2011 24 Hours of Le Mans, LMS and ALMS news.

[Dino Scuderia]

West Racing enters two Lambo LP 560 GT's in 2011 ALMS.

http://www.americanlemans.com/primary1.php?cat=news|15440

[Chernaudi]

Dyson is rumored to have two cars possibly, and have dumped BP as primary sponsor.

[henk4]

Dyson is rumored to have two cars possibly, and have dumped BP as primary sponsor.

dumped? because the BP name is tainted? (Or lost, because BP ran out of money?)

[csl177]

dumped? because the BP name is tainted? (Or lost, because BP ran out of money?)

More likely the former. BP isn't short of cash but could have decided motorsport isn't where they could best renew their "green" PR spin.

[Dino Scuderia]

BP also owns Castrol....and the races after the spill it seems the car livery was changed from BP to Castrol for obvious reasons.

Hopefully the team lands an adequate sponsor.

[henk4]

More likely the former. BP isn't short of cash but could have decided motorsport isn't where they could best renew their "green" PR spin.

well, the first post sounded like Dyson actively sought to get rid of BP as a sponsor, a brave thing to do these days in motorsport.

[csl177]

BP also owns Castrol....and the races after the spill it seems the car livery was changed from BP to Castrol for obvious reasons.
Hopefully the team lands an adequate sponsor.


well, the first post sounded like Dyson actively sought to get rid of BP as a sponsor, a brave thing to do these days in motorsport.

I spoke to soon. Dino, have you read anywhere they did drop them? After watching the video it seemed more like Dyson was expressing optimism with the green project and BP's fuel... he just didn't mention BP, which as you pointed out might have been deliberate since they switched to Castrol livery. BP likely helped craft the message... after all, who would drop a big-money sponsor in this economy?

[Chernaudi]

I said that BP is no longer primary sponsor--it seems that some electronics company is now main sponsor.

Maybe BP knows that with the criticism with how they handled the Gulf Oil Spill that putting small Castrol and BP stickers on the Dyson Lolas is the best way to save face with the team and the ALMS?

[Dino Scuderia]

This is the new sponsor:

ModSpace: Modular Offices, Construction Trailers, Portable Storage, Portable Classrooms and More (http://www.modspace.com/)

I found where they have traditionally sponsored ARCA and other stockcars.

[henk4]

I said that BP is no longer primary sponsor-

you did not SAY that, but it was the implication of your words. What you SAID was something totally different.

[Chernaudi]

"...and have dumped BP as primary sponsor"

That's what has seemed to have happened, unless it was BP who pulled the plug because of their image in the NA market. And you can expect that in the short term at least that Rob, Chris and the ALMS management would like to distance themselves from BP for a while, with the ALMS' mantra of "green racing" wouldn't they?

And at a time where Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ullrich said that Audi running in the ALMS was sponsor dependant. But at least BP isn't Union Carbide after the Bhopal disaster.

Both shouldn't have happened, but I do see a difference in the amount of corporate greed/evil in killing 11 people vs about 3000, if not more.

[Dino Scuderia]

OAK Racing has confirmed the second of its drivers for the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with the signing of Frenchman Pierre Ragues, who returns to the team having successfully raced with them in 2008.

During his previous stint with OAK Racing, then known as Saulnier Racing, the 26-year-old Ragues scored his first-ever endurance racing podium and also helped the team to its first of three consecutive podium finishes at the Le Mans 24 Hours, ending the year fifth overall in the Le Mans Series LMP2 drivers’ standings.

He has since gained valuable LMP1 experience in both the Le Mans Series and at Le Mans while racing the Signature-Plus Lola-Aston Martin, scoring two podiums in 2010 and finishing fourth in the final drivers’ classification.

Ragues will share one of OAK Racing’s LMP1 OAK-Pescarolo prototypes with compatriot Guillaume Moreau, whose continuation with the team was confirmed last month, in the seven-round ILMC which encompasses the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours and also includes prestigious events in the USA, China and Europe.

François Sicard, Managing Director, OAK Racing: “We are very happy to welcome Pierre back to the team. We remained in touch since 2008 and have followed his results closely – it feels like he’s coming home. Pierre is one of the most experienced young French racing drivers around and he has clearly demonstrated the key qualities of speed and reliability required for endurance racing. Pierre also knows Guillaume Moreau well from their Formula Renault days and his technical experience in the LMP1 class will be of invaluable help to the team as we move up from the LMP2 category.”

Pierre Ragues: “I enjoyed a great season with the team in 2008 but felt that the opportunity to move into LMP1 was too good to turn down. However I parted on very good terms and today feels like a homecoming for me. This programme in the ILMC, taking part in all the most prestigious events such as Sebring, Le Mans, Road Atlanta and Spa, is a dream-come-true for a young driver like me. Although the nucleus of the team is the same, it has grown a lot since I was last here and is even more professional. My testing programme starts in mid-February and it will be an important time ahead of Sebring. I can’t wait to start.”

OAK Racing’s third driver for the team’s ILMC campaign will be announced shortly.

[henk4]

will they use new chassis? (One of their LMP2s actually started life as an LMP1 car)

[Chernaudi]

I think that all Pescarolo 01s were either converted from LMP1 Courage/Pescarolo C60s or Courage C65s to start with. I don't have any idea if they actually built any of their cars from scratch up until now.

However, that's a credit to how good the C60 was in the right hands--the only chassis that rivals it in longevity/success was the Audi R8, which was far more successful, but Audi retired that as soon as it was practical to run the R10 in the ALMS in '06. And, of course, if not for the diesels and if LMP 900s were still legal, the R8 could probably still be winning races today.

Of course, how Pescarolo was able to modify the C60 tubs is that they're built in the "traditional manner" in two halves. Unlike the Audi R18, which is cast in one giant mold.

Ad-hoc mods there are virtually impossible. But that's the trade off. Pescarolo could convert any C60 chassis he wanted or bought into a new car, and he took full advantage of it, and saved a little money in the bargan.

[henk4]

The Pescarolo 01 was a new tub, not based on any Courage and introduced in 2007. Up to then Pescarolo had used Courage tubs.

They build eight of them,
#1 was the first works LMP1, totalled in 2009 at Spa
#2 was the first LMP2 and went to Kruse, was later destroyed in a truck fire
#3 reportedly went to Lister but never raced
#4 Rollcentre LMP1
#5 LMP 1, Ran as the second works car, then converted to LMP2 for Oak racing, as #24
#6 LMP2, for Oak racing #35
#7 LMP1, works car
#8 LMP1, 2009, with the new aero package.

[Chernaudi]

Well, why did Henri try and buy up some old Courage C60 tubs? Easier and cheaper to replace the upper half of the tub with a rule's compliant one than build an entire car from scratch.

Even if the cars were 100% new, the C60 design ancestory can't be denied. And its possible that some of the Pesca tubs were once Courage C60s at some point. Lola did the same thing with the AMR Lola that Enge nearly wrote off--they replaced the damaged section of the tub with a new one and gave it a new serial number.

Also, in the ALMS, LMS and ILMC, LMPC/FLM cars can run in all races in their own category outside of Le Mans, and the class champion in the LMS events will get an LM24 invite for 2012.

[Chernaudi]

Mulsanne's Corner is now reporting that the Audi R15s that are to be raced at Sebring will have minimal if any changes versus their 2010 spec aside from performance ballancing.

The only advantages that they'll have is more torque (larger engine) and if Sebring is held to IMSA sporting regs, faster stops with the open car.

[Dino Scuderia]

Isn't it amazing.....all of the sudden it's Lotus Lotus everywhere!

ILMC: Lotus Confirms Evora GT2 Program
Jetalliance Racing to campaign pair of Lotus Evoras in highly competitive category; set for Sebring debut...

AUTO RACING - ILMC: Lotus Confirms Evora GT2 Program (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ilmc-lotus-confirms-evora-gt2-program/)

[Dino Scuderia]

There's been much rumor and consternation over the 2011 ALMS TV package...well....here it is officially. True fans need to be hooked into ESPN3.

http://americanlemans.com/primary1.php?cat=news|15452

[henk4]

First pictures of Henri sitting in his new car have appeared on the web.

[Kitdy]

First pictures of Henri sitting in his new car have appeared on the web.

Pics? I can't find any.

[henk4]

Pics? I can't find any.

Actu Auto - 24 Heures du Mans 2011 - Pescarolo Team : c'est la rentre ! - LeMans.org (http://www.lemans.org/fr/actualites/Pescarolo-Team-c-est-la-rentree_2631.html)

just become a friend of the ACO on facebook and you will receive these things automatically, and Canadians are supposed to speak French.

[Wouter Melissen]

That looks just like the old car. No big honking fin on it yet ...

[Kitdy]

just become a friend of the ACO on facebook and you will receive these things automatically, and Canadians are supposed to speak French.

We are supposed to, but bilingualism in Canada really isn't a two way street. A much higher percentage of Quebecois are fluent in English than Canadian Anglophones are in French.

In Ontario, we are mandated to take French from grades 3-9 (options for 10-12 and there also French immersion schools). I took it for those years, and I think the education was inadequate. I was not very good with languages so I know only a pathetic amount of French. The last time I studied it I was 14 and I have never had to use it. Whenever I have been in Quebec, everyone has spoken English to me. When I next visit, I will make an effort to speak at least a modicum of French.

I actually would like it if French (and English in French speaking Canada) was a core subject taught from Kindergarden to Grade 12 - a fully bilingual country would be great.

Any other Canadians have something to say about this?

Anyhoo, that car does look very similar to what I remember the old one looking like.

[henk4]

That looks just like the old car. No big honking fin on it yet ...

if anybody has the right to invoke the grandfather clause, it should be Henri...

[RacingManiac]

Any other Canadians have something to say about this?


I am ESL, I didn't have to learn French when I moved to Canada in Grade 9....

:D

[RacingManiac]

AUTO RACING - ALMS: CytoSport Picks Lola-Aston Martin (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-cytosport-goes-with-lola-aston-martin)

Didn't see that one coming....

I might be bothered to turn up at Mosport to see that...

[Kitdy]

I am ESL, I didn't have to learn French when I moved to Canada in Grade 9....

:D

I was wondering what you'd have to say about this.

It's probably better for you that you speak Chinese than French in North America though.


AUTO RACING - ALMS: CytoSport Picks Lola-Aston Martin (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-cytosport-goes-with-lola-aston-martin)

Didn't see that one coming....

I might be bothered to turn up at Mosport to see that...

Then I may see you there. I would love to see an AM prototype, and have been to Mosport 4 of the last 5 years for the Grand Prix.

[RacingManiac]

I think my last year going there for ALMS was 2007, was at the last Detroit race in 2008(already moved to MI at that point)....then the lack of cars in the last 2 years have pretty much dampened my interest at the race...

I love watching races at Mosport though, great access, lots of great, unimpeded photo spots, and a track just small enough to walk all the way around for 2 hour and 45 min race...with cars going at insane speed through the corners...the place also holds special memory since 2006 and 2007 the Toronto FSAE guys pretty much live there during the day leading up to comp since we test at their paddock area....

[Kitdy]

Neat. How many ALMS races have you been to there?

I hit the Canadian Touring Car Championship there as well this year, also the Indy here.

I wanted to hit the Canadian Superbike Championship but slept in.

The atmosphere is so cool - many fans are hardcore and there is a good feel about the place.

[Dino Scuderia]

AUTO RACING - ALMS: CytoSport Picks Lola-Aston Martin (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-cytosport-goes-with-lola-aston-martin)

Didn't see that one coming....

I might be bothered to turn up at Mosport to see that...

Will be cool to see/hear this jewel run even if LMP1 is a bit limp overall.

[RacingManiac]

2001-2007, I went there uninterrupted during those years....the first few with my dad and the last 2 or 3 with people from the SAE team, and those are the years that we started walking the track during the race. Basically catch the start in turn one, snap few pics, then went down to turn 2 to see the brave man in the LMPs flying through there flat on a blind, down hill, off camber turn...go to turn 3 snap a few pics of cars apexing with curb. Then walk to 5a and 5b and see the car at the slowest point of the track. Then walk down the back straight through the woods and hear them echo through it...Stay a bit at turn 8 and see the LMPs just lift off the gas and turn in at 180mph....then usually wrap up up on the little hill at turn 9 as we usually park around there. Then try to beat the traffic out the track....:D

[Dino Scuderia]

Rebellion Racing LMP1 Toyota Lola Coupe expected to enter Sebring.

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: HPD steps up to LMP1 for Le Mans (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88911)

HPD is going LMP1 again.....but with the ARX-01-based car, not the purpose built ARX-02a...

