Le Mans | Marciello: “I thought I would go faster, but BMW is growing”

It was his dream for some time and Raffaele Marciello is about to realize it, ready to dive into the legendary 24h of Le Mans with BMW.

Armed with the M Hybrid V8, the Team WRT representative is making his debut on the Circuit de la Sarthe, but in last Sunday’s tests his LMDh #15 lost time due to the engine being replaced due to a small technical problem, so since the Today’s free practice will have a lot to do.

However, the Swiss appeared calm and recharged when on Wednesday morning he sat down to talk to journalists present in France, including Motorsport.com, describing his feelings at the start of his adventure with the Bavarian manufacturer and in a brand new category. .

Lello, you’re finally at the 24h of Le Mans: how do you feel in this new environment?
“It’s a very large paddock compared to the other 24 hours. Let’s say that the Nurburgring one is a little wilder, while this one reminds me a little of Spa or Daytona. Now people are starting to arrive and I think it will be a good experience” .

How did the tests go on Sunday?
“I did a few laps because they had to change the engine. We didn’t lap a lot, but in the end there’s still a lot of time to prepare. Also because they found what the problem was and it was the first time it happened, so we’re not worried “.

Did you find something from your past experiences or is there a completely different approach here?
“Many years have passed since I raced in a single-seater, so after a while you also lose the memories a bit. Compared to the GT it’s quite different, because you have more aerodynamic load and you don’t have ABS during braking. It’s really a completely different thing.”

Is there an aspect that immediately struck you about the LMDh?
“In the end it’s a real racing car. There are many things that make you feel more like a driver. Let’s say everything is a little cooler.”

Here you can’t use the ‘warmers’, how is the feeling when you start with cold tyres?
“Like in the other WEC races, there’s a lot of slipping, but in the end it’s the same for everyone, so you have to adapt. It’s as dangerous as you want, but it’s like that for everyone.”

How long does it take to find the ideal temperature range?
“It depends. For example, on Sunday it was hot, so on the exit lap we lost 8-9 seconds, not even that much. I must say that all things considered it was also quite easy. During the night and if it gets colder it will be complicated, but it’s the same for everyone. Just as it is difficult for us, it will be difficult for Porsche, Ferrari, etc.

How is tire degradation?
“It doesn’t seem high. Since there are no systems to pre-heat them, you have to try to do as many stints as possible, but it seems that you can even do three in a row with the soft tires. But the track is very straight, so it’s also normal that it doesn’t there is too much degradation.”

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 by Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

For you it is the debut at Le Mans, but the car has already raced for a year in IMSA: can you exchange information with the American team?
“Let’s say that since they are two different teams, not like Penske with Porsche, the messages are perhaps a little filtered. Perhaps many of the problems they had last year have gone a little quiet and are still there this year. Maybe we could have worked a little better, but in the end we are making progress, so let’s see.”

Is there an area where you think the car has a lot of room for growth?
“A little bit about everything, honestly. Braking is a bit of our weak point. But in general we need to have more indications on the vehicle. There are many systems that filter all the sensations and if you can’t feel everything, you lose confidence and go slower.”

So do you need a slightly more sincere machine?
“No, we need to go back to the basics a bit, make a car that’s a bit more racing and think less about the calculations.”

Will you do the qualification?
“No, Dries (Vanthoor), while the start will be up to Marco (Wittmann)”.

For the first time, perhaps Qualifying becomes important, because there are many Hypercars and perhaps it will rain in the first part of the race…
“It’s always nice to enter Hyperpole and be in front, especially for those who qualify. But in the end I read that in the main category they never finished more than two cars on the lead lap. In the end therefore, even if you start last, but you manage to stay in the lead, you’re in the top five. It’s like this in all 24 hours, except perhaps the American ones which have very particular regulations. The starting position matters, but the right one with as few errors as possible, trying not to take penalties”.

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann

Photo by: Marc Fleury

For you who also raced in IMSA, doesn’t the discussion of the Safety Car on a 13 km track waste too much time?
“With the Slow Zones it could be fine even without the Safety Car. Maybe in the past it could have had a little more value, because there were few prototypes and it helped you keep everyone close until the end. This year maybe it could also be done without it, a bit like at the Nurburgring.”

Regarding traffic management, how are you finding yourself in the WEC?
“It’s easier here than at the Nurburgring. There, for example, there were the GT4s that go faster than us on the straight, but even passing the Cups isn’t so easy, you always have to push a little on entry. Here, excluding Indianapolis and the Porsche Curves, you always come in much stronger on the straight, so it’s easier.”

How was your first experience at the Nurburgring with BMW?
“It didn’t last long. In my opinion we had a good chance, because we were going strong. The team appealed, but I don’t know how it will go, we’ll see.”

You switched from Mercedes to BMW: they are two German companies, but what is the atmosphere like? She is different?
“It’s different because in Mercedes it was a customer program anyway, I never worked directly with the company. Here there is a lot of direct work with BMW and that is the biggest difference. But in general I don’t think there is a better or worse, it’s just different. They are two manufacturers who have won a lot, so they are two working methods that work.”

Raffaele Marciello with a special helmet for Jules Bianchi

Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt

But you went quickly straight away: did you expect it to take you a little longer to adapt to the car?
“With the GT we are already doing well but, if I have to say, in Hypercar I would already like to do something more. I thought it would be a little easier straight away, but this thing that the car is a little ‘muffled’ in terms of feedback takes away a bit of feeling. But it’s going better every time and the car is improving too, so it’s good.”

When you talk about feeling do you mean the management of the hybrid?
“In reality we don’t do anything about that. Just the driving itself, braking late, finding the limit, all these things. Then there aren’t even many times that you lap: before Qatar I had only done two days of testing, of which one was wet. In the WEC you don’t even lap much in practice, so you come to the race without too much experience with the car. That’s also why it takes time, but in the end it’s going better.”

Before you said that on the GT you have ABS and here you don’t, but then there’s also the issue of fuel consumption management: are these things that make braking more difficult?
“Having many sensors, which must always be in the right values, in my opinion we need to go back to the basics a little more, like perhaps an LMP2. In the sense that when I brake the car follows what I do, not what the computer wants. This leads you to lose feeling. Probably if the system works at its best, the problem doesn’t arise. However, we are implementing it, we have new methods, which in theory should help us have more feeling.”

Given the few tests, have you already managed to try the car at night?
“In the wet, but in the end with the headlights we have, which work very well, it’s not fundamental. Then in any case we will also do night tests here.”