FIA WEC, 6 Hours of Sao Paulo - Friday Paddock Notes 1

“No Dramas” for Toyota

The two periods of pit garage occupation for the Toyota in this morning’s free practice session were simply for “set-up changes, no mechanical dramas whatsoever”

Fernandez Bows Out

Aston Martin Racing confirmed to DSC this morning that Adrian Fernandez has decided not to complete the WEC season with the team, the #97 entry will continue with a 2 driver line-up for the remainder of the year.

ELMS Announcement Brewing

We’re expecting the 2013 ELMS format and calendar to be announced at Bahrain – paddock sources suggest that the races will be shorter than the 2012 format, possibly 4.5 hours.

GTE Equivalency

We’re also hearing that there may be a change coming in GTE to address the major fuel consumption advantage currently held by the Ferrari’s Direct Injection system.  What isn’t clear yet though is how that might be achieved, with the cars container bound for the remainder of the season its unlikely to involve a larger tankage for the Porsche, Vette and Astons and with the different makes now seeing similar levels of ultimate performance the smart money appears to be pointing towards restricting the 458s fuel load.  

That’s unlikely to impress Ferrari and Michelotto after their major investment in the development of their engine – With none of their competitors employing direct injection on their road cars - and all highly unlikely to undertake the (at least) 6 figure development work on the current cars for this year even with a waiver to do so – Could there be trouble brewing here for a GTE class already in trouble on numbers?