The Sportscar and Endurance Thread

[Miguel98]

Well, that is the Porsche #19 of Hulk, Bamber and Tandy about to cross the finish line to win at Le Mans!

So, the chance that The Hulk is leaving FI for Porsche just got higher.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

Hulk wins Le Mans! He now emulates the LottererLegend by winning Le Mans and racing in F1 in the same year.

[Londoner]

Somewhere near Woking, there is a very very frustrated Spaniard who would have been in the #19 if it wasn't for Honda screwing him over at the last opportunity...

Congrats to the Hulk, Bamber and Tandy. I wonder if this is the symbolic opening of the floodgates for F1 drivers heading over to the WEC?

[pi314159]

Congratulations to Hülkenberg, Bamber and Tandy. Well done, especially considering how little prototype experience they all have. Especially Bamber, who was still driving Porsche Cup cars last year.

Congratulations also to the #64 Corvette crew, great result for them after the sister car couldn't even start the race.

[go_Rubens]

Nico Hülkenberg was top class yesterday and today. Never put a wheel wrong, like his fellow co-drivers. The teamwork was fantastic, and the car was fast and reliable. Completely deserved victory for Porsche. Nice to see Webber on the podium as well. I think if Hülkenberg doesn't find a top F1 drive next year, one of the top WEC teams will want him. His first race at Spa was impossible to judge, but this race showed his potential in WEC and would love to see him here.

[AxelP800]

What a great Le Mans 24 Hours this year. No major troubles other than barriers need some fixing. Superb win by Porsche but more than that, it's the extra #19 car that wins! Two rookies, Earl Bamber and Nico Hulkenberg with Nick Tandy. Earl Bamber from A1GP recently winning in Porsche's Supercup and some regional Carrera series, Nick Tandy also from Porsche Supercup and GT, and Hulkenberg! First active F1 driver to win since Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot in 1991. Great job by all three drivers, pit crew, crew of all Porsche AG. Incredible

[good_Ralf]

Oh wow. Well that's Hulk leaving F1 then.

[Nessafox]

I actually watched it (i can receive eurostport on my old cable tv, thankfully) and enjoyed watching it, because i finally experienced decent dutch commentators. Properly explaining things, managing to hold track of the race, not making annoying mistakes. The guys kept themselves awake by answering questions on twitter in the coverage, which were sometimes interesting questions and sometimes silly ones too. But the commentators were clearly having a good time. Also interesting to have a flemish commentator combined with two dutch ones. If only F1 had such decent commentators... But indeed, F1 is if spelled backwards. Besides, kudos to any commentator team that manages to pull of 24hours coverage and still keep being energetic until the end, not being boring once.

The most noticeable thing is how Toyota managed to be so unnoticeable. Reminds me of a former F1 team, Toy... oh, wait...
Good job by the inexperienced trio that won the race. This was a race decided by details, and they kept their head cool trough it all.
Funny how the commercials about the inovative Nissan in between (and Eurosport has plenty of them) were in contrast with the painful reality.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

Funny how the commercials about the inovative Nissan in between (and Eurosport has plenty of them) were in contrast with the painful reality.

It was even funnier last year with the ZEOD RC being advertised throughout, even though it stopped after about five laps

[sswishbone]

This race showed F1 what the hell it needs to do to sort itself out. Allow multiple different engine categories, allow drivers to be able to push on tyres and allow racing to go wheel to wheel. Can't believe that after fourteen hours a lead battle was covered by just two seconds. immense!

[FMecha]

So the ByKolles have been handed a exclusion/DQ. And ROTR nominations for this year's LM?

My nomination would be those who whine about Nissan's rejectfulness.

[Samster]

My nominations for ROTR

Nissan may look like an obvious choice but given how raw their design still is at this point and the obvious limitations of not having their hybrid system working yet but still having to carry all the weight of it, and then running front wheel drive meant their cornering speed was almost down to GT levels. The fact that it was the cars first race period meant that just finishing the race would be exceeding expectations and that they achieved with one of their cars while the other two weren't even far off. Even now this was far from the worst ever LMP1 performance even for a works team, they were both still quicker and more reliable than the AMR-One after all.
Having said that if they still have this kind of performance next year, then they will be an obvious choice.

Porsche's GT program deserve a dishonorable mention. It seems each year, one of the four makes is a little off the others and this year that was Porsche. The works cars were easily the slowest of their class and two of their cars including one of the works cars even set fire to themselves early on. If I recall correctly they weren't exactly quick last year either.

The OAK #35 also gets a mention for having easily the worst driver lineup this year. They were way off the rest of the LMP2 class, even the Ibanez car which everyone maligned before the race was making mincemeat out of them. Early on they were even struggling to stay ahead of the GT leaders. As much as Jacques Nicolet has done to help the sport he probably should just focus on leading his team, or at least pair himself with a pair of pros rather than two more gentleman drivers.

But I will give my ROTR this year to Toyota. Why? Simple they were easily the most disappointing team this year. They were just slow enough to be helpless against Porsche and Audi and with none of the works cars suffering any serious delays let alone retirements an eventual 6th and 8th was the highest they got all year despite probably having the least delays of the three manufacturers. As a result though, they barely got any coverage given they weren't really competing with anyone else for position at any point. Perhaps most depressing of all was them not even bothering to make a proper effort in qualifying, focusing on race setup instead, obviously coming to the sad but true conclusion that a qualifying setup wouldn't have made a difference position wise. All of this would be okay if it were their first attempt but this is their fourth and it came the year after they had easily the quickest car. All in all, the obvious choice compared to previous expectations.

[DemocalypseNow]

My nomination would be those who whine about Nissan's rejectfulness.

Not really. What makes it rejectful is not the fact they were slow, but they poured more money than any other team into promoting their polished turd leading up to and during the race. They bought a Superbowl ad to promote it! Instead of treating it like it actually was, a public alpha, they presented it as some sort of radically innovative concept that was going to blow the rest away.

