If the track bends, the “distance” between two points is the route you follow around the bend. If you cut across instead of following the curve, the distance changes and the speed numbers won’t tell the full story.
It means measuring how fast the car goes through a particular part of the track. They use timing points so they can tell how the car behaves around the turn.
The Dunlop chicane is a specific twisty section of the track at Le Mans. They’re saying their slide happened right there, in a spot where you’re still getting up to speed.
Le Mans is the famous endurance race and track they’re talking about. They’re saying the real track feels different from what you see on TV, because of bumps and the shape of the road.
The “crown in the road” is the road shape—often higher in the center than the edges. That shape changes how the tires load the car, and it can make the car bounce or scrape when you’re driving hard.
LMP2 is a category of prototype race car used in endurance racing. They’re saying that in an LMP2 car, the track’s bumps and road shape feel much more intense than you’d guess from TV.
In endurance races, faster and slower classes share the track. “GT traffic” means you’re dealing with GT cars while you’re trying to pass (or being passed), which makes driving more complicated.
A “hypercar” is the fastest class of race car in this kind of endurance event. They’re saying that when a hypercar is passing you (or you’re passing GT cars), it changes how stressful and technical the driving feels.
“Bottoming” is when the suspension gets fully compressed and the car starts hitting the ground or its lower limits. It’s a warning that the car is riding too low or the bumps are too much at that moment.
A track walk is when a driver walks the track in person to look at it closely. It helps them spot details like where corners start, where the bumps or kerbs are, and what the surface feels like.
Place
Mulzan
Mulzan is a named part of the race track. If the track surface there gets resurfaced, it can change how much grip the cars have in that section.
Place
Arnage
Arnage is a named section of the track. The speaker is saying they noticed patches there, which can affect how the car grips and accelerates.
Slow zones are parts of the track where you have to drive slower for safety. Drivers have to be careful and smooth because you’re still trying to keep the car moving well while following the speed limits.
A simulator is a training setup that lets drivers practice race situations virtually. It’s useful for learning procedures like safety cars and slow zones without the pressure of a real race.
The safety car procedure is the set of rules and driver/team actions used when a safety car is deployed. It covers how cars should line up, how speed is controlled, and how/when positions are managed—so getting it wrong can cost time or even create dangerous situations.
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany. The speaker is using it as an example of how drivers can get too eager and accelerate too soon when they should be careful.
The green flag means the race is “go” and drivers can race at full speed. The speaker is talking about how much time you get to prepare for that moment. It’s basically the start signal after a caution.
Concept
mental sort of race
The speaker means that some racing is more about thinking and decision-making than just driving fast. In their example, you have to be aggressive enough to race for position, but you can’t cross the line into penalties. So you’re managing risk with your mind as much as your hands.
A safety car is a pace car that comes out when the track isn’t safe for full-speed racing. Cars slow down and stay together behind it until the danger is cleared. Then the race restarts when officials give the green flag.
GT means “Grand Touring,” and it’s a type of race class built around sports cars that are closer to road cars. In GT racing, different models can behave differently, so it can be harder to predict and manage performance. That’s what the speaker is contrasting with LMP2.
BOP means “Balance of Performance.” It’s how race organizers try to make different cars compete more fairly by limiting or adjusting things that would otherwise make one car much faster. It’s meant to keep the racing close.
A Gibson V8 is a gasoline engine with eight cylinders arranged in a V shape. It’s different from an electric motor, so it makes different sounds and vibrations and delivers power differently. That’s why the driver’s expectations change when switching cars.
A slick tire is smooth (no tread grooves) to get maximum grip on dry pavement. It’s usually worse in the rain because it can’t push water out of the way as effectively.
An all-weather tire is built to grip in more than one kind of weather. In racing, the tire type changes how much traction the car has and how it feels when you brake or turn.
Mechanical grip is the tire “holding on” to the road through rubber and contact. It’s about how the tires are loaded and what kind of tire you’re using, not just downforce.
Race cars use computers to manage things like power delivery and braking. When teams update the software, they can change how the car responds and drives.
“Aerodynamically based” means the car uses its shape to push down onto the road. That downforce usually builds as speed increases, so it helps most in faster corners.
Term
P2 car
“P2 car” is a type of race prototype. Here, the key point is that it gets a lot of its grip from aerodynamic downforce rather than just tire grip.
Brake bias is how much of the braking happens at the front versus the rear. If it’s set one way the car stays stable; set it differently and it can feel like it turns in differently or gets harder to control under braking.
Fly-by-wire means the car uses electronics to control systems instead of purely mechanical connections. That makes it easier for the computer to adjust things quickly while you’re driving.
Term
entry to Indy through the kink
This is a particular fast corner area at Le Mans. The idea is that you carry a lot of speed through it and only start braking later than you might expect.
Term
Porsche 1
“Porsche 1” is the name of a corner section at Le Mans. Drivers use it as a landmark for where the car needs to be set up for braking and turning.
It means the car is being asked to do more than it can handle in that moment. When that happens, it gets harder to control and you can’t set up the next turn properly.
In this context, “electronics” refers to driver-assistance and stability systems that help control a car when it starts to slide. These systems can intervene by adjusting engine output and braking to reduce oversteer and help the driver regain control.
A “rhythm corner” is a corner sequence where maintaining a steady flow—rather than a single braking point—keeps the car balanced and fast. The driver’s job is to keep the car’s momentum and steering inputs consistent through the section.
Term
Kinkilta
“Kinkilta” appears to be the host’s nickname/pronunciation for a specific kink/entry point on the circuit. The idea is that getting out of that kink correctly sets up the rest of the sequence.
Term
Tert Rouge
“Tert Rouge” is referenced as the next major point in the corner sequence after “Kinkilta.” The host’s message is that if you don’t get the first part right, you’ll struggle through to that later section.
Steering angle is how much the driver turns the steering wheel (and thus the front wheels) relative to straight-ahead. The host mentions using some steering angle through a bump and then feeling a “wiggle,” linking steering input to the car’s response.
Throttle refers to the driver’s accelerator input, which directly changes engine torque delivered to the wheels. The host contrasts “early aggressive to throttle” versus staying flat, implying different torque delivery strategies to manage traction and balance through the corner.
In this driving context, “minimum” refers to using the minimum speed/rotation needed through the corner while maintaining momentum. The host pairs it with “have to change… tighter line,” describing a different approach to cornering and exit quality.
Third and fourth gear are specific transmission ratios the driver selects to balance acceleration, engine speed, and traction. The host says you can “play around” with those gears in the P2 car, highlighting how gear choice affects how the car responds on corner exit and through variable lines.
Place
Deatona chicane
A chicane is a part of the track where the road “zig-zags” to slow you down. The host says Tert Rouge leads into this Deatona chicane, so your setup there affects how well you can get through it.
A “kink” is a sudden bend or direction change that comes up quickly. It forces you to steer and stabilize the car fast, so you can’t be sloppy with your inputs.
Brake pressure just means how strongly the driver is pressing the brake. More brake pressure slows the car more, but it can also reduce grip for cornering if you brake too hard while turning.
The rear axle is the part that links the two rear wheels and helps transfer power to them. “Trust in the rear axle” means you’re confident the rear tires will stay planted so the car doesn’t get unstable when you’re turning and accelerating.
Place
Molesanne Strait
This sounds like the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans—a long fast stretch. The way you set up the chicane after it depends on how fast you’re going and where you brake.
Resurfacing is when the track gets a new layer of asphalt. That can change how grippy it feels and how the car reacts when you hit curbs or uneven spots.
The apex is the closest point to the inside of a corner. Drivers aim for it because it helps them set up the car for the rest of the turn and the exit.
This is how the car switches from turning one way to turning the other way. If it feels better, it usually means the car responds more smoothly between the turns.
