The Isotta Fraschini Duqueine team has conducted the first test of the hypercar it will run in next year’s World Endurance Championship.
Drivers Jean-Karl Vernay and Alejandro Garcia Gonzalez covered 1,200 kilometres at the former Formula 1 grand prix circuit Estoril in Portugal at the wheel of the Tipo 6 LMH Competizione.Isotta Fraschini has teamed up with experienced French sportscar outfit Duquiene for its entry into the rapidly-growing WEC series next year. Its car will be one of 19 in the Hypercar class in 2024.
The team’s motorsport manager Claudio Berro said he was “very satisfied” with the outcome of the first test, including the debut of Gonzalez, who is a champion in the LMP3 class.
“It was Alex Garcia’s first time driving a hypercar and he behaved very professionally, assisted by Jean-Karl Vernay,” said Berro. “The two Portuguese days saw several long runs in which the car performed perfectly, which allowed us to collect a lot of information on the tyres and on the set-up and aerodynamic settings.”
Vernay said the test had been “super productive” for the team. “We were lucky to have some great weather which meant we could run the car properly. We continued to improve the car set-up, but all the systems are working well.”
Gonzalez said his chance to drive the car was “Christmas coming early.”
“My first reaction to seeing it in person was like a dream coming true, and driving this car with all the technology involved is something else,” he continued. “We did a lot of laps to get used to it and all the systems, but all ran smoothly.
“Every lap I drove, I learned more and more about the car. I’m super happy Isotta Fraschini allowed me to try the car and race with them, and I can’t thank them enough. I can’t wait to race this car in Qatar.”
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MichaelN
22nd December 2023, 11:52
It’s a bit disappointing that despite the performance caps and the BoP, both of which should have enabled manufacturers to make unique designs reflective of their company’s look and feel, all Hypercars are starting to converge on the same look. Once Peugeot introduces their new design, rumoured to be pretty much a new car, there won’t be anything all that special left on the Hypercar grid. The racing being exciting will make up for that, but it’s still not quite the story the FIA/ACO sold when they introduced the Hypercar class.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
22nd December 2023, 15:56
What’s Isotta Fraschini’s look and feel anyway?! I’d hoped we’d seen the last of the LMP2 freightliner look, and Italian design would have created something more elegant, but at least it’ll actually be distinctive now, plenty of their racing will be in the dark, and it’s nothing to do with Colin Kolles. Wish them well.
asd
22nd December 2023, 19:50
This car looks quite similar and is as ugly as the Toyotas. I hope this team folds quickly.
One of the appeals of sports prototypes used to be great looking cars (especially from the mid 80s until the early 00s), but in the last decade they have been too ugly to watch. Most hypercars have looked quite good (Porsches, Cadillacs, Ferraris), but I have doubts if that persists.