Over the years there have been some interesting concept vehicles racing in Le Mans, acting with a single or a handful of goals not related to winning the race. But ploughing millions upon millions into marketing a three-car effort with an unproven, unrefined concept? It was never going to end well. But the inevitability of it all doesn't make it any less rejectful!

Anyway, the real ROTR perhaps is Tracy Krohn. The Am guys in the Le Mans field are still more or less the cream of the crop of non-pro drivers around the globe. It felt like Krohn was either spinning or crashing into something every 5 minutes when he was at the wheel.

[go_Rubens]

I expected Nissan to struggle. It was their first race with a brand new car which had a completely different idea compared to the other cars in its class, to say the least. They put an ok amount of kilometers on the board. I'd say objective complete. No ROTR nomination should head their way.

I'm going for Porsche Team Manthey. The first of their two cars went up spectacularly in flames just over an hour in. The second car was doing well until more gremlins came about on Sunday morning. Compared to the sister Porsche team in LMP1, they had a miserable 24 hours. Arguably, Audi should receive the award as well just for how all three cars had problems which knocked them out of contention on Sunday morning and gifted Porsche the win.

[RAK]

This race showed F1 what the hell it needs to do to sort itself out. Allow multiple different engine categories, allow drivers to be able to push on tyres and allow racing to go wheel to wheel. Can't believe that after fourteen hours a lead battle was covered by just two seconds. immense!

It's pretty incredible how they managed to create such close racing between different teams with such disparate engine and aerodynamic configurations and specifications, especially in the LMP1 class, where a V4 turbocharged petrol engine competed successfully against a V6 turbo diesel, with a V8 turbo not embarrasingly far behind. Of course, the hybrid systems play a large part in making up the gap, but it was a shockingly close race and pretty much constituted a 24-hour sprint race, but with fuel consumption actually decreasing!

The hybrid engines sounded pretty damn cool as well, demonstrating that it is, somehow, possible to create a hybrid turbocharged engine that doesn't sound subdued.

[Nessafox]

In my opinion, it shows that as a championship, you either do endurance, or do sprint. You can't do both.
Grand Prix Racing and Indy racing were the only competitions that managed to pull of something 'in between'. But back then, Grand Prix races lasted over 3 hours, and the Indy 500 still does. A race from less than one and a half hour isn't marketable as 'best of both worlds'. So either F1 should market themselves as sprint, or make the races twice as long. Le Mans showed that drivers these days have enough physical fitness to pull this off.
A 24hour sprint like this one is exceptional, having 8 factory backed cars finishing without huge problems doesn't happen every year. What also surprised me is how reliable LMP2's have become recently.
Funny how we want racing cars to be unreliable, but desperately wish everyday electronic products were that reliable.

[FMecha]

My nomination would be those who whine about Nissan's rejectfulness.

Not really. What makes it rejectful is not the fact they were slow, but they poured more money than any other team into promoting their polished turd leading up to and during the race. They bought a Superbowl ad to promote it! Instead of treating it like it actually was, a public alpha, they presented it as some sort of radically innovative concept that was going to blow the rest away.

Over the years there have been some interesting concept vehicles racing in Le Mans, acting with a single or a handful of goals not related to winning the race. But ploughing millions upon millions into marketing a three-car effort with an unproven, unrefined concept? It was never going to end well. But the inevitability of it all doesn't make it any less rejectful!

Anyway, the real ROTR perhaps is Tracy Krohn. The Am guys in the Le Mans field are still more or less the cream of the crop of non-pro drivers around the globe. It felt like Krohn was either spinning or crashing into something every 5 minutes when he was at the wheel.

Related to the Superbowl thing: Someone from Porsche or Audi said this, and someone else published it on Twitter:


Remember that the GT-R LMP itself had suffered from developmental problems in the months leading up to Le Mans.

----
The recap of the DeltaWing legal dispute so far. It's really complicated, going for years and years.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

In my opinion, it shows that as a championship, you either do endurance, or do sprint. You can't do both.
Grand Prix Racing and Indy racing were the only competitions that managed to pull of something 'in between'. But back then, Grand Prix races lasted over 3 hours, and the Indy 500 still does. A race from less than one and a half hour isn't marketable as 'best of both worlds'. So either F1 should market themselves as sprint, or make the races twice as long. Le Mans showed that drivers these days have enough physical fitness to pull this off.
A 24hour sprint like this one is exceptional, having 8 factory backed cars finishing without huge problems doesn't happen every year. What also surprised me is how reliable LMP2's have become recently.
Funny how we want racing cars to be unreliable, but desperately wish everyday electronic products were that reliable.

Personally, I wouldn't object to Grands Prix being run to a 500 km distance like they used to until the 1950s, but something tells me that with shorter race distances being discussed recently it will never happen, as 2 hour-plus races won't appeal to the elusive casual fanbase that the head honchos are hopelessly chasing after.

[F1000X]

Personally, I wouldn't object to Grands Prix being run to a 500 km distance like they used to until the 1950s, but something tells me that with shorter race distances being discussed recently it will never happen, as 2 hour-plus races won't appeal to the elusive casual fanbase that the head honchos are hopelessly chasing after.

It's certainly feasible to have one on the calendar though. Say, at Spa Francorchamps?

[Yannick]

2 hour-plus races won't appeal to the elusive casual fanbase that the head honchos are hopelessly chasing after.

What is the elusive "casual fanbase" anyway? People who sip champagne and rattle their jewelry (quote by ?) while talking business inside their homes located trackside at the Monaco GP and inside the Paddock Club at every other F1 venue?
Is it corporate suits in corporate suites who want to get down to business right away, without having to wait for 2 hours of racing to go by?
Or is it people who constantly switch channels to and fro on their TV set whilst munching jumbo sized packages of whatever, who actually are bored by long races because they are bored with sitting in front of the TV and munching?
Or is it folks who roam the hiking path around the old Ostkurve because they enjoy hiking and having a picnic out in the woods and maybe play a bit of a badminton-esque game on a meadow in the summer, noticing the hum of the engines and thinking, that's F1, and I'm a casual fan because I like hiking on the old Ostkurve path?
Or is a casual F1 fan really a football/soccer fan who is not satisfied by watching "his team" race cars in Superleague Formula but might, only might rather want to watch a more pinnaclist form of motor racing for a hikier ticket price?
What constitutes a casual F1 fan exaclty?

