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Nico Hülkenberg will race a Porsche 919 at the 24h Le Mans 2015


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#51 Nonesuch

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 22:21

Very nice. It's always good to see some overlap between the various top categories, if only because it perhaps exposes people to 'new' forms of motorsport.

 

Thumbs up to Force India for allowing it, too. :up:



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#52 BobbyRicky

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 22:26

Im starting to like Force India and Mallya even more and more. 



#53 drag

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 22:38

Kudos to Mallya and Force India I love how its run this team.

 

It will be great to see Hulk at Le Mans , now lets hope Alonso will be next pleasant surprise 



#54 Spillage

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 22:54

Really happy for him!

 

I'm looking forward to this, if Alonso gets to drive alongside him. Let's have a full F1 line-up and get someone else in there as well. Hopefully Nico will perform well and finally see some doors start to open for him in F1 - he must be top of Ferrari's list to replace Kimi for 2016, surely?



#55 Brother Fox

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 22:58

Grear work from Hulk to seek out a challenge while still in the thick of his F1 career.
Great work from Mallya to let it happen :up:

I wonder if Porsche would put Alonso (I know it's just a rumour) and Hulk together in the 3rd car so it doesn't screw with their main two teams from a championship perspective, but be an absolute publicity beast

#56 HistoryFan

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:02

what were the last 10 F1 drivers who competed in Le Mans?

Bourdais in 2008



#57 keiichi

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:07

Brilliant news! Now I'm just hoping one of the remaining seats in the 3rd car is for Alonso and that'll be really the icing on the cake. Also hopefully we can see active F1 drivers doing Le Mans and other WEC venues becoming more of a regular thing in the future.



#58 DanardiF1

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:13

Unlikely tbh, pole is generally set around 11:45 pm in Thursday qualifying when the air is fat and chilly and it's dark outside and traffic is starting to wind down.

 

I still think he'd be in with a shout, undoubtedly one of the faster drivers in F1 and Porsche have surprised with their qualifying pace in the WEC this season...

 

I do agree that pole is often settled between the night-time specialists, and Porsche are unlikely to chuck Hulk in for that crucial period with so little experience under his belt.



#59 andrewr

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:18

I still think he'd be in with a shout, undoubtedly one of the faster drivers in F1 and Porsche have surprised with their qualifying pace in the WEC this season...

 

I do agree that pole is often settled between the night-time specialists, and Porsche are unlikely to chuck Hulk in for that crucial period with so little experience under his belt.

 

Yeah, and I don't think there's any evidence to suggest that an F1 driver (no matter how good) could just step in and beat an experienced LMP1 driver anyway.



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#60 Richard T

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:20

I will be so excited to see Nico at Le Mans next year!! Now just bring Fernando, PLEASE Porsche and Mclaren I don't care how but JUST let it happen!!!!

However I do tend to agree it's risky to put a 24h rookie in a factory LMP1 car at LM. It's "just" the third car, but still..

Do we know if Porsche will have a GTE effort next year?

#61 DanardiF1

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:20

Yeah, and I don't think there's any evidence to suggest that an F1 driver (no matter how good) could just step in and beat an experienced LMP1 driver anyway.

 

Sebastien Buemi? Has in just a couple of seasons become arguably the top LMP1 driver around... I'm not putting down the quality of the WEC grid at all as I know there are incredible drivers in there, but most people would agree that Hulkenberg is better than Buemi and look how he's taken to it...



#62 Imateria

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:21

Well if you tell me a reason why he isn't driving in a top team I'm open to hear it.

 

And yes i totally agree, watching Nico, Webber and how the WEC is improving is making me def watch Le Mans it gets more exiting with more familiar faces.

Well. Mercedes was full, Red Bull stick to their own juniors, McLaren had concerns with his weight since he's a tall bloke and it's been a struggle for everyone to get down to the minimum, and Ferrari were ridiculously conservative and chose Raikkonen who was a bigger name, which worked out well for them.



#63 Imateria

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:27

I still think he'd be in with a shout, undoubtedly one of the faster drivers in F1 and Porsche have surprised with their qualifying pace in the WEC this season...

 

I do agree that pole is often settled between the night-time specialists, and Porsche are unlikely to chuck Hulk in for that crucial period with so little experience under his belt.

If there's a Porsche driver to bet on for poll next year, my money's on Neel Jani.

 

Sebastien Buemi? Has in just a couple of seasons become arguably the top LMP1 driver around... I'm not putting down the quality of the WEC grid at all as I know there are incredible drivers in there, but most people would agree that Hulkenberg is better than Buemi and look how he's taken to it...

Buemi wasn't that impressive in his first season at Toyota though, he was definitely playing second fiddle to the likes of Lapierre, Sarrazin, Wurz and Davidson. Not that he was dragging the team down or anything, but I wouldn't have expected him to turn into the star driver that he's become.