Broward Hill is a specific named part of the race track. The speaker is saying the track has been changed there, which affects how the car rides over it.
Mark Webber is a well-known race driver. In this story, his crash is mentioned as the reason the track was altered in that area.
Term
break and turn
This means you slow down (brake) and then start turning into the corner right after. It’s a tricky part of driving because the car is still settling from the braking.
“GT cars” are race cars based on real production cars, often seen in endurance events. The speaker is saying they can be hard to notice in certain corners, especially when you’re braking and turning.
Your braking point is the exact place on the track where you start slowing down for a turn. If you brake at a different spot than usual, the car may not turn in as well.
Inside front locking is when the front inside wheel stops rolling and starts sliding during braking. That usually means you’re braking harder than the tire grip can handle, and it can hurt steering.
Tires cool down when they’re not being worked hard enough. When they’re cooler, they usually grip the road less, so braking and turning can feel worse.
Practice is the time drivers spend learning the track. It helps them remember where to brake and how the car will feel when tires are hot or cooling off.
Accelerate means you start adding throttle as you come out of the slow-down area. Doing it at the right time helps the car stay stable and keep traction.
They’re talking about a specific part of the Indianapolis track layout. The way the car behaves there—speed, grip, and cornering—depends on the shape of the turns.
Place
Arnaj
“Arnaj” is the name of a specific corner or section of the track. They’re explaining how the car behaves there, including how a bump changes grip when you leave the turn.
“Rear lock” means the back tires lose grip and stop turning. That can make the car slide or spin, especially while you’re trying to go fast through a corner.
Upshifting is when you shift into a higher gear. In racing, when you do it can affect how smoothly the car accelerates and how much grip the tires have.
Term
TC
TC (traction control) helps the car not spin its wheels when you accelerate. If the tires start slipping, it reduces power and/or brakes to help you get traction again.
Term
traction zone
A “traction zone” is the portion of track where grip is marginal or rapidly changing, so the car’s ability to accelerate depends on tire traction. Drivers often treat it like a narrow window of throttle/brake timing to avoid wheel slip and instability.
“Porsche curves” is the name of a corner sequence on the track. They’re saying it’s important to set up correctly because the surface and direction changes make it easy to lose grip.
It means you slow down as you’re coming into a corner, not after you’ve already turned. When you brake earlier or later changes how well the car can turn and stay stable.
“Step out” means the car starts to slide or rotate more than you want. It’s the moment you worry the car will break traction and move off the racing line.
The “front axle” is the front set of wheels and the suspension/drive components that connect them to the car. When the host says they’re “fighting the front axle,” they mean managing front-end grip and balance—especially steering response and understeer/traction behavior.
“Front-limited” means the front tires run out of grip before the back tires do. When that happens, the car often wants to go straight instead of turning as sharply. They’re saying this happens quickly as soon as they turn into the corner.
Term
P2
“P2” is a label for a specific part of the lap or a defined driving zone. They’re saying that as soon as they enter the corner, that zone is where the car’s front tires run out of grip first. The exact meaning of P2 depends on how the session is being analyzed.
“Off-camber” means the track surface is slanted in a way that isn’t flat. That can make the tires grip less predictably. They’re saying you can’t really tell how slanted it is from TV.
Term
4G key
“4G key” sounds like a name for a specific corner or corner sequence at the end of the lap. The speaker is saying people might wonder why it’s important, but it’s actually different from other corners. The exact name is unclear from the transcript text.
“Curbs” are the raised edges along the track. Drivers sometimes ride them to stay on the fastest line, but they can also make the car bounce or lose grip. They’re saying the car handles those curb bumps surprisingly well.
“Sleeping policemen” are raised bumps on the track, like speed bumps. They make the car bounce or compress, which can affect grip and steering. They’re saying the corner has bumps similar to what you’d notice in karting.
A splitter is a flat piece on the front of a race car that helps push the car down onto the track. If it’s very low, it usually means the car is designed to stick to the road at high speed.
A chicane is a set of quick, tight turns that makes cars slow down and steer more precisely. “Forward chicane” just means the one that comes earlier on the track.
“Droop” means the suspension is letting that wheel extend downward. If the tires are in droop, the car can absorb bumps better and may feel less twitchy over rough sections.
Wind can change how the car feels at speed, especially for race cars with wings and lots of downforce. It can slightly alter grip and balance, which can change how you drive.
A downshift is when you go to a lower gear to get the car ready to accelerate. A “double downshift” means you drop two gears quickly to stay in the power band.
Track limits are the official edges of the track. If you go past them—often by using too much kerb or running wide—your lap can be disqualified or penalized.
“Traction limited” means the tires don’t have enough grip to accelerate as hard as you want. When that happens, the car starts to slip instead of moving forward efficiently.
Torque is the engine’s pulling strength. More torque usually means the car accelerates well even at lower revs, while less torque often means you have to rev the engine harder to get moving.
“Peaky” means the engine feels strongest only in a specific band of engine speeds. Outside that range it can feel flat, so you have to keep the revs where it’s happy.
Wheel spin is when the tires start spinning but the car isn’t gripping and accelerating as it should. It usually means traction is limited, like on slippery track sections or when you apply power too aggressively.
Short-shifting means you change gears sooner than you really need to. If the engine doesn’t have much torque low down, shifting too early can make the car feel weak and you may lose traction.
Term
hyper-poor qualifying
Qualifying is when drivers try to set their fastest laps to decide where they start the race. “Hyper-poor qualifying” sounds like a special qualifying format in that event, but the exact rules depend on the series.
Pro-Am means the race includes both pro drivers and less-experienced drivers. Because they often want different things from the car, the team has to set up the car so both drivers can drive well.
A “bronze driver” is a label for a driver rating—basically how experienced they are compared to others. In Pro-Am racing, it usually means the bronze driver is expected to be less experienced than the pro drivers, so the team may need to help them get comfortable in the car.
Concept
manage the weekend
“Manage the weekend” means planning how the team will work across practice and qualifying so the car is ready for the race. In this situation, it sounds like they have to focus on making the bronze driver comfortable so the team can perform better overall.
“Hyper pool” sounds like a special group in the race weekend that you qualify into. The group you’re in can help you start closer to the front, which usually makes the race easier because you’re stuck behind fewer cars.
Concept
drop it as a pro
They’re saying that as a pro, you sometimes have to focus on what helps the team most instead of what looks best for you personally. That might mean changing your plan so the car and teammates get the best overall result.
CrowdStrike APR refers to a branded racing partnership/sponsorship shown on the broadcast or event context. In motorsport, these sponsor names often correspond to a specific team entry or driver lineup rather than a car part.
Endurance racing is about staying fast for a long time, not just for a short burst. Teams have to manage things like tyres, fuel/energy, and driver stints so the car stays competitive to the end.
Formula E is a racing series where the cars are fully electric. Drivers have to manage the car’s power and energy carefully, so it can be good training for other endurance racing where energy use and systems matter.
LMH means “Le Mans Hypercar,” which is the top class of race cars built for endurance events like Le Mans. They’re purpose-built prototypes that have to follow specific rules, including how they use power over long races.
LMDH is a class of endurance race car rules that lets the same type of car compete in different big endurance championships. It’s designed so teams can race in both the U.S. and at Le Mans with a car built to that category’s rules.
Joseph Newgarden is a professional IndyCar race driver. In this segment, they’re talking about something about how he uses his left foot and whether it affects his driving, especially on left turns.
Worldwide Technology Raceway is a race track where IndyCar and other series race. It’s the kind of track where drivers have to be very precise because the turns and oval layout make passing and pace management tricky.
A short oval is a smaller oval race track with tighter turns. Because the track is shorter, the car has to stay balanced through more frequent cornering, which affects how it feels and how tires wear.
