Exactly and the Kremer, the year before. And possibly the Mirage/Gulf of 1975.Originally Posted by LeonOfTheDead
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Exactly and the Kremer, the year before. And possibly the Mirage/Gulf of 1975.
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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Will rotaries ever be allowed so Mazda can come back and destroy these giant-engined cars i.e. V12 TDI.
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Yes, they can.
The 4 rotor was banned by the FIA, but the FIA doesn't hold much sway over Le Mans other than safety measures.
And I believe the regulation stating 4 rotor engines being banned was thrown out.
However, with Mazda having a terrible time at being uncompetitive with their 3 rotor LMP2, and them switching to an AER built powerplant, I doubt we will see a rotary engined Mazda at Le Mans until after 2010, when the new regulations are released.
Unless Mazda has a change of heart about their sportscar program.
They could hightail it to LMP1 and bring out the big guns with a 787B based 4 rotor. It takes a lot of money to run a top LMP1 team, and Mazda will have to decide if they want to develop a winning package. Keep in mind that rotaries are notoriously thirsty, so they are already at a disadvantage at LMP1 levels. A rotary hybrid may be possible.
* My opinion only.
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Oh and for my request for a question:
What is the ACO doing to ensure the continued involvement of privateers in every class? Manufacturers are always at an advantage, especially with rules. Will anything be done to bring cars in each class to a level playing field, so each team may be capable of a podium at the least?
I know the LMP1 regulations are rather lenient about diesels because the ACO truly does want a French win for the first time in years, but doing it with regulations is not the right way to do it. Peugeot earned their 1992 and 1993 wins by being the best there was in the field. (they were a hell of a lot quicker too...). Sure an Audi win year after year is getting boring, but it's not like they didn't fight for it. However, I do have a problem with only 6 cars from 2 teams being able to win. Not everyone has billions of dollars to invest in a winning package. Some of the privateers are at fault for being uncompetitive. Running a bad package and complaining about the top dogs isn't a way to get a win. That's more of playing with the regulations. If you put together an excellent package, that runs well, a win should be a reasonable expectation.
Last edited by Zytek_Fan; 08-28-2008 at 11:12 PM.
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Until they build a ten-rotor engine, it ain't gonna happen.
Cal Naughton, Jr.: So when you say psychosomatic, you mean like he could start a fire with his thoughts?
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I didn't even know Mazda used an rotary engine in LMP2 - it seems as though they used a 1.3L 2-rotor in 205 and a 2.0L 3-rotor in 2006. As I read the rules, they coulda used a 2L turbo rotary in 2006 or even a 3.4L rotary and that woulda had huge power - so the question is, why didn't this happen?
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What's with this obsession for privateers to win? Their wins have been very rare and are usually a sign of weakness. If Peugeot and Audi had built a petrol car, they would have been fighting for the win as well.
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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Because to so many people, the privateer represents the average person. The little guy taking on the giant monster.
Pescarolo has had a cult following for years.
The last privateer win could argueably have been in 2005 with ADT Champion Racing because technically they were not factory supported, since Audi withdrew factory support on the R8 because of the upcoming R10...they did have factory drivers, but all the crew was Champion Racing. Though Dr Ullrich was probably in the garage as well...
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I am not gonna submit a question, but I wonder what Mr. Plassart thinks about the failure of LMP1 and LMP2 to separate privateers and manufacturers - look at the state of things - LMP1 has privateers that can't hold a candle to the big boys, and Acura and Porsche are participating in LMP2 which is not how things were meant to work out and at Le Mans and in the LMS the Porsches are cleaning up.
Why not just draft rules only allowing manufacturers in LMP1 and only privateers in LMP2 or some variation of the above? With the fate of GT1 in jeopardy and what I see as an uninteresting battle in LMP2 why not just have two classes - LMP and GT?
I mean LMP2 is only really interesting to me in the ALMS where they can challenge for the win and are major manufacturers - before Porsche and Acura entered how many fans cared about the LMP2 class I wonder? People care about LMP1 because they are the fastest, and the GT cars are interesting as they are vaguely based on road cars, but what's the interest in bunch of privateer teams that many people don't know, have little mainstream appeal, and get barely any camera time even at Le Man?
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That's hilarious. So you think the Acura teams in ALMS are privateers as well?
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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well, it seems that I'm not the only one concerned with this "privateers thing". the difference is that they can articulate better they sentences because of their better English...
stated that only a manufacturer team can afford the costs and so achieve the win, as Zytek said, a race with two teams fighting for the win isn't very attractive at first glance. it's one of the problems of modern Formula one, for example. now things there are a little more interesting with more than two drivers at the same level, but it's not a big solution.
P1 is meant to be for official teams. ok let's do it, but with more than two entries.
P2 is meant to be fr privateers, so let's force Porsche and Acura to move to P1.
and please, save the GT category. It's probably the more interesting one for the avergage enthusiasts. Even if we are all aware that those cars have very little in common with their road legal counterparts (think about the DBR9, which I like), the body resembles the road car and so it seems like if the manufacturer took its car and transformed into a beast, which is actually what happens even if with a certain liberty.
while P1/2 are purpose built, they are like a Formula 1 car, but slower, so the average John could loose some interests.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Prototypes categories, but I have to admit I'm more into GT cars, no matter if GT1/2/3 or even 4. that's what I would like to see
KFL Racing Enterprises - Kicking your ass since 2008
*cough* http://theitalianjunkyard.blogspot.com/ *cough*
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Acura and Toyota have already announced their intention to move into LMP1. Audi is building a new car. So there will be at least three manufacturers involved from 2009 onwards. One more would be ideal, so if Peugeot sticks around beyond their 3-year program, there is nothing wrong with the P1 class.
The GT class will be saved. Hopefully the current GT2 cars will be retained, which means that we have a potential battle at Le Mans between Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, Corvette, Spyker, BMW and any other taker.
The current sportscar/GT field is healthier than it has ever been this decade.
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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I like the term "Porsche and Acura" being constantly throw around as if they are all factory effort. Acuras are, but its not like as if Acura are throwing money at them. They have a good program in that they get capable people to run their cars, out of their own pocket, and they give them all equal support. The competition between them drives the program. Look at Highcroft, before they got into the Acura program they were just another privateer team. But they are thriving amongst the big dogs of motorsport like AGR and Fernandez.
Penske Porsche is very much factory backed, by Dyson is very much a privateer effort. So were the LMS entries with Essex and the dutch guy(whom I don't know how to spell the name). The Dutch team is cleaning up at LMS, against other privateer. Does that mean ACO should "banned" people from buying a RS Spyder because the rest of the manufacturers of LMP2 cars all makes inferior cars?
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that's true, but I would like to see them battle for the overall victory. just my dream of course.
KFL Racing Enterprises - Kicking your ass since 2008
*cough* http://theitalianjunkyard.blogspot.com/ *cough*
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You would be surprised to see the amount of Porsche personnel at these so called privateer teams.
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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