[George O’Donnell]

The WEC kicks off with the preseason ‘prologue’ at Monza this weekend (1st-2nd April).

I admit that I know very little about the WEC. I’ve casually followed the Le Mans 24 hour race but never seen these cars in the flesh. However I recently moved to Milan and will be taking the 20 minute train and attending the test. I went to Monza on Saturday for the Pope’s visit, which is the reason why the Prologue was postponed from it’s original date of 25th-26th March to 1st-2nd April.

I’ll try and take some photos and will post them here:
Flickr album

If anyone has any tips about what to look out for with these cars, please let me know!

[PorscheF1]

Wow, good for you! Just don’t underestimate their speed, Lesmo’s and chicane will be the best spots for pictures, and of course the end of the back straight too.

[George O’Donnell]

Thanks for your advice PorscheF1. There are three ‘sessions’ during the Saturday test (9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm and 7pm-9pm). I-m especially looking forward to seeing the cars as it gets dark.

[George O’Donnell]

Photos that I took on the Saturday running if the Prologue are here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gbodonnell/albums/72157679457687312

It was a very long day. My first ever visit to Monza, first time at a test session, and first time seeing the cars of the WEC. I took the train from Milan at 7am and was in Monza 12 minutes later. I proceeded to walk to the circuit which took about an hour, but was pleasant because I could walk through the royal park.

The paddock was open on Saturday. I didn’t stay there long but the notable people I saw included some of the Porsche drivers Hartley and Bernhard, and later I saw Pastor Maldonado who was taking selfies with a lot of fans (whilst also trying to talk to someone on the phone).

I watched the cars from most points of the circuit. I was surprised about how impressively the cars could change direction – very similar to Formula 1. This was especially noticeable at the second chicane, where it is possible to watch the cars very close to the track.

Maybe the best seat in sports (although quite dangerous) was to climb to the top of the banking and watch as the cars pass under. With the light passing through the trees it was an phenomenal place to watch.

My favourite part of the session was the 7pm-9pm practice. It was just getting dark around 7pm and the LMP1 cars came out to set a quick lap. Soon there was a loud clap of thunder and some lightning, and it looked like that would be the session over. However after a deluge of rain (and less light) some of the cars came out onto the wet track. There was almost no lighting of the track (or the spectator areas) and I really got an appreciation of the difficulty of driving in the dark and the wet. It was very impressive to see.

I’m not yet a convert to endurance racing, but I’m glad I could get a better understanding for the WEC series.

[Author]

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