Fresh off Porsche’s first FIA World Endurance Championship win, last time out in Qatar, in the Hypercar class with the 963, Porsche factory driver Andre Lotterer told MotorsportWeek.com that the German manufacturer is now ‘much better prepared’ than previously.
“We can see the improvements from the past,” said the three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner.
“The learnings were from the beginning. The adjustments that have been made in the team in terms of staff have been really good, and we we are earning the fruits from that.
“In terms of operations and we arrive much better prepared with a plan, a few plans. And most of the time now, they’re shooting in the right direction and with a science behind, not just arriving and trying things out and scratching our heads. So now we really we come prepared.”
In terms of this weekend at Imola, Lotterer didn’t appear overly confident that he and Porsche could repeat the Qatar success, which as well as Porsche’s first 963 win in the WEC, was Lotterer’s first win with Porsche.
“Would be nice!”, he said.
“But it’s gonna be a hard one here. We came testing here and we realised, ‘Wow!, it’s quite different than at Qatar. It was good that we came because we understood what we needed here.
“So, we made some changes and the car, feels much better than at the test, but others are fast as well or faster.
“I don’t know how much the BoP [Balance of Performance] adjustment plays a role. I don’t know. We would like to, we’re not expecting to be at the front, but who knows? Maybe if we do a good job we can make it,” concluded the German.
And the reason for that apathetic response? Track suitability, as Lotterer relayed.
“I think so,” he said when asked if the 963 suited Qatar more than it does Imola.
“At least, we did a really good job in Qatar with understanding the tyres and finding the best setup… and suits the car better. I think on the way our aero works on smooth tracks, we managed to extract more.
“Circuits like these are a bit more bumpy. It’s still an area where, we’re a bit, not at a disadvantage, but not as good as others maybe. I don’t know if it’s an LMDh thing or or not, but It’s a bit more difficult to put together,” he concluded.
Porsche finished seventh and eighth in the first free practice session. The race takes place on Sunday 21st April, starting at 1pm local time.
