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Racing announces full line-up for 2023 FIA WEC season
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Prema Racing is proud to announce its full line-up for the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship. The team will be fielding two Gibson-powered Oreca LMP2 cars in the upcoming series, which will include the centennial running of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The #9 car will feature the already announced Ecuadorian-American Juan Manuel Correa, and will welcome more high-level talent.
After partnering with Correa in the post-season rookie test at Bahrain International Circuit, and leaving a strong impression, Bent Viscaal will run for the full season under the PREMA banner. The 23-year-old Dutchman transitioned from single-seaters to prototypes last year, claiming an impressive podium on his ELMS debut at Le Castellet. He later gained more experience by entering his first 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A veteran of 110 Formula 1 starts, Daniil Kvyat will make the switch to prototype racing. The 28-year-old claimed three podium finishes throughout his F1 run, scoring a grand total of 202 points after experiencing a successful junior single-seater career. Knowing his outstanding resume and renowned work ethic, the team is eager to start the work together.
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#9 - Andrea Caldarelli
“I am very happy to race back with PREMA in this new adventure. I have such good memories with the team from having raced with them in 2007 and 2010 and they were my second family at that time, so I am really looking forward to being back racing with them. It is going to be a new challenge for me, so I am hoping that my already existing knowledge and experience will guide me through this. I would like to thank Lamborghini Squadra Corse and Iron Lynx for allowing me to race in this program.”
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#63 - Daniil Kvyat
“It’s a very exciting part of my career to join PREMA and compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship together. The team is very notorious for previous success, and it’s now looking to conquer the world of Endurance racing as well. I’m very excited to be part of it and very motivated to give my absolute best to try put ourselves in the top positions.”
Kubica's personal sponsor Orlen also switches its allegiance from Prema to WRT for 2023.
"I am very happy to be back in the WRT family and to be representing Orlen Team WRT, but this time in WEC, as we raced together and won the ELMS championship in car #41," said Kubica.
"It will be my third year with Louis, but my first with Rui, who I know well from the paddock and Louis has always spoken very highly of him from their time in IMSA together.
"It will be a big challenge to race in the WEC and of course at Le Mans, it would be nice to get one more lap this time, which we missed in 2021 when we lost the win in the last lap. We will stay focused, and we will work hard to achieve the best results possible!”
GR010 HYBRID
Adjustments have been made to the high-performance Racing Hybrid powertrain, which consists of 520kW (707PS) 3.5litre engine and 200kW (272PS) electric motor, to reduce weight and improve reliability, exploiting the unique knowledge gained from more than a decade of experience with Hybrid powertrains at Le Mans.
The most visible changes on the 2023 evolution GR010 HYBRID concern the bodywork. New dive plane aerodynamic devices on the front corners and a smaller rear wing end plate, as well as other detail changes, have been implemented to enhance drivability and aerodynamic consistency.
Modifications have also been made to the bodywork with the target of improving brake cooling and allowing quick changes to cooling options during a race, achieved through new vents at the front and rear. Additionally, a revised headlight lay-out has been implemented to optimise visibility during night driving.
Under the bodywork, the GR010 HYBRID has gone undergone a weight saving programme to bring the overall weight down to the minimum 1040kg allowed by regulations. That addresses compromises made during the car’s design phase in 2020, which were the result of how the Hypercar regulations evolved.
The GR010 HYBRID will again use 100% renewable biofuel fuel, made from wine residues and agricultural material, which reduce CO2 emissions by at least 65% and contribute to ongoing efforts to increase sustainability in endurance racing.
To compliment those efforts, the pre-heating of tyres before use is no longer permitted, which reduces energy consumption and emissions. As a result, Michelin has introduced a new range of tyre compounds, designed to reach peak operating temperature quickly, whilst retaining durability and performance.
Once again, the GR010 HYBRID benefits from the technical expertise of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s long-term partners, who continue to contribute significantly to its success. DENSO supplies radiators and spark plugs whilst also contributing to the front motor alongside AISIN. RAYS delivers lightweight magnesium alloy wheels, Akebono provides mono-block alloy brake callipers and Mobil 1 is the lubricant of choice.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is unique on the 2023 grid thanks to a driver line-up exclusively consisting of proven Le Mans winners and WEC champions. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López will team up for the sixth successive season in the #7 car, while last year’s Le Mans and world title winners Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa join forces in the #8 GR010 HYBRID.
I think everyone is sandbagging. Peugeot did 10 000km of testing this winter and competed int the last 3 years last season, Porsche was fast - but inreliable - at the 24h of Daytona... they're not that far off
Please don’t make it another boring championship like F1! Please don’t let Toyota win everything with so many great manufacturers competing!
I expected Toyota to be ahead though! They have 2 years of experience with the regulations!
BoP/BoT between the different lead classes should prevent that, sandbagging can cloud the issue but in doing that the team needs to ‘only just’ out-qualify & ‘only just’ win to make that last throughout a whole season.
The LMH cars have fairly narrow windows for aero and power deployment, LMDh cars are also regulated (but slightly differently!!).
The big shame will be if the presence of so many manufacturers creates an environment where the independents (Glickenhaus) are not able to compete.
Perspective - Understanding that sometimes the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
What a huge surprise ! Ferrari takes Pole Position with the #50 car driven by Antonio Fuoco for the Sebring 1000 miles. Incredible feat considering its a new car and the Toyota is a three year old evolution. Even the Peugeot is a two year old car and struggling . Lets see how the race unfolds.
It's just a different concept, WEC LMH/LMDH has downforce/drag ratios of 4:1 so to an extent they need some drag if they are making downforce efficiently, and the car looks like is using the floor and rear very well, and if you need that drag might as well use it well like for cooling.
Ferrari built their pole lap in S2 which is the slower sector with a bit more mechanical grip needed, and they were basically even in S3 which is mostly straights. They built a great car once again, and this time they aren't around to ruin the race . All jokes aside the race will be close, tire management and fuel economy will be king. Looking forward to this one.
Impressive entry, just the first quali session but still, look at where 9x8 is sitting at. Even Cadillac was a big surprise.
Racing announces full line-up for 2023 FIA WEC season
. All jokes aside the race will be close, tire management and fuel economy will be king. Looking forward to this one.