Filipe Albuquerque once again pulled double duty across IMSA and the WEC with the WTR Andretti Acura LMDh and United Autosports LMP2 teams respectively. The Portuguese was a race winner in neither arena (though took a maximum points score behind a non-registered car in WEC), but as always was a consistent performer across the two series.
Only Tom Blomqvist in the winning Meyer Shank Racing Acura was quicker than him on average at Daytona, with a car that was subsequently found to be illegal. Over in WEC, he was the fastest of the fastest over a double stint on a set of tyres aboard an ORECA-Gibson 07.
How Albuquerque shone in LMP2’s WEC farewell
Was Filipe Albuquerque the fastest LMP2 driver in the WEC in 2023? Class tyre supplier Goodyear thinks so. It has handed the Portuguese something it dubbed the Wingfoot award – named after the company logo - for ending up top of its own, unofficial classification based on the fastest average lap time across a double stint, or a triple at Le Mans, on one set of its tyres.
Albuquerque took the award despite missing two of the seven races while he was away on duty with WTRAndretti in IMSA. He took maximum points for the fastest double at Fuji in September and was in the top three in all but one of the five races he contested with United. That has to say something about one of the most consistent performers in LMP2 since the start of the current formula.
The final Wingfoot classification was calculated on points awarded for the top 10 fastest doubles at each event, making Albuquerque’s victory all the more impressive given that he could only score points on five occasions. Only green flag laps were used in Goodyear’s calculations and only stints were the driver completed 75% of a typical full-fuel run were counted. So the Wingfoot classification wasn’t skewed by short stints.
What has to be pointed out, however, is that not every stint in LMP2 is the same. Fuel-saving has been an ultra-important part of the game in P2: avoidance of a late splash has so often been the key to victory in class. So a driver pushing flat out would inevitably have an advantage in terms of average lap time over one trying to eke an extra lap out of his or her fuel allocation.
It is a bit of fun, but the Wingfoot award does offer an insight into just who was quickest in a class where the strategic variations make it difficult for the casual observer to get a clear picture. For the record the other Wingfoot winners across the season were Will Stevens (Jota), Ben Hanley (United), Robert Kubica (WRT) Paul-Loup Chatin (IDEC), Charles Milesi (Alpine/Signatech) and Albert Costa (Inter Europol).