#64 JTSaika

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:27

Mystery Solved on the missing Australian

Race Organizer: "Congratulations Lewis, You're the No.1 Champion!!. And doing the interviews on this very special podium is none other than Mark We..
Steward: "Uh boss, Mark isn't here.
RO: Huh, Where is he then!?
S:Uh, He's out back chatting to Hulkenberg!, something about Le Mans!?
RO:"Hulkenberg hmmm?.... Ok fine, Where's that fool uhh..... Ah... Here's Martin Brundle everyone"!!!

 


Edited by JTSaika, 27 November 2014 - 23:29.


#65 DanardiF1

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:32

If there's a Porsche driver to bet on for poll next year, my money's on Neel Jani.

 

Buemi wasn't that impressive in his first season at Toyota though, he was definitely playing second fiddle to the likes of Lapierre, Sarrazin, Wurz and Davidson. Not that he was dragging the team down or anything, but I wouldn't have expected him to turn into the star driver that he's become.

 

But that could be argued was a reflection of his performance in F1, which wasn't bad but didn't set the world on fire... Hulk is definitely a level above that and you'd expect that on current form he'd drive anything to a very high level...

 

Neel Jani isn't a bad shout mind...



#66 andrewr

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:40

Sebastien Buemi? Has in just a couple of seasons become arguably the top LMP1 driver around... I'm not putting down the quality of the WEC grid at all as I know there are incredible drivers in there, but most people would agree that Hulkenberg is better than Buemi and look how he's taken to it...

 

That's true, and if Hulkenberg had a couple of full seasons he might be incredible, but I wouldn't expect him to be immediately fast in a one-off Le Mans appearance, even though he would probably be no slouch.



#67 DanardiF1

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Posted 27 November 2014 - 23:46

Spa will be good preparation for him though, so hopefully he can get acquainted with the car that weekend and in any testing he can do.



#68 emmanuelrubi

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 00:16

Well. Mercedes was full, Red Bull stick to their own juniors, McLaren had concerns with his weight since he's a tall bloke and it's been a struggle for everyone to get down to the minimum, and Ferrari were ridiculously conservative and chose Raikkonen who was a bigger name, which worked out well for them.

 

Mercedes pass on him in 2012 over Hamilton.

Mclaren pass on him in 2012 over Perez and in 2013 over KMag and in 2014 over Alonso.

Redbull won't sign anyone who isn't on its academy.

Lotus pass on him in 2013 cuz money.

Ferrari pass on him in 2013 over Kimi and if a seat becomes available they would rather have Bottas.

 

The top teams are seeing something that we don't they have the data and way more info than us so if they don't want him in 2013 where he was overhyped i don't see why would they pick on him in the future over the Bottas generation drivers.



#69 keiichi

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 01:07

Mercedes pass on him in 2012 over Hamilton.

Mclaren pass on him in 2012 over Perez and in 2013 over KMag and in 2014 over Alonso.

Redbull won't sign anyone who isn't on its academy.

Lotus pass on him in 2013 cuz money.

Ferrari pass on him in 2013 over Kimi and if a seat becomes available they would rather have Bottas.

 

The top teams are seeing something that we don't they have the data and way more info than us so if they don't want him in 2013 where he was overhyped i don't see why would they pick on him in the future over the Bottas generation drivers.

 

Top teams aren't bullet proof, ocasionally they can make questionable/wrong decisions, after all they're constituted of humans you know?

 

The fact is, the guy as pretty much trashed everything and everyone in almost every race series he participated before F1, including winning GP2 in his rookie year against guys like Maldonado, Perez, Grosjean, Petrov, etc.

 

In F1 he might not yet have set the world on fire, but he's been no slouch either, and there's only so much you can do with a midfield car. He surely has at least done enough to be worth a shot at a top car. If after that he'll shine or burn to ashes one has to wonder, but I know where I'd put my money on.



#70 RA2

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 06:29

Hope Mallya gets the paint job for the Prosche 



#71 Victor_RO

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 07:52

what were the last 10 F1 drivers who competed in Le Mans?

Bourdais in 2008

 

2009 actually. Beyond that it's debatable and related to number of races for which drivers qualifying, and you have to go back all the way to 1994 to find someone.



#72 Stephane

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 08:25

Blundell in 1995



#73 AlexLangheck

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 11:05

great news this I think. Its good to see drivers trying out new disciplines and this should bring a bit more interest to the sportscar world which is all good in my book.
 
Good on FI, Prosche and good luck Nico.


There was an interview on RLM with Stephane Sarrazin, and he said much the same; and he won the ERC Tour de Corse and the WEC 6 Hours of Bahrain within a week of each other.

#74 HistoryFan

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 11:40

2009 Sébastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso Renault) Peugeot
1995 Mark Blundell (McLaren Mercedes) McLaren BMW (Gulf)
1995 Bertrand Gachot (Pacific Ford) Honda
1994 Eddie Irvine (Jordan Hart) Toyota (TOM's)
1994 Bertrand Gachot (Pacific Ilmor) Honda (Kremer)
1993 Thierry Boutsen (Jordan Hart) Peugeot
1993 Philippe Alliot (Larrousse Lamborghini) Peugeot
1992 Johnny Herbert (Lotus Judd) Mazda (Oreca)
1992 Ukyo Katayama (Venturi Lamborghini) Toyota (TOM's)
1992 Bertrand Gachot (Venturi Lamborghini) Mazda (Oreca)
 



#75 ViMaMo

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 14:27

Wohoo !! Niceeee !!



