The LM P2s play spoilsport at Sebring

The Sebring Prologue brought last year's debate back into focus: can an LM P2 beat the Hypercars in the general classification? Three of them actually dominated the times last weekend: Prema, WRT (double) and United Autosports USA. For the second season in a row, the absolute best time was to the credit of a driver in this category, the Austrian Ferdinand Habsburg at the wheel of the #41 Realteam by WRT. If the Hypercars have regained their rightful place at the top of the timesheet for the first two hours of the 1000 Miles of Sebring with Glickenhaus then Alpine, the LM P2s have never been very far, even ahead of the Toyota during the second session.

“It’s not normal that they find themselves this far away, judge Philippe Sinault, the main team ofAlpine Elf Endurance Team. I I think that Toyota faces the same problem as us, that is to say the difficulty of easily overtaking the LM P2s. » On the side of the Japanese manufacturer, we rather mention the BoP for these subpar performances. “We are trying to reorganize our race weekend around this situation,” explains Pascal Vasselon, the technical director of Toyota. 

However, the ACO had decided to reduce the power of the LM P2s for this season, considering that they were too close to the Hypercars in 2021. Is it the Sebring circuit which gives them a considerable advantage? “If there is a place where an LM P2 can win, it is here. If all four Hypercars encounter problems, we will quickly be exposed,” believes Philippe Sinault. The problem actually comes from the Hypercar regulations which are based on a BoP with three competing teams, including one which absolutely did not run between the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year and the first day of the Sebring Prologue.

Heat, Hypercars’ best ally

So, wanting to give everyone a chance in the premier category, the ACO is exhibiting the cars in this category in LM P2. The gap between the two classes of prototypes is ultimately not as big as imagined when the latter were restricted for this new season, it is even less since the performances of the Hypercars have been more impacted than those of LM P2. The characteristics of the Sebring circuit highlight this, on a track where they will be difficult to overtake. The Performance Balance exercise is definitely extremely complex. 

Can the LM P2s take advantage of this to win on Friday during the race? At Glickenhaus, we are not too worried about this, the autonomy of the Oreca 07-Gibson being much less than that of the higher category. In addition to the difference in autonomy between the two classes, the strong heat which has settled in Florida since Wednesday and announced for the race on Friday should in fact favor the Hypercars. “ The LM P2s were problematic during the Prologue, which was a point of concern, as they were running well over entire stints, not just one or two laps, adds Pascal Vasselon. However, atmospheric conditions have changed in an unfavorable direction. The turbo gives us a small margin. »  

It is therefore difficult, if the conditions persist at Sebring, to see a feat similar to that of Timo Bernhard, Emmanuel Collard and Romain Dumas achieved at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2008.

ALSO READ > 1000 Miles of Sebring – Dumas: “Everyone is hiding”