[Salamander]

A casual fan is one who will pick up the sport when they feel like it, when it's worth them watching, often when there's some form of common national entity (usually a driver, maybe a race or team) that's doing well, but will switch off if they feel it's not worth the upset, or if their country isn't well represented. Someone who missing the race in favour of something else isn't a major thing for them, because they're not very invested in the sport.

Or maybe I'm just rambling.

[DemocalypseNow]

What constitutes a casual F1 fan exaclty?

High income, low attention span. People who aren't afraid to make spur of the moment purchases and decisions. People who are drawn by the allure of the prestige of the Formula 1 name, but with little care for the inner workings of motorsport, who couldn't care less about any racing series that isn't F1 (this is not a myth, I have seen these people with my own two eyes). People who buy the premium sports package not because they feel the need to include an F1 channel in their TV listings, but because they simply have the money to have every channel at their fingertips without having to consider if it's too expensive to subscribe to such a high-end package. Where TV packages are an area they don't need to even consider cutting their budget.

Look at the major sponsors in F1. First we start with UBS. Not just any bank, but an investment bank aimed at millionaires and businesses looking to have someone help manage their wealth. Then Rolex, a brand synonymous for being the most flash watch you can buy (but not necessarily the best!). Emirates is most certainly not a budget airline - rather one frequently cited as one of the best in the world, along with similarly positioned competitors like Etihad, Cathay Pacific, et al. I'm not certain an average GPR user could afford to fly Emirates particularly often on their own dime!

Nothing about the profile of F1 or its sponsors is aimed at people earning less than six figures per year. You might think that aiming squarely at the super-rich is not a viable strategy, and yet, after over 60 years, Ferrari are still in business. It doesn't matter what we think, do, or buy. As an example; according to the United States Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, the richest 3% of the US population has more combined wealth than the remaining 97%. Why would he waste time appealing to the 97% when the 3% has more money to part with? The 3%'s level of disposable income is so high, they don't have to think twice about expensive purchases. They are so rich, they need a wealth management service like the one UPS provides. They are so rich, they wouldn't be seen dead without a Rolex, Breitling or Omega on their wrist. They are so rich, they couldn't possibly fly any other way commercially than executive class on a Top 10 airline.

The sponsorship is useful for Rolex so their target demographic goes for their product instead of a TAG Heuer, Breitling or similar. The sponsorship is useful for Emirates so the target demo doesn't end up plumping for Singapore Airlines, Etihad, or British Airways. To explain how deep these deals go - part of Rolex's $30 million a year deal is simply giving them the opportunity to entertain clients trackside. They are paying for the right to spend money entertaining guests that also paid the same company they are paying to sponsor just to get in! That sounds absurd on the face of it. And yet, apparently, it's a worthwhile investment for their brand.

This probably belongs in the Rantbox, but whatever, I suppose. This is why the GPDA Fan Survey is a waste of time - Bernie doesn't care about the opinion of people who can't afford to buy their way into the paddock and thus get some brief seconds talking to him face to face. Because anyone that can't afford to do that doesn't line his pockets.

Will people continue to tune in despite all this? Of course. Formula 1 appeals to the aspirational nature of us humans. We sit there on one side of the screen, staring in and hoping that someday we'll be on the other side of that screen.


Edit: Myself and Salamander's answers I would say, are both correct, but referring to different definitions of casual fan. His would be in a more general sense, the ones that watch on the TV once in a while. I'm more talking about casual fans Bernie is actually interested in tempting to the sport. I think it's important to differentiate.

[roblo97]

Le Mans review time

LMP1

Toyota
Toyota had an anonymous race. The pace during test day suggested that they would be slower than last year and that was true. They ran their own race, waiting to see if the Audi's and Porsche's would run into issues on track but that never materialised and they didn't have the performance to really make an impression on the track, they were running around 4 seconds off the pace from the Audi’s and Porsche's. Having said this, both crews did a very good job, despite Anthony Davidson colliding with a Ferrari whilst in traffic. 5/10

Audi
The 3 cars showed great pace early on despite some small niggling issues which is not what we have come to expect from Audi creeping in later on. The #7 car showed real consistency and also demonstrated what potential performance was in the car had the circumstances played better into Audi's hands by breaking the lap record which had been set earlier on by the #9. Having said this, the engine cover coming off of the #7 was a real setback as the car was pushed into the pits to have that changed. As for the #8, the incident in the slow zone was not their fault but credit where credit is due to the mechanics on that car for how quickly they fixed all of the bodywork in just over 4 minutes. Also, kudos to the team for the humility shown in defeat by going into the Porsche garage and shaking hands and congratulating everyone. 8/10

Porsche
Porsche surprised the doubters who thought the car would not have the reliability to compete with Audi to win for the #19 but it was less plane sailing for the other cars. The #19 was helped thanks to a mega shift in the car from Nick Tandy who did super consistent times around the 3:18 mark to really build a gap and Nico Hulkenberg was also mega in the night. Earl Bamber did some rather great things in that car as well. The other cars had a few more problems notably when Timo Bernhard went bouncing through the gravel at Dunlop before clattering a kerb, getting Porsche sideways when it came back on track after trying to lap a Ferrari, the penalty from Webber and both Neel Jani, who broke the pole position record in qualifying, and Romain Dumas who both went straight on at Mulsanne Corner, as if they were heading four the Carrefour supermarket in Mulsanne Village. These little mishaps aside, it was a predominantly flawless race from the Wiessach based team. 10/10

