Each race has its own precise history and development that no one knows for sure a priori, let alone when it comes to an event like the 24h of Le Mans.
The 90th edition of the classic endurance race that takes place on the Circuit de la Sarthe has however been characterized since the days preceding the departure by a significant regulatory problem: the infamous Balance of Performance.
Even for those who have to write about it, we have now come to the rejection of sickly controversies and gossip on the subject (which applies to every category that uses it, not only the FIA World Endurance Championship), but what we saw in the transalpine weekend left everyone stunned, insiders and not. And not a little.
Because it is perfectly fine to try to level performance through ballast, increases or decreases in power and aerodynamic interventions, but cutting out of the game a priori is not nice, and that is what Alpine and Ferrari have experienced.
As we said at the beginning, a 24h can be decided at any time as seen in the past – to intercom Toyota or WRT in case of need – but it is undeniable that both the French prototype and the 488 have found themselves in the very unpleasant situation of having to leave already knowing that have a supporting role.
The start of the 24H of LeMans 2022
Photo by: Paul Foster
Reverse for the Alpine
Le Mans is the only race on the WEC calendar that allows interventions in progress by the technicians of the FIA and Automobile Club de l’Ouest regarding the parameters of the BoP. In the case of Alpine and Ferrari, for both it was decided to overturn the issue on two occasions within a couple of days, after Sunday’s pre-race test and Wednesday’s Free Practice.
The A480 # 36 managed by Team Signatech had appeared limp in these sessions, so it received an increase in power in view of Qualifying and Hyperpole, at least a necessary choice to give André Negrão, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxivière the chance to finish at the top speed of its Hypercar-class rivals – Toyota and Glickenhaus – and compete for it, as the basic spirit of the BoP would like.
It’s bad to say it, but the possibility that an old car with an Oreca LMP1 chassis and a Gibson engine could risk winning at Le Mans against the new generation ones (which already happened at the 12h of Sebring, for example) evidently gave a thrill to someone.
Sportingly and politically one would think that such an epilogue would have been uncomfortable, so here is again a power cut to the Alpine, which in top speeds was slightly less superior (if not in line) with even the LMP2s, adding that of construction also has the ‘problem’ of mounting a smaller tank which requires more refueling than the other LMHs in the race.
# 36 Alpine Elf Team Alpine A480 – Gibson LMP1 by André Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
“The race promised to be difficult from the start for a number of reasons, first of all the lack of top speed which put us in serious trouble in the traffic”, said the head of Team Signatech, Philippe Sinault.
“With the track free we could perhaps have played with the Glickenhaus, but in fact we started in defect and so it went”.
Added to this were the technical problems encountered during the race which forced the team to work on the vehicle, as well as the mistake made by Vaxivière on Sunday morning when he crashed while passing another car.
“There was a problem with the radio, we didn’t hear the race director decree a Slow Zone and when Nicolas got there he tried to slow down, but rightly he was too fast and had to observe the penalty”, continues Sinault.
“We then had to replace the clutch and engine start electronics, things that had never bothered us before. We finally got to the finish line, but starting like this was frustrating.”
Lapierre added: “The Drive-Through penalty may be there, but I didn’t see any signals from the stewards at that point and there was a lot of chaos. However we already had a lack of speed compared to the others to compete with them, what which penalized us not a little in traffic “.
# 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE Pro of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Daniel Serra
Photo by: Paul Foster
Ferrari with a stomach ache for a ‘sop’
Shortly before the start of the 24h of Le Mans, Ferrari and AF Corse were awarded the ‘Sustainable Endurance Award’ by Pierre Fillon (President of the ACO), awarded to those who have programs linked to sustainability in place.
La Casa di Maranello has married ACO’s Corporate Social Responsibility with the ‘EngageMans’ commitment and a responsible economy, as well as having started the process to obtain ISO 20121 certification (standard for sustainable events) for projects related to the future Hypercar.
An aspect of great value that has nothing to do with the BoP, but which invites a joke: how can you be sustainable if you send the cars on the track to consume petrol, without being able to play anything?
Now, it is true that the men of the Prancing Horse are returning home with a double podium in the LMGTE PRO class, but thinking about what the 488s at la Sarthe did last year there is great regret. And the result is true up to a point.
In the case of the Reds, the situation is as follows: at the beginning of the year the BoP was almost identical to that of the end of 2021, so the drop in performance could be attributable to the … digestive system. The new renewable petrol from TotalEnergies evidently remains a bit on the stomach at 488, which had already suffered a lot at Sebring and Spa.
