FIA WEC, changes for the overseas season

The summer break has come to an end for the contenders of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Once again, the second part of the season will be marked by overseas races, starting this weekend with the 6 Hours of Mexico. For teams, manufacturers and organisers, new parametres and updates will have to be taken into account in order to best approach this overseas season. Below is a summary of the expected changes.

A logistical challenge

For teams, the overseas season will launch a new and slightly different challenge to do with logistics. Teams will not have their own usual structures in America or Asia. So they will have to learn how to work and organise themselves in a brand new environment which they are not necessarily familiar with. Without their trucks and some of their tools, technical teams will have to adapt to a totally different setting. Before each race, the cars are shipped by boat or plane. Mechanics have to prepare them in a specific way, covering them up in order to avoid any kind of corrosion damage. As manufacturer, ORECA faces an important logistical challenge: all parts potentially needed for the rest of the season have to be dispatched. “Before next round in Mexico, we have to complete the shipping phase, dispatching all parts that the cars might need until the very end of the season”, ORECA Group’s Technical Director David Floury explains. “It’s a great challenge in terms of logistics because we have to anticipate all the needs that teams might face over the next five races. A little bit like in the field of economics, we’ve got three options: a standard plan, a ‘best-case scenario’ and a ‘worst-case scenario’. So, we try to find the balance between those three cases.” 

Unusual racetracks

Each track has its own specificities and the five overseas circuits follow that rule. For their return to competition, contenders will first face Mexico racetrack. Built very near residential areas, this is one of the most risky tracks. There is not much clear space on either side of the track, thus leaving very little room for mistakes. “In Mexico, the singlest mistake can cost a lot”, David Floury says. “Also, the circuit is at altitude, 2200 to 2300 metres’ high, which means as high as a skiing resort such as Val Thorens (France). Air pressure is thus much lower, and so is air density, that has an impact on the aerodynamics of the cars.” 

Crew changes within teams

The horde of ORECAs involves six teams. Some crews will change for the second part of the championship. Ben Hanley and Matt Rao will be joining Jean-Eric Vergne on board Manor’s No. 24 car, replacing Jonathan Hirschi and Tor Graves. Vaillante Rebellion will be welcoming back Nicolas Prost and Nelson Piquet Jr. As For Signatech-Alpine, the team will replace Matt Rao (gone to Manor) by André Negrao.

See you this Thursday @ 5.15pm local time for the first free practice session of this Mexican round!