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Midweek Motorsport.
News, features, special guests and analysis from the experts.
Formula One, sports car and endurance racing, rallying, touring cars and bikes.
If it has wheels and an engine and they keep score, it's on Midweek Motorsport.
Formula One's having fun on this one.
While I'm driving on the next side of the city, there's a funny fact here that I'm a person.
I've been running on cursory as metrics for me.
That's why I'm in the car.
It's because there's more air here this way than this thing.
Thanks to Moses 17.
Moses 17.
You're ready.
I can hear you Le Mans.
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
There you come.
I can hear you.
Hello.
Clearly not.
It's not the cure.
It's not the cure.
It has intended. I've just faded it down.
Finally.
I've been looked into now.
It's in the house to look at the weather.
I'm just here rolling on the floor laughing at you thinking that that was the cure.
And doubling down on the fact that you thought it was the cure.
You did. You were good. You knew it wasn't.
But you couldn't say cult.
Well, you haven't told us everything that's on the pack show tonight.
Because you haven't told us who the live studio guest is, have you?
He is still better than the dead one.
That is Colin Queen and he'll be joining us in now about 30 minutes time.
You did mention JQ's.
We'll put that in the big interview slot.
That wasn't the original plan but it is the plan now.
Yes.
You were going to do this show on a balcony and then realise that you'd been very lonely on the balcony, didn't you?
Jamie Crike and I raised Jamie into something that we were born from work.
And I met him on the spot next time he joined for a change.
And that's very good.
And so, he wasn't into one of the things that I had to begin with.
I had plans and well, we knew there was going to be something like this.
It's fine if you don't cut corners.
It affected everyone equally.
Oh, that happened to me in Marks and Spencer's.
The woman thought that I hadn't paid for my shopping even after I showed her my receipt.
And the security guard will say I'm not getting involved in this.
Anyway, they gave me a large cash sum to compensate me for my trouble.
It happened after I phoned them and then the manager phoned me back.
They're quite good at customer service eventually.
Top story.
Top story? Well, I can play Jingle, yes. Do you want me to play Jingle?
I was going to actually start by doing team by team and get it out of the way so we can focus on Le Mon later.
It's time for Nick Damon's team by team review of the Monaco Grand Prix.
It's time for Nick Damon's team by team review of the Monaco Grand Prix.
And we're going to start with Cadillac.
Yeah, I was like, that was the most unbelievable thing I've ever heard.
Honestly, I don't understand it.
I guess Cadillac, very, very nearly scored a point.
Yes.
So, Cadillac has no idea where he's from.
He's not just once, but twice in the ultimate game.
He's got the most penalties.
But Cadillac wins the penalties in the last one.
I'm going to tell you in the last couple of words.
So, they end up, they've given it a little too long.
It was actually quite a bit.
But this is the first point of the game.
It was a spot for a great team by Cadillac.
And the second one was, you can't even just put yourself too far behind.
So there's a couple of teams left.
We missed it.
So it's a good point for Cadillac.
They're going to be quite good.
Their problem was the course that they worked to the great end about three points.
The same problem with that one.
It's just part of the problem.
But Cadillac's ready to help them break wise as they learn.
As they go.
And again, they're all up in the box house.
But they've got a little bad luck.
They can't remove this.
We're going to send them to the team.
It's only 11.10 minutes.
Let's move on to Audi.
And we're in 10th place.
Before they will be blinded.
They're raising the tempo.
That's all from me.
I'm a track lecturer.
And this is the second restart.
I've got a penalty.
24-10-5.
So Audi are having a difficult time getting it off to run.
The process is to do it realistically.
They're making the worst of it.
As far as the problem is concerned.
They're taking over a team that's been established for 35 years.
And Cadillac have decided to spread.
Every other team scored a point, Nick.
This is amazing.
So our third team we're going to talk about is Aston Martin.
That's what engines do in rear-wheel drive cars.
We move on to gas.
Yes.
So Aston Martin has the most points in the year.
He has a little problem.
And it's now 11.10.
Grace, they started really, really well.
They raised everyone else's score.
And neither did Grace 3.0.
They're doing a massive break.
Which has been a bit of a long day.
And we have to look down.
And then you'll see the middle teams.
They have not much more capital to help them here.
So it's a magnificent attraction.
It's like the P.L.S.P.L.A.P.
is really special.
And they're kind of on the road.
They're using each other.
They're playing each other now.
I think I'll be pretty honest with you.
I don't think Aston Martin is a particularly good driver.
I'm in the team when we're trying to have harmony as a team.
Working together to go together as a team.
I think Ocon is a little bit of a burden.
I think Salterle will try to selfish,
but they've not yet been able to mess with him before.
I know that Ocon's really got the headiest make-up.
I think he's all about him and Aston Martin.
He's trying to spread the boundaries.
He's probably keeping job through.
He's great at racing point plays.
I think he's going to get his top.
It's really worth it.
I think it's something he said.
He's a great working team.
Obviously he was probably really pushing.
He had the impression that he had a strong job going.
That's not happening in the end.
He's got the top of the champion.
So now that's his contract.
I'm very proud of him.
He's leading the whole team.
He's leading the whole team.
He's leading a 20-percent record.
He's running a couple of races with no real...
No real sunny horizon.
We're going to speak every part of it.
Which is the ultimate testimony.
We'll find out.
It doesn't look like it has made it to the end of this.
Williams.
Yeah, I made Williams.
I used to score points with my legs up.
Terrible.
Things are so far about like that.
I don't know if anybody else knows.
I'm going to sign this report.
It's going to be uploaded all by Carl.
I'm going to help him.
They got me confused.
When they were trying to engage me in this,
I went to school.
That was the second reason.
That was the second reason.
That was for them to call me for help.
They probably was holding up something.
They had to provide the issues.
Sorry, I was at the door of the car.
I went past him.
I went past him.
He had to pay something.
He had to pay something.
I went past him.
Let's move on to Alpine.
I went past him.
He was 30.
He thought he was in third.
He crossed the line.
Basically, he was very upset.
He was brought into focus
in a very strange situation
with the pitway.
One of the major reasons for this problem
with the timing of the pitstop
is that they've slightly changed the pit entry.
It's one of the characters of Alan St. Carl's,
the Cadillac Carp,
because maybe it gets too different
from the rest of the people in the store.
But this is what we have now, this problem in the store.
And it comes here on the curve.
They don't do
the speed track
effectively by
all of the speed tracks
that matter on the car.
They don't know how fast you go.
It's all done by time over distance.
You go from point A to point B
in X seconds, you've got the same speed.
That's fine.
And that's point A and point B on a curve.
So if you go point A and point B
on a curve, you measure it around the curve.
If you don't go around the curve
because you can pan across in the middle of it,
you've got their speed
such as 60 kilometers an hour
and the two bits of timing the corner
are up to 60.1 or 60.4.
So the drivers actually were drivers
as opposed to which is minimized
the length of the track.
Not the sales payment, that's why
they won't be able to identify them
being the tiny amounts because
the big difference
is really why
is the point they've realized
that by the time you've seen them
because they need encarsmen
so anyway, call a bit more tip to
on a course.
I was a part of the line,
I had an occasion to come to us
and we asked, you know,
I thought on distance.
Well, it's not distance.
But certainly you see the thought
of micro sectors in the best way.
They may come from both these numbers
so there was a few of these
three or four measuring points, absolutely.