ARX-01d will be their 2011 spec LMP2 car, with the new turbo charged V6.

ARX-01e will be their 2011 spec LMP1 car, presumably with a development of the 3.4 liter V8, since thats what the 2011 rule calls for, basically the 2010 and prior's P2 motor...

Curious to see the updates, and if we'll see the wider front tires again, but on the ARX-01 platform....

Edit: MulsannesCorner's bits on it: Mulsanne's Corner News, January/February 2011 (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsjan11.html)

Coupe for 2012.

[faksta]

How can you still read Mulsanne's Corner? They're out of touch for some months already....

[henk4]

How can you still read Mulsanne's Corner? They're out of touch for some months already....

Mulsanne's Corner, technical analysis of contemporary sports prototype racing cars (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/)

this link works perfectly well.

[RacingManiac]

How can you still read Mulsanne's Corner? They're out of touch for some months already....

Read the news....Their car pages won't update until there are actually new cars to see....and he is still updating all the old cars as more information are on them already...

Also considering he has a day job, I think the site is still pretty good...

[Kitdy]

What does he do for a day job?

[Wouter Melissen]

What does he do for a day job?

He builds racing cars.

[RacingManiac]

I think now is a Model Maker/Wind Tunnel Tech at Panoz.

[Kitdy]

He builds racing cars.

Insightful.

Is that what automotive aerodynamacists do these days?

[faksta]

Mulsanne's Corner, technical analysis of contemporary sports prototype racing cars (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/)

this link works perfectly well.


Read the news....Their car pages won't update until there are actually new cars to see....and he is still updating all the old cars as more information are on them already...

Also considering he has a day job, I think the site is still pretty good...

Doesn't work for me, sadly... It doesn't open at all, just like if the site didn't exist. Very pity, as I enjoyed those pages very much :(

[Chernaudi]

Audi have rented Sebring for next week and will test a R18 and a R15 there all next week, and will test the R18 at the Homestead NASCAR oval afterwards.

[Dino Scuderia]

One of my buddies has been chatting with a Risi team member who said they won't be participating in the LM 24 this year...and also they only have one 458 at Sebring testing.... yet newcomer team, Extreme Speed, has two!

He played this news off as nothing.... and that they are tired of screwing up in their regular season championship but manage to win LM most of the time..... but to me it sounds like financial and/or some other issues have arose at Risi.

[Chernaudi]

Issues with Shell sponsorship? Audi no longer carries much Shell sponsorship with the V-Power diesel stuff. It seems that Shell wants to sponsor Penske's NASCAR and Indy Car teams.

[Dino Scuderia]

Prolly a sign of sponsors fleeing ALMS in general.

I'm afraid it's another broken series.

[RacingManiac]

there are no series in N/A thats not broken...NASCAR included....

[Dino Scuderia]

That's the thing, whatever goes bad for NASCAR goes doubly bad for the rest.

[RacingManiac]

Didn't hear about this before...

American Le Mans Series partners with ESPN - AutoWeek Magazine
(http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110103/ALMS/110109994#ixzz19zwzuC5P)

So no more ALMS on Speed, ABC will show their typical crappy highlight show, and races will be shown live on ESPN3, live though, which isn't that bad(good for me actually since I can run video games on TV and races on PC).

Wonder what happens to the 24 hours of Le Mans though...

On the side note, Rolex 24 is on Speed now, but they are only showing 14(13.5 actually) of the racing. After 10pm EST they are showing some live-NASCAR in California at Irwindale, then they are showing OLD NASCAR races, then Infomercial then crappy Castrol Engine Block programming, then the rest of the Rolex race....this network is pretty much garbage now, more so I mean...

[Chernaudi]

According to what I've read, the ABC/ESPN races will be like the old CBS/NBC races, with live footage edited to fit in a 2/2.5 hour block.

Speed will still have Le Mans, though, and might get NA rights to the ILMC events. However, those'll be highlights specials too if it happens like in the past for the LMS.

[Dino Scuderia]

"Contesting the ILMC means ORECA will return to the Sebring 12 Hours for the first time since it won the GT class with its Chrysler Viper in 2000."

autosport.com - Le Mans News: ORECA enters ILMC with 908 (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89141)

[Chernaudi]

During testing at Sebring, the R18, in an LM spec areo kit, ran a fast lap of a 1:44, and averaged about a 1:45-1:46, the range being between 1:44-1:48 (Peugeot ran a similar range of times in '10 at the 12 Hours of Sebring).

It also seems that the grandfathered LMP1 diesels won't be far off that pace as well, at least on paper, so that gives Audi and Oreca hope with the grandfathered R15 and 908. And it doesn't help that Peugeot will have their first race with the 90x at Sebring, and will be up against Audi with the proven R15, and their customer Oreca with what should be a very reliable 908. Those power restrictions will only make the Audi and the old Pug more bullet proof.

Update: This was just published by Audi Sport/Audi of America: AudiWorld News (http://www.audiworld.com/news/11/r18-test/)

[Dino Scuderia]

Wow, don't know what to make of this latest statement from Risi Competizione...especially the last lines , ' Do not be too surprised if you see a pair of Risi Competizione transporters in the paddock, unloading a 458GT, with a single driver there for the test. And certainly, do not be surprised if you don’t.

They also take a poke at team Extreme Speed and their 'checkbook'.

"March, 2006. Without much pre-race fanfare and zero pre-race American testing, the new Ferrari 430GT is rolled out from the second story of the Rosso Corso Risi Competizione transporter and onto the liftgate for its’ descent into the brutal endurance racing forum that is the 12 Hours of Sebring. The new car has not been raced in competition in the U.S. before; it was entered by Houston-based Ferrari racing experts Risi Competizione, a very private outfit with an intensely private managing director, Giuseppe Risi.



It was a new day for Risi Comp, who would put two of their long time drivers in the new 430GT(Ralph Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro) along with the new kid in town, Brazilian sports car ace and Ferrari factory driver Jaime Melo. This entry from the Texas team was ripe with variables. The 430GT was a new model, an unknown quantity in international racing circles; Melo was well known only to a handful of racing professionals inside the gates of Ferrari’s Maranello compound. He had been the development driver for the street version of the 430 (which was offered in both Spyder and Berlinetta configurations) as well as the Ferrari Challenge version of the 430 and the new 430GT designed specifically for international sports car racing. Safe to say that Melo had the most seat time in the 430 of any driver in the world, but he had no rep or street cred at Sebring, nor did the the 430GT. The fact that Melo was driving for Risi Competizione was evidence enough that he were to be taken very seriously.



Connected in unknown ways to the Ferrari factory, Risi Comp had campaigned the under-powered Ferrari 360GT for a few years, breaking Porsche’s stranglehold on the GT2 category in the process. Before that he had been successful with the Ferrari 333SP, the last purpose-built Ferrari sports prototype race car, winning the first Petit Le Mans as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans with that model. In 2005, Risi Comp’s entry of the Maserati MC12 had rattled the ALMS and Sebring establishment to the point that the car was literally “legislated” out of competition. Among those seen having a hissyfit in the Sebring pits when the big Maserati took the track was one of the managing directors of Aston Martin, who apparently didn’t like true competition but preferred rule bending of the type that might give his team a chance to win (they didn’t and within a few years, Aston had disappeared completely from ALMS competition). The Maserati MC12 went on to dominate FIA GT2 racing, in races both long and short. One thing about the unsettled Aston director: he knew a winner when he saw it and he didn’t want to have anything to do with it.



The 2006 Sebring 12 Hour race was one of the best in the storied track’s history; in the GT2 category, the Risi Comp 430GT finished third in its’ international endurance racing debut, after a twelve hour battle that featured 27 lead changes. All three of the GT2 podium cars finished on the same lap—a telling indication of the competitiveness of the race. The winning car was a Panoz(Maxwell/Brabham/Bourdais), followed by a Porsche (van Overbeek/Fogarty/Lieb). The fastest lap for the GT2 category was laid down by the Risi Comp 430GT, a 2:04.002 produced by that new kid, Melo.



The Risi Comp 430GT went on to win the ALMS GT2 championship in it’s first year of competition and Jaime Melo finished the season packing international track cred without equal in sports cars. A new era was born and that basic combination, Risi Comp, Melo, and the 430GT were constants on the podium, in the winner’s circle, in championships won and championships contended for, for the next five years.



Now, jump ahead, into a cold and blustery December Friday, 2010, at Fiorano, Ferrari’s private test track in Maranello. A red 458GT is circling the track, Jaime Melo at the wheel, while a group of Ferrari engineers and racing directors follow the progress on the multiple screens inside the small white garage that serves as the launch point for test sessions at Fiorano. The black ribbon of track provides a stark contrast to the snow covered infield as the scream of the latest Ferrari racing engine rises and falls, from corner to corner, from lap to lap. Photos are taken (after all, this is history at Ferrari) and cell phones are dialed as on-site personnel report back to those not on- site. Following the progress via telephone is the now legendary Managing Director for Risi Competizione, Giuseppe Risi, who has yet to make public his racing plans for 2011.



Risi is not alone in his interests in the new 458 GT. The usual suspects have made their pilgrimage to Maranello, hoping to gain the favor of the factory in their racing enthusiasm for the Ferrari 458. The factory will sell them a car or two, sell them the spare parts, provide race engineers for their on-track competitive efforts but despite cheery press releases that say that the (insert team name here) is building a close working relationship with Ferrari and Ferrari racing, everyone in the business knows the truth: Only Risi in the United States has managed to build that relationship, and he didn’t build it only with his checkbook (although he has committed millions to his Ferrari racing programs) or his late enthusiasm for the brand, like the latest group of suitors.



Risi has been with Ferrari for decades now, been a Ferrari dealer for over thirty years, knew Enzo Ferrari personally, has consistently campaigned Ferrari sports cars even when the odds were enormously stacked against him, as in the 360GT period. He has always made the supreme effort to represent the tradition and professionalism of Ferrari racing. In five years racing the 430GT, Risi’s team captured 7 majors in Endurance Racing. One team racing against him with another pair of 430GTs spent tens of millions of dollars and only made the podium one time, when Risi’s car ran out of gas on the last lap at Petit. He has turned down offers to race other marques and models and has always been the go-to guy for Ferrari sports car racing in America. The pilgrims will come, their orders and deposits will be collected, and their cars will be shipped to racing operations headquarters, but only a fool would bet against Risi having the best 458 operation of all in North American in 2011…….if he races.



If he races. That qualifying statement can serve as the key to the 2011 North American ALMS season. After the 2010 season, in which the team came so close to winning it all after a season of very difficult events, there was low talk in the pits that Risi had had enough, that the last race loss—and the way the race was lost—had shredded his drive and finally convinced him that further racing activities were not in his future. It was time to scale back and let others chase the numbers his team had put up. He could leave the scene as the most successful Ferrari team owner since Luigi Chinetti’s operation in the late 50’s and early 60’s.



Those who know Risi well—and there are few who do—will tell you in private that Risi Competizione will not leave the scene in such a fashion. The team did not get to the top of the heap in GT racing by backing away from tough challenges; it will not go out on an off note, it will leave on high one.



When/if Risi Competizione receives it’s new 458GT, this is what the team will be looking at in terms of specs:



Name: Ferrari 458GT

Engine 90 Degree DOHC V8 w/4 valves per cylinder

Location Mid engine, longitudinally mounted

Construction Aluminum Alloy block and heads

Displacement 4.499 Liter/274.5 Cubic Inches

Valve Train 4 valves/Cylinder, DOHC

Fuel Feed Direct Fuel Injection

Aspiration Naturally Aspirated

Gearbox Hewland 6 speed sequential

Drive Rear Wheel Drive

Weight 1245 Kilos/2744 lbs

Power 470 BHP/351 KW

BHP/Liter 104 bhp/Liter

Power to Weight 0.38bhp/kg





Will the 458GT be as fast out of the box as the car it replaces, the now-legendary Ferrari 430GT? That answer will not be long in coming, as the 458GT is due to show at the fabled Sebring winter tests, held on February 9th&10th. Do not be too surprised if you see a pair of Risi Competizione transporters in the paddock, unloading a 458GT, with a single driver there for the test. And certainly, do not be surprised if you don’t. "

[RacingManiac]

2011 Peugeot 908...

Peugeot Sport - ENDURANCE - news-720-peugeot-sport-sur-tous-les-fronts (http://www.peugeot-sport.com/en/endurance/news-720-peugeot-sport-sur-tous-les-fronts.html)

3.7 liter V8, diesel still, 4 "rear" tire all around...

SPEED's piece:
AUTO RACING - LE MANS: Peugeot Unveils New 908 (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-peugeot-unveils-new-908/)

The car is obviously still an evolution from the old 908, some pretty significant detailing changes though, and I think it looks less brute-ish than the R18. With the paintjob and all the wide front tire treatment looks a lot less obvious than the Audi. The car will likely still be the car to beat, and according to Peugeot its been running since July of last year, and the car's work had been going on since 2009 Le Mans win.

We can be pretty thankful to both PAG and VAG though, still bank rolling these 2 teams at the level they are at. Its been a pretty epic battle...

[Ferrer]

Why was there any doubt that it would be a diesel? If anything the whole PSA is focused on diesel...

[RacingManiac]

Depends, the engine rule was re-written quite a bit, and not being "in the know" in the engine circle I am not sure how the performance will stack up comparing the new diesel to the new gas rule. There is a whole argument since both PSA and VAG are both heavily into diesel cars in their regular business that its in their best interest to pursue diesel, but if it works out in such a way that the diesel are no more advantageous, then logic will force them to switch....

The fact though that both Audi and Peugeot stuck with it, means the diesel are still the format to have. The caveat being how much more of an advantage will they hold(and will they show) to combat the performance balancing that ACO is committed to do...

[Dino Scuderia]

Next year they will be front wheel drive turbo 4 cyl.

[Kitdy]

We can be pretty thankful to both PAG and VAG though, still bank rolling these 2 teams at the level they are at. Its been a pretty epic battle...

It has been. It would be nice to have one other factory team go balls in (Toyota in the coming years after teaming with Rebellion?).

The two way fight has been great, but were there three teams in it with a shot to win, that'd be sweet.

[Ferrer]

Even better if we got back to the late 90's with the GT1 cars and open prototypes.

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Q & A: Gene on latest Peugeot (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89291)

Interesting interview with Gene, apparently there was a big testing crash that put the whole BHF to the test...

[henk4]

Even better if we got back to the late 90's with the GT1 cars and open prototypes.

that is childplay, we need 917s and 512s or even better 375MMs or 412ss with unsynchronised gearboxes. All that humbug that racing should contribute to improve roadcars should be buried forever.

[faksta]

All that humbug that racing should contribute to improve roadcars should be buried forever.

It's often an excuse for racing to exist at all, so we have to live with this...

[henk4]

It's often an excuse for racing to exist at all, so we have to live with this...

I know, but does Ferrer????

[Ferrer]

that is childplay, we need 917s and 512s or even better 375MMs or 412ss with unsynchronised gearboxes. All that humbug that racing should contribute to improve roadcars should be buried forever.
I was refering to the amount of works teams involved, not the the cars themselves.

As for improving road cars, couldn't care. A fan of homologation specials, though.

[Dino Scuderia]

Sebring winter test begins tomorrow.

Entry list:

http://www.americanlemans.com/files/events/2011/0/ALMS%20Sebring%20Winter%20Test.pdf

[Dino Scuderia]

RECORD NUMBER OF ENTRIES READY FOR WINTER TEST
Set to hit the track at Sebring starting Wednesday

2011-02-07
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It has been a long four months since the close of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The first real steps toward the 2011 championships come at Sebring for the annual ALMS Winter Test on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s always a great chance to see what’s in store for the coming season, which starts in mid-March with the 59th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida.

More cars than ever will participate in the two-day test – 33 as of Monday. Among the entries that will garner the most attention are Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing’s Lola-Aston Martin coupe – the same car which finished third last year at the 12 Hours – and Ferrari F458 GTs for Risi Competizione and Extreme Speed Motorsports.

West Racing’s Lamborghini Gallardo will get plenty of looks as well as it prepares to makes its ALMS debut next month. JaguarRSR will bring P.J. Jones, Bruno Junqueira and Cristiano da Matta together for the first time to drive two Jaguar XKR GTs. Paul Miller Racing also is stepping up to GT from GTC with a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

There are a number of other first-year entrants set to make their Series debuts – CRS Racing in GT with a Ferrari F430 GT, Performance Tech Motorsports and CORE autosport in LMP Challenge, and JDX Racing, NGT Motorsports and Kelly Moss Motorsports in GT Challenge.

Among the other notable entries include three Corvettes – two from Corvette Racing and one from Larbre Competition – and Team LNT with a Radical SR9 in LMP2.

[Dino Scuderia]

Signature secures Nissan engine deal

By Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, February 9th 2011, 11:36 GMT

Signature secures Nissan engine dealNissan has announced a two-year partnership with Signature Racing to supply engines to the team in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The deal will see the Japanese manufacturer provide the team its NISMO-tuned VK45V8 engines for the LMP2 class chassis.

"Nissan is very happy to announce our new partnership with Signature and we look forward to working with such a professional and well respected team," said Vincent Wijnen, Nissan Vice-President, Strategy and Marketing.

"I know our customers, fans and dealers will be following our progress when we start racing in March and will of course be anticipating our return to the Le Mans 24 hours."

The team will race as Signatech Nissan in the opening round of the ILMC on March 19th at Sebring.

"We are delighted to team up with such an innovative car manufacturer," said Philippe Sinault, CEO of the Signature Group.

"Nissan's engine know how will be crucial to the overall performance of the car, and we are sure this partnership will be hugely successful."

Signature is yet to announce its final driver line-up, but team regular Franck Mailleux has been confirmed for the ILMC and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

[henk4]

so what chassis will they use?

[RacingManiac]

Judging from this:
autosport.com - Le Mans News: Le Mans reveals 24 Hours entry list (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89365)

Oreca 03s?

[Chernaudi]

Endurance-Info is reporting that another of the new Peugeot 908s was severely damaged during a 30 hour endurance test at Paul Ricard. The culprit is believed to be a tub/suspension mount failure very similar to what the old 908 experienced several times late in it's life, namely at Le Mans in 2010.

Could the new 908 have inherited some the older cars flaws. Ironically, Peugeot blamed the older failures on construction techniques used by previous constructor Dassault Systems. If the failures are similar, I think that Peugeot would have to blame their design department.

[RacingManiac]

908 had a suspension failure in 2010 at Le Mans? I thought they all had their engine grenaded....

I remember they cracked a tub in Sebring in 2009 and/or 2010....

[henk4]

908 had a suspension failure in 2010 at Le Mans? I thought they all had their engine grenaded....

I remember they cracked a tub in Sebring in 2009 and/or 2010....

the first one out (with bourdais) had a violent encounter with some kerbstones, the kerbstones won.

[Chernaudi]

It was a forum posting on E-I (get your online translators if you don't know French):

endurance-info.com - Voir le sujet - PEUGEOT 908 2011 (http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/forum/viewtopic.php?p=147978#p147978)

And a brief article (also in French) about the accident:

AUTOhebdo.fr | Une Peugeot 908 sort au Paul-Ricard (http://www.autohebdo.fr/endurance/le-mans/breve-27-5-13415/240211-une-peugeot-908-sort-au-paul-ricard)

It seems to be a case where we should be glad that Nic wasn't totaled with the car, just as Marc escaped a fate similar to this 908 in Dec.

This does have to be worrying, though, as it seems that it's a design flaw intrinsic to the 908's design, and that both tubs sport a broadly similar design. What really may hurt Peugeot is that Sebring is 3 weeks away, and with the car at this stage, I fear that there might be no reliable quick fix.

Peugeot even switched from Dassualt Systems to someone else to make the tubs under license. This has to cause some worry, and each day lost now means a day gained by Audi with the R18 that's done less testing so far. Definently a point of concern, as it doesn't seem to be a wholy isolated incident (Gene's massive off in December was caused by a "parts failure").

[henk4]

now first of all you don't know whether Minassisan hit anything so we do not know the reason for the rupture, or whatever it is, second, the first case as in Le Mans, was clearly caused by a violent encounter with a kerbstone. Further cases as far as I know did not take place.
So to start talking about design flaws at this stage is a bit premature, and I am sure you would not come up with such worries if it had concerned an Audi:)

[RacingManiac]

I thought Audi cracked tubs too with R15 at some point....hmmm..

At any rate most of these cars now are pretty highly stressed that if you take them to the curb it'll probably do some damaged. R8 was a "tank", but it was also 10 sec a lap slower(Le Mans standard) than the the LMP cars now....corresponding forces are also less...

[Chernaudi]

Yeah, by running over their own front diffusers that should've have broken off in the first place. The Pugs would be just as liable for such damage if similar things happened to them.

Daily Sportscar also has run a piece, for those who have a subscription. It seems that the tub/mount breaking is what caused the accident, and the curbs aren't nearly as bad as those in some sections of Le Mans. It also said that Nic took about as big a ride as Gene did--they said that where Minassian went off that his Pug climbed over the guard rail.

And should I remind you that the Audi R8 would probably be nearly as fast as the diesels if it ran current tires and areo on it. When one considers that they were nearly running the same times in 2004 as they did in '02 with less power and downforce, they'd probably be running 3:20s now if they had the kind of power that the diesels had, which at one point they did.

And I think that all of this is the effect of the law of unintended consequences. The LMP1 rules were to slow the cars down through drag and such, but the cars made more downforce for the drag they had to carry, and giving what amounted to the same power (if not more) the LMP900s had in their '99-'02 heyday didn't help either.

Now we're back to 2003-'05 power levels, but with the areo being what it is and the wider tires on the Audi and Pug, the cars are cornering faster than ever.

Since both accidents were caused by some type of suspension failure (either a mount or tub breakage), one has to wonder if the Pug was designed adequately for such stresses? This is two cars destroyed in a couple of months time in similarly violent accidents with similar failures causing them. This has to be troubling Peugeot, especially if there are signs that this could be a chronic problem.

But Endurance-Info and DSC are saying that the accident was similar to Gene's big one in Dec., right down to the trigger being a suspension part or a tub mount letting go.

[RacingManiac]

TBH its all speculative....if you ever designed and build something, you'll realize that you design for everything you can think of, and you always end up breaking something...thats why you test. The only thing you can hope for is that when you finally go to race, everything should have been broken has been broken....

The closer to limit you build and design something, and I am sure now they are doing it on a knife edge since the competition is much more intense, you have much less wiggle room for something to go wrong. With stuff like composite, which ultimately is the downfall of the technology is that it is not only PITA to manufacture, it is PITA to do it consistently, and when you are building 3-6 cars a year, the chances of each one to be identical is slim to none, and the chances of that to be EXACTLY what you designed is also very low....

Today its Peugeot, tomorrow it can be Audi, Wirth, or Aston.....if you are not breaking something, especially in testing, you are not pushing hard enough....

[Chernaudi]

Mulsanne's Corner has a write up about the Pug accident--rules out tub failure but says that both of the big accidents that the 908 has had are suspension failure related.

However, the bigger point of the article is the fact that it addresses rumors/issues with the cars getting airborne in the accidents, and that things like the current floor design, the domed skid and the fin aren't cure-alls, but are intended to reduced the chances of such incidents under certain circumstances.

[henk4]

Mulsanne's Corner has a write up about the Pug accident--rules out tub failure but says that both of the big accidents that the 908 has had are suspension failure related.

\

your next sentence there could have been: "so all my speculations to the contrary were uncalled for" :)

[Chernaudi]

Mike says himself that the first accident (Gene's) was caused by a rear suspension collapse. Nic's off was probably caused by a similar issue, possibly at the front of the car, as an article on a French website reported that a suspension arm snapped.

And if one bothers to read Mike's article, he states why the suspension failures are disconcerting: If they happen at high speed, not only does the driver lose control of the car, but it can pitch the car in such a way that it can get airborne if it's going fast enough--fin or no fin.

And thing's aren't all gloom and doom--it wasn't a tub issue that caused the accident.

And a 908--and an engine from one--are supposed to be on display at the Geneva Motor Show, and it's rumored that Aston Martin will publically launch their new LMP1 there as well.

[henk4]

And a 908--and an engine from one--are supposed to be on display at the Geneva Motor Show, and it's rumored that Aston Martin will publically launch their new LMP1 there as well.

I'll be able to tell you first hand about it, next Tuesday.

[Chernaudi]

New 908 at Geneva--the Hybrid 4.

It probably won't race this year, but is supposed to be testing by month's end and might run at the LM test day.

[RacingManiac]

LE MANS: Peugeot 908 Hybrid4 Unveil - Speed.com Galleries (http://photos.speedtv.com/gallery/LE_MANS:_Peugeot_908_Hybrid4_Unveil)

Sharp paint job....I think they are making up for lost time when 908 FAP didn't have a nice paintjob....lol

[Dino Scuderia]

I'm so tired of all the hybrid bullshit.

[RacingManiac]

I'm so tired of all the hybrid bullshit.

It works though. The GT3 R Hybrid proved it in Zhuhai last year. The fact that it was the fastest GT car, had 1 stop less than anyone else in GT and finished 6th(or something high like that) overall sorta proves the point of the technology, they also mentioned that with the GT3 R Hybrid Porsche can run their "sprint" brake package with thinner disc and pad in an endurance race...And that was with the gimmicky push-button activation. The Peugeot is designed to run it seamlessly without the push-to-pass thing, so it should in theory be more optimized....

Faster car with more efficiency should be win-win....

[Dino Scuderia]

I'm with hybrid technology like Ferrer is with paddle shift.

I don't care if it's faster or more efficient....I hate the way the whole automotive scene is heading.

Look at all the crap at Geneva and other recent shows. bleh

[LeonOfTheDead]

I think I've read somewhere this car will actually race this year. If that's the case, I'm not sure if Audi was really expecting it.

[Chernaudi]

Dagys from Speed says that the 908 Hybrid probably won't race this year, and Peugeot themselves when they launched the car (standard 908) said it probably won't race until 2012. One may make the LM test day, but I doubt it'll turn a wheel in anger, as testing will only really start late this month.

And then there's the AMR-One. It's got an inline 6 with twin turbos and will adopt the Audi/Peugeot/Acura edict of wide front tires/wheels. Personally, I have my doubts about the straight 6 engine (rigidity compared to a V6, which is shorter and maybe lighter, and a V8, which is just as long or a bit shorter but potentially lighter), and I don't think that stylistically that the slab-sides match with the front or rear of the car.

Mike from Mulsanne's Corner has written that he suspects that those lines come from the fact that it appears that the AMR-One was desinged largely with CFD, instead of CFD mixed with windtunnel testing--both scale and full size as Audi and Peugeot have done. Of course, the early Audi R15 was junk at LM because of being a draggy, high downforce car and Henri Pescarolo was able to get a lot out of his cars with little in the way of windtunnel testing, let alone CFD.

An other interesting general point that Mike has brought up is that the current cars will have downforce comparable to the last gen cars with less drag, espeically the Audi R18 (reported in a German motorsport magazine to have 10% less drag than the 2010 R15 with similar downforce numbers) and I don't think that the 908 has that much less downforce than the old 908, but maybe more effiecent at generating that.

Of course, the R18 and the 908 are closed cars, and the AMR-One is an open car like the R15 was (and the AMR-One's cockpit, steering wheel and being RDH aside, has a similar cockpit layout).

I'm just really put off at the slab sides, as the R18 and the 908 look like works of art from the side, and appear to be more aero effiecent.

And also, to answer the question about a hybrid Audi, Audi Sport said that the R18 was designed for KERS, but, like Peugeot, likely won't race with it this year.

[Dino Scuderia]

Aston AMR One.

Aston Martin Racing announces today its plans for the new season including the unveiling of a new ground-up developed LMP1 race car, the AMR-One, as well as confirming the driver line-up and planned race programme.

The Gulf Liveried Aston Martin AMR-One is a new open-top LMP1 race car featuring a 2.0 litre turbocharged six cylinder direct injection petrol engine which has been developed for a new bespoke carbon fibre chassis designed and manufactured by Aston Martin Racing.

Based on the new regulations for 2011 instigated by the Le Mans governing body; the ACO, Aston Martin Racing has chosen to change tack this year in designing an open cockpit car. In line with the new 2011 rules, the AMR-One features the new blade-fin and has a significantly down-sized engine in keeping with the championship’s efficiency focused regulations. Power is fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed transverse semi automatic pneumatic shift, Xtrac racing gearbox.

A total of six AMR-Ones will be built, with the factory team running one car in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) which includes the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans and two cars at selected events. The AMR-One is linked to Aston Martin’s ultimate design and engineering showcase; the road going One-77; both of which share similar philosophies featuring carbon fibre monocoques. Aston Martin’s in-house design team worked closely with the engineers at Aston Martin Racing to find the optimum balance between aesthetics and aerodynamics.

Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez said: “Aston Martin’s heritage is deeply rooted in endurance sports car racing, so in 2011, we take the next step demonstrating that a small team using advanced design and engineering intelligence will be agile and competitive.”

The driver line up for 2011 will consist of Darren Turner (GB) Stefan Mücke (D) and another driver yet to be announced, who will join the team piloting the 007 car. Adrian Fernandez (MX), Andy Meyrick (GB) and Harold Primat (CH) will be teaming up to drive the 009 car.

Aston Martin Racing Chairman, David Richards said: “George and the team have been extremely busy over the winter months and they have been working day and night to produce what is not only a stunningly beautiful race car but one which will use the new ACO regulations to best effect. “Just like the road cars, the AMR-One has been elegantly engineered where simplicity runs throughout to produce what we expect to be a competitive and reliable endurance racer.”

Team Principal George Howard-Chappell said: “We have chosen to run with a six cylinder turbocharged engine because we believe this offers the best potential within the petrol engine regulations. With the ACO’s commitment to effectively balance the performance of petrol and diesel Le Mans entrants – our hopes are high that we’ll see the closest racing yet in the premiere LMP1 category.

Subject to initial testing, it is hoped that a single AMR-One will make its race debut at the 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on 16-19 March 2011. It is expected that Aston Martin Racing will contend the full Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with its seven rounds in the United States (Sebring and Petit Le Mans), Belgium (Spa), France (Le Mans), Italy (Imola), England (Silverstone) and China (TBC).
The AMR-One is expected to test for the first time in early March.

Aston Martin AMR-ONE LMP1 Car Technical Specification
Chassis – Aston Martin Carbon Fibre Monocoque ‘open’ style construction, load bearing engine with steel frame to help rigidity.

Configuration – Mid engine rear wheel drive

Engine – In line 6 cylinder, direct injected, turbocharged and intercooled DOHC Petrol engine, 4 valves per cylinder. Approx 540bhp, 6 speed Xtrac

Gearbox – Bespoke 6 speed, transverse, semi automatic pneumatic shift, Xtrac racing gearbox

Suspension – All round double wishbone, push-rod activated Koni dampers with third spring/damper, front and rear. Front Anti roll bar

Steering – Rack and Pinion with electrical power assistance

Aerodynamics - to current LMP1 regulations developed via CFD in conjunction with Totalsim, including latest regulation fin.

Electronics – Full Cosworth electronics systems including engine ECU, data system and telemetry. Full military spec wiring harness and connectors.

Wheels and Tyres – Michelin tyres, 36/71 x 18 front and 37/71 x 18 rear mounted on TWS forged magnesium wheels.

Brakes – Brembo six pot calipers fitted front and rear, Carbon 380mm diameter front and 355mm diameter rear discs with carbon pads

Dimensions:
Length 4640mm
Width 1990mm
Wheelbase 2930mm
Minimum weight 900Kg

[RacingManiac]

Direct injection might be interesting.....I think in general I'll be interested to see how this stacks up with the Formula Nippon derived units in Honda, Nissan and Toyota....if this turns out to be the best of the rest(they'll have work to do to beat HPD I think) it might put an anchor in the plans of the Japanese, as the cost for developing a bespoke engine package for LMPs will probably alert the bean counters...

The slab side harkens back to the R10-style car though....almost kinda make you wonder if they are doing something odd like R15 did with trying to utilize more "in-body" flow. The fact that it has a inline 6 also kinda put me in that line of thought, since it'll be relatively narrow and allows for more space on its side. Though I agree the rigidity might be suspect, the write up also mentioned its reinforced with steel bracing, much in the way I am sure like the inline 4 cars in P2 before.

Considering HPD/Wirth are also CFD derived car with little to no wind tunnel work, I think its just a matter of how mature their model is. In this case AMR being new I think it might not be up with HPD in their modeling yet. Wirth itself is struggling with it in F1 since open wheel is a different beast vs the sports cars, hence the relatively "simple" look of Virgin's F1 cars...Who knows, maybe AMR knows something we don't...

In other news, I find this interesting:
GT Academy Winner Lucas Ordoñez in 24 Hours of Le Mans (http://www.gtplanet.net/gt-academy-winner-lucas-ordonez-in-24-hours-of-le-mans/)

Winner of the original GT Academy in Europe will now drive in ILMC....unbelievable, for someone who wins a video game contest...

[Dino Scuderia]

It isn't really hard for me to accept the leap from sim to real racing as I have watched people make transitions both ways in iRacing for two years. Most of the real race drivers are very fast in the iRacing sim.

Recently the best sim racer in the world, Greger Huttu from Finland, was brought to the USA by iRacing to drive a Formula Mazda at Road Atlanta. After a few test sessions he was only 3 seconds off the fastest guys in the series....and Greger was half ill from the heat and G loads.

http://www.iracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Huttu-PDF.pdf

[RacingManiac]

That last point was it though. Huttu ran a day, this guy is going to drive for a year(I assume he already did a season in FIA GT4 which was the original prize). To make the leap physically is a challenge, and now he is in a prototype which is much faster cars with big-boy level G forces. Compare to guys who's been driving all their life from lower rank that transition is much harder, IMO...

[Dino Scuderia]

I'm sure he'll have to pass several physical tests before they turn him loose.

[LeonOfTheDead]

I think he already campaigned two years in GT4, including some 24 hours race.
Back in the days I was angry that my father didn't force me to drive a go-kart (damn lego), now I should yell at him for not buying me a PSX the first day it came out?!

[Ferrer]

This new Aston straight six engine. Could it be related to the rumours of future road going Astons having sixes? Is it bespoke?

[Dino Scuderia]

More likely a road going 6 rumor was spurred by the AMR One's lump 6 news.

[Wouter Melissen]

Here's the Le Mans poster

[Wouter Melissen]

Here is an interesting link detailing the aerodynamic features of the latest sports car designs: Blog di lemansprototypes (http://lemansprototypes.over-blog.it/)

[Chernaudi]

Audi have been caught testing at Sebring during the first of their scheduled 4 or so days of testing there following the 12 Hours.

There are two R18s that features several detail changes compared to the press photo/January testing cars (taller fin/wing mount, modified front bodywork). Some photos are up at Mulsanne's Corner, but Audi AG/Audi of America will release high res. photos later today, and Fouritude.com also have their own photos and confirmed the presense of Audi photogs.

[RacingManiac]

LMS at Paul Ricard, so far the 2 practice session were lead by Rebellion Lola Toyota and a Zytec....

AMR-One did not run any lap as the car was not ready yet....

[RacingManiac]

LMS Qual result:
autosport.com - LMS News: Jani gives Rebellion Ricard LMS pole (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90400)

Rebellion Toyota pole....AMR-One 11th, slower than 6 P2 cars, and almost 6 sec off the pole time...

If David Richard hopes ACO's balancing act will help him win Le Mans against the diesel, he is on some serious dope....

[Kitdy]

I am disappointed to see the AM so low.

RM, does Toyota plan to enter a full fledged LMP1 in the next few years?

[RacingManiac]

No idea....the consensus is that this Rebellion deal might be a testing the water program. Its entirely possible for them to go for a full fledge effort...considering the LMP engine rule right now aligns with their GT500 engine program and their Formula Nippon engine program...

And they do have a fully equipped race shop in Europe, complete with F1 level technology...:D

[Chernaudi]

Pescarolo wins on return after starting from the back (helped them to escape from the start line pile up caused by an offical's crainial flatulance) and got to the lead only 36 minutes into the race--that's McNish material there.

HPD LMP2 cars are way down on power, and AMR's debut was, in short, a disaster. There's no euphenism to sugar coat that. On top of that, the Pescarolo 01 that won can trace it's DNA back to 1999, and the Rebellion Lolas use the same chassis that AMR used with success in the past.

Personally, I'm wondering if AMR just aren't the same team that were able to keep Corvette honest in GT1 in the ALMS a few years ago and won the LMS drivers and team titles a couple of years ago.

[RacingManiac]

They are waist deep in politiking BS instead of actually spending money and effort on their car....Really disappointed at Prodrive here....

The rumor is the over the winter "downgrading" effort for the LMP2 hits the HPD chassis and Honda combo the hardest.....which really sucks since that car was clearly the class of the field in the last few seasons...

[pimento]

Autoblog has some footage (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/03/le-mans-series-pace-car-mistake-causes-pile-up/) of that ridiculous start line pileup if anyone missed it.

[henk4]

Autoblog has some footage (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/03/le-mans-series-pace-car-mistake-causes-pile-up/) of that ridiculous start line pileup if anyone missed it.

Not surprised: these Audi drivers in general seem to think they are even capable of outpacing an entire LMP field....:D

Race control has much to explain. Did they come already forward with something?

[RacingManiac]

Its an expensive mistake isn't it? Those teams with wrecked cars basically for no reason will still need to foot their own repair bills...

[henk4]

Its an expensive mistake isn't it? Those teams with wrecked cars basically for no reason will still need to foot their own repair bills...

apparently Race Control declines any responsibilty, no so damage compensation.

[Matra et Alpine]

Looked at the video.
As they are coming round the corner the last marshal post has WAVED yellow.
At 15 secs in the clip the lights go green and STILL the marshal is WAVING the yellow.
As it cuts to front show you can see first marshal is also waving yellow -- now the cut is tight so it MAY be a very fast reaction from the marshal.
BUT, either way there were mixed messages not conforming to the start procedure as per the regs ... and so it's all down to the race director cock up and they are gonna have to pay Porsche for the broken bits (imho)

Guys at the front were caught rock and hard place :(
EVERY driver knows if you pass the pace car it's a black flag, possible removal from race and almost certainly a fine to follow.

[Dino Scuderia]

ALMS Long Beach qualy @ 8pm EST on ESPN3 tonite.

[RacingManiac]

R18 with paintjob looks much better and less like a Russian sub...

[henk4]

R18 with paintjob looks much better and less like a Russian sub...

that is valid for the number 2 and 3 car, the number 1 is still very black.

[RacingManiac]

Yeah and they left it as plain carbon finish too....

What's the driver allotment between the 3 cars?

[henk4]

Yeah and they left it as plain carbon finish too....

What's the driver allotment between the 3 cars?

see here

2011 Le Mans Test Day (April 24) - Ultimatecarpage.com forums (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43295)

post 1 has the list. Bonanomi was there as the reserve driver.

[henk4]

Jan Lammers will return to Le Mans this year (as well as spa next weekend) behind the wheel of the Hope Racing Oreca-Swiss Tech Hybrid. He'll share the car with Steve Zacchia in spa. During the test days the car spent most of time in the garage., due to some problems, but towards the end of the Sunday session, it appeared on track and did some laps in the low 3.40s. Not directly competitive but at least it worked. Unfortunately too late for us too have track shots, but we will make up for that next weekend at Spa.

[Chernaudi]

Highcroft have withdrawn from Le Mans and is no longer an official HPD customer team.

They are looking at other options to continue racing in the ALMS and/or Indy Car, but where as in Indy Car there are Chevrolet and Lotus/Judd as engine supply partners, but with the ALMS, there seems to be only Audi (definenly uncertain) and AMR (probably a Lola Coupe).

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Highcroft withdraws from Le Mans (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91461)

So its official....

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Kronos to take Le Mans slot (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91471)

And Pieter's wish is confirmed also....

[henk4]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Kronos to take Le Mans slot (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91471)

And Pieter's wish is confirmed also....

that remains to be seen, Spa was another forfeit.

[FastDriver]

i need to get that spa track for rFactor, i used to race it all the time on another game i had an it was awesome :)

[RacingManiac]

Mulsanne's Corner News, May/June 2011 (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsmay11.html)

The ACO has taken the step for do balancing before Le Mans. Most gas cars are now lighter with bigger restrictor(lol @ AMR with no help from ACO for their slow turd of a car). Diesels have gotten a restrictor size reduction and Peugeot have gotten more weight...Audi is probably laughing right now....

Apparently they are not supposed to do something like this so close to the actual race as per their rule(something about notice period), but ACO is ACO and they can do whatever they want....

[henk4]

Mulsanne's Corner News, May/June 2011 (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsmay11.html)

The ACO has taken the step for do balancing before Le Mans. Most gas cars are now lighter with bigger restrictor(lol @ AMR with no help from ACO for their slow turd of a car). Diesels have gotten a restrictor size reduction and Peugeot have gotten more weight...Audi is probably laughing right now....

Apparently they are not supposed to do something like this so close to the actual race as per their rule(something about notice period), but ACO is ACO and they can do whatever they want....

The 15 kg relates to the Oreca 908 and not the factory cars.

[faksta]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Highcroft withdraws from Le Mans (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91461)

So its official....

That's a shame given their blasting performance at Sebring.

[RacingManiac]

Yeah that really sucks since it'll be interesting to see how they perform relative to the Toyota, Pescarolo and Aston, I was expecting them to be the fastest petrol car.

As I've mentioned I think this decision was made a while ago as Highcroft never came up with any money(even at Sebring) and Wirth was not going to foot the bill themselves to let Highcroft run the car. Really a shame to let that car sit out conceivably for the rest of the year....

[faksta]

Yep, so it joins Dome S102 and Epsilon Euskadi which would be great to see on track again, but we hardly ever will.

[Chernaudi]

Panoz MotorSports Group has sold control of Mosport International Raceway and Mosport Park to a group lead by Ron Fellows.

It seems that they want to follow through with some of the changes that PMSG wanted to, such as building a hotel near by and a resort type desination, similar to what PMSG did to Road Atlanta. Hopefully, they'll also fix that guardrail, too.

[henk4]

2012 will see the introduction of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The basis will be the ILMC calendar, with everything scheduled around the Le Mans 24 hours. Jean Todt will wave the starting flag next weekend.

Questions:
What will happen to the FIA GT World Championship? Will it remain operational for all classes except GTE?
What will happen to the current ALM and LMS schedule? Will their programme be totally separated from the World Championship or just continue as it is today?

[Chernaudi]

New FIA/ACO sanctioned world championship proposed:

AUTO RACING - LE MANS: FIA, ACO Set To Launch World Endurance Championship (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-fia-aco-set-to-launch-world-endurance-championship/)

My thoughts:

This has great potential, if it's carried out properly.

Having a legitimate WSC is something that many thought would never happen again after it's meltdown almost 20 years ago. And it was down to the ideocy of Balestre, Mosley, and Eccostone getting involved. Thankfully, Jean Todt isn't Max Mosley or JM Balestre, and he's successfully stood up to Bernie as FIA president. M. Todt is no ideot, and he saw the orginal WSC implode in '92/'93, and obviously doesn't want to repeat that mistake.

And this may be a shot in the arm for the ALMS, as with at least one (maybe two) rounds if Sebring and/or PLM are included, it could get them to see the light and get Don Panoz, Scott Atherton, and Scott Elkins to throw out their reservations over the GT3 cars in the ALMS and get rid of the GTC and LMPC classes sooner rather than later.

However, this depends on something that sportscar racing has never had much of--stable rules. The ALMS' issues are largely due to instability in the ACO's rules, and, especially, IMSA's reactions to them. IMSA should've seen their issues coming and got their heads out of the sand earlier than they did. If the FIA/ACO can come up with a reasonably stable set of rules that IMSA can adopt that make sense, then this could be a big reprive for the ALMS, LMS, and other similar regional series.

Then there's the fact that Ratel and Peter don't entirely see eye to eye, and haven't for nearly 15 years, after Ratel turned the BPR series into the orginal FIA GT championship.

This has great potential to work, but as the late Dale Ernhardt said about NASCAR and corporate geed, "they can't get too greedy." IMSA did during the big factory years of '06-08, and look at they fight they've had to right the ship, though better managment would've helped big time there, too.

If the ACO and the FIA can manage this, it'll be a great spectical, but if not, it'll end up like the mid '90s, where a potent but ill-conceived rules package sent the series and LM spiraling out of control in as little as 18 months.

[henk4]

one important thing is mentioned in the press release

"The Automobile Club de l’Ouest hereby agrees to integrate the Le Mans 24 Hours into the calendar, but the event remains the exclusive property of the ACO and is not a participant in this agreement."

This will keep the door open for them to still set the rules for THEIR event, and let's face it, if there was no 24 Hours, there would be no prototype-sportscar racing

[csl177]

I disagree, Henk. While the Lemans 24 hours is THE endurance event and the ACO will protect their singular asset in ways we've all come to expect, there are enough other important endurance races to ensure that prototypes have a place to compete. For manufacturers they're important as "halo" vehicles that sell technology, for promoters outside of France they're "halo" attractions and sell race tickets.

[Klemmel]

How do you guys plan to watch the race without being there in person? This year I actually planned to pay for a streaming service, but on the official site (Club PASSION 24 LiveBar (http://www.lemans.org/en/club/livebar_passion24.html)) I can only find "exclusive, live ranking and French commentators".

Would be nice with some video to go with the excellent RadioLeMans (site not working for me atm, but found it here: TuneIn Web Tuner (http://tunein.com/tuner/?StationId=48714&#)).

Edit: Seems like it should be possible to watch the whole race on various Eurosport channels online for 5€, anyone got some experience with this service?

[Ferrer]

My plan is to watch it on Eurosport.

In the telly.

[Matra et Alpine]

I recorded the Eurosport streaming service for the full 24 hours when I went 2 years ago to watch when I returned :) So Eurosport is good coverage usually !!!

[RacingManiac]

For US(and maybe Canadian?) Speed will have the full race between TV and online.

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Sarrazin on provisional pole for Peugeot (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92078)

1 Peugeot on provisional pole, in front of 3 Audi...Strakka HPD on LMP2 pole, and BMW on GT pole...

[Matra et Alpine]

Audi providing a free stream of coverage.
On emay suspect it may have an emphasis on Audi products :)
Audi Live Racing - 24 Hours of Le Mans (http://www.audi-microsites.com/lemans/)

[Matra et Alpine]

to help ..... Le Mans 2011 Spotter Guide, powered by Nissan (http://www.spotterguides.com/le-mans-2011-guide)

http://www.spotterguides.com/images/stories/thumbnails/lemans11_final_s1_v3.jpg

http://www.spotterguides.com/images/stories/guides/thumbnails/lemans11_final_s2_v3b.jpg

Too big for inclusion here :(

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Treluyer takes pole for Audi (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92108)

Audi 1-2 on qualifying, they got down to 3:25.7s....vs 3:26.0 for the Peugeot. Fastest petrol car is the Rebellion Lola Toyota, qualified at 3:32.8. Older Oreca 908 ran a 3:30.0.

BMW M3 got GT pole, Hope Oreca Hybrid ran 3:47, AMR-One ran 3:45.9.

[pimento]

Geez, Aston gotta be pretty depressed by that.

[RacingManiac]

They claim its a 3 year program, but to be THAT far off when any odd customer LMP2 car can be faster is pretty sad....they are also ~9 sec slower than the grandfathered Lola Aston Martin...basically their old car....

[faksta]

This year kind of turns the tables. Audis are fast, Peugeots are more reliable. That's gonna be very interesting.

Pity I won't be there...

[henk4]

This year kind of turns the tables. Audis are fast, Peugeots are more reliable. That's gonna be very interesting.

Pity I won't be there...

we'll tell you all about it....

[faksta]

Is there any good video streaming? It's not too great to watch the whole race from onboard cams... Can't find any yet.

[faksta]

The demands have dropped. Is there any streaming at all??? Shit!

[Matra et Alpine]

mmmmmmmmmmm, eurosport coverage of the race on now and they just mentioned that Mazda are having a meeting with the ACO to discuss their future participation in the race.

Here's hoping it's to negotiate a rotary :)

[Matra et Alpine]

The demands have dropped. Is there any streaming at all??? Shit!
The AUdi one is fine here http://www.audi-microsites.com/lemans/#/onboard

Looks like it's Audi onboard though :) Cant complain really

[faksta]

Thanks, I've seen all the streaming you've posted, but I was hoping someone will show some cars from the outside as well :(

[RacingManiac]

MASSIVE accident by McNish at Dunlop.....clipped a 458 and flew into the barrier...

[Kitdy]

Thanks, I've seen all the streaming you've posted, but I was hoping someone will show some cars from the outside as well :(

Check your PMs.


MASSIVE accident by McNish at Dunlop.....clipped a 458 and flew into the barrier...

That was brutal. I hope everyone is OK.

[faksta]

Absolutely mad collision! Hope no one's injured. There were some people lying on the ground...

[RacingManiac]

It was sorta amazing that it looks like thus far no one got hurt(knock on wood), despite what looks to be a shot gun blast of Audi parts flying towards a group of gathered photogs...

Hope you are not near there Wouter...

[Kitdy]

I hope everyone is OK, including Wouter and Pieter.

[faksta]

Kitdy, thanks a lot :)



.....EuroSport has switched to cycling!!! :mad:

Oh, nevermind, there's a Eurosport2 feed.

[faksta]

Damn! One more Audi written off, this time Rocke's #1. Looks even worse than McNish's case. And again the reason was collision with Ferrari. Rocke is still in the car, I'm afraid - for nearly 10 minutes. Hope I'm mistaken and he's out and OK.

Good news. Wolfgang Ullrich has just said Rocke has left the car himself.

[f6fhellcat13]

Huge crash for Rocky in the 1 car! Clipped a Ferrari and spun out.
Haven't seen him get out of the car yet, hopefully he is okay.

EDIT: Rocky left car under his own power, this is great news.

[faksta]

The car is literally a pile of metal and carbon fiber now...

[Ferrer]

Only one Audi left.

Wonder what will they do now.

This looks like the reverse edition of last years race. Only the Audis aren't imploding themselves...

[RacingManiac]

McNish's accident is more of his fault, Rocky's look like the fault of the GT....do we know which GT it is?

I gotta say, the name GTE "AM" is sketchy at best....considering the closing speed and the condition of the race...having amateur is iffy...though in many cases they foot the bill....

[f6fhellcat13]

It was the 71 AF Corse.
The Ferrari looked to be on the racing line, which just so happened to close the door on Rocky. The commentators suggested that the Audi's highbeams may have dazzled Kauffman in the Ferrari, which I can relate to :p.

EDIT: Kitdy is telling me the Kauffmann's fastest lap in practice was a 4:21, so he is an amateur racing in GTEpro?
The ACO needs to organize the classes better.

[RacingManiac]

Well I don't really know what the Pro/Am definition lies....Take Michael Waltrip, who is a Pro NASCAR driver, I think his fastest lap before the race start was a 4:18, I think he was running 4:11s in his stint, and he is in a GTE Pro car, I think the pole time in GTE Pro is 3:57.

You can't escape gentleman drive in racing....but its just hard to explain for it when accident happens....

[Sledgehammer]

Does the BMW m3 seriously have sticker false side exhausts?

[Roentgen]

I just saw the video about the Allan McNish's Audi. My... I'm glad he is okay!! That crash was properly nasty D:

[Cyco]

Looking at the McNish accident videos I think part of the reason it was so spectacular was due to the shape of the ground.

The gravel trap goes up hill, which should help slow the car, but before the barrier it goes over a small crest where the tarmacked area for photographers and recovery vehicles is. The fence is then set back from the edge of the tarmac, and it is in this space between the crest at the edge of the tarmac and the fence that the car became airborne.

It would have still been a very large impact, but probably without the flip over the fence, if the fence was at the crest, and the car's CoG being well below the top of it.

[Matra et Alpine]

If you look Cyco, you'll see as he hits the Ferrari the rear of the car gets kicked up by the Ferrari's tyres. This starts the process and the car is "in the air" from the moment it leaves tarmac.

All if the iffs and buts dont matter in an accident. it is an accident. With the fence as you describe it may well have a different consequence ! No guarantee better :(

[RacingManiac]

Just woke up, what happened to Magnussen Vette?

[Cyco]

All if the iffs and buts dont matter in an accident. it is an accident. With the fence as you describe it may well have a different consequence ! No guarantee better :(

You are absolutely correct. An accident that takes a long time to happen, as this one did, is easier on the driver and the more forward placement of the fence would have very likely resulted in a much faster stop.

The gravel trap did not appear to slow the car greatly, which is to be expected as the up-slope on the side of the floor allowed it to skid easily, without getting any bite to slow it down. This bite may have well tipped the car and have taken it back into the spectacular flip scenario.

[Matra et Alpine]

It does seem that the awful-looking board/fin on the back of the LMPs is working.

Can't believe the ACO punished Peugeot with a stop/go for a mechanic failing to wear goggles. I thought that was usually only reserved for non-French teams :)

Also I think they are maybe afraid of Audi ... TWO overtakes by going off the circuit is worthy of a reprimand, but nothing ? DID make great racing footage though adn I leapt off my seat in fright at his bravery/stupidity !!

[henk4]

The discussion in the pressroom on the two accidents reached the following conclusions:

McNish did something silly, he should have seen that Bernard was slowing down because of car in front of him. That car reckened that Bernard stayed behind him, and therefore kept his line, which McNish then tried to take.

Rockefeller tried to overtake a Ferrari on the narrow part of the track (the raceline that is). The subsequent disqualification of Kaufmann was fully unjustified. During the driver meeting the GT drivers and especially the rookies were told to keep their lane in case of a prototype (recognisabel from its white lights) came behind them and that the prototype drivers are responsilbe for finding a solution if they want to overtake. Kaufmann kept his line.

There was a general agreement that if the Audi had been the R15, the consequences could have been very grave. The R18 has a tub, which includes the window frame and the rollbar.

The Magnussen incident was a freak one, the two cars were next to each other before the Ford chicane, and for no visible reason the Corvette veered to the right, straight into the Felbermayer Porsche. I have not heard any further explanation.

The race itself was fantastic, hats off for Audi that turned a obviously lost cause into a memorable win. (15 seconds on 24 hours is really a very small margin). Extensive safety car periods may have influenced the result, but to what extent will need some further analysis.

First we need to sort out what we got, and then give a further visible account of the race. Hearing the 787B running in anger was one of the highlights of the week.

For now it is time to sleep....

[RacingManiac]

While I think you are right that the slower car is supposed to stay on their own line, he has no need to move across the track to "apex" the racing line. It was the kink going towards Indianapolis (close to where the CLR flipped in 1999, if not exactly where it was, as the camera shot looks identical). If he had held his path (which was already in the middle of the track), Rocky would not veered onto the grass that ultimately spun him out(probably bottomed out and lost downforce)....The Ferrari definitely saw Audi, you can't miss it with the bright light, knows he is there he could at least avoid shifting "lane" even if he does not out right move out of the way...

I still find it amazing that no one got hurt in the McNish crash in the crowd or the photog area....that was an awful lot of fast moving R18 pieces....

[RacingManiac]

BTW, what a win by Audi, close race through out, but the Super GT/DTM trio pull through delivering some pretty crazy lap time(3:25 race lap, that was quali time....) to hold off the F1/openwheel contingent of the Peugeot team....For once Audi had a genuinely fast car over Peugeot....Their pace advantage is not insignificant since for most of the race the Peugeot was able to do one more lap than Audi...Speed coverage elluded to something interesting though, as the stationary nozzle time by Audi was consistently a few sec faster than Peugeot, suggesting either their "filler to tank" flow is less restrictive due to design, or Audi was short filling the car since they can't quite stretch 12 laps(until the end when the pace was slowed by the drizzle) they just fill it to a safe 11 lap....

And a great win by the Corvette team. For work now we work with the people at Pratt & Miller and they run a tight ship over there on a variety of projects outside of their racing operation. Its good to see them return to their winning ways. Hearing that they are able to drill their tire change sequence to be consistently 4-5 sec faster than Schnitzer operation was amazing. And was cool seeing them do a brake caliper change(in lieu of a straight pad swap) in ~ 1 min in the pit lane instead of the full service crew of inside the garage was pretty impressive.

Sucks for my friend working at Wirth and was on the crew of Strakka....

[henk4]

While I think you are right that the slower car is supposed to stay on their own line, he has no need to move across the track to "apex" the racing line. It was the kink going towards Indianapolis (close to where the CLR flipped in 1999, if not exactly where it was, as the camera shot looks identical). If he had held his path (which was already in the middle of the track), Rocky would not veered onto the grass that ultimately spun him out(probably bottomed out and lost downforce)....The Ferrari definitely saw Audi, you can't miss it with the bright light, knows he is there he could at least avoid shifting "lane" even if he does not out right move out of the way...

I still find it amazing that no one got hurt in the McNish crash in the crowd or the photog area....that was an awful lot of fast moving R18 pieces....

I hope you realise that also the slower cars will look for the race line, .....and at the kink, there is only one, so he was not shifting lane, but he was keeping the raceline, which they are fully entitled to do. (and it is not a place where you can easily move out of the way, I was standing there shooting at sunset on saturday, and just when we arrived back in the paddock, the Audi had crashed there).

[RacingManiac]

That was a kink, but it was not a real corner, not even for a GT car. If the car is in Porsche curve or Dunlop or any other "corners" where the car is loaded up and tires are at the limit, I am 100% agree with you that the slow car should hold their line and fast car has to drive around. They don't have the grip and downforce and thus they can't move around at the limit. But where they were, with long warning as he would've seen the Audi coming, slow car can and should move out of the way....

[Matra et Alpine]

ahem :) Speed RM :) That's a corner that has to be taken with the same respect as any other in the 24hours :(

Also, think about the number of tyre changes at Le Mans. All that worn rubber is SOMEWHERE .... and that somewhere is just off the "racing line". NOT unreasonable then that the suggestion is that the slower car keeps to the racing line and the approaching car overtakes SAFELY. On top of that it's near impossoible to judge distance based on blinding lights in a rear view mirror at speed :( I woudl suggest they have a rule about WHEN to flash lights or have an additional light to indicate to a slower car when a fast car is within say 100m and approaching fast ( ie here in 1second )

[henk4]

That was a kink, but it was not a real corner, not even for a GT car. If the car is in Porsche curve or Dunlop or any other "corners" where the car is loaded up and tires are at the limit, I am 100% agree with you that the slow car should hold their line and fast car has to drive around. They don't have the grip and downforce and thus they can't move around at the limit. But where they were, with long warning as he would've seen the Audi coming, slow car can and should move out of the way....

it was THE kink, and at that point they go faster than at the Mulsanne straight.

[Rockefella]

I should check this forum more often. I completely missed this race. Damnit..

[Wouter Melissen]

I should check this forum more often. I completely missed this race. Damnit..

This will help: 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans - Report and Slideshow (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/event/281/2011-24-Hours-of-Le-Mans.html)

[RacingManiac]

it was THE kink, and at that point they go faster than at the Mulsanne straight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMxRvEQnzaI

I am not even sure if Mike had a choice to go around the outside....

The Ferrari was CLEARLY in the left lane as Rocky drove up to him, probably going 30+mph faster. By the time he was committed to passing the Ferrari on the inside the Ferrari started to move over the centerline....the onboard shot was pretty clear.....being in Rockenfeller's shoe there was no reason to suspect the Ferrari will move over when he did...since the whole approach up to him he was over to the left....

Not to make light of it too much, but the view looked remarkably similar to on the road here the other day when some lady in a Jeep Commander decided last minute to move into my lane when I am already half a car length along side her, had to drove onto the island to avoid being hit....soft road curb saved my wheels from being bent....granted this was at 10mph....people driving SUVs and talking on the phone are f-ing retards....

[henk4]

The video perfectly shows that the Ferrari kept the race line, as the slower drivers were told to do during the drivers meeting. It is the responsibility of the quicker driver to perform a safe overtaking manoeuver. I am sure Mike knows exactly were the raceline is at that point, so he could have expected the Ferrari to stay there.

[pimento]

After the 'Vette crashing out of the class lead last year due to moving off the racing line while an LMP shoved past I can certainly see why they'd make that ruling. Also, from what I understand the GT cars are actually more affected by being on the marbles due to the much lower downforce. If the Ferrari moved out of the line through that kink, it'd've been in the gravel trap in short order.

[henk4]

After the 'Vette crashing out of the class lead last year due to moving off the racing line while an LMP shoved past I can certainly see why they'd make that ruling. Also, from what I understand the GT cars are actually more affected by being on the marbles due to the much lower downforce. If the Ferrari moved out of the line through that kink, it'd've been in the gravel trap in short order.

there is no gravel trap there, it is public road, with big guardrails.....

[pimento]

there is no gravel trap there, it is public road, with big guardrails.....

Well, there ya go.. it's been a while since I forza'd my away around there. Not a place to spin off at high speed then.

[RacingManiac]

The video perfectly shows that the Ferrari kept the race line, as the slower drivers were told to do during the drivers meeting. It is the responsibility of the quicker driver to perform a safe overtaking manoeuver. I am sure Mike knows exactly were the raceline is at that point, so he could have expected the Ferrari to stay there.

The onboard had ferrari on the right, and as the Audi closes he moved left, then right before Audi got there he moved right again, if I were Mike closing on the GT car at 30+mph speed diff., i'd have took the same conclusion that he saw me and was moving off line. I think if the ferrari had indeed just stayed right, instead of swinging wide then get back online, Audi would've drove the outside instead...i still maintain that the "kink" was not a limit corner, even for a GT car....a G trace around the track would answer that...and marbling will be much more pronounces in an actual corner as the tires are more stressed....

He wasn't exactly on a qualy lap, he also does not need to use all of the track(nor was he exactly on pace...), I think the ruling from official was not too severe at all...bad judgement and lack of experience on GT driver's part...

[henk4]

The onboard had ferrari on the right, and as the Audi closes he moved left, then right before Audi got there he moved right again, if I were Mike closing on the GT car at 30+mph speed diff., i'd have took the same conclusion that he saw me and was moving off line. I think if the ferrari had indeed just stayed right, instead of swinging wide then get back online, Audi would've drove the outside instead...i still maintain that the "kink" was not a limit corner, even for a GT car....a G trace around the track would answer that...and marbling will be much more pronounces in an actual corner as the tires are more stressed....

He wasn't exactly on a qualy lap, he also does not need to use all of the track(nor was he exactly on pace...), I think the ruling from official was not too severe at all...bad judgement and lack of experience on GT driver's part...

the kink is a slight right hand corner. Ideally you approach it from left to go right along the apex and come out again leftish. So what the Ferrari did (preparing himself for a rightahnder) was quite normal. If he had stayed right, chances would have been that he might have missed the apex and had gone straight on.

[Kitdy]

I saw some intense debate on another forum about this, and in my own relatively uninformed opinion, I thought that the Kauffman was following the racing line.

[RacingManiac]

the kink is a slight right hand corner. Ideally you approach it from left to go right along the apex and come out again leftish. So what the Ferrari did (preparing himself for a rightahnder) was quite normal. If he had stayed right, chances would have been that he might have missed the apex and had gone straight on.


Its fast, but its no where near on limit corner. And considering its a public road, the crown of the road will mean that staying right would make the turn slightly banked. Yes it would not have been the "fastest line" but Kauffman was not exactly setting the world on fire in his GT car....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO9PwzA7YcE

I can't find any other lap data, and this seems to be the easiest, compare the cornering G at that portion of the track to any other "corner", yes this is an Audi but proportionally would've been applicable. They are not on the limit there....

I don't know what you expect Rockenfeller to do otherwise, if he had to slam on the brake, slowing probably as much as 30-40mph from where he was going, that already says to me that Kauffman was not doing the right thing. Its like you are getting cut off on the highway. Any other case, it the middle of Porsche curves, or going into Dunlop or Indianapolis or something, where a GT car would be loaded up and on the limit, I'd expect the LMP to drive around them. There was plenty of warning that a faster car is coming, Rockenfeller was pretty clear which line he was taking as you can see the whole approach that he was staying right of the 2 lane, if that was not clear to him where he was coming, I don't know what else he can do. Rocky only started to flash his light after he realized that Kauffman starting to move over, the fact the he STILL completed to move into the lane just shows his lack of judgement...

[henk4]

Its fast, but its no where near on limit corner. And considering its a public road, the crown of the road will mean that staying right would make the turn slightly banked. Yes it would not have been the "fastest line" but Kauffman was not exactly setting the world on fire in his GT car....



In terms of Audi speeds no GT car was setting the world on fire. It's all relative. As I said before, GT cars were told to keep the racing line, and that is what he did. It was up to the LMP cars to find a solution, and the one Mike choose did not work.

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Toyota testing new LMP1 car (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92396)

Also on Kauffman:

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Waltrip hopes for Le Mans return (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92394)

He failed to react to the blue flag 10 times during the race....

[Dino Scuderia]

He don't need no stinkin' blue flag....he only uses yellow ones.

[RacingManiac]

Random note, I've booked hotel and time-off for PLM....and planning side tour on the way back to detour to Tail of the Dragon....

hoping for epic road trip...

[henk4]

Also on Kauffman:

autosport.com - Le Mans News: Waltrip hopes for Le Mans return (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92394)

He failed to react to the blue flag 10 times during the race....[/QUOTE]

Well, in this case, and with due respect to the marshalls, I think they should be briefed in the same way as the drivers. So if race control tells the GT drivers to keep their line, the marshall should take that into account as well. I hope you have read John Brooks' article on his double declutch website, where he mentioned some of top Porsche drivers who were quite unhappy with the track behaviour of some of the LMP cars and these guys are a bit more experienced than Kaufmann.
Especially during the night it is difficult for both drivers and marshalls to see what is actually going on. Are the white lights someway behind a yellow lighted GT belonging to a Peugeot or to the Norma, which may result in a totally different approach time. Furthermore I have seen the blue flag being waved to warn a driver about a car behind him.....the one that he had just overtaken.
And finally, drivers of the slower cars have a very good reason to stay on the race line. Djuring the whole race I have not noted that any of the top classed cars suffered a puncture, but for the slower classes it was the order of the day, obviously because they moved aside....and a puncture does cost a lot of time on a 13 km track, so better avoid them at all costs.


Edit: Oh and enjoy PLM, we will most likely not be there unfortunately.

[Kitdy]

Random note, I've booked hotel and time-off for PLM....and planning side tour on the way back to detour to Tail of the Dragon....

hoping for epic road trip...

Gonna be at Mosport?

[Matra et Alpine]

playing with glow sticks at the 24h .....

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/265063_210758905635250_159738787403929_651862_7751 138_n.jpg

See See how they did it: http://h3.abload.de/img/p6260500zgyl.jpg for how they did it :)

[RacingManiac]

Gonna be at Mosport?

Probably not....regular ALMS round doesn't draw me in as much without the big cars...though I really like watching races at Mosport....

When is it this year? Its in July now isn't it?

[Dino Scuderia]

I'm going to the Mid Ohio race for the first time...mainly because I have a friend who lives in Dayton that also likes to go. It's the first week of August.

[Kitdy]

Probably not....regular ALMS round doesn't draw me in as much without the big cars...though I really like watching races at Mosport....

When is it this year? Its in July now isn't it?

July 21-24.

I wanted to check out the Vintage Racing, but missed it. I intend to watch the GP and the Superbikes.

[RacingManiac]

That weekend clashes with an AutoX date....lol

What I will miss for the PLM weekend is the paddock walk, being I am taking only 1 day off to drive down I'll essentially just catch the race day....

[RacingManiac]

Porsche to return to Le Mans 24 Hours with new LMP1 car in 2014 - Le Mans news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92733)

[Matra et Alpine]

Just read that RM, now all we need is Renault to return with the Alpine name , Mazda to confirm bringing the rotary back and I'm moving over permanently from 2014 :)

[Kitdy]

I have wanted to go to Le Mans since about 2007, when I started following the race.

I am going to try to make an effort to go there for 2014 now that Porsche will be back.

Other manufacturers try to be the king, but the ace is back, it's the P-o-r-s-c-h-e.

[RacingManiac]

Gotta wonder what that does to Audi program. But yeah, I think it'll be interesting since Toyota might be coming back also...

2014 will be a good year to try to go...

[f6fhellcat13]

Gas-powered with flywheel KERS? I think I can get behind that.
I know there isn't a lot of room in LMP for aesthetics, but it would also be quite nice to see a good looking prototype for the first time in a while.

[RacingManiac]

Gas-powered with flywheel KERS? I think I can get behind that.
I know there isn't a lot of room in LMP for aesthetics, but it would also be quite nice to see a good looking prototype for the first time in a while.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and the current crop of cars, fin and all, looks pretty good...aside from maybe Aston...

If its fast, it looks good...

[Chernaudi]

Yet another Acura/HPD ARX-01 family member breaks cover--Level 5 will soon switch to the ARX-01g, a cost-capped evolution of the current ARX-01d.

Plans are to run it in the remaining ILMC events and the last two ALMS races this season.

[RacingManiac]

Aston Martin Racing switches back to old car for rest of season - Le Mans news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93462)

Ouch....

[henk4]

Aston Martin Racing switches back to old car for rest of season - Le Mans news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93462)

Ouch....

might be the least embarassing option though.

[RacingManiac]

Well yeah, and I certainly don't mind the look of the Lola Aston coupe, seeing I'll get to see it(and the ones in Muscle Milk livery) at PLM. But the whole Aston project thus far has been a embarrassing disaster...

[Kitdy]

The Lola Aston sounds fantastic in person.

I just wish it was as loud as the GT cars.

[henk4]

Well yeah, and I certainly don't mind the look of the Lola Aston coupe, seeing I'll get to see it(and the ones in Muscle Milk livery) at PLM. But the whole Aston project thus far has been a embarrassing disaster...

yes, the Kronos car was the highest finishing Aston Martin this year, and yes, it sounded much better than the GT cars, or the turboed LMP2s

[Chernaudi]

At least they won't have to worry about the engines exploding after a relative handful of laps. If they AMR-One ran in the ALMS, the Cytosport Lola Aston would've wiped the floor with the AMR-One, especially with Lucas and Klaus in the Lola.

Mulsanne's Corner's Facebook page does state that Mike has info that suggests that the AMR-One's inline 6 in its current state is "fatally flawed" and that only a major redesign will save it. The car, conservative aero aside, seems to be fine if the engine is left out of the equation.

As I wrote on Ten-Tenths, the AMR-One was a bit too ambitious and was too much, too fast for Prodrive and AMR, as they've never built a LMP car or anything of the like in house by themselves before.

[henk4]

Aston Martin wins its first LMP1 race at Mid-Ohio.
This is more than a surprise because I clearly saw that during one of the stops the mechanisca and the fuel filler were workingat the same time...

[Chernaudi]

They were supposed to get either a stop and go or a 20 second penalty for some pit road violation but I don't know if it was ever issued, and it didn't matter, as Graf just wiped the floor with Dyson in the rain.

[RacingManiac]

Aston Martin wins its first LMP1 race at Mid-Ohio.
This is more than a surprise because I clearly saw that during one of the stops the mechanisca and the fuel filler were workingat the same time...

Really? This was their first win? I thought they've won another race this year before....

[henk4]

Really? This was their first win? I thought they've won another race this year before....

I was already told that they did win earlier races, but there were some Dutch commentators on Motors TV which led me to believe that Dyson had won everything sofar in ALMS
Anyway, there was at least one win in LMES for a factory car in 2009 IIRC.

[Dino Scuderia]

Before the Mid Ohio race, Dyson was leading in points over the Aston team 82 to 56. I don't know how many points was awarded this race...but with Dyson finishing second they are probably pretty close.

My first trip to Mid Ohio...it's a good track for action...and way easier to walk around than Road Atlanta. The paddock is huge and easily handled all the ALMS bunch with Indy being there also.

[henk4]

Before the Mid Ohio race, Dyson was leading in points over the Aston team 82 to 56. I don't know how many points was awarded this race...but with Dyson finishing second they are probably pretty close.

My first trip to Mid Ohio...it's a good track for action...and way easier to walk around than Road Atlanta. The paddock is huge and easily handled all the ALMS bunch with Indy being there also.

got some time to use the camera?

[Dino Scuderia]

got some time to use the camera?

Not as much as I usually take.. but have some I can post up later.

[RacingManiac]

Mike Rockenfeller on his crash at Le Mans from Autosport:



Mike Rockenfeller survived one of the Le Mans 24 Hours' biggest accidents in recent memory this June, when his Audi R18 was clipped while passing a slower car on the flat-out run to Indianapolis in the middle of the night.

He was lucky to escape with no serious injuries, and just three weeks later he was back in the cockpit to race in the DTM at the Norisring.

But the journey the 27-year-old German went on between the moment he decided to go for the small gap to the right of Rob Kauffman's Ferrari and the condition he is in now has been a remarkable one.

Understandably, Rockenfeller hasn't been shouting from the rooftops about what he's gone through. But here, in his own words, he shares his story – or at least what he remembers of it – with AUTOSPORT.

The Crash

I was having a good run in my stint leading up to the crash. We had good speed, a good rhythm.

I was catching people – we were P4 or P5 when I got in the car because we'd had a couple of problems, and I think I had us up to P2. I was really pushing, and it was good fun.

After three more laps I would have been out of the car, because we were due a driver change. So then to be in a crash like that...

I do remember the crash. I saw it; I know what happened.

If you watch the footage of my onboard camera – I've watched it again on YouTube – you see me go to the inside, and then Kauffman starts turning.


But many guys do that because they misjudge the width of the car. So I thought, 'okay, this will be tight', but I kept it flat.

Then I got alongside him, and he came across even more.

Then when I was almost in front he was still coming across, he touched me on the rear and my car turned 90 degrees at over 185mph.

It was a head-on hit, but the car turned as it hit the wall. If it was a proper head-on hit, there’s no chance I could be here as I am now.

If you hit the guardrail head-on at those speeds you go through it – you cannot build anything strong enough to withstand that impact.

But because the car turned as it hit the barrier, it absorbed some of the impact and then I went across to the other side of the track.

When you see all the parts that were missing from the car, you realise how much of the energy was absorbed and that was really helpful.

But imagine what it was like for my team-mate, Andre Lotterer. The safety car comes out in the middle of the night, you drive through the scene of the accident, you see pieces everywhere.

Then you see what's left of the car – it was not a big piece by this point, and you ask who it is and if he's olay.

But the team didn't know. Everyone was shocked. All they said to him was, 'It's Rocky, but we don't know [if he is okay] yet'.

If they say he is okay you can forget about it and focus on your race. But when you see it up close, and they say they don't know how the guy is, then you really start to worry.


Few knew of Rockenfeller's state as he was taken away by ambulance © LAT
The Aftermath

In the first moments after the crash I think I was unconscious, then I came round… I don't know.

I jumped out, and when I was on the grass behind the guardrail I didn't know where I was, if my parents were there, anything. I was a little bit dizzy.

What else happened after the impact? I don't know. Let's say for half an hour I was not really there.

I didn't even look at the car to see how it was, or even where it was!

Everything was hurting so bad at that point. I was really scared about my neck. But when the doctors scanned it they said it was fine – phew!

After 15-20 minutes I had my memory back. When I got to the medical centre I told the people there what had happened, so at that moment I knew exactly what went on.

But then in the hospital that night I watched it on the doctor's computer on YouTube.

At that time I wasn't sure if I knew what had happened because I'd seen it again or because I'd been through it. But I'm sure now, because I told the doctors everything.

When I went to bed that night they took my neck brace off and put some ice on me.

I had a bad headache, and everything was hurting. So I knew it was going to take a while to get everything back to normal.

The Recovery

My main concern in the days after the crash was my concussion.

I had bruises, and my ribs were hurting a little bit. My back and neck were stiff, which was not ideal, but the main thing was my head.

It's so hard to know when it is good and when it's not.

Every doctor I spoke to, even ones not associated with Audi, told me there was no way I could race in the DTM at Lausitz the week after the crash.

Even if the scan says everything is fine, they said no way. And I have to say, I was thinking maybe I could do it.

But then on the Saturday of the Lausitz weekend I drove to my friend Dirk Muller's house. He lives about 10 minutes from me, and he is building a new house.


Wolfgang Ullrich, Reinhold Joest and Norbert Singer discuss the crash at Audi's pit © LAT
I wanted to get out of my house and do something for the first time, so I went to take a look. I couldn't spend another day in bed or on the couch.

So I took my car to go to see him. Already, on the way there, I didn't feel well.

I wasn't dizzy, and I tried to accelerate just to see how it was. And everything was a little bit… well, like you have a concussion!

When I drove back I was really tired. It was just too much. So then I knew there was no way I could have been back in a car and racing that weekend.

And I started wondering if it was going to carry on like that.

I had two or three bad days again, where I had a headache and I didn't feel so good. So I took things easy, didn't do any sport or anything like that.

Then a week later I went for a small run in the morning and I felt okay. I spent some time in the sun to see how my head was.

On the Monday I went for a brain scan and it was fine, then on Tuesday I did a reaction test and that was fine, too.

On the Wednesday I went karting and there were no problems. I could focus, my laptimes were good, my reactions were good.

So I said, 'okay, I'm fine' and went to the Norisring for the DTM.

Tom Kristensen said after his bad crash in 2007 that the DTM car was really hard to go back to because it's so loud and there is not much airflow into the cockpit.

He always managed better with the open-top sportscar. I know what he meant, but for me there was no problem in the DTM car.

I never went out and had a headache or anything. It was really easy, so I think I'm very lucky.

Maybe there was something you don't even know about; maybe that's why I was two tenths off that weekend. Who knows? But I was okay.

Reflections

I still don't know how you can be so unlucky for a backmarker to misjudge things so badly.


And Kaufmann never called me in the days after the crash, which is a shame. I wouldn't do it like that.

I don't have a problem with amateur drivers – I have even won the GT2 class at Le Mans with an amateur driver as a team-mate.

The only thing I can say is that you have to drive with the mentality that you respect the whole event and what you are doing.

If you are 10 seconds off the pace in your class, in my opinion you should take the attitude to lose 11 seconds in one lap to make sure you're not in the way of the professional guys who are fighting for the lead in teams that spend millions to be there.

The gentleman drivers I have raced with in the past would rather put themselves on the grass than get in the way of somebody.

Everyone has to take care. If you take the risk yourself in the quicker car, you know it can go wrong at Le Mans.

Sometimes you have bad luck, it happens. But for me it was out of the blue, it came from nowhere.

I hear that he said he did nothing wrong, he kept his line. What he meant was that the slower guys are told to hold their line and it's up to us to find a way through.

But if there is a guy coming up fast behind you, then you can stay wide and there is room for two cars.

If you are alone, then for sure you cut the kink like he did. I can only assume that with the bright lights on our car, he misjudged it.


He made his comeback in the DTM at the Norisring © LAT
It's the only reason I can imagine, because if you watch the race, you will see so many overtakes there with no time loss.

Audi had a camera crew at Le Mans making a film of the 24 Hours. I saw it for the first time at the Norisring, and it gave me goosebumps.

You see the reaction of the guys in the garage, and of Andre in the other car.

It was very emotional – it doesn't help that the guys do such a good job with the background music!

It was hard to watch, and by the end I was breathing pretty heavily. Le Mans is always very emotional.

It's a race you always want to win yourself, but we all push to squeeze everything out of the car.

We worked hard together on this car, and to get that success at Le Mans – even if it is not your car – is an amazing feeling.

Especially if you've been in a crash like mine…


I still agree with him that Kaufman was at fault, whether you agree with that or not though, the fact that being the other side of the involved party and not even cared enough to contact him was seriously low....

[Chernaudi]

United Autosport's LMP2 contender is...an OAK Pescarolo with a Judd/BMW V8. The car us supposed to be entered for Petit Le Mans.

[Dino Scuderia]

ALMS @ Road America tomorrow on ESPN3.

4 hour endurance starting at 3:45pm EST.

Looking forward to the GT battle.

Ferrari was fastest yesterday in practice but I'm sure the Risi team will find a way to screw it all to hell....they've been a horrible team all year.

Maybe we'll get a better picture of the performance balancing that debuted last week at Mid Ohio.

[Dino Scuderia]

Track map of new Boston course for ALMS(and Indy).

Not a fan of most street courses.

http://baltimoregrandprix.com/pdf/track_map.pdf

[RacingManiac]

I am surprise they have this....(its Baltimore BTW), I guess the last time they had a ALMS in DC area it drew enough fan that they figure they should try again....

[Dino Scuderia]

"The No. 10 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP will return to racing at Road Atlanta for a 1000-mile event.

Winners at the 12 Hours of Sebring last March and 5th at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Team ORECA-Matmut will concentrate on Petit Le Mans for the end of the 2011 season.

"This decision was not easy to make," explains Hugues de Chaunac. "It was taken for a number of reasons. Among others, we have strategic choices to make concerning the 2012 season. We prefer to focus our energy into preparing our future programs."

Team ORECA-Matmut will be at this year's Petit Le Mans, an event in which the team competed in 2009, finishing 5th with the ORECA 01. "It's a special event for us" says Hugues de Chaunac. "In 2009, Petit Le Mans was an important step in our progress. Today, because of its format, 1000 miles, and how it leaves a lot of room for strategy, it's a race that fits our team and the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. What's more, everyone is aware of our attraction to the U.S. and the American style of racing…"

Nicolas Lapierre will return to the cockpit of the Team ORECA-Matmut Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. With Loïc Duval busy with a previous engagement in SUPER GT, Nicolas will be joined by two new teammates. This new driving squad will be announced during the month of September."

Road Atlanta

[RacingManiac]

Hooray....I am pretty psyched about this...finally I'll be going to PLM...

[Dino Scuderia]

ALMS Baltimore

Revised schedule is out - 75-minute #ALMS practice from 1:20-2:35p today. Qualifying from 5:05-5:55p.

Qualy today on ESPN3.

[Dino Scuderia]

Baltimore was a terrible idea and made for a horribly ridiculous race.

The Indy race there today will likely be total carnage.

[RacingManiac]

Mulsanne's Corner News, September/October 2011 (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newssept11.html)

Highcroft folds, somewhat....

Deltawing or not they are pretty low on cash....

[Chernaudi]

And now a bit of good news, Butch Leitzinger is back at Dyson for the rest of the season.

[Dino Scuderia]

The rolling chicanes...erm...I mean Robertson Racing have announced they are skipping Laguna and will return at Petit.

They didn't run at Baltimore either.

[henk4]

The rolling chicanes...erm...I mean Robertson Racing have announced they are skipping Laguna and will return at Petit.

They didn't run at Baltimore either.

I don't remember seeing a chicane on the Le Mans podium....:)

[Dino Scuderia]

I don't remember seeing a chicane on the Le Mans podium....:)


Anyone can podium at LeMans. Johnny Herbert even won there.;)

[RacingManiac]

Strakka Racing will enter the 2012 World Endurance Championship in LMP1 - LMS news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/94455)

03a huh....

[RacingManiac]

Mulsanne's Corner News, September/October 2011 (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newssept11.html)

Looks like it maybe a Wirth built/designed monocoque finally fro the 01-series design...maybe also to take advantage of the wider front now(01e, unlike Mulsannemike mentioned, had regular front).

[Chernaudi]

Reports that the new tub will be influenced by the ARX-02, but to what extent isn't clear.

[RacingManiac]

Reports that the new tub will be influenced by the ARX-02, but to what extent isn't clear.

Probably to allow the use of full size tire. The reason why 01e was not using the same tire as Peugeot and Audi was because the car was not designed to do it, from both geometry and weight distribution standpoint....

[RacingManiac]

Apparently another reason for the chassis change for the HPD is that they can't get chassis from Oreca anymore. As you know the 01 lines of car are still the Courage-tub car much like the Oreca. Who now owns the right to the design and is manufacturing it. They are obviously selling competing product of it...

[Chernaudi]

There's that (licensing fees), and there's likely something else to that as well--the "not invented here" attitude.

Example: The USAAF (USAF today) wanted an American designed engine to power the P-82 Twin Mustang, and between that and Rolls-Royce asking for $6000 in royalites to keep the Packard V-1650 family (Packard built Rolls-Royce Merlin series) in production, and that North American Aviation was partly owned by General Motors at the time, it was decided to kill all those birds with one stone and use a version of the GM/Allison V-1710 provided with a 2 stage supercharger.

R-R's royalty fee request and GM wanting to sell Allison engines were a major factor, but the USAAF wanted an American engine in the Twin Mustang, and there was a bit of a "not designed here" mentality behind this as well, as well as NAA's attempts to improve the Allison's issues with detonation and resultant spark plug fouling and occasional supercharger failures and melted pistons and valves, which included Packard/Rolls-Royce Merlin derived parts.

WR and HPD probably don't want to pay Oreca more in royalty fees than they have to, and they have the capacity to build their own car if the want to as to have "their" own car. Thus, they can have a car, that though it looks like the Courage/Oreca derived ARX-01 series, that they can actually claim to be their own, and have more freedom to do what they want with it from a modifications standpoint.

[Dino Scuderia]

Laguna ALMS qualifying today at 6:30pm EST on ESPN3.

Tomorrow 4:15pm EST 6 hour Laguna endurance event ESPN3.

[RacingManiac]

Where can I find the entry list?

[Dino Scuderia]

Where can I find the entry list?

http://www.americanlemans.com/files/events/2011/8/Entry.pdf

[Dino Scuderia]

Entry list for 2011 Petit LeMans

http://americanlemans.com/files/events/2011/9/Entry.pdf

[henk4]

Entry list for 2011 Petit LeMans

http://americanlemans.com/files/events/2011/9/Entry.pdf

He changed his name again: Timo Berndard... (At Silverstone he was the new Irish Audi driver Tim O'Bernard....)

[RacingManiac]

No Hybrid Porsche huh....dang...

Looking forward to the drive down and the race...

[Dino Scuderia]

No Hybrid Porsche huh....dang...

Looking forward to the drive down and the race...

What route you taking?

[RacingManiac]

I75 down to Sweetwater I think then cut through the state roads through national forest area to Gainesville where the hotel I booked is. Catch the race, back to the hotel and drive back Sun. We are thinking of cutting through Smoky Mountain to drive through the Dragon on the way back.

[Kitdy]

Who are you going with?

[RacingManiac]

A few guys from the FSAE team, one of them also work in the MI area and 2 are driving from TO to join up with me the night before.

[Chernaudi]

In case it still says TBA on the ALMS' list, Audi have entered Dumas and Dindo as third drivers. The PR piece that the released that info on also says that all teams will have most of the week available to them for testing and other pre-race preceedings, with lengthy test sessions on Sunday and Monday.

[Dino Scuderia]

Petit test session underway.

American Le Mans Series Presented by Patron Scoring5T (http://scoring.americanlemans.com/scoring.php)

[RacingManiac]

Yep one of my friend is already down there, was expecting to see him Sat but he had to work for Level 5 for the test session.