Endurance Chat

Endurance Chat S5E5 - The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans Invitations

In what is the 100th episode of Endurance Chat (wooo!), Michael is joined by Austin and Oliver to go through the invite structure for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans. We discuss why certain entries may have been invited over others, some notable absences, and debate the quality of teams that have been given the privilege of being invited to this year's Le Mans!

In this episode;

• 0:01 100!
• 0:05 LMP1 Entries - Additional car from Rebellion but otherwise as expected
• 0:19 GTE-Pro - A quintet of cars make the trip across the pond, but could there have been more?
• 0:40 The importance of Amateur racing at Le Mans; History, competition, finance
• 0:48 LMP2 - the largest class for 2020, who are we excited for, who's missed out, who's gotten lucky?
• 1:20 GTE-Am - 9 additional cars bolster an already 11 strong full-season WEC field
• 1:39 The Reserve list - 10 cars hoping for their chance at the big one
• 1:43 Garage 56 - The return of the Innovative car
• 1:51 Final thoughts; Is the balance right?

Endurance Chat S5E4 - 2020 Daytona 24 and Bathurst 12 Hour Reviews

In this episode, Michael catches up with Austin to share stories from attending the Daytona 24 and Bathurst 12 Hours in adjacent weekends. We cover all the classes from Daytona, Austin shares his thoughts on the atmosphere in the speedway, Michael talks being media for a weekend plus the carnage pre-12 hour, and we briefly talk about the upcoming WEC round at COTA!

Timestamps;

• 0:01 Austin's Daytona Experience
• 0:09 DPi - Caddy goes 4 in a row
• 0:20 LMP2 - What is the answer for this in-between class?
• 0:29 GTLM - New cars, old teams, tight racing
• 0:41 GTD - Lambo's come to the fore
• 0:52 Daytona 24, comments and retrospectives
• 0:55 Michael's Media madness
• 0:58 Pre-race Carnage - 5 cars scratched before the race even started
• 1:08 The British Invasion - Macca and Bentley the teams to beat on the day
• 1:12 'The Mountain Chooses' - Wild weather warnings
• 1:18 Aussies vs the World's Best
• 1:22 Marshaling at the 12 hour
• 1:26 Drives and Disappointments
• 1:32 Free-form Bathurst discussions
• 1:40 WEC COTA - The Relocated Revival of the Lone Star Le Mans

Endurance Chat S5E3 - An Interview with Jonny Palmer of Radio Le Mans

Over the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend, our host was lucky enough to catch up with Jonny Palmer, one of the commentators for the Bathurst 12 Hour and part of the Radio Show Ltd crew. We chatted about his journey into commentary, the 'Round The World Ticket', his preference of travelling by train, and a whole load of other topics ahead of track-action over the weekend.

 

Once again, thank you to Jonny for his involvement!

Endurance Chat S5E2 - The 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour Preview!

KiwiChris returns to chat Bathurst with host Michael, as we launch the 2020 IGTC season with Australia's premier GT3 race, the Bathurst 12 Hour. With a bumper GT3-Pro field and 39 cars, there's plenty to delve into including a dive into the mixing pot of Australian and International talent, a discussion on the relevance of lower class cars, and all of the on and off track action to look forward to over the weekend!

 

Timestamps;

• 0:01 The Bathurst 12 Hour
• 0:07 Mount Panorama, the hallowed tarmac.
• 0:19 GT3-Pro; 20 cars, 11 manufacturers, an all out GT3 brawl
• 1:17 Pro-Am; Some of Australia's best amateurs against worldwide challengers
• 1:35 Silver Cup; A 7 car field chasing class honours
• 1:47 The lower classes and supports; a discussion on the relevance of lower classes in the main race
• 2:03 Final comments, plus a note on Australia's recent bushfire disaster

Endurance Chat S5E1 - The 2020 Daytona 24 Hour Preview!

Welcome back for Season 5! Hard to believe we're now in our 5th year of doing this!

 

As usual, we start the year with the Daytona 24 Hour! Michael (Floody) and Kris (Wacher97) chat the event's significance in sportscars, a few specific rules, before giving you the usual run down of every car, team and entry in the 4 classes for this year's 24 Hours of Daytona!

Timestamps;

• 0:03 Daytona 24 - A mixing pot of American and International talent
• 0:12 FCY, Safety Cars, and pit cycles
• 0:16 DPi - An 8 car factory hit out
• 0:39 LMP2 - European flavour for P2 class honours
• 0:58 GTE-Pro - The best of the best in GT
• 1:14 GTD - 18 cars for an absolutely cracker GT3 field
• 1:57 39 entries, down from 47 last year. Is that a problem?
• 2:02 The rest - Roar notes, MPC's 4 hour support, and our meet up!

Endurance Chat S4E27 - WEC Bahrain wrap plus a reflection on 2019

In our final episode of 2019, Michael (Floody) and Austin (Cookie) discuss the ins and outs of the WEC Bahrain 8 hours, talk 'pace creep' in sportscars, delve into the WEC 2020/2021 calendar, and discuss the possibility of a single top-level sportscar platform. We also take a quick look back on 2019 and share some of our memories and achievements! 