But those measuring point is on a corner
where you take the barbed
in the corner's distance and someone cuts
across that still legally
they're going, they're going to stress again
it depends on where you've taken
the measurement now far away from
where you call the wall
or the right hand side of it
you can tell just how much the curve
you've taken as part of the distance
when the time is straight on the shoulder
or the left hand side of it
so it wasn't anything to do with them
extending and decantilising
if that was the case, that would change anything
if you now have more of a curve, there you go
so if that's not more of a curve
which you can't get your proper basic numbers
what you do, but fortunately
the things that still go large
should be more than 1.3 meters
but you're only travelling
50.5, you're only doing 6
it wasn't enough to make your speed
it's what everywhere else in the world
a calculation of where it is
time or the distance
whatever is involved on the ground
in this time of the distance
the distance wasn't finite
if you think of time that you've got
an absolutely straight line
time of the distance is 5
if you've got a curve on it
it's 9
you take the middle to the middle
you actually have to inside the inside
that's what the problem was
but I take it better than the other one
that you have to take the short distance
and it hasn't been complete
so I take it better than the other one
I think that's where the fixes are
out there anyway for the future
anyway if that might seem that will happen
if I'm hiding from this
I cannot tell the stability
because we heard
tomorrow that one of the things that will happen
is that they will be so really sorry
and we'll make sure it's happening again
we'll leave your things pretty for later
we'll tell you again
that all that has been said
but these different
flags that have been
based on the lines it makes
if I was just
ashamed again with 30 minutes
20 to go
and I'll trust them
race champion
out of 23 events
racing, driving, martial
and 3 events is one of the types
that I've guessed
so
I'll return some
let's take a look at the rest of the programs
that are based on the J.D. 3
events of the year
and we tried out the action
all of the final versions
and it is the best of that
from Hikers Racing and of course
Hikers Racing and of course
the
Hikers Racing and of course
it is full of diesel racing
which is
the focus of
the race of the year
of the year
I like the question
what was this
I've just been to
Hikers Racing and of course
of the year
of the year 1.2
of the year
of the year
of the year
of the year
of the year
as well
is there a veer angle?
is there one of those helmet cams?
what about a pedal view?
should we move on to the rest of the team
because there was one team
and only one team
that had both cars in the points
and that was RB
but at the end of the year
we just got points about
what we were lucky about
that the penalties were probably made from that
which is that we could resolve the racing rules
and I don't believe that
that definitely benefits the carers
in terms of what you mentioned
in the past
and of course
the really starting measurements
so as we get
the racing rules
perhaps from the point 18
which is
McLaren are next
so
and also Barsthan is not that far away
he could beat both
Red Bull the next
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
I've just seen
that the Red Bull Academy has signed
someone called Rocco Coronel
it's Ferrari
next
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year, the first year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
You know, it seems you like these new cars, it seems to me quite a lot.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
Now, in a way, the situation is still very, very good.
And finally, Mercedes.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
We're going to see some new names in some Formula One cars because Luke Browning is going to be testing the Williams.
Paul Aaron is going to be testing the Audi and McLaren is going to have Leonardo Funnaroli in it for food practice 1.
Why are so many teams picking Barcelona to do this?
Let's do some sports kind of news. I would like to start with 2027 and Imza in 2027, specifically, which we now know won't have a genesis in it.
And won't have a hypercar from AO Racing.
They had mooted 2028 in the past, but they had originally said 2027.
If you look at the camera, it describes some of the things that actually just won't make sense.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
Where does the press conference happen?
That's later today. That's Tempar State at LeMond time today.
If you were all interested in the science of design of car design and the discipline nature of car designers can be if given enough autonomy.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
It's been quite a few years, especially the last year we've thrown away what we've lost here.
Getting set for this year's Le Mans 24 hours.
2026 is the 94th edition and welcome to CrowdStrike APR's effort for Jack Hughes. How are you doing fella? And how did test day go?
Well actually I know how test day went. Shall we just talk about the afternoon and leave the morning out?
No sorry, I have got to ask you about what went on towards the end of that morning session. You were just coming out of the pits.
Yeah I mean for sure the afternoon I would say was better than the morning. It was just one of those very unfortunate things. I came out of the pits on new cold tyres. I had quite a big snap on cold tyres.
Unfortunately the Toyota collected me as I was gathering it back up.
You'd literally popped out of the pit lane two corners before that. This was at the Dunlop chicane underneath the Goodyear bridge. I know that's confusing but that is the correct nomenclature.
So you hadn't even got into your lap at this point?
No exactly. I was cruising, just went through the right of Dunlop chicane, got a big snap. Full correction as I was gathering it back up.
The Toyota, nothing he could have done. He was completely innocent in it. I think he was a little bit blinded by the, he was right behind the gearbox, the Cadillac, one of the Cadillacs.
I don't think he saw me in a 45 degree angle and hit the front right of the car. As I said nothing he could have done.
It was one of those things if it happens two seconds before or after I just collect a slide, carry on, no spin, no yellow flag, no one talks about it. So it was one of those racing things unfortunately.
Guys did great work during the lunch break, got back out in the afternoon.
Tit that out of the equation, how had the morning session gone and then did you lose any time in the afternoon and did you pretty much get through the tick list of things to do in terms of the 23 hour sessions?
To be fair the damage, we got away with it with the damage. It wasn't that big at all. I think it took the guys maybe 30 minutes to fix. It was pretty much nothing. I think the Toyota came off a little bit worse.
So we were ready to go pretty much two hours before the start of the afternoon session. We obviously lost, I think it was around 30, 40 minutes of the morning so roughly 10 laps or something like that that I was planning to do.
And the afternoon went smoothly. We got through the run plan as intended. We found it a little bit tricky I would say because obviously I didn't drive in the morning but my two teammates, Michael and Enzo, were finding it a bit tricky with the car.
We had quite an oversteery car let's say and we spent most of the afternoon sort of dialing that back and bringing it more towards a bit of a neutral car which by the end of the afternoon session we definitely managed to do.
And yeah I would say the last run I was feeling very comfortable with it.
This is a strange place in many ways. It's a great place. Don't get me wrong. When I say strange I mean difficult. I mean challenging.
But it is unlike anything else that we go to race on in the World Endurance Championship in the European Le Mans series, in IMSA.
And you can't just come here and test and I know you can do sims and I know how good sims are but there really isn't here I think of all places. There's nothing like being out on the track.
I mean absolutely not. I watch as any racing driver that hasn't done Le Mans has probably done. I've watched Le Mans every single year you know probably more than half the race at least.
And honestly on TV it looks oh I don't want to say simple the track but it looks you know it's a straight corner, straight corner kind of vibe.
You get to Porsche curves and obviously there's a sequence of corners but it looks quite a simple track to learn on TV.
And then you get here and what the TV doesn't show you or what on boards doesn't show you is the bumps, is the curves, is the crown in the road down Molsan Strait.
You know it's little things like that that you cannot picture on TV and especially when you're in like an LMP2 car you know I had numerous occasions yesterday where I was overtaking a GT traffic whilst being overtaken by a hypercar and you find yourself in the middle of the road where the crown of the road is and the front of the car is bottoming and touching and these are all the little things that you can't experience until you get here.
And so yesterday was definitely an eye-opener in that sense. I still felt like I got onto it quite quickly you know it's what I've done for so many years now getting used to new cars so a new track so I found that fairly comfortable but yeah it still felt like I needed a few laps.
A friend of mine who shall remain nameless so that I protect the guilty in this case said to me when he was about to come to Le Mans many years ago now actually and he said I don't know what you guys going up about Le Mans and all of this.
I understand the history but I've looked at the track and on paper it looks pretty simple and I said to him you don't miss it on paper miss you don't drive it on paper.
Those little nuances that you're talking about even in a road car you get a bit more idea if you drive around it or you do the track walk I know a lot of people cycle around there.
But even year on year some of the kerbs changed there's been a bit of resurfacing this year from the first chicane down to Mulzan.
There's a couple of patches I noticed at Arnage on the acceleration through the acceleration zone through the centre of the corner.
All those things just make a difference and the vast majority of course is still public road through the rest of the year.
