2024 WEC 6 Hours of Imola: Race Preview
WEC heads to Imola for the first time in it's history, here's what to look forward to
The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is set for a thrilling weekend at the iconic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. This marks a historic moment as the series makes its debut at this legendary circuit for the 6 Hours of Imola, taking place April 19th-21st, 2024.
A New Stage for Endurance Racing
While Imola boasts a rich motorsport history, it hasn't hosted a WEC round before. However, endurance racing fans will be familiar with the track, as it held the 1000 km of Imola in 1974 and more recently, rounds of the European Le Mans Series.
This fresh venue promises a unique challenge for the 37-car field, featuring 19 Hypercars from top manufacturers like Toyota, Peugeot (debuting their radical new 9X8 car), Alpine, and Ferrari. An 18-car-strong LMGT3 class will add to the on-track excitement.
The Track:
Last time out in Qatar, Porsche took its first WEC victory with the 963, dominating the race and battling with Peugeot for much of the 10 hours, until the 93 Peugeot 9X8 ran out of fuel on the final lap of the race, surrendering second.
Imola, though, is a very different track to Qatar’s Losail International Circuit. Where Losail had many high-speed corners, Imola has lower-speed corners and is significantly narrower than the much newer Qatar circuit.
Imola also has significant elevation change in the track layout, whereas Losail is flat with little gradient. Imola is bumpy, too, with big kerbs lining the track and relatively small run-offs—by modern standards, with the track surface lined by grass and gravel.
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Balance of Performance(BOP):
The World Endurance Championship (WEC) has announced changes to the Balance of Performance (BoP) regulations for the upcoming 6 Hours of Imola. These changes aim to tighten up the competition after Porsche and Peugeot dominated the previous round.
Big Winners: Ferrari and Toyota are the biggest beneficiaries. Ferrari's Le Mans Hypercars (LMHs) will be 34 kilograms lighter and gain 9 kW power, while Toyota's LMHs shed 29 kilograms and get a 6 kW power boost.
Peugeot Unchanged: The new Peugeot 9X8 2024 will race 31 kg heavier than the 1061 kg versus the 2023 car as it loses 10 kW. That is in line with its change from an unusual ground effect setup to a more regular winged configuration
The Peugeot will also now deploy its electric front axle hybrid system at the same 190 km/h as its LMH. Rivals and run the standard staggered wheel sizes, rather than four smaller tires.
Everyone Gets a Boost: Other manufacturers also see improvements. Alpine, Isotta Fraschini, and BMW all see weight reductions, while Porsche loses some weight but gains a slight power increase.
Cadillac Gets Mixed Bag: The sole Cadillac gets the smallest weight reduction but receives the biggest power increase of 18 kW.
This BoP update is sure to shake things up at Imola. With lighter and more powerful cars for Ferrari and Toyota, the battle for podium positions is likely to be much tighter than the previous race.
What to expect?
Porsche Penske Motorsport had a dream run at the opening round in Qatar. Their #6 car cruised to victory, while their #5 car secured pole position and finished a strong third. The privateer Porsche team, Hertz Team JOTA, stole the show with a stunning second-place finish, just over a second ahead of the factory #5 Porsche. All eyes will be on them so see if they can carry that advantage to Imola. Porsche, quickest all week in Qatar, may struggle more at Imola, as the 963 prefers a smoother track surface. So their performance might be interesting to watch
Ferrari AF Corse struggled in the Qatar 1812km race, unlike Porsche. The Le Mans-winning factory cars finished 6th and 12th, while the privateer #83 Ferrari 499P came in 4th due to multiple setbacks. The team will be eager to perform well at their upcoming home race held at a track named after their founder, just 90km south of their base in Maranello.
Car #51 driver Antonio Giovinazzi said “After the 1812 km in Qatar, an unlucky race for us, we come to Imola aiming for a positive result to celebrate with our fans. Climbing the podium in front of what I expect will be a large crowd would represent a significant achievement.”
In the LMGT3 category, BMW did not face any issues. The #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 car finished fourth, following the Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 of Mathay PureRxing and the two Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 cars of Heart Of Racing Team and D’Station Racing. Even though there are Hypercar teams with home advantage, BMW and their star driver, Valentino Rossi, born less than two hours drive away from Imola, might receive the loudest cheers. After an impressive run in Qatar, BMW is aiming for the podium.
Championship Standings
Schedule for 2024 6 Hours of Imola
