163 replies to this topic

[Jovanotti]

If Kimi is ever going to do Le Mans, surely this is it (assuming Ferrari want him).

[BRG]

If Kimi is ever going to do Le Mans, surely this is it (assuming Ferrari want him).

Has he ever shown even the slightest interest in sports car or GT racing?  Even during his enforced layoff, he chose to go rallying, ice racing and NASCAR.  Yet he would surely have been able to do Le Mans &/or the WEC back then if he had wanted to.

 

If there is an official Ferrari WEC entry, I am sure they will chose seasoned endurance racers used to the format, rather than a bunch of F1 heroes and Ferrari Academy wannabes.  Surest way to fail is to entrust your car to rookies.

[FLB]

Has he ever shown even the slightest interest in sports car or GT racing?  Even during his enforced layoff, he chose to go rallying, ice racing and NASCAR.  Yet he would surely have been able to do Le Mans &/or the WEC back then if he had wanted to.

 

He tested for Peugeot in 2011:

 

https://www.autospor...eugeot-908-test

[KWSN - DSM]

Has he ever shown even the slightest interest in sports car or GT racing?  Even during his enforced layoff, he chose to go rallying, ice racing and NASCAR.  Yet he would surely have been able to do Le Mans &/or the WEC back then if he had wanted to.

 

If there is an official Ferrari WEC entry, I am sure they will chose seasoned endurance racers used to the format, rather than a bunch of F1 heroes and Ferrari Academy wannabes.  Surest way to fail is to entrust your car to rookies.

 

I think that would have been correct in the past, however these are new times. F1 have less money to use, there are a glut of highly qualified engineers with all the manufacturers, most of whom have junior programs holding more drivers than they can get to F1.

 

The engineering challenge will be closer to F1 than in the past, and the drivers can be groomed for WEC and Le Mans glory.

[Ben1445]

Ferrari's LMH cars will be run by AF Corse in the WEC
https://www.autospor...-corse/6544789/
 

The Ferrari LMH prototypes will be entered under the Ferrari - AF Corse banner in what was described in Monday's announcement as a collaborative effort between the team and the manufacturer's Competizioni GT department, which is masterminding the new programme.

Edited by Ben1445, 07 June 2021 - 13:35.

[FLB]

Not surprising 

[HistoryFan]

AF Corse should enter Formula 1 as Ferrari B team.

[TennisUK]

No word on Ferrari in IMSA. I’m sure Risi are doing LMP2 as a warm up for running an LMH Ferrari in IMSA, but as it stands LMH aren’t allowed in IMSA. But surely IMSA - who allowed the Deltawing to variously race in LMP1 and LMP2 as well as various GT3 BMWs to run in GTE (and vice versa next year) won’t turn down a Ferrari. Problem is, if they do allow it, they are going to find the BOP politics very tricky. Trickier than WEC I reckon, and would Ferrari bring as much money to the table as other OEMs? In terms of direct funding I’d say absolutely no way. In terms of credibility and sponsors, certainly.

Edited by TennisUK, 08 June 2021 - 21:26.

[Vielleicht]

I think IMSA are just being cautious and wanting to have all the data in front of them before they make a decision on allowing LMH. I beleive they want to and will face pressure to, but don't want to comit blindly to a potnetial nightmare.

 

There was some talk a while back about potentially allowing LMH for the main endurance events only (Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Petit Le Mans)? I don't know if that was fleeting or...

[ARTGP]

Without a pre-event BOP test, it's going to be a disaster.  And even with pre-event BOP. The sandbagging will be rampant.

Edited by ARTGP, 10 June 2021 - 20:56.

[TennisUK]

Without a pre-event BOP test, it's going to be a disaster. And even with pre-event BOP. The sandbagging will be rampant.

They can use data from WEC for that. But yeah, BoP is inherently a nightmare. It will also be a nightmare within LMDh in IMSA anyway, keeping all the OEMs happy enough to stay - which means allocating enough wins to each manufacturer to keep each board interested in paying for another year. Much easier with the small number of manufacturers IMSA had in the top class over the last few years, but a much tougher juggling act from 2023.

Ugh.

At least Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley will be easy to balance.

Ugh.

As for the notion that Hypercars may only enter Daytona, Sebring and PLM, I suspect that might suit the hyper car teams, too - certainly Daytona and Sebring in particular, as those are out of the way before the WEC season starts. They could maybe make an informal triple crown each year, too.

It’s such a pity that, while there is a great deal to look forward to, there’s also going to be a huge amount of frustration at the inevitable shenanigans.

Edited by TennisUK, 10 June 2021 - 21:30.

[r4mses]

It’s such a pity that, while there is a great deal to look forward to, there’s also going to be a huge amount of frustration at the inevitable shenanigans.

 

There's just one way: do not read anything related to that politcal stuff - no forums, no statements of drivers or team members involved - just watch the action on track and tell yourself they're racing fair and square ;)

[TennisUK]

There's just one way: do not read anything related to that politcal stuff - no forums, no statements of drivers or team members involved - just watch the action on track and tell yourself they're racing fair and square ;)

Yes I agree that is the way… but I know I’ll be being dishonest with myself!

That said, EOT wasn’t too obviously managed during the Toyota/Audi/Porsche era, and by and large it worked well. But then, I think that the principles behind EOT are a lot better than those behind BoP, which perhaps explains why.

[kumo7]

Farrai have this new CEO and take the company to LMH, should this be the beginning of new win (or lose)?