So there's going to be an evolution of the track that is quite impressive actually over the week or so particularly if it stays dry.
So that means you would have had to do all your rookie bits and pieces your tests and go and do the simulator work and how was that then because we hear about that.
It's something the AC will talk about but the opportunity for you who've just been through it Jack to tell us about it.
What was it like from your point of view was a highly experienced and skilled driver? Was it a bit like going back to school?
A little bit of a flavour of that but I think it's vital though to be honest.
So you didn't resent it at all?
No I think obviously for maybe bronze drivers and such they probably take a little bit more from it than I would let's say even just from cycling around the track model.
But I mean for me as a pro it's more for the procedural stuff like safety cars and the slow zones and things like that.
That's all stuff that you know on paper right but it's good to get an example of it in a simulated environment when there's literally no pressure on.
There's no consequence for getting it wrong and you can really play around a bit and try pushing into slow zones and things like that.
The safety car procedure is actually quite an interesting one because it's unlike anything else right?
And on paper it's quite simple but you can get it wrong and even for a pro driver whilst we'd like to think we're always perfect.
As I saw yesterday morning of a little snap on cold tyres we never are fully perfect and so it's nice just to get that in the back of the brain on the simulator before you come here for real.
And the other thing is that this is a big circuit can you get radio communications all the way around by the way?
That's a question I haven't asked people for quite a while.
Yeah pretty much there's a small dead spot oh I wouldn't say dead spot patchy spot around Morsan.
Yeah exactly and you would expect that to a degree I suppose but even there you can still understand what the engineer is saying.
Right so you can get a bit of help if slow zones are coming out, if safety cars are coming out, if they're about to be withdrawn but ultimately getting into the slow zones is one thing and most people get that right.
Where I always think this time to be made up is coming out the slow zones you've got to be really on it.
Yeah exactly you see I think it's a little bit of what you see on the Nurburgring right sometimes in terms of I think you can get a little bit trigger happy when you would launch out the slow zone.
You can see it at least when I tried it on the simulator I haven't experienced it yet on the real track but you can see the green flag and you have like 7-8 seconds probably on the 80kmh to prepare for that imaginary line.
And you know you can imagine a certain environment where you're racing for a position and maybe you're the car ahead and there's a car behind that's pulling out a little bit and showing the nose.
And it's a mental sort of race that you can't give anything but you also cannot get a penalty. So yeah there's a definite skill to that.
Safety cars you mentioned, three safety cars then we get everybody together and then we go back green. I think that's a much better way than we used to do it before.
It's actually what many years ago one of our listeners suggested it took the ASU a little while to get on to it to combine those three so you didn't back in the, I was going to say the olden tears there, it's not that far back but I mean I do go along where back but it's not that far back.
I remember watching it.
All right, all right, I'm sure, yes, all right, yes, I was, I was in short trousers at school, yes, you can leave that out as well.
Well, it would effectively, you would get three races in the different classes and it is so hard to make up time here. You're in a category where everybody has the same equipment, where everybody has the same performance potential.
I accept the car still have to be set up but there are far fewer variables than see it in a GT class with two cars or three cars of each manufacturer of a hypercar category where we've got 18 cars from nine different eight from manufacturers out there.
Is that a joy for you as a competitive driver that closeness of competition or is it a complete pain because it means you cannot afford a mistake?
I mean, to be honest, I haven't experienced BOP racing myself yet. I mean, I've very much been in single seat as most of my career, been in Formula E for three or four years.
So I'm very much used to the whole, you know, you get given a car, make the most of it kind of thing and that's what it is.
You know, I fully understand why we have BOP in other categories, but it is nice to race in a category like LMP2 where you are just with your own abilities, your teammates abilities, the engineers ability, the communication between the two of you, the group of you to get the most out of it.
So I'm very much warmed up to that. It's very much what I know, the racing I know, so that's not an issue for me.
I think maybe when the day comes that I race here, maybe in a GT or even a hypercar in the future and there's a bit of BOP going on, that's something I'll have to learn.
How does the Oracle Gibson, the ABR car compare to what you were driving in Formula E?
Yeah, that's a Formula car. Yeah, it's an Altman top car. It's quite heavy because of the battery.
Is there anything that you've been able to bring over? Different mode of power, all right? That's an obvious one.
But in terms of your driving style, is there anything that you've been able to bring over from that into the P2?
In many ways, no, to be honest. The cars are very, very different. The obvious stuff, you know, one's electric, one's powered by a Gibson V8, that's obvious, right?
You're having to get used to having noise in your ears.
Yeah, do you know when I tested the car for the first time? It was only back in February when I drove an Allen P2 car for the first time.
And it was in Abu Dhabi after Asia and Le Mans. I was going down the straight and I was expecting to be doing 320kmh by the noise of the engine.
I looked down and I was doing 250kmh. And even when you get out of the car, your fingers tips are vibrating after doing a couple of stints in the car from the vibration.
So it's very different. The weight of the cars are not too dissimilar, let's say. As you say, a Formula E car is very heavy.
But I presume the Formula E car carries its weight in a different way. It's quite a lot of the weight to lower down.
Yeah, exactly. But they drive very differently. You know, one's on an all-weather tire, a groove tire, one's on a slick tire.
But I would say the easiest way to compare them is the Formula E car relies a lot on mechanical grip and system controls and software updates and things like that.
Very digital, in a way. The P2 car is very much aerodynamically based. That's where it generates most of its grip.
It comes into its own in a medium to high speed corner. In a slow speed corner, it becomes quite a heavy car.
And it's obviously, whilst it's always been updated to the Oracle, it's quite an old car now.
So, you know, it's very much like, even when I got in the car for the first time and realised I had to change brake bias with the old notch next to the wheel,
I'm very much used to being able to press a button and be able to change the digital brake bias, let's say, on the fly-by-wire.
So, that was a funny one. But I love this car, honestly. I keep saying to people, I fall in love with endurance racing very quickly.
But even this car as well, it's so raw to drive. Like I said, it's visceral, it vibrates, it's loud. You can push it as hard as you want.
The tyres are very consistent. It has a lot of aerodynamic grip.
Are you getting the feedback that you want, that you need?
From the car. Absolutely. You feel everything. You feel absolutely everything.
One thing I've really been surprised at coming here at Le Mans is, it's probably the track with the highest sort of arrival speeds into corners.
You go into corners like entry to Indy through the kink and a Porsche 1.
That right-hander into Indianapolis. That is a real pin in the what-not corner. I bet it's great in a P2 car.
It's amazing. But you're still on the throttle there.
You enter, you turn in. You put much turn as you brake.
Wow.
So, you pretty much don't lift the throttle until it's time to brake.
Yeah.
And again, coming back to what I said earlier, when you watch it on TV, on TV, they often have the raised camera position.
Yeah, yeah.
And you don't get the road-hype speed.
Jesus, it's a fast corner.
A commitment.
Yeah, fully. And once you start braking pretty much for the kink, you don't come off the brakes until you go through the left.
So, it becomes one braking zone, especially once you're up to speed.
Interesting.
So, the speed you're carrying to the kink in Indy is very much has a knock-on effect for how you arrive into the left.
So, you can imagine if you get that wrong or you're over-pushed, the left becomes a make-or-break corner,
as you probably see in the mornings when people get tired and stuff like that.
It's something I'm definitely going to have to be sharp on.
Well, let's talk about the rest of the lap then, as you've talked about that.
Okay, we'll leave the Dunlopchak here now, because you've learned that one now, and at least you know what not to do.
I've got to tell you, that's probably the only thing that we've got in common.
I got a street Aston Martin, very sideways there on a demo lap once.
And it caught my attention.
Yeah.
I'll tell you that.
And exactly the same, went about 45 degrees.
