals "built cars to suit Le Mans only” “To be honest we did not expect this lap time,” said Cannizzo. “We just prepared the car as best we could, but we have to say that Antonio made one of his best laps. “We are very happy that we gave him a good car.” Cannizzo also expressed satisfaction with … [Read more...] about Ferrari surprised by lap time for Le Mans 24 Hours pole

Ferrari will lead the grid for the 100th anniversary Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend with its pair of 499P prototypes. Here is the full grid following the qualifying and hyperpole sessions. Pos No. Class Team Car Drivers Time 1 50 Hypercar (H) Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen 3’22.982 2 51 Hypercar (H) Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/ Antonio Giovinazzi 3’23.755 3 8 Hypercar (H) Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Sebastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley /Ryo Hirakawa 3’24.451 4 75 Hypercar (H) Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 Felipe Nasr /Mathieu Jaminet/Nicholas Tandy 3’24.531 5 7 Hypercar (H) Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Mike Conway/ Kamui Kobayashi /Jose Maria Lopez 3’24.933 6 2 Hypercar (H) Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R Earl Bamber/Alex Lynn/Richard Westbrook 3’25.170 7 5 … [Read more...] about WEC 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours starting grid · RaceFans

That’s two different rulebooks to which a manufacturer can build a car for the top category of the series. So on the 16-stong Hypercar entry for Le Mans this year there are nine LMHs and six LMDhs. What is LMH and LMDh? LMH stands for Le Mans Hypercar, a rulebook that has been in force in the WEC since 2021. LMDh is new for 2023, but you’ll never see the name written out, it’s not officially an acronym. But it is easy to guess what the letters mean given that the class was formulated by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest at Le Mans and IMSA based at Daytona in the USA. That little ‘h’ on the end refers to the fact that these cars, like their LMH rivals, incorporate hybrid technology. The two types of car are very different in some respects, but actually very similar in others. What’s the difference? LMH allows a manufacturer to design and develop its own car from top to tail - or rather from the nose to the tail. That includes all elements of the hybrid system, which, if … [Read more...] about What are LMH and LMDh? The top Le Mans 24 Hours series explained

Verdict 8.5 / 10 Design | Comfort | Tech | Performance | Safety | Fuel Economy | Pricing | FAQs –Los Angeles, California The Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan is a polarizing figure in the modern EV marketplace. From the cab-forward stance to the tech-laden cabin, the EQE does nothing to hide its electrified credentials, looking more like a space pod than the E-Class to which it is nominally related. But there’s more to the mid-size Mercedes EV than meets the eye. With a dual-motor powertrain pumping out 402 horsepower and 633 pound-feet of torque, the 2023 EQE500 is as overpowered as it is overstyled. And yet, I can’t help but be charmed by its insistent futurism, with Speed Racer four-wheel steering and synthwave interior illumination keeping things interesting when the off-the-line thrust starts to feel passé. A vehicle's ratings are relative only to its own segment and not the new-vehicle market as a whole. For more on how Motor1.com rates … [Read more...] about 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE Review: One Expensive Electric

Taking over the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar that Alessandro Pier Guidi drove to second in Hyperpole, Calado whisked to a time of 3m27.275s shortly before Jean-Eric Vergne ’s #93 Peugeot 9X8 LMH brought out the red flags when it stopped between the two Mulsanne Chicanes. The one-hour session was restarted with 20 minutes still on the clock, but there were few noteworthy improvements thereafter as Calado’s benchmark time held. Calado was 1.003s faster than Esteban Gutierrez in the Le Mans-only #709 Glickenhaus-Pipo 007 that will start the World Endurance Championship blue riband from 14th. Gutierrez was in turn 0.162s faster than the Jota Porsche 963 LMDh campaigned by Will Stevens , which missed qualifying on Wednesday due to an electronic problem. Kevin Estre improved to fourth after the red flag in the best of the factory Penske-run Porsches, his #6 machine usurping the Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Alexander Sims . Jose Maria Lopez … [Read more...] about Le Mans 24h: Calado puts Ferrari top in final practice session

Fuoco paced the 30-minute session, featuring the fastest eight cars from Wednesday's first qualifying, with a best time of 3m22.982s at the wheel of the 499P he shares with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen . Both of the Ferrari LMHs jumped to the top of the timesheets early on, with Alessandro Pier Guidi initially leading the way on a 3m23.987s in the #51 car ahead of Fuoco in the sister #50 entry. Pier Guidi then improved to a 3m23.478s, which was scrubbed for a track limits infringement, before Fuoco upped the ante by posting the first sub-3m23s effort of the week so far, outpacing his team-mate by 0.773s despite getting baulked by a GTE Am Ferrari exiting Indianapolis. That time remained the benchmark when the session was red-flagged with five minutes left on the clock as a result of Cadillac driver Sebastien Bourdais stopping at the first chicane after suffering a dramatic fire. Bourdais was able to escape the smouldering #3 Cadillac V.Series-R unscathed, having … [Read more...] about Le Mans 24h: Ferrari locks out front row, Cadillac suffers fire

Toyota had seemed set to return to the top of the Le Mans timesheets for the first time since opening practice on Wednesday with Kamui Kobayashi heading the majority of the session. However, a late 3m26.579s from Antonio Fuoco in the #50 499P LMH smashed Kobayashi's best by almost a second. And, with eight minutes to go, Alessandro Pier Guidi set a 3m27.013s lap to go second, despite the #51 Ferrari having spent the first half of the three-hour session in the pits. The Toyota GR010 HYBRIDs were denied the chance to respond as a late full-course yellow, when Manuel Maldonado went off, hampered any further late improvements. Instead, Kobayashi had to settle for third in the #7 Toyota. Mathieu Jaminet in the #75 Porsche 963 LMDh was the initial pacesetter on a 3m28.454s but was soon usurped by the two Toyotas. Kobayashi claimed top spot with a 3m27.822s in the #7 car, before Sebastien Buemi went second in the sister #8 machine on 3m27.879s. However, Kobayashi … [Read more...] about Le Mans 24h: Ferrari locks out 1-2 ahead of Toyota in third practice