#76 midgrid

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 18:07

2009 Sébastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso Renault) Peugeot
1995 Mark Blundell (McLaren Mercedes) McLaren BMW (Gulf)
1995 Bertrand Gachot (Pacific Ford) Honda
1994 Eddie Irvine (Jordan Hart) Toyota (TOM's)
1994 Bertrand Gachot (Pacific Ilmor) Honda (Kremer)
1993 Thierry Boutsen (Jordan Hart) Peugeot
1993 Philippe Alliot (Larrousse Lamborghini) Peugeot
1992 Johnny Herbert (Lotus Judd) Mazda (Oreca)
1992 Ukyo Katayama (Venturi Lamborghini) Toyota (TOM's)
1992 Bertrand Gachot (Venturi Lamborghini) Mazda (Oreca)
 

As an aside, Roland Ratzenberger was also scheduled to drive the TOM'S Toyota in 1994.



#77 Seanspeed

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 19:43

Well if you tell me a reason why he isn't driving in a top team I'm open to hear it.

He basically had a contract with Ferrari. It only fell through because Kimi suddenly became available and Ferrari, being their ever cautious selves, made the mistake of thinking Kimi was a better choice.

I think he'll get his chance if he keeps it up. Its not a given, and luck can be cruel in F1, but I'd say he's got the chops to deserve a shot.

#78 pathogen

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 22:31

2009 Sébastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso Renault) Peugeot
1995 Mark Blundell (McLaren Mercedes) McLaren BMW (Gulf)
1995 Bertrand Gachot (Pacific Ford) Honda
1994 Eddie Irvine (Jordan Hart) Toyota (TOM's)
1994 Bertrand Gachot (Pacific Ilmor) Honda (Kremer)
1993 Thierry Boutsen (Jordan Hart) Peugeot
1993 Philippe Alliot (Larrousse Lamborghini) Peugeot
1992 Johnny Herbert (Lotus Judd) Mazda (Oreca)
1992 Ukyo Katayama (Venturi Lamborghini) Toyota (TOM's)
1992 Bertrand Gachot (Venturi Lamborghini) Mazda (Oreca)
 

 

Curious... in this list are 4 GP winners (Irvine, Boutsen, Herbert, Alliot). One or two decades before, several GP winners were behind the wheel of sport car (Ickx, Laffite, Pironi, Schekter, Pace, Peterson, Andretti, Jabouille, Depallier, Piquet and big etcetera. Almost any F1 driver in sports was a GP winner.



#79 pacificquay

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 22:58

You must have dreamed Philippe Alliot winning a Grand Prix...



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#80 Risil

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 23:01

It's an exciting prospect!



#81 pathogen

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Posted 28 November 2014 - 23:09

You must have dreamed Philippe Alliot winning a Grand Prix...

You are right... Was Panis. My mistake. Any way, Panis drive in Sports too.



#82 Mandzipop

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Posted 03 December 2014 - 17:09

Maybe not Spa anymore if the F1 calendar stays the same.



#83 AustinF1

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Posted 03 December 2014 - 17:47

No Spa for Nico? Hulk gonna be angry. You not like Hulk when he angry.



#84 Victor

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Posted 03 December 2014 - 22:26

I believe more and more F1 drivers will be attracted by WEC, as F1 gradually loses its status as the pinnacle of automobile racing. True racing drivers will always want proper racing and F1, with DRS, fake tires & stupid regulations, no longer provides that.



#85 Rinehart

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Posted 03 December 2014 - 22:37

Maybe not Spa anymore if the F1 calendar stays the same.

I don't think its a conspiracy theory to think that inconvenience might be an intentional move by Bernie.



#86 Rinehart

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Posted 03 December 2014 - 22:47

I believe more and more F1 drivers will be attracted by WEC, as F1 gradually loses its status as the pinnacle of automobile racing. True racing drivers will always want proper racing and F1, with DRS, fake tires & stupid regulations, no longer provides that.

I posted earlier this year that WEC has the potential to supersede F1 as the pinnacle of Motorsport.

My thoughts were less related to the iffy F1 regulations and more to do with the cost & politics, whilst WEC retains its feel that its a SPORT.

Should JB make the move to WEC, i'm sure TV and media coverage will ramp up, certainly in the UK. 



#87 Disgrace

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Posted 04 December 2014 - 01:36

Not if it clashes with F1. Funny how that's happened, huh?



#88 Brother Fox

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Posted 04 December 2014 - 02:37

Should have waited till after the calendar was announced.

Bernie 1
Hulk/Vijay/Porsche 0

#89 August

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Posted 04 December 2014 - 03:46

Hopefully Hulk/Porsche stay patient to see the Korean GP being cancelled. Seems like it's in the calendar without real intentions to have it.



#90 ElDictatore

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Posted 10 April 2015 - 00:13