My passenger just giggled, thought it was all part of the fun.
But I had a bit of a sweat run.
No, no, hell no.
I had it all under control.
Yeah, thank goodness for all the electronics.
So, under the new bridge, down at the old Forest Esses, that's quite committed through there as well.
And that area always seems to me to be a kind of a rhythm corner.
It's a bit like ski slalom.
If you get out of Kinkilta with the first one, you're fighting it all the way through to Tert Rouge.
Yeah, absolutely.
Again, like what I said earlier about not knowing the track when you only watch it on TV,
before you brake for the Esses, as you're going through the right where the green bollards are,
there's a bump.
There's a big bump through there just before you brake.
Didn't have a clue that was there until I got here.
So, once I finally started doing my first lap, so I go through there with a bit of steering angle,
and the car gets a little bit of a wiggle on this.
So that's one thing I noticed, but it's heavily banked.
You have a choice of what to do through there as well, especially through the left.
You have a choice whether to stop the car and get very early aggressive to throttle,
stay flat through the right before Tert Rouge.
Or you can carry a lot of minimum and have to change,
have to make the right or tighter line and you don't get, maybe get the exit.
You can play around with third or fourth gear in the P2 car there.
So there's a lot of variability in the driving through there, but very fun to drive.
Then you come down to Tert Rouge, the Red Hill, as it is, Tert Rouge, not Red Head.
Oh, is it?
Yeah, no, no, you said it right.
A lot of people don't.
Very important corner because it leads you on to the first part,
the first long run down to what's now called the Deatona chicane.
Again, a corner that on telly, that on paper looks, oh yeah, that's all right.
It's not at all, is it?
It's a big corner.
It's a big corner, especially when you know the consequence for not pushing it.
It's so big for lap time, but the consequence of getting it wrong is also so big.
So you can't afford to, you have to know what the car is doing through there.
You have to, you need to be able to feel confident to push through there.
You need to feel confident because again, it's a bit like the kinking to Indy.
You kind of break as you turn into the corner.
And to be honest, it's not a lot of brake pressure anyway.
So you require a lot of commitment on the steering wheel, a lot of trust in the rear axle of the car.
But if you don't have the front, you can't pick up the throttle.
So it's such a difficult corner to get right in, not just set up, but how you drive the car.
But like you say, it's again, such a fun corner to drive.
It's so fast.
And then you exit the corner and there's loads of traffic to deal with.
Because through the Estes and Teteroos, it's been difficult to get past GT cars or whatnot.
There's hypercars queuing up waiting to get past.
So yeah, you've got to be awake through there.
The two chicades, the guys who designed the track and the chicanes,
they swear to me that they are identical but mirror images of each other.
I am absolutely convinced that the second chicane is slightly tighter than the first, particularly from 8x out.
But they say it's not the case.
The first one, de Atona, is right, left, right.
I always think that's a more open chicane and that you can get on the power way earlier and hammer across that exit curve.
Whereas the second one, which is left, right, left, coming onto the last part of the Molesanne Strait,
it always seems to me that that left hand curve, the exit curve, comes up a little bit quicker.
I would agree on the exit, absolutely.
I don't know, there's a slightly different profile.
I don't know if it's the way they've done the resurface in this year for the exit curve on the second chicane,
but it's a bit more of a ridge than the exit curve on the first chicane.
So if you sort of go over it with a bit of the middle of the car over the exit curve in the second chicane,
the car jumps, whereas in the exit of the first chicane, the car takes it easy.
It could be, it's my first time, right, so I don't have a comparison last year,
but it could be to do with the resurface in there.
I think the entry are quite similar, to be honest, but again, to do with the resurfacing, the second chicane feels faster now.
The confidence you have to go through the first apex and the second chicane feels different.
The change of direction, performance of the car feels a bit better as well,
but I think that's mostly asphalt related.
So up over the old Broward Hill, which was shaved down after Mark Webber's accident in the Mercedes all those years ago,
a good amount, sort of 10 feet plus if you look to the right,
if you're ever driving down that part of the track, when you can drive that down the track,
look to the right and you can see where the track used to be and where it's come down.
It's a goodly amount.
I remember standing around about there in my first Le Mans back in 1989, taking photographs of Jaguars and things like that,
coming towards me and there were no chicanes in those days.
That was incredible.
Only two-layer Armcourt there as well, back in those days, or this is all our yesterdays.
So in the Mulsanne Corny, you don't have to do the roundabout, thank goodness, it's cut off.
But again, that's a break and turn kind of area.
The poor guys in the GT cars, I've seen this so many times, you could be looking and look 20 times as you're coming in there.
You normally sit on the left-hand side of the car, you're coming up, look nothing there, look nothing there.
I'm going to turn in. Oh my God, there's something there.
Because the closing speed there between the P2s and the GTs, and particularly the hypercars and the GTs, is incredible.
Because you guys are, I presume, still fully committed through that first turn in fears for that corner.
Yeah, I mean, the P2 is probably the latest...
Maybe it's not in distance, but it feels like it's the latest braking car out there, even compared to the...
When a hypercar has come past me and pulled back in front just for the braking, I have to actually back up a little bit to my normal braking point.
So you have to be awake to that.
But speaking about how that drives into Mulsanne, we turn in flat and we brake pretty much at the painted curb on the inside.
It's very late and now it's resurfaced.
I don't know if back in the day there was tricky feeling on the brake attack, but now it's super smooth.
But you can really get a bit of inside front locking at the end.
It's just the arrows bleeding off.
Yeah, exactly.
And again, watching on TV, you often see cars into that gravel trap through the night.
And as the front tire cools down, maybe it gets cooler.
Yeah, and you're thinking, oh, what a plonk are you?
It looks so simple. You just don't do that, right?
And then you get here and you feel the grip, inside front slipping into the corner.
And it's all stuff you put through practice.
You put to the back of your mind that it's like, well, OK.
So actually, yeah, in the night, when the tires get an older, cooler, whatever,
you're going to have to be careful of something like that.
But it is quite a smooth braking zone now.
So out of there, accelerate and back up through.
Did you go all the way down to first there? Did you take that in second?
Second.
Second. OK, so second, all the way up.
Fastest part of the track now, I reckon.
You can tell me if I'm wrong.
Through the two right-handed kinks, coming down into that kink that we're talking about in Indianapolis.
Nice big bang in there.
Arnaj, probably the slowest point of the circuit now.
First gear, yeah. Really easy to rear lock through there.
There's a bump on the exit of Arnaj, which is like, at least in the P2,
it's right as you're on wheel spin.
It's right as you're upshifting.
The TC is trying to help you as well at the same time.
And it's just like you've got these three or four things acting pretty much at the exact moment.
So the traction zone is tricky through there.
So then you get a little bit of a breather up, a slight climb.
You probably don't see this on television either.
It's a slight climb, a little left-hand kink,
and then you set yourself up for the entry to the Porsche curves.
My God, if we're talking about commitment,
the entry to the Porsche curves and you change surface there as well
as you come off that first right-hander.
And then, effectively, you're in a straight track.
There's no runoff at all at that point.
What's that like in the P2? How do you approach it?
How do you get through it?
With a lot of... I'm trying to figure the right word.
You breathe in and hold your breath, do you?
Exactly. Another B word, maybe, or something.
A lot of those.
Again, look, you're right.
It's a lot more uphill than it looks.
Funnily enough, even as you get to the braking point,
you think you should be able to see the corner.
It's actually quite blind.
And you brake, and especially in the first laps,
before I knew I didn't have my references,
you watch the on-bores and you get a reference on the side of the track to brake,
but your eyes then have to pick up the apex.
And when you don't know where you're going yet,
your eyes don't move to where they should at the exact moment.
That's a very good point.