Nissan
Crikey, what didn't happen for Darren Cox's team? Right at the back of the prototype field in qualifying after failing to get all 3 cars with in 110% of the pole position time set by the #18 Porsche. The #23 failing to make the start thanks to a clutch issue. These new car gremlins meant that all 3 cars were in and out of the pits on a rather frequent basis. Then, the left hand door popped open on the #21, looking resplendent in it's Andy Blackmore designed tribute livery to the 1990 R90CK. There were also issues with overheating brake disks due to the hybrid system being switched off on al of the cars to make them more reliable, on the other hand, this meant that they now had roughly half the power of Toyota and Porsche. Then the #21 ended up with what was thought to be broken suspension, putting it out of the race. It later turned out that a wheel had fallen off. The biggest drama was for the #22 car when Harry Tincknell caught some debris at speed causing major front end damage. All in all, the #22 was the only car to finish the race, albeit 153 laps down on the winner leading to its non classification. They are a great team and I wish them all the best but considering the marketing money Nissan have put into this, it was very disappointing and linear progress must be made throughout the rest of the season. 3/10

Rebellion
Considering the newness of the cars, Rebellion did a very solid job. There was a bit of a drama early on when the beautiful, metallic red foiled car, the #12, spun on oil which was coming from the back of the #92 Porsche and that also caught out the Strakka Dome car. There was a little bit more drama later on when both the #12 and #13 went off within the space of an hour. Other than that, it was a solid run for a very new car. 7/10

ByKolles
Well, despite the fuel pump needing to be changed on a frequent basis, the CLM P1/01 actually finished and this is much better than what any had predicted. The team went about the repeated fuel pump replacements in good spirits and Pierre Kaffer showed tremendous spirit in a dogged drive on the track. However, the got disqualified for not having the correct driver weight ballast, not that it would have made much difference to the result as they, like the #22 Nissan were not classified. 2/10

LMP2

G-Drive Racing (Oak)
It was a typically solid race from G-Drive as the #26 was on its way to eventually reach the podium at the end of the race whereas the #28 was a bit further behind in 4th. All of the drivers did not put a foot wrong all race and it paid off. 8/10

SMP Racing
The Russian team did a solid job in getting both cars home at the end of the race and this was a great achievement for them as some people, like myself had some doubts over the reliability of the very pretty BR01's. The #27 car came home in a very creditable 6th place in class whereas the other car had some issues which were to be expected as it came home 13th. 6/10

Pegasus Racing
They did ok, they did not trouble the class front runners but they were consistent and they did have a number of issues during the race but they achieved a top 10 finish thanks to the misfortune for others. Their race was unspectacular but solid. 5/10

Extreme Speed Motorsport
It was a difficult start to the season for ESM and there were issues in the race, notably for Jon Fogarty in the #31 when he spun and hit a wall at the Porsche curves but at an angle which thankfully did little damage to the car. The #30 car had even more problems but they still finished and gained valuable points in the WEC. 6/10

Oak Racing
The all bronze driver line up were never really in the hunt for a good result due to the abundance of quality in the LMP2 field but they did a respectable job, despite a few spins from Erik Maris in the #35. Chris Cummings had some spins in the #34 but despite this, they did lead at an early stage and were on course for 4th when a big problem occurred sending the car into the garage and into retirement. This was a shame as they were going well. 6/10

Signatech Alpine
The team were quick, the car was running sweetly and all was looking good for a potential podium. But then there was a large accident down at Mulsanne corner with Paul-Loup Chatin behind the wheel, damaging the car beyond repair. However, due to the pace shown before the accident, which may have been caused by something failing. 8/10

Jota Sport
There seemed to be a bit of deja-vu from last year for Jota in that there were problems early on with that followed up with a mesmerising comeback drive to finish 2nd. There was a gear selection issue in the first hour and what happened after that was simply amazing. 9/10

Krohn Racing
Oh dear, I said the teams chance were going to depend on whether Tracy Krohn was having a good day behind the wheel and that did not happen. He actually set a new record in the race for most spins by a single driver. Its a shame because his team mates drove brilliantly which in a bid to make up lost time but it was to no avail. Mind you, the Ligier did suffer from traction control issues towards the end. 3/10

Greaves Motorsport
Well, Paletou never got to race in the car due to mechanical issues but more on that later. However he did blot his copybook slightly by crashing a bit in the first qualifying session on the Wednesday night. Jon Lancaster showed very good speed early on and had dialled down the aggression rather nicely and he had a trouble free run before handing the car over to Garry Hirsch. Hirsch was doing a great job, right up until the moment when the battery stopped working. The sight of the Swiss driver trying desperately to get the battery to work again from behind the Armco at the Esses was one displaying the spirit of the race. Sadly his valiant attempt was not to work and this prevented GT Academy winner Paletou from getting to race in front of his countrymen. They had show good pace throughout the weekend though. 8/10

Strakka Racing
The very good looking car was showing good pace during the race until the gearbox went in the last couple of hours. This is a real shame because the car looked like it was heading for a good result. What happened with the gearbox as that it was stuck in 4th, then Nick Leventis stopped the car and it was at this stage, he couldn't get it back into gear. There was also a small incident involving the Rebellion and the oil from the back of the #92 Porsche. Other than that, it was a good race from the team. 7/10

Team Sard Morand
Despite strong running early on, it would ultimately prove not to be for the Sard Morand team. This is a shame as a podium was not out of the question on Saturday evening and into the small hours of Sunday morning. It was a mechanical problem that was the rteams downfall as the car came to a halt at Indianapolis with a fair amount of smoke coming from the back of it. However, the team did a great job despite the concerns a few months ago that they might not make it. 8/10

Ibanez Racing
(It was not a good start for the Ibanez team after one of their drivers failed to get to within 110% of the pole time in class and this put them to the back of the grid. To compound things further, they received a penalty for a jumped start after it was spotted to have moved ahead of the Nissans and the ByKolles car as well. After that, it seemed like an uneventful race where nothing of any real interest happened as they finished 8th in class. 4/10)

Thiriet by TDS Racing
What could have been for the #46 Oreca? The teams pace was awesome, especially in Ludovic Badey's first stint as he was lapping as fast as the teams platinum driver, Trista Gormendy with some of Badey's laps being faster. Their demise was caused by Fernando Rees in the #99 Aston Martin when he clouted the Oreca hard enough to case terminal damage. It was a real shame for the Thiriet by TDS Racing team. 9/10