Timestamps;

• 0:05 LMP1 - an 8 hour race over at turn 1
• 0:25 LMP2 - a dominant performance in a class that flew under the radar
• 0:42 GTE-Pro - strategy, reliability, and all-out-battling. The best of the best
• 0:54 GTE-Am - a championship shake up after one of the best Am drives ever
• 1:11 "Pace Creep" - how long until everything is too fast?
• 1:21 The WEC 20/21 calendar - classic tracks, worldwide events, less clashes!
• 1:38 LMHy/DPi convergence - "As close as it's ever been"
• 1:51 2019 review - our favourite series, races, moments and achievements this year!

Endurance Chat S4E26 - WEC 4 Hours of Shanghai Review

Ahead of the last major race for 2019, Michael (Floody), Ollie (Trewavasaurus) and Andrija (SolHiemis) talk Shanghai, success handicaps, tyre wars, set up windows, Am drive times, and everything else around the 4 Hours of Shanghai event. We also delve into the recent sportscar news, including a calendar change, a new challenger, and some confusing press releases. Try to keep up!

In this episode;

• 0:02 WEC Shanghai - the last of the 4 Hour events
• 0:07 LMP1 Qualifying - the first Privateer Pole
• 0:11 The race start, the first stint, and those penalties
• 0:19 Rebellion's Recovery
• 0:24 The success ballast at work: What actually went on under the surface?
• 0:34 The LMP1 championship, future adjustments, and the price of success
• 0:45 LMP2 - A dramatic tyre war, or was it?
• 1:04 GTE-Pro - The best BoP has ever been?
• 1:16 GTE-Am - a great race lost in the fog of other classes
• 1:25 WEC News - Interlagos cancelled, COTA returns
• 1:31 WEC News - The Lions return to Le Mans
• 1:36 WEC News - Hypercars must be entered by an automotive brand?
• 1:40 WEC News - LMP2 to be slowed for next season, but we knew that already?
• 1:42 Next round, the 8 Hours of Bahrain

Endurance Chat S4E25 - AsLMS 2019/20 Season Preview!

In this episode, Michael (Floody), Austin (Cookie) and Kris (Kriswascher) preview the 2019/2020 Asian Le Mans Series, chatting about the class structure, calendar, and every entry across the four classes and four rounds! Listen to us butcher pronunciation, get lost searching for drivers, and the classic Endurance Chat banter as we give AsLMS the full Endurance Chat treatment for the first time!

Timestamps:

• 0:01 Welcome to the 2019/2020 Asian Le Mans Series
• 0:11 The Calendar - 4 rounds, including 3 non-WEC circuits
• 0:22 The LMP2 class - A mix of Asian talent and European flair
• 0:41 The LMP2-Am class - Old spec LMP2's fight for a chance at Le Mans
• 0:52 The LMP3 class - ACO's middle tier with top tier talent
• 1:00 The GT3 class - WEC champions, F1 competitors, and a great mix of drivers
• 1:23 Final thoughts on the series

Endurance Chat S4E24 - WEC Fuji, ELMS Finale and previewing the next WEC round

In this episode, Michael Zalavari (Floodman11) wraps up the talking points from the WEC 6 Hours of Fuji, discusses the upcoming WEC event at Shanghai, and reviews the ELMS finale at Portimao!

 

Timestamps;

• 0:01 WEC Fuji - The P1 Battle
• 0:13 LMP2 - JUMBO, Am strats, and Orecas
• 0:25 GTE-Pro - Winning when you have pace (and when you don't!)
• 0:32 GTE-Am - Untouchable Am's and Aston Martins
• 0:46 WEC Shanghai - Entry additions, P1 handicaps, and predictions
• 0:59 ELMS finale - 4 Hours of Portimao
• 1:04 Race start, red flags, and the GTE-Championship
• 1:07 LMP2 - A tense fight to the line for LMP2 honours
• 1:16 LMP3 - Two sides of the championship fight
• 1:21 ELMS 2019 - the best championship of the year?

Note: The second half of this podcast suffered some recording issues, resulting in clipping/cutting. Hopefully it's not too off putting!

Endurance Chat S4E23 - The Silverstone Double Header, plus an ELMS catch up!

In this episode, Michael Zalavari (Floodman11) and Austin Zetzman (CookieMonsterFL) chat about the big happenings from the WEC season 8 opener at Silverstone, plus catch up on the 3 rounds of ELMS that we've managed to miss! Not to worry though, we'll make sure you're all caught up as the ELMS heads towards it's final round, plus we preview this weekend's WEC round at Fuji!

 

Timestamps;

• 0:01 WEC Silverstone - Season 8 off to a wet and wild start!
• 0:06 How the weather affected the race
• 0:11 LMP1 - Toyota relatively untroubled as the Privateers find issues
• 0:17 /r/WEC sidebar - We're on an LMP1 car!
• 0:22 Floody's soapbox - the hot-track Ginetta recovery
• 0:27 LMP2 - Coolcoolcoolcoolcool, especially if you're on Michelins
• 0:38 GTE-Pro - Less cars does not mean less action!
• 0:44 GTE-Am - Frantic from the get go
• 0:52 Previewing Fuji, and the new LMP1 performance adjustment system
• 1:03 ELMS catch up; Barcelona - sensational in the Spanish sunset
• 1:13 ELMS catch up; Silverstone  - Weather, incident, and strategy at the end
• 1:42 ELMS catch up; Spa Francorchamps - Late drama punctuates a messy race