And with a corner like that, when you arrive so quick and you don't see the apex,
and you don't yet know where you're going, because you don't know the track,
there's moments where you think you're on the wrong line,
and it's easy to do something wrong that you never intended to do.
And after a few laps, you get your references,
you know the kerb's going to be where it is,
and it's very...
You need to push so hard that you don't go on the throttle before the entry kerb, let's say.
It's really easy to feel like you can get on the throttle early,
and you think, oh yeah, I'm winning loads of time,
but actually the time's on the braking on the entry.
I've heard people say that that entry, you know,
it's not that important because you've got to make sure you're still to the right
for the next left-hander.
That's the...
Yeah, that's true to a point.
You can't give up that next left-hander,
but you're going to lose so much time in that long, arcing turning
to that first right-hander,
but you have got to steer quite tight to the safer barrier that is there,
and then you're into the Porsche Curve's proper,
what a challenging set of corners,
and I bet it's great in a Peter.
Oh, it's amazing.
I feel like I'm saying the same thing a lot with this,
talking about the track,
but it's miles better than I even thought it could be,
you know, the Porsche Curve.
It's such a famous set of corners, right?
Everyone knows what the Porsche Curve is, and...
It's not easy, is it?
It's not. It's really not.
Like you say, you drive this track, the first two sectors,
let's say at least until an arcing, it's quite wide,
in a way, you know, you get the lane system on the more-sand straight,
and you can go free wide,
and all of a sudden you come through one of the fastest corners on the track,
and you're presented with walls and safer barriers and curbs,
which you cannot take, you cannot use them,
they're a lot taller than they look on TV,
and they're flat, but only just flat.
So it's not...
So if I was a rally-core driver, it would be flat, maybe?
Yeah, flat maybe, yeah, exactly.
And they're definitely not flat for you when you're first getting up to speed,
so again, Porsche 1 completely determines how you arrive at Porsche 4, really,
especially in the P2, I'm not sure what the GT and the hypercars like,
but by the time you're doing your quali lap, Porsche 2 and 3 are flat,
so you need to carry enough speed through Porsche 1
to not have it easy flat in Porsche 2 and 3, if you see what I mean.
Yes, I do.
But then you arrive in Porsche 4 with whatever speed you've been carrying,
and it's such an aggressive entry,
you feel like you've been so, like,
naughty with a steering angle you apply for Porsche 4,
like, there's no way the car should accept that.
There's so much grip, yeah, there's so much grip,
and it's so long and fast that you think it's going to step out,
but it never really has a chance to step out.
You're always fighting the front axle through there,
like, the entry feels real limited,
and you think it's going to carry on,
and pretty much as soon as you get into the corner,
it becomes front-limited straight away in the P2.
And then, yeah, you make sure you're in the right position for karting,
and even that's, like, off-camber, you don't see that on TV.
No.
And you always go through karting,
and you arrive to the track limits on the exit, and you think,
oh, there was another two kilometres an hour through there,
could have gone, and every single lap you do it,
and you're like, there's still more,
it's just one of those tracks.
And then right at the end, you get the naggy double 4G key,
and as it effectively is.
People look at that and think, why?
And I can understand, I can understand that.
But actually, those are two very different sets of corners at the end of the lap,
because you can be very committed through the first one.
The first curve of a 4G key has really surprised me at how much you can take of it,
because you have the kind of, like, the normal raised section of the curve,
and then you have these sleeping policemen,
the yellow, like you have in Dunlop, or exit of karting, for example, as well.
And at least for the P2, I'm so surprised with the P2 how well it takes curbs.
I'm so surprised.
You look at it, and you see how low the splitter is, and how much aero it has,
and you think it's a single-seater platform, let's say.
I think there's no way it can take that curve.
It can take so much more than you think.
So that forward chicane is pretty much your,
at least in quality in the race, you might need to protect the car a little bit more,
but you're right up against the gravel on the apex of the first one.
Yeah, and if you take it fast enough and well enough,
the left-side tyres are in droop, so, you know, it doesn't even flinch the car in some ways.
Yeah, but it's one of those ones where if you're half-hearted with it, you'll feel it.
If you fly over it, the car just jumps over, it skips over it.
And then we're all the way down the box for the second part of it before the...
You're fifth to third, it might be sixth to third,
depending on the wind for the first part of forward,
and then you carry the first two apexes in third,
and then you double downshift into first for the last part.
The first apex of the last chicane is the second-last corner.
It's very aggressive, very aggressive.
Like, I think in quality, it's one of those where you'll just jump over it
and make sure we're in track limits.
But in the race, that's one, I think, you have to stay away from.
Traction limited coming out of that second part of the chicane?
Very it.
If I could say where the P2 maybe has a weakness is traction in general.
The drivability is always a bit tricky,
and it doesn't have a lot of torque, it has a lot of power,
but it doesn't have a lot of torque, so...
Quite peaky.
Yeah, so you need first, you need first gear,
but really, ideally, you'd be in second,
but there's no torque in low-down and second gear,
so you need to be in first, and then you get wheel spin.
So it's one of those things where you do the whole lap...
And you haven't got enough torque to short-shift to kill that well through it?
Yeah, exactly, you need to rev it out.
So you do the whole lap, 13 kilometres,
you see on the Delta, I'm on a good lap,
you survive through forward one and two,
and then, all of a sudden, you get a bit of wheel spin in the last corner.
It's gone.
Yeah, you're like, wow.
Let's start again.
Let's start again.
Yeah, that's magnificent, MIR, thank you.
It belies the fact that this is your first visit here,
but it's clear to me that you are thoroughly enjoying
your Le Mans experience already,
and I applaud you for that,
because you only do your first Le Mans at one time, obviously.
What else are you looking forward to as we wrap up the time with you,
and thank you very much for taking time to talk to us?
There's still a lot to go.
We haven't even turned a wheel in competitive terms yet.
As far as you're aware,
what will you be doing as we go through the week?
We've got this new hyper-poor qualifying as well.
Yeah, exactly.
I'm in Pro-Am, so it's about what we're doing through practice now.
It's one thing like me and Enzo, as let's say the pro-drivers want from the car.
It's another thing what Michael, our bronze driver, wants from the car.
It's the first time I've raced in Pro-Am,
the first time I raced with a bronze driver,
and that's new for me,
and that's something I'm having to think about as well,
how I manage the weekend with the team, with him,
and make sure he's feeling comfortable with the car,
because what I feel comfortable with the car, he might not.
Absolutely.
And as we all know, Michael being comfortable will win us a lot more race time than me being comfortable.
Absolutely, right.
So it's about finding...
So you might have to drive around something.
We know what you can do in a car.
So you might have to drive around something,
because Michael says,
well, actually I'd quite prefer it if it was a little less pointy, for example.
Yeah, absolutely.
And that's what we've noticed a little bit through the test days.
The car was in quite a pointy state.
I could deal with it.
I bet you're good, yes.
And it's something I like in the car, actually.
And we need to sort of dial that back a little bit.
As the grip comes up as well,
and Michael gets more comfortable with the track,
the goalpost will move, right?
So we don't just sort of say,
well, we're happy with it now,
and that's the car we're taking to the race.
We've got practice for a reason.
We'll keep moving it as we go through the week,
and hopefully we arrive with a car for the start of the race
that definitely Michael has come to with,
but also me and Enzo are happy with as well.
There's a bit of tactics to be talked about here as well.
The first part of qualifying, which is when Michael's out,
will be the most amount of cars on the track
of any of the qualifying sessions,
because the G-days are out as well, all the G-days.
Then it gets whittled down a little bit,
so we'll lose a few cars.
But then you've got to decide which of you and Enzo
go in that second session
to get you into the fight for fall position.
You don't have to tell me, and I'm not expecting you to.
I'm not going to put your arm up your back.
No, I'm really not.