KCMG
It was looking likely to be a promising race for the Hong Kong based team when Richard Bradley managed to out qualify one of the Nissans, pretty damn good considering he is the teams silver rated driver. All in all, apart from the odd minor hiccup caused by a driver running of which is to be expected in a race like Le Mans, it was an exemplary race form KCMG, the star of which was easily Nicolas Lapierre whose stints helped them on to a class victory on Sunday afternoon. 10/10

Murphy Prototypes
Things started off badly when Mark Patterson hit the barriers at the Porsche Curves in practice on Wednesday but the team did an amazing job to get the car ready for the last 20 minutes of Qualifying that night. During the race itself, apart from the odd mistake from the Gentleman driver, everything went really well. Karun Chandhok and Nathaniel Berthon were uber quick and consistent and Mark Patterson's race was also quite good as well as they went on their way to 5th place in class. 8/10

GTE Pro

AF Corse
AF Corse were always going to be there or there abouts on raceday and this year was no different. Both cars looked strong and James Calado was involved in a titanic scrap early on with Oliver Gavin and Fernando Rees which made for some brilliant entertainment. They did however creep into some issues towards the end when the then leading #51 headed for the pit box but this is not to take away from a double podium in class. 8/10

Corvette Racing
After Jan Magnussen crashed at the Porsche Curves in qualifying, many people wrote off their chances of winning the race but they hit back hard. The #64 was absolutely amazing as it pounded round to win the race in the highly competitive GTE class although there was a tiny stroke of luck as the Ferrari it was battling with had late issues. However, the way everyone bounced back from the qualifying accident was incredible and that is what one them the race. 10/10

Porsche Team Manthey
It was a disappointing race for Porsche this year with matters not being helped early on when Patrick Pilet pulled off early on with the back of the car being on fire having dumped quite a bit of oil on the track at the Mulsanne Chicane. As for the #91, they did not do quite as well as I had hoped. Yes they were fast and consistent and reliable but the extra bit of speed needed to catch up to the Ferraris, Corvettes and Aston Martins was somewhat lacking. 7/10)

Aston Martin Racing
Well, there were many issues for Aston Martin racing after what was a very strong qualifying. The first really big problem was when the Dane Train had to come into the garage with power steering issues only a few hours in, dropping that out of contention for the win. The second major moment was the retirement for the #97 and its interesting livery. The third and final major problem was the moment when Fernando Rees collided with the Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca causing substantial font end damage to the Aston. All in all, a troubled race that showed flashes of potential before the problems hit. 7/10

GTE Am

Larbre Competition
Raceday was difficult for Larbre after their Corvette C7.R crashed in the morning warm-up session although they did thankfully make the race. In the race itself, things were looking better for the team until the gearbox failed which put a premature end to their race. The car will now be sent to America where Corvette will be using it for the TUSCC round at Watkins Glen later this month as a stop-gap whilst they build a new car. 7/10


Riley Motorsports
The ever popular Vipers were back for this year and they were definite crowd pleasers. As for the on the track related events, the early signs were looking good and that a podium was definitely on the cards but as is the way in endurance racing, there were also some issues to contend with such as losing 1st and 2nd gears before ultimately retiring, Bill Riley's team were absolutely the consumate professional everyone had expected and I hope they are back for next year. 8/10

AF Corse
Now, The #55 unfortunately didn't make it to the end of the race after running out of fuel but the others came home strong whilst claiming some scalps from the pro class with the strongest car, the #83, finishing on the same lap as the second place car in the GTE Pro class, the #51 which only had the reigning FIA WEC champions driving it. The #61 on the other hand had a more troubled race but they were only 4 laps behind the sister car rounding out the top 5 in the class. 8/10

Scuderia Corse
The Scuderia Corse team’s race will be remembered for Townsend Bell's massive battle for 2nd place in class during the last couple of hours with the Dempsey Racing Porsche of Patrick Long. It was amazing to watch a pair of experienced drivers race hard like that. As for the rest of the race, they did a great job and I think Bill Sweedler and Jeff Segal did a great job as well. 8/10

JMW Motorsport
JMW's race will be remembered by many for the pit fire during the nght running which despite being put out, actually re-lit twice. This put the car in the garage so that could be remedied. This was a shame as the looked like it had some good speed in it and was capable of a bit better than 7th. 7/10

Team AAI
There was drama for the Taiwanese newcomers when the #67 caught fire on Thursday, completely destroying the back end of the car and necessitating a full rebuild on Friday. However, they got both cars to the end of the race and that was the goal. Also, the drivers in #68 especially can be proud of themselves as they were setting some good times towards the end to keep the JMW Ferrari behind. 7/10

SMP Racing
The Russian team became the first team from the country to win at Le Mans and it was a good job well done, Andrea Bertolini was just incredible, Aleksey Basov did a good job and Victor Shaitar messed up once at Indianapolis, loosing 2 laps in the process. That one incident was the only large issue they had all race. 9/10

Proton Racing Dempsey/Abu Dhabi
It was a brilliant race for the crew of the #77 as they drove brilliantly to finish second in class and third if you were to combine both of the GT classes. Patrick Longs Battle with Townsend Bell in the Scuderia Corse Ferrari was one of the real highlights in the class. The #88 car, like the #92 Porsche, caught fire during the race. All things considered, Patrick Dempsey's reaction on the podium at the end of the race showed just how much it meant to him. 8/10

Aston Martin Racing
It was a sad race for Aston Martin Racing as firstly, Roald Gothe had a very big accident at the exit of the Porsche Curves, causing considerable damage to the car but thankfully, despite, complaining of a bit of back pain, was uninjured and allowed to fly home. For the #99, it was even more heartbreaking. The car suffered what looked like a mechanical issue and it hit the tyres at the Ford Chicane having lost very little speed. Paul Dalla Lana climbed out of the car ok but looked absolutely distraught with what had happened. It was a sad end just 45 minutes from the chequered flag. Pedro Lamy drove a mesmerizing race despite having a fever and chicken pox that week and Mathias Lauda was also brilliant, so were Hall and Castellacci in the #96 car. 9/10

[FMecha]

I found this on Twitter. How authentic is this thing?

[Bobby Doorknobs]

I found this on Twitter. How authentic is this thing?

Autosport or it didn't happen

But seriously, it seems fake to me. And I will maintain that stance until a report like this appears on the English-language Autosport or some other source that I know I can trust.

[FMecha]

I found this on Twitter. How authentic is this thing?

Autosport or it didn't happen

But seriously, it seems fake to me. And I will maintain that stance until a report like this appears on the English-language Autosport or some other source that I know I can trust.

It's on French Auto Hebdo, though. Ten Tenths are also talking about it.
(To be honest, I'll rather trust the Japanese "auto sport" (it is two words, actually)... if we're talking Super GT)

[Bobby Doorknobs]

I found this on Twitter. How authentic is this thing?

Autosport or it didn't happen

But seriously, it seems fake to me. And I will maintain that stance until a report like this appears on the English-language Autosport or some other source that I know I can trust.

It's on French Auto Hebdo, though. Ten Tenths are also talking about it.
(To be honest, I'll rather trust the Japanese "auto sport" (it is two words, actually)... if we're talking Super GT)

I don't know. It is the first I've heard of this project. Maybe it is real after all. If it is, I'm sure it will crop up as a news item elsewhere. I do want to believe in it, though, as it looks rather pretty, being a Cobra

[Samster]

The four manufacturers for the new LMP2 regulations for 2017 have been chosen. Oreca, Onroak (Ligier), Dallara and Riley. So no more Gibson/Zytek, BR, HPD or Dome.

This is the first I've heard of the LMP2 manufacturers being limited and I must say it really goes against what I originally loved about Le Mans, the openness and variety of the regulations. It gets worse as there will also only be one engine supplier. (Yet to be decided but it'll probably be Nissan).

So essentially LMP2 will be little more than a faster version of LMP3, kind of similar to what CART used to have only with spec engines. This will leave LMP1 as the only class with any real open variety. The only good that could come from this is that maybe some of the manufacturers that lost out on LMP2 selection will try LMP1 in order to remain involved and give that class' independent numbers a much needed boost. And at least the new regulations are meant to make LMP2 faster, which is much needed as the gap between them and the (non-Nissan/ByKolles) LMP1s is almost twice what it used to be about five years ago.

[Miguel98]

The four manufacturers for the new LMP2 regulations for 2017 have been chosen. Oreca, Onroak (Ligier), Dallara and Riley. So no more Gibson/Zytek, BR, HPD or Dome.

This is the first I've heard of the LMP2 manufacturers being limited and I must say it really goes against what I originally loved about Le Mans, the openness and variety of the regulations. It gets worse as there will also only be one engine supplier. (Yet to be decided but it'll probably be Nissan).

So essentially LMP2 will be little more than a faster version of LMP3, kind of similar to what CART used to have only with spec engines. This will leave LMP1 as the only class with any real open variety. The only good that could come from this is that maybe some of the manufacturers that lost out on LMP2 selection will try LMP1 in order to remain involved and give that class' independent numbers a much needed boost. And at least the new regulations are meant to make LMP2 faster, which is much needed as the gap between them and the (non-Nissan/ByKolles) LMP1s is almost twice what it used to be about five years ago.

And that's what they wanted. And it has started already http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/07/10/strakka-announce-lmp1-project-for-2017-switch-to-gibson-for-remainder-of-2015.html

[MorbidelliObese]

The four manufacturers for the new LMP2 regulations for 2017 have been chosen. Oreca, Onroak (Ligier), Dallara and Riley. So no more Gibson/Zytek, BR, HPD or Dome.

This is the first I've heard of the LMP2 manufacturers being limited and I must say it really goes against what I originally loved about Le Mans, the openness and variety of the regulations. It gets worse as there will also only be one engine supplier. (Yet to be decided but it'll probably be Nissan).

So essentially LMP2 will be little more than a faster version of LMP3, kind of similar to what CART used to have only with spec engines. This will leave LMP1 as the only class with any real open variety. The only good that could come from this is that maybe some of the manufacturers that lost out on LMP2 selection will try LMP1 in order to remain involved and give that class' independent numbers a much needed boost. And at least the new regulations are meant to make LMP2 faster, which is much needed as the gap between them and the (non-Nissan/ByKolles) LMP1s is almost twice what it used to be about five years ago.

Yep, it was announced earlier this year and is a massive negative for a series and category that had only had positivity of late. From the wide variety of LMP1 hybrid solutions, to ditching the pointless LMPC spec cars in favour of a proper open chassis LMP3 formula, and this flies in the face of that. P3 also has a spec engine but at least it's still an improvement on what it replaced, unlike this.

It's the spec engine part that's the worst bit really, while limiting the constructors to 4 is a massive downer, you'd at least see a fair amount of variety, but the spec engine seems to be an answer to the question nobody asked even more so. The USC/IMSA guys certainly weren't pushing for it.

One argument for the P2 chassis rules is that one-offs (e.g. from SMP and Strakka) could technically circumvent the already in-place cost cap. But surely a simple claiming rule type regulation - i.e. you must sell cars to an interested party for the cost cap within x months of them approaching, otherwise the car is de-homologated, could have resolved that easily without this crap.

ORECA's Hugues de Chaunac was interviewed by DSC earlier this year and came out in favour of the new rules (suggesting he was already confirmed a place in the cartel). The DSC editor, while agreeing that the new P2 rules were A Bad Thing, did at least support de Chaunac for looking out for his company's best interests.

However, I speculated at the time that maybe he should just concentrate on continuing to build a quick P2 that people would want to buy anyway. Because you can't out-Dallara Dallara, and sure enough as soon as this semi-specness is introduced, here they are to play. It could be like the early 00s IRL all over again, with the market artificially restricted, and the world's largest volume racing car constructor won out over their fellow cartel members. I certainly won't have any sympathy for ORECA if it plays out in this way.

[Samster]

The four manufacturers for the new LMP2 regulations for 2017 have been chosen. Oreca, Onroak (Ligier), Dallara and Riley. So no more Gibson/Zytek, BR, HPD or Dome.

This is the first I've heard of the LMP2 manufacturers being limited and I must say it really goes against what I originally loved about Le Mans, the openness and variety of the regulations. It gets worse as there will also only be one engine supplier. (Yet to be decided but it'll probably be Nissan).

So essentially LMP2 will be little more than a faster version of LMP3, kind of similar to what CART used to have only with spec engines. This will leave LMP1 as the only class with any real open variety. The only good that could come from this is that maybe some of the manufacturers that lost out on LMP2 selection will try LMP1 in order to remain involved and give that class' independent numbers a much needed boost. And at least the new regulations are meant to make LMP2 faster, which is much needed as the gap between them and the (non-Nissan/ByKolles) LMP1s is almost twice what it used to be about five years ago.

And that's what they wanted. And it has started already http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/07/10/strakka-announce-lmp1-project-for-2017-switch-to-gibson-for-remainder-of-2015.html

I just hope it works out that way, if it does then I can live with LMP2 being limited to four constructors. I just wish they hadn't gone the spec engine route. Is there actually going to be a separate class for LMP1 independents?

[AndreaModa]

I don't want to get too negative but is it any surprise that two of the chassis manufacturers chosen are French? Short-sighted, protectionist and nationalistic rule makers making decisions to the detriment of the sport.

I can understand to a certain extent why they did it, to protect grid numbers but it's not the way LMP2 should have gone. I want to see a single prototype category, effectively policed, that encourages both privateer and manufacturer support in separate championships. Not mickey-mouse tiers that unnecessarily complicate things.

[mario]

I just hope it works out that way, if it does then I can live with LMP2 being limited to four constructors. I just wish they hadn't gone the spec engine route. Is there actually going to be a separate class for LMP1 independents?

There are separate categories for privateer and manufacturer entries in the WEC - the LMP1-L category is for privateers, whilst the manufacturers compete in the LMP1-H class.

On a related note, the indication so far is that the spec engine supplier probably will not be Nissan. The format of the spec V8 engine from 2017 essentially comprises of two inline four cylinder Global Race Engines with a common crankshaft - Nissan currently does not manufacture an eligible engine and have indicated that it is not economically viable for them to manufacture an entirely new engine just for the LMP2 category, so they are expected to drop their support for the LMP2 category.

As things stand, the most likely suppliers will therefore be a company which is already participating in Formula 3: they currently use the GRE and the regulations seem to have been written with those units in mind, although the WTCC engines would also fit the bill.

Now, in theory the list of possible engine suppliers includes Mercedes, Citroen, M-Sport, Prodrive, RML, Honda, Toda Racing, TOMS, TMG, Spiess, and Hyundai. However, if I were a betting man, I am willing to bet that it will be VW that locks out that category - they already have two eligible engines (the WRC Polo engine and their Formula 3 engine) and have the additional advantage of already being involved in the sport, not to mention having a close relationship with the ACO (to put it mildly).

The worst part is, there is no reason for there to be a single spec engine - over in the US, the United Sports Car Championship has been given an exemption by the ACO to run multiple engine manufacturers. It also ensures that the independent engine manufacturers will be excluded from the sport - the Global Race Engine format ensures that only mass manufacturers can enter, so you can say goodbye to Judd, AER and Strakka's engine tuning division too.

I don't want to get too negative but is it any surprise that two of the chassis manufacturers chosen are French? Short-sighted, protectionist and nationalistic rule makers making decisions to the detriment of the sport.

I can understand to a certain extent why they did it, to protect grid numbers but it's not the way LMP2 should have gone. I want to see a single prototype category, effectively policed, that encourages both privateer and manufacturer support in separate championships. Not mickey-mouse tiers that unnecessarily complicate things.

Well, they are French after all - I would have been more surprised if they hadn't been blatantly short sighted, protectionist and nationalistic by picking both of the existing French chassis manufacturers. Furthermore, they were served up an easy way to completely screw over the British motorsport industry in the process too - do you think that the French would pass up that opportunity?

In fact, many are complaining that the whole selection process feels like it was completely rigged - Racecar Engineering have claimed that they were told who would be the chosen chassis manufacturers (and they were the ones who have been picked) back in March, before the selection process was supposed to have even begun.

After all, the Riley-Multimac operation were guaranteed a place - the selection criteria specified that there had to be one team based in North America, and HPD were effectively banned because the regulations bar companies from supplying both the engines and chassis, which HPD currently does. Being the only North American based entry, they were automatically going to get a place - even though they do not actually produce an LMP2 spec chassis at the moment.

[mario]

So, it appears that Nissan are beginning to question their commitment to the WEC - Ghosn has publicly admitted that they are "re-evaluating" their LMP1 program, amid rumours that the upcoming meeting scheduled in Japan will consider whether to persist with their program or to axe it. http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/futu ... er-review/

[Bobby Doorknobs]

So, it appears that Nissan are beginning to question their commitment to the WEC - Ghosn has publicly admitted that they are "re-evaluating" their LMP1 program, amid rumours that the upcoming meeting scheduled in Japan will consider whether to persist with their program or to axe it. http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/futu ... er-review/

Talk about a colossal waste of money, assuming that they do in fact drop it. It seems rather early in the game to be seriously questioning their commitment to this project too. Surely they should persist for another year before they really ask questions about continuing.

[mario]

So, it appears that Nissan are beginning to question their commitment to the WEC - Ghosn has publicly admitted that they are "re-evaluating" their LMP1 program, amid rumours that the upcoming meeting scheduled in Japan will consider whether to persist with their program or to axe it. http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/futu ... er-review/

Talk about a colossal waste of money, assuming that they do in fact drop it. It seems rather early in the game to be seriously questioning their commitment to this project too. Surely they should persist for another year before they really ask questions about continuing.

It has to be said that Nissan were unlikely to be getting much of a return on their investment - their initial commitment was only for two years, so their LMP1 program was potentially going to be axed next year anyway.

The other issue is that Nissan's options are relatively limited and likely to constrain development of their car. Because of the ACO's homologation requirements, Nissan cannot make any alterations to the energy recovery systems or the engine. That is a considerable problem given that their entire concept was centred around the hybrid system to begin with (using the system as a form of four wheel drive): they are locked into a powertrain design that makes it impossible for them to be competitive and that they cannot fix until 2016 at the earliest.

Given the inherent flaws with the current design - the current car is overweight and has an incorrect weight distribution, major problems with the transmission system and persistent reliability issues - and the development restrictions imposed by the ACO, Nissan effectively cannot develop their current car into a competitive design.

They would potentially have to make wholesale changes to the car in order to at least address some of the bigger flaws with the car, whilst at the same time trying to keep up with the heavy investment from Audi and Porsche in the WEC - we've seen from Toyota that it is easy to lose ground.

Their current car is already underdeveloped - Nissan have privately admitted that the car has been launched around nine to twelve months too early - and, due to the development restrictions, that situation cannot be easily rectified. It may be that Nissan decide that the cost of developing both this car and a heavily overhauled design for 2016 will simply be too much - Bowlby had hinted in the past that Nissan have been operating on a rather tight budget, so they might not be willing to pump more cash into a struggling project.

Asides from that, Nissan was already looking at downscaling its WEC programs because of the changes to the LMP2 regulations for 2017 - Nissan does not have an eligible engine to enter into the tender process and have indicated they will shut down their customer engine program.
It makes me wonder whether the ACO's LMP3 category might find itself without an engine supplier too - I think that the engine in that car is a derivative of the VK series that Nissan currently sells to the LMP2 teams.

[roblo97]

So, it appears that Nissan are beginning to question their commitment to the WEC - Ghosn has publicly admitted that they are "re-evaluating" their LMP1 program, amid rumours that the upcoming meeting scheduled in Japan will consider whether to persist with their program or to axe it. http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/futu ... er-review/

Talk about a colossal waste of money, assuming that they do in fact drop it. It seems rather early in the game to be seriously questioning their commitment to this project too. Surely they should persist for another year before they really ask questions about continuing.

It has to be said that Nissan were unlikely to be getting much of a return on their investment - their initial commitment was only for two years, so their LMP1 program was potentially going to be axed next year anyway.

The other issue is that Nissan's options are relatively limited and likely to constrain development of their car. Because of the ACO's homologation requirements, Nissan cannot make any alterations to the energy recovery systems or the engine. That is a considerable problem given that their entire concept was centred around the hybrid system to begin with (using the system as a form of four wheel drive): they are locked into a powertrain design that makes it impossible for them to be competitive and that they cannot fix until 2016 at the earliest.

Given the inherent flaws with the current design - the current car is overweight and has an incorrect weight distribution, major problems with the transmission system and persistent reliability issues - and the development restrictions imposed by the ACO, Nissan effectively cannot develop their current car into a competitive design.

They would potentially have to make wholesale changes to the car in order to at least address some of the bigger flaws with the car, whilst at the same time trying to keep up with the heavy investment from Audi and Porsche in the WEC - we've seen from Toyota that it is easy to lose ground.

Their current car is already underdeveloped - Nissan have privately admitted that the car has been launched around nine to twelve months too early - and, due to the development restrictions, that situation cannot be easily rectified. It may be that Nissan decide that the cost of developing both this car and a heavily overhauled design for 2016 will simply be too much - Bowlby had hinted in the past that Nissan have been operating on a rather tight budget, so they might not be willing to pump more cash into a struggling project.

Asides from that, Nissan was already looking at downscaling its WEC programs because of the changes to the LMP2 regulations for 2017 - Nissan does not have an eligible engine to enter into the tender process and have indicated they will shut down their customer engine program.
It makes me wonder whether the ACO's LMP3 category might find itself without an engine supplier too - I think that the engine in that car is a derivative of the VK series that Nissan currently sells to the LMP2 teams.

It is the 5 liter VK series V8 in the LMP3 cars.

[MorbidelliObese]

Yeah to be honest when the spec engine for LMP2 was announced one of my first thoughts was the implications for Nissan (not saying that I thought it would directly cause them to reconsider their P1 program). But they've been a big supporter of that category, since 2011 IIRC with the Signatech car that had Nissan backing, with most of their GT Academy winners getting a crack at the category in a Nissan-powered (and likely partially funded) car. Those drivers and the associated backing will probably be redirected to Nissan's various GT3 efforts now most likely.

I understand that the ACO wouldn't want P2 to have full blown manufacturer entries like back in the days of works MGs, Acuras, and works-supported Porsche Spyders, but it's possible to strike a balance between having a series contested by privateers yet with manufacturer involvement. In fact there's a category currently doing a decent job of that called "LMP2".

It's sad they haven't seemed to have learned the lessons of F1 and mid 90s IndyCar racing - that trying to fix what isn't broken usually ends up breaking it. Anyway my thoughts on 2017 LMP2 are probably more appropriate for the Rantbox thread so I'll stop here.

[roblo97]

Yeah to be honest when the spec engine for LMP2 was announced one of my first thoughts was the implications for Nissan (not saying that I thought it would directly cause them to reconsider their P1 program). But they've been a big supporter of that category, since 2011 IIRC with the Signatech car that had Nissan backing, with most of their GT Academy winners getting a crack at the category in a Nissan-powered (and likely partially funded) car. Those drivers and the associated backing will probably be redirected to Nissan's various GT3 efforts now most likely.

I understand that the ACO wouldn't want P2 to have full blown manufacturer entries like back in the days of works MGs, Acuras, and works-supported Porsche Spyders, but it's possible to strike a balance between having a series contested by privateers yet with manufacturer involvement. In fact there's a category currently doing a decent job of that called "LMP2".

It's sad they haven't seemed to have learned the lessons of F1 and mid 90s IndyCar racing - that trying to fix what isn't broken usually ends up breaking it. Anyway my thoughts on 2017 LMP2 are probably more appropriate for the Rantbox thread so I'll stop here.

In fairness, most peoples thought on the 2017 LMP2 rule set would be more appropriate for the Rantbox.

[Wallio]

RIP Nissan GTR-LMP 2015-2015

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... -resolved/