# 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE Pro of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Daniel Serra
Photo by: Nick Dungan / Motorsport Images
In Belgium the victory had come by exploiting the weather conditions and a surly defender James Calado in the final when he was attacked by Michael Christensen’s Porsche. At Le Mans it seemed to everyone an ‘April Fool’ to see power removed, tank capacity reduced and rear wing incidence changed to AF Corse # 51 and # 52, which compared to Porsche and Corvette nothing they could have, under these conditions.
After Qualifying, the ‘sop’ arrived: 0.02 BAR returned in the turbo pressures on the engine rpm, which seemed like a bad joke, given that previously 0.07 had been removed. Adding that with less fuel loaded you have to stop several times and with a lighter wing you go faster, but you also have less stability, consuming the tires.
And in the race the cars of Calado / Pier Guidi / Serra and Rigon / Molina / Fuoco immediately took them from 911 and C8.R, not to mention those engaged in AM, which finished 3 laps behind the winners.
Even when the troubles of others brought the # 51 to the lead on Sunday morning, the opponents were recovering and the subsequent puncture simply spared the Ferrari drivers from the shame of overtaking on the track.
At one point on Saturday night the best time of Ferrari was just 1 “higher than the best of LMGTE AM, then the pace increased a little, but overall not so much as to be able to play on par with rivals, who would have been without problems. classified in the first four places without breaking a sweat.
In the end, he takes home what arrives and the second and third step of the podium occupied behind Porsche # 91 (which still won with merit, it must be said) is the synonym of the saying ‘those who are satisfied enjoy’, the result of skill of riders and team, but ‘smoke in the eyes’ for those who do not know what the values really were on the track.
# 61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 GTE EVO by Louis Prette, Conrad Grunewald, Vincent Abril
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
“If at the beginning of the race they had told me that I would finish in second position, I would have signed immediately. During the race, however, I was really hoping for it, but the others had a different pace “, underlines Pier Guidi.
“We did a great job, Ferrari and AF Corse were impeccable during the pit stops, with the strategy and we did everything we could. In any case, with Ferrari and with this fantastic team in the last four years we are came second twice and won twice, what more could you want? “
“The last few minutes were very good, when you’re winning it’s different of course, but we’ll try next year.”
Calado joins his teammate: “The week has been very long. There was a lot of pressure all the time and a lot of work from the whole team. I have to admit we didn’t get much sleep this time. “
“It was a very tough race, lacking a bit of pace compared to the Porsche and the Corvette. Finishing second and third is still a fantastic result for the team.”
“We have gained important points for the championship standings. We have done everything possible to get the best. My head is already thinking about the next round in Monza and I can’t wait to get on track”.
Serra also smiles: “Going to the podium is always a good feeling. I think we managed to get the best in terms of performance. We have optimized everything we could and finishing in second position is a surprise and a good result for us ”.
From the # 52 crew, Molina adds: “In the end it went well, especially because we got on the podium and this is very important. Personally I am very happy to have completed the race in third position here at Le Mans, and I am happy for the team because having two cars on the podium is not an easy task. “
“We fought from start to finish and the guys did a splendid job. We hope to get on a higher step on the podium next time we return.”
Rigon comments: “It has been a really long and intense week here at Le Mans where it is still a dream to be there. When we started we didn’t expect to get such a nice podium with a second and third place. It is the result of the extraordinary work of the team “.
“I really thank all the Ferrari men who worked so hard to achieve this result, the engineers and my teammates, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco. We did our best.”
“In the night, during Miguel’s stint, we suffered a contact that made us lose ground and didn’t allow us to fight for the victory. We went really fast in the night part, less during the day, but we had a lot of fun here at Le Mans. It’s extraordinary: I’m happy and proud for the whole Ferrari team ”.
# 52 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE Pro of Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco, Davide Rigon
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
At this point all that remains is to wait for explanations and further decisions by the FIA and ACO regarding the next races on the calendar (Monza, Fuji and Bahrain), hoping that for 2023 clear and understandable criteria will be applied to everyone given that are the new Hypercar and LMDh.
At stake is the credibility of a championship that is slowly getting back what it deserves in terms of prestige, competition and attractiveness, and which can be the real alternative to Formula 1 as a coat of arms and the presence of top-level Constructors battling for absolute success. .
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