But is that a discussion that you've already have
that you know you have to have?
Of course we've already had the conversation, yeah.
Actually, we've got a soft plan
for what we think we're going to do,
and we probably will do that, to be honest,
but it can change, absolutely.
It can change the see-how we're going through practice,
who's more comfortable with the car,
who's more comfortable driving that setup
we currently have on the car, you know.
Is it more important to get yourselves
into the top ten effectively,
top ten showdown, hyper pool too,
than where you are in the top ten?
I would say so.
I would say so, yeah.
I mean, it's a 24-hour race,
but you still want to start a higher up as you can, right?
It's inferior, less drama there,
there's less things to go wrong,
not saying things can't still go wrong,
but it's nice for morale to start higher up.
If you can get into hyper pool too.
So, I would say so.
I'm like very good friends with Nick Yelly,
and I remember last year,
I think he set the fastest time of the whole weekend
in hyper pool one, and he doesn't do hyper pool two,
so he doesn't get pole.
So, you know, like the glory goes to somebody else,
but you have to drop it as a pro, you know.
You have to drop it, you have to do what's best for the car,
best for the teammates, team
to get the best possible results.
So, yeah, at the moment, I would say
prioritising hyper pool one is probably more important for us.
Yeah.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you very much.
You're a great addition to this grid.
Some fantastic characters,
just here at CrowdStrike APR,
let's not forget,
but in terms of drivers,
up and down the paddock,
we have some great characters,
and you're absolutely fitting in.
Delighted to see you here,
and hopefully we'll see you
doing some more endurance racing in the near future.
Is that the plan?
I mean, you were very slyly there,
just said, hate the car early on in the interview.
You've got experience of managing systems
with Formula E,
which is exactly what you need
for the current breed of LMH and LMDH cars.
Is this a shop window for you?
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
I've always wanted to do endurance racing anyway.
Everyone's story is different,
how their career evolves is always different.
Mine took me in the single-seater route
and took me straight into Formula E,
into professional racing.
I had a great time there,
and now I'm here,
but whilst I was there,
I couldn't do endurance racing,
so I'm a little bit late to the party,
maybe in endurance racing,
but no, I'm used to racing
for the top manufacturers.
I want to be at the top level.
I want to win the race overall,
eventually in the future as well,
and at the moment,
you have to be in a hypercar to do that.
So I'm loving the opportunity
I have here with API.
Stu and Sam run a great outfit,
and it's a great place.
You're never short of smiles in here, are we?
Exactly.
It's a great place to come and race
and enjoy your racing,
more importantly.
Yeah.
And they provide us with a great car
to go and win,
but absolutely my goal in the background
of mine is to win Le Mans
and to win IMSER, WEC,
whatever it may be,
and hypercars are a good place
to do that.
I think you'll agree,
dear listener,
on 91.2 FM and around the world,
on RS2,
any manufacturer could not have
a better representative than JQ,
so we've been spending some time with.
Thank you very much.
Go well and enjoy.
Thank you very much.
I enjoyed it.
Thank you.
Everyone loves a plucky little amateur, don't they?
I do, yes.
We're going to talk about the return
of Izato Frashini.
Not that far.
That was only 18 months ago.
That was only 18 months ago.
That kind of brings us onto our next story,
because it was a story about things
that we expect to happen next year,
but there hadn't been any confirmation of it.
And this one is one for Nick Damon
because MotoGP is going to happen.
Official last night.
I think they might spread them out
over the rest of the year.
It is.
Yes, in practice.
That would save you one and a half million euros a year,
apparently.
Yes.
The new agreement runs until the end of 2031
with an option to extend until 2036.
Michael wants that in a moment, Nick.
That's interesting.
Gloucester effects as well.
We don't have a calendar for MotoGP yet,
but apparently that's going to be
the subject of discussions at Brno
in a fortnight's time,
and they should announce it shortly after that.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
Yes.
The RideHeight device band starts at Silverstone,
but the extra three metres starts at the Saxon ring,
which was a month earlier.
I didn't have any more bike news now.
No.
No.
No.
No.
We bend them.
We bend them.
It's a massive reaction.
Someone's hospitality.
It is basically a holiday in them.
They're not going to restart that.
They're not going to restart that.
No.
No.
Like snakeskin.
There's been a lot of them.
But I think there's been quite a few snakeskin.
There's been quite a few snakeskin.
There's been quite a few snakeskin.
There's been quite a few.
Has he not seen that there's a red flag and he won't be starting for a while yet?
I'm sure he's very comfortable.
We need to talk about Joseph Newgarden's left foot.
It doesn't seem to be affecting his ability to turn left because he won at Worldwide Technology Raceway.
His 6th win in 11 starts and his 15th short oval win.
Do you have someone to bring you a drink, Nick?
You should ask Johnny Palmer if he's hovering.
I have no clear what will go wrong in the raceway as well.
And having me together will do everything I can to the point why I won't take a lot of call reps.
At the end of the day, some of us don't know what we're doing.
There was so much that wasn't explained.
Some of them didn't highlight some of the reasons.
I want to change that.
That is the thought to be, guys.
But they'll remember all over the place again.
It's a raceway.
Yeah.
No, why?
You can follow him.
You can follow him.
You have to be staying on the 5th Street to find out yourself.
Which won't be helped by the commentators on the page.
Also, I was looking at the timing on the screen.
We had a message from one of our listeners, Jack Shlasky, who said he's lost the audio on studio vision.
But then he realized that as he leaned backwards, he was accidentally leaning on the volume down button on his headphones.
And by leaning forwards again, that's...
He asked a lot, because he used to get happy in the...
Up on the sync controls on early languages that were on the...
Next to you, on the...
That's what you should tell them.
Then you could find yourself calling.
We got to just check the result of your life.
Out of the world.
That's obviously the way of calling.
That would take me up the cliff road between...
Creeping up a fell deal with me.
Up in the...
Lord Ferrari.
Finish off with Ferrari.
The other defending champions.
That's not what it's all about.
That guy has been talking to the president.
Says they were huge.
Really, any four drivers at the end of this season.
You'll listen to the programs that we did.
From the screen, maybe another judge.
Because I was getting a new tire.
It doesn't really work for them.
They were thoughtless on the integration of the cars.
That's not what it's all about.
Everything has to be working in suit.
So, instead of playing evil jobs,
what it's happening is that...
Effectively, you create a new car,
which, as we said, you can't do.
You can't do the...
You can't do the job.
Every component of the car
will be integrated with the changes the race has set.
Suspension will have an impact on the areas.
We're tackling different areas of an integrated race.
It will not be a completely new car,
which has to be completely new.
But we will use the same homologation.
Only one of the five A4 drivers that we can use at the end of the season.
So far, that is it.
Some great coding tools for memory.
Four or something like that.
Three, twenty-four.
So, in that case, you have four drivers.
X, Y is next year.
And then you've got two further upgrades
of the twenty-nine to twenty-nine seasons.
So, three out of the four there.
There are minutes.
They might lose more experience.
That's basically what they are saying.
And that's about all we've got from this mid-day motorsport thing.
So, I asked the team,
we'll put in loads and lots of dictation.
We've put in standby, get a trackside,
lock it in an A1.2 FM and RS1.
There's action on the track.
As the FIA won the insurance strategy,
it comes around three for the long twenty-four hours.
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About this episode
Hosts kick off with a quick audio check, then move into a Monaco Grand Prix team-by-team review, bouncing between Cadillac and Audi, plus talk of restarts and penalties. The conversation widens into endurance prep for Le Mans 24 Hours: pitstop timing, cold-tyre incidents, and why track feel (bumps, crown, kerbs) can’t be learned from TV alone. Drivers also compare driving tech across formats, from Formula E systems to LMP2/LMH-style grip and traction control.
