Second season in the Hypercar Class for Kévin Estre and expectations are not lacking at Porsche.
The 963 LMDh completed 2023 on a high in the FIA World Endurance Championship after a hit-and-miss start; the improvements came quite well and between Fuji and Bahrain the official Team Penske cars appeared in the positions that matter.
The Frenchman, among the best in the GTE and GT3, had to 'reinvent' himself to drive the hybrid prototype from Weissach, but by working intensely with the team he has taken the right path to growth.
“Since the beginning of 2023 we have certainly improved, like everyone else in fact, apart from Toyota which had already started very strong. I sincerely hope that the 2024 season starts a little better than how we finished, especially considering how we were went well at Fuji”, highlights Estre in the round table with journalists, including Motorsport.com, organized by the WEC.
“Toyota is certainly still a little ahead of us, but in Japan we competed with them and this gave us hope because we did everything as best we could by taking advantage of a track that was favorable to us.”
“If you work better than the others you can create opportunities to win, or at least try until the end. For this reason Fuji must be a point of reference for the whole team, it was our best race of 2023 and we must start from there to repeat ourselves” .
“Furthermore, the 24h of Daytona will also serve to collect data, as will the entire IMSA season, so that we can use them in the WEC with the hope of making further progress. The others certainly won't stay asleep, so it won't be easy.”
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, André Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor
The LMDh were not competitive right away at the beginning of last year, but it is clear that from this point of view there was an awareness of starting a step behind compared to those who had known the championship for some time.
“The first year with all the LMDhs on the track still saw Toyota win almost every race due to its greater experience. From our point of view, performance was lacking a bit over the course of the season, so we'll see how this one goes 2024, in which everyone has more experience.”
“We know our 963 better and I really hope we can fight for success given that at the end of last season we managed to get on the podium and in the Top5. I hope I have every chance of doing so.”
As is known, the 963 is a 'frozen' car by regulation, so there will be no significant updates (apart from a new crankshaft for reliability reasons, ed.), but the winter work served to fix the many small things that could make the difference.
“The car is homologated, so you can't develop new things or change parts of the car, apart from maybe a little something regarding reliability. It's about trying to learn from 2023, we did some tests on the track and in the simulator to try to improve, as well as pit lane and pit operations in order to have a better set-up.”
“You can't change the entire car, but improve the little things, trying to make it perfect for the race, making the most of what is available to us in the best possible way.”
“In the winter the work was based on this, on refining the smallest details and solving every type of problem. I hope that it works and that in Qatar we can be ready.”
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, André Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor
Reliability is the main aspect of endurance racing, and it must be said that the 963 suffered from it right from the start, but managed to make progress throughout the season.
But Estre also underlines that race strategies, especially with Michelin tyres, play a fundamental role in the final result.
“First of all there is the need to have a reliable car and IMSA gave us the opportunity to understand more about it with the tests carried out in the winter, we hope to have solved everything”.
“Also you have to consider the aspect of tyres, which ones to fit and when; in the WEC consistency is very important and this is how you win races, also understanding what type of ideal tire to use at the right time”.
“Strategy and set-ups are very important, in 2023 we raced on tracks where we had never tried, suffering in finding the right balance on dry or wet surfaces. Sometimes the car wasn't how we wanted it, which made us lose a lot; it's a question more or less experience which we now have.”
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kévin Estre, André Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor
After having won everything and more with the 911, the 35-year-old from Lyon feels ready to be a protagonist also with the prototypes, highlighting that there are differences in the approach that should not be underestimated between the categories.
“After years of GT I have completed my first year in the Hypercar Class, I certainly still have things to learn, especially on the many systems we have on the 963 compared to the GTs. I hope we can rely a lot on what we learned last year.”
“In terms of pressure, the big difference is Qualifying because with so many cars on the grid, a mistake can force you to start far behind, then losing a lot of time in the first laps of the race. I believe that timed practice is the crucial point and the big difference as approach for pilots”.
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