pi314159 wrote:First, the cars were even quicker in 2008-2010 than they are today. Not only the LMP1 cars were faster than today, but also the GT1 cars were faster than today's GTE cars. Then I don't think that the track needs a massive redesign. The layout isn't particularily dangerous. The Mulsanne straight is interrupted in three segments, which are comparable to the straights at Monza or old Hockenheim. The Bugatti circuit part is up to modern safety standards. The debatable parts are the kink at Indianapolis and the Porsche Curves. In the case of Indianapolis, adding a bit more runoff should be no problem. The Porsche Curves are the big problem. Adding more runoff is difficult without moving lots of earth, because of the elevation changes in this section. But it can be done, like at Spa.
More than the layout, a problem at Le Mans are the barriers. Simonsen's accident last year ended tragic because they put a barrier directly in front of the trees. The barriers at Tertre Rouge have changed this year, as the barrier has been moved away from the trees, and tyres have been added. Meanwhile, at the Porsche Curves,they still use only guardrails or even concrete walls as a barrier. I can't understand why those haven't been replaced by SAFER Barriers yet.
I think that there are a couple of issues with the SAFER barrier design that make it less attractive for Le Mans, one of which is the speed with which it can be rebuilt after an impact. Because the SAFER barrier is designed to partially crush and deform in order to dissipate energy during a crash, the barrier has to be rebuilt with new components after a crash - whilst the barrier worked well to protect Perez in his crash in Monaco, there were concerns that a relative lengthy section of the barrier had to be replaced afterwards (and there was a question over how effective the barrier would have been if there had been a second crash after the barrier had been repaired).
That said, the 2014 cars are actually approaching the sort of speeds that they were attaining in 2008-2010 - Audi were clocked at 344kph in 2010 during qualifying, whilst this year Toyota has been clocked at 339kph in the traps (though it seems the onboard telemetry data presented on the TV feed suggested Toyota were actually hitting 343kph on the straights). In terms of lap time, they're currently about two seconds a lap off the 2010 pace - however, considering that the practise sessions have been heavily disrupted due to the numerous accidents, you could potentially have shaved a few tenths off that with cleaner runs.
On another note, it seems that there is a little bit of doubt over another car - this time, it is the #79 ProSpeed Porsche entry. Having crashed during the first qualifying session, Bret Curtis has been ruled out on medical ground - now, whilst the team are currently building up their spare chassis, they have still not received permission to enter their new chassis, nor has their proposed driver change (Sebastien Crubile, who competed at Le Mans last year) been agreed to.
The alternative solution would be to run with the two remaining drivers, Bleekemolen and MacNeil - however, because the #79 car is entered into the GTE Am category, the team has to run at least one 'bronze' (i.e. amateur) driver. Because Bleekemolen and MacNeil are both in higher categories given they are professional racing drivers, they wouldn't be allowed to compete in the GTE Am category - so unless the ACO agrees to allow the team to run Crubile or allows ProSpeed to move into the GTE Pro category, ProSpeed might have to withdraw their entry.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114435
