WEC
Isotta Fraschini abandons plan for WEC debut in 2023
Revived Italian marque Isotta Fraschini has abandoned plans to race its new Le Mans Hypercar in the World Endurance Championship this year.
Gary Watkins
Edited: Aug 5, 2023, 6:11 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Isotta had hoped to race the Tipo 6 LMH Competizione at the Bahrain WEC finale in November on a non-points, invitational basis ahead of its full entry into the series with Vector Sport next year, though it had already backed away from a firm commitment to do so when it demonstrated the car at the Monza round last month.
Now, it has confirmed that the debut for the Tipo 6 hybrid with Vector will be delayed until the 10-hour race at Qatar early next March at the start of the British team’s planned one-car assault on the 2024 series.
Isotta motorsport boss Claudio Berro explained that contesting the Bahrain 8 Hours on 4 November would prove problematical because it falls just before the dates it has been given for the Tipo 6 to undergo final homologation in the Sauber wind tunnel and then the FIA logistic and technical centre in France.
“It is now 100% we will not do Bahrain,” Berro told Motorsport.com.
“The homologation of the car is now fixed for mid-November, so it is not possible.
“We will continue testing until the end of October and then concentrate on preparing the car for homologation.”
Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH Competizione
Photo by: Isotta Fraschini
He added that the dates set for the homologation mean that Isotta will not be able to test in Bahrain straight after the race, which had also been a possibility.
Berro didn’t rule out Isotta traveling to the Middle East to take part in a WEC group test at the Losail circuit in Qatar in early December.
Isotta will continue its development programme at Monza this weekend when it will join the WRT BMW team, with which new factory signing Robin Frijns is expected to get his first test in the M Hybrid V8 LMDh.
The two-day test will be the first time that Vector drivers Gabriel Aubry and Ryan Cullen have joined the test programme alongside Marco Bonanomi and Jean-Karl Vernay, who have shared driving duties since Maurizio Mediani undertook the shakedown of the Tipo 6 at Vallelunga in April.
The first Tipo 6 chassis will then travel to Mugello for a further two days of testing on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
Berro described the two days at Monza as “an important test” for Isotta.
“We will have lap times from the WEC race at Monza, so we can begin to understand where we are,” he explained.
Isotta has now completed approximately 5000km of testing, with a planned target of between 10-12,000km prior to homologation in November.
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Frijns joins BMW as works driver, will test WRT's LMDh car
Next article Lamborghini's LMDh car hits the track for the first time
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Gary Watkins
A fond farewell to a few WEC favourites
WEC
Monza
A fond farewell to a few WEC favourites
WEC Monza: Antonio Fuoco takes pole for Ferrari
WEC
WEC
Monza
7 d
WEC Monza: Antonio Fuoco takes pole for Ferrari
More from
Isotta Fraschini
Isotta Fraschini withdraws from WEC’s Hypercar class with immediate effect
WEC
WEC
COTA
Aug 21, 2024
Isotta Fraschini withdraws from WEC’s Hypercar class with immediate effect
Isotta Fraschini hires Alonso academy driver as it reshuffles 2024 WEC line-up
WEC
WEC Feb 8, 2024
Isotta Fraschini hires Alonso academy driver as it reshuffles 2024 WEC line-up
Isotta Fraschini partners with Duqueine for 2024 WEC after Vector split
WEC
WEC Nov 28, 2023
Isotta Fraschini partners with Duqueine for 2024 WEC after Vector split
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 2 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
4 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
6 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe