Nah! As stubborn as JV is, he would not let anyone race HIS car, but someone one might have to qualify it if he is away at Le Mans doing his stint in the Pug.

AWESOME NEWS... BMW POWER RULES..!!! - ....

I hope..

Le Mans prototype are worse than F1 cars at being unrecognizable blobs with no resemble to Audi, Peugeot or Aston Martin!!! :\ I say... mandate a certain drag coefficient, and bring back the styling of the mid-90s where the Mercedes featured the front-end treatment of Mercedes etc and same for the others!!!

The interior of the M3 is positively primitive compared to the other less advanced, less tyred, porkier taxi tourers... a poor look for an international racing giant like BMW!

Haven't they heard that up to date tin-tops both GT and touring have open wheeler style steering wheels in the year 2008!!! -> http://www.stonebrothersracing.com.au/SBR/...dio_2008_11.jpg

You should see what the inside of the Trident Iceni looks like then, saying that..the McLaren F1 GTR isn't exactly luxurious or high-tech, and for that matter the inside of the Convers MENX Ferrari F550 wasn't what you'd be putting into an art gallery.

Then again, if it's functional then that's all that matters.

Might as well just use this thread for Sportscars in general, but Larbre Competition are back in the FIA GT's with a Saleen, and Charouz Racing gave the new Lola-Aston a test drive at the weekend. Looks like the season is picking up somewhat!

I don't know much about LMS , but since the Boss enterd, he will win EVERYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!

Peugeot announced their plans for 2008 today:

1 car for Sebring with Nicolas Minassian, Stéphane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy.

2 cars for LMS with Nicolas Minassian/Marc Gené and Stéphane Sarrazin/Pedro Lamy

3 cars for Le Mans (2 as Team Peugeot Total and 1 as Team Peugeot Sport Total).

Drivers for Le Mans :Jacques Villeneuve, Ricardo Zonta, Christian Klien, Alexander Wurz, Franck Montagny, Nicolas Minassian, Marc Gené, Stéphane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy.

After the 24h Peugeot will decide on taking part in Petit Le Mans and/or the new Shanghai race.

source: endurance-info.com

picture: http://www.endurance-info.com/2008_Le_Mans..._Peugeot_02.jpg

So Villeneuve is confirmed for Le Mans. Well I'm happy to see him have another shot at winning the prestegious race but how does this all fit in with his NASCAR schedule?

Still, great news for JV and Peugeot. Nice to see Zonta in there also.

Peugeot press release in English

That's what were going to find out in the next few weeks!

Peugeot has a strong line-up to do battle against the might of Audi at Le Mans. It should be quite an interesting spectacle once again.

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest have published the list of teams invited to this years Le Mans 24h race.

Not too many surprises should make for a good battle in June, certainly in LMP1.
More detailed comments HERE .

LMP1:
3 Audis against 3 Peugeots and closed prototypes of Epsilon Euskadi , Dome and Charouz Racing (with the Aston Martin engine).

LMP2:
12 cars of which 2 Porsche RS Spyders.

LMGT1:
4 Aston Martins will compete against 4 Vettes.

LMGT2:
Only 3 911 GT3s against no less than 8 Ferrari 430 GTs also possibly one of the last times we can see a Spyker racing as 2 C8's are invited.

one of them:

The colour's fugly, but then I suppose fanboy love is blind

Ben

colorblindness....

Well, there's been some testing today; here are some times:

Here is the complete result of the first timed session of the day.

1 Audi Sport Team Joest - 1:43.002 - 15 laps
16 Pescarolo Sport - 1:43.473 - 40 laps
2 Audi Sport Team Joest - 1:43.688 - 21 laps
34 Van Merksteijn Motorsport - 1:44.956 - 56 laps
10 Charouz Racing System - 1:45.456 - 13 laps
18 Rollcentre Racing - 1:45.993 - 41 laps
4 Saulnier Racing - 1:46.070 - 49 laps
12 Charouz Racing System-Cytosport - 1:46.463 - 36 laps
40 Quifel-ASM Team - 1:46.733 - 37 laps
25 RML - 1:47.238 - 28 laps
6 Team Oreca Matmut - 1:47.549 - 41 laps
19 Chamberlain-Synergy - 1:48.015 - 34 laps
26 Team Bruichladdich Radical - 1:48.611 - 38 laps
31 Team Essex - 1:48.985 - 9 laps
72 Luc Alphand Aventures - 1:55.073 - 35 laps
73 Luc Alphand Aventures - 1:55.105 - 35 laps
007 - Aston Martin Racing - 1:55.363 - 53 laps
50 Larbre Competition - 1:55.964 - 17 laps
55 IPB Spartak Racing - 1:57.166 - 25 laps
61 Strakka Racing - 1:58.809 - 27 laps
76 IMSA Performance Matmut - 1:59.410 - 43 laps
77 Team Felbermayr Proton - 1:59.503 - 34 laps
96 Virgo Motorsport - 1:59.735 - 28 laps
75 IMSA Performance Matmut - 2:01.293 - 37 laps
99 JMB Racing - 2:03.312 - 56 laps
94 Speedy Racing Team - 2:03.502 - 57 laps
33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah - 2:08.078 - 4 laps


That means that Jos the Boss will going to WIN Le Mans!!

later more times, tomorrow more testing ....

Not exactly testing at Le Mans though where they? Nearly two seconds slower around Paul Ricard, at Le Mans that will be double at the very least. He'll win if all the LMP1's have serious trouble. Not to mention it's got to last 24 Hours....

Maybe not overal (sorry Frans) but for LMP2 they're starting to look like a very competitive package indeed!

You might think its ugly, but my wife said "who's that ? its a nice colour."

Live TV coverage returns to Eurosport!!!

Does anyone know how the internet streaming will work? Does it include proper live video, do I have to pay for it, etc.?

I believe that it will be free. Eurosport already has proper streaming, including re-live events on its website. So, don't worry IMO.

edit .. session stopped:



Spyker on Fire....

You're cheering now, but just until they decide to not show the last 90 minutes, switching to some two week old table tennis

While the Autosport article mentions that they'll show all of Le Mans, it's less clear about the rest of the LMS calendar. Hopefully they'll match MotorsTV in that respect.

With Verstappen behind the wheel, and he's bigger than Beckham over in England ever was, we'll get our 1000 km race coverages, I'm sure...

it's only 6 or 7 races something, .... so ..

Sure Eurosport is Eurosport, but it's still better than nothing...

I prefer two week old table tennis to live curling BTW

It had better be, or I'm holding you personally responsible!

This is the new Epsilon Euskadi car, the ee1 LMP1 for this years Le Mans Series and 24 Hours Le Mans. It has been designed by the students (and more staff of course) of the METCA course that Epsilon has got in their factory and also, primarly with CAD, CDF... It's a long time project, which will try to last for long and be relevant in Le Mans in a future time.


http://www.as.com/recorte/20080304dasdasmo...DE_IN_SPAIN.jpg
http://www.as.com/recorte/20080304dasdasmo...IDO_VITORIA.jpg http://www.as.com/recorte/20080304dasdasmo...BUT_LE_MANS.jpg http://www.as.com/recorte/20080304dasdasmo...ITU_GANADOR.jpg



PS.: http://www.racexpress.nl/imgitems/article/...%20RX%20500.jpg

I hate to spoil the fun, but Jos wasn't doing the quick times it was Jeroen Bleekemolen. Jos is about a second off.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben_michell/s...57604048074523/

The Essex Porsche was only a tenth behind overall and that was race tyre pace not Qs. Lets not forget LMP2 at Le Mans is a reliability trail, it has the worst reliability record of all the classes. It was won last year by the Binnie Motorsport Lola on Kumho...

The stock some people will put in winter testing is always amusing though.

Ben

HOW DARE YOU!

To even QUESTION the abillities of Worlds best and Fastest driver ever to have walked on the surface of this planet?

- 3 kudo's for you my man!

Last time I checked only TVants had eurosport stream and that program is sometimes bit of mess...

Of course there's zillion other p2p-tv programs but who can track them all when most are useless.
----------------------------------
But because of
"There will also be live streaming of the race, with commentary, on Eurosport's websites across Europe."
I would not be worried, although RoC needed some special tricks to work.

Baiting idiot fanboys simply never gets boring

Ben

OK so that's not very good news for Equipe Verschuur, at a track like Le Mans the situation would then be:

1. Jeroen Bleekemolen, on the pace (nice chap too )
2. Verstappen, 2 to 3 sec slower than Jeroen (and without endurance experience).
3. Merksteijn, 10 to 20 sec off the pace.

Hardly makes for a class winner imo or Bleekemolen must do miracles and reliability must be the deciding factor again this year.

2 weeks until Sebring 2008.

Will the Peugeots survive the broken concrete that is Sebring International Raceway? Will the Acura's bring it against the Porsche's again this year? And who thinks we'll see NASCAR style "rubbing" on the last lap for the win in GT2 again.

And best yet, it's all on SpeedHD. One would hope the ACO and Le Mans organizers will see the light and start broadcasting in HD.

Sebring should be quite a battle between the sole Peugeot entry and the Audis.

Jos was german F3 champion back when that series was really strong (champions just before Jos: Wendlinger, Schumacher, Kristensen and Lamy). And to do that, you have to be a really good racing driver.

Jos IS a good driver (but of course he is way way waaay overhyped by some of his countrymen), and rarely do good drivers struggle in sportscars. I cannot remember a decent F1 driver struggling at Le Mans. Only few guys are able to go as fast at Le Mans as the Kristensens and McNishs of this world, but to be a good sportscar driver, you have to be consistent and mistake free. I am sure Jos as a former F1 guy will have the pace round Le Mans, but i am not so sure he can run around 10 hours without hitting the gravel.


Bleekemolen is a good sportscar driver, but nothing special IMO. Jos as a former F1 driver should be plenty fast, but he has to avoid mistakes. And apparently Merksteijn is a below average pay driver.
The Essex Porsche has a much better driver lineup. Nielsen is as experienced as they come, and Elgaard is plenty fast and will soon be a Le Mans veteran. If they get another pro driver as the 3rd driver, they will have the strongest driver lineup in LMP2. If the Dunlop tires are up to the task, they will be the car to beat. But particularly in LMP2, no matter how slow you are, it just takes a clean run to win the class.



But first up Sebring. Audi will be heavy favourites, but let's see if the Peugout has closed some of the gap from last year. Or perhaps they will be fine with running a reliable 3rd behind the Audi, and just get a good test of the car.

"much better driver lineup".... pffffft. That's nothing more than a Personal opinion man..... But I'm sure that the Essex Porsche will only drive BEHIND the Merkstijn Porsche, let's see who's opinion will be most close to the truth then ..... huh....

Soon the 1st race will be, and the real deal will be shown. I really think there will be some overall wins for our Gods, beating even the LMP1 cars. But today you laugh in my face, tomorrow you will scratch your head, and after the finish you will be on your knees. As predicted of course.

This is the point, Bleekemolen is a second quicker so if he's nothing special...

My opinion; Bleekemolen's damn quick and Jos is overrated.

Ben

pffffffft, another one of those ... "opinions".... as if we were waiting for your opinion about a test where Jos didn't even tuned his car, tried different setups and didn't even went for the fastest time at all. It's already a little psychological warfare being played.

All other teams think: "Jeroen is damn fast, and that Porsche #34 as well, damn damn quick"....
and about Jos: "hmmm, ... he didn't even tried to tune his car and stuff...hmmm"

But in reality Jos didn't wanted to show the back of his tounge .... YET.

Do you really believe your own opinion? I think not. If so, then you should believe in Santa Claus and the EasterBunny as well....

I think with tuning they can make the car 1,5 till 2 sec's faster then it went at PR. Then add the raw speed and talent of the Boss, .... UNLEASED during real race weekends.

And you have a unbeatable Porsche on the track.
Jos takes the long runs, wins time, Jeroen keeps this gap and Peter will lose some of the gap. then Jos will return for the night runs ... gap grows ..... Jeroen keeps the gap and then Peter again to loose some again.

the most risky factor of the drivers of car #34 is Peter Merkstijn himself. But it's possible the team will replace Peter for the 24 h of LeMans. .... the 1st 1000km races will show us what he's capable of.

but beware ... Jos is playing mind games with the LMS field .... so ... dear LMS fans .. beware for a shock! !! hehe

Dunno what Jos' "tounge" is but I am glad he didn't show it


The only reason that Jos and Jeroen are driving the Porsche is because they are employees of Peter van Merksteijn whose money is paying for all this.
I don't think that PvM is a liability in the team at all, on the other hand Jos probably will be when he once again will be trying to go faster than his talent allows for.

Oh and btw it's van Merksteijn Frans not "Merkstijn", a fanboy has to at least be able to spell the name of his team correctly.

As i said, Jos is a good driver and i beleive he will get on the pace once he gets to know the car. But i don't beleive he is a godlike figure that can make the car go 2-3 seconds faster than it is capable of.

I think he certainly will be able to have laps as fast as the rest of the Porsche drivers. He might even be the best qualifier of the lot. However being good at Le Mans is not about having a few very good laps. It is about completing 2 stints (about 30 laps) as fast as possible. Being good at that takes experience, and Nielsen and Elgaard have that. Jos is a rookie at endurance racing.


He might become a really good endurance racer. Several average to good Formula 1 drivers, have been standouts at Le Mans (Brundle, Lammers, Boutsen etc). Jos could in time become one of these. But i think he will have problems this year. Not on a single lap, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he had LMP2 poles both in LMES and at Le Mans itself. But if he is able to pull out big gaps in his stint, i will be impressed.

You do know who Ben is and what he does for a living, don't you?

Oh come on, don't ask Frans hard questions. You know perfectly well that he and reality are only, at best, occasional passing acquaintances.

Neil

OOooh but I do beleive thAt. Sorry I really do.

Jos a rookie> ,,? ,,, hehehe

come on... come on please, be real. Racing is something in your blood, is something you breath and something you shit out in the toilet and flush back to become part of the river where new drinking water is being made of and will become's clouds in the run of time, ........ blahdie blahdie blahm ... ya know.

the man stepped into one of such Porche's he's going to give some WHOOP-ass with, and he's feeling fine.

that gives me an indication he will WHOOPIE-whipe LMS in Europe. << that's a POINT. <(just like this one)

tests tests tests say nothing at all, ... I know, it's so, and the 1st Endurance experiance for The Boss is there knocking at the door. And the racing world sleeps ......... it REALLY does , but hey .....

I want what you're on. Might make the day go quicker...

Ben

Problem is, where you are you will go to jail.

unless .... your member of my Church.

Then it's even legal when you consume inside the church, and this is applyable to ANY country. (Yes, even the states.)

Ah, got to love some of the Dutch fans. The second a drive in F1 becomes avaliable, it's time to roll out the "Jos the Boss #1!" and other banners in the vain hope he'll get a drive!

Jos will win overall? Yeah, right. Jos won't be that quick, he certainly won't be on fire in the car anyway. In fact, the only time he ever has been 'on fire' was in the pitlane at Germany in 94! The guy's a rookie when it comes to Endurance Racing as JK says, we'll see if he's decent when it comes to the night-time during the LM24H, that is of course, if they last that long

Utter rubbish. The Essex car has a better line up and more experience, not to mention it looks a hell of a lot better too! And according to the E-mail i just got, Eurosport are also showing the LMS series this year, no doubt that'll please Audi.

Yes Eurosport indeed will show the race in total..... luve them!

I will laugh you in the face, after the 1st wins are coming in......

Ben