273 replies to this topic

[Anja]

There is a website attached to this forum? 

[juicy sushi]

There is a website attached to this forum? 

Apparently it is paying the bills to keep this running by catering entirely to people who don't use the forum.

[FLB]

At 2:29:01. The French have an idiom for moments like this: Complètement lunaire...

 

Absurdity to the point you left this Earth for the Moon...     

 

 

[Henri Greuter]

Whatever manipulation (aka BOP) the FIA did for this race I really liked it and they should do it for every race going forward. 

 

Forza! 

 

Now, of course they will do Ferrari +30kg for next race 

 

 

 

And take away some handicaps of the Porsche   With Le mans coming up....
 

[AlexPrime]

It was a damn good race. I have to say, whatever FIA and ACO are doing, it's working, last season three cars got big prizes (Le Mans and championships) and the cars themselves look gorgeous, particularly the Ferrari design is fantastic. I wish Toyota return to 99 colors though. 
My biggest respect is that they took a product, which is very tough to see in modern tiktok attention span era and made is damn amazing. Now times have passed since my tension at Le Mans last two year and I can say it. They are managing to sell a damn tough product and this is great. The only thing is they might curse that F1 chose to be so super close exactly as they achieved perfect balance, because Grand Prix racing is fundamentally an easier product, a race there is just the size of a movie. WEC is like an opera.
I would also wish to add that the WRC promoters must closely watch and study what WEC has done. Watch, study, take lessons and implement. Because their product is similar, not easy to sell in modern era, but they aren't trying either. And it's a damn shame. 

[Muppetmad]

On reflection, it's quite startling that Ferrari got a 1-3, given that the #83 started towards the bottom of the top 10 and the #51 served so many penalties. Cadillac's implosion certainly didn't help us in that respect, though. The #83 did well to finish where it did: Hanson did an excellent job on debut for Ferrari, and Kubica's defence to keep second in the final laps was great to see.

 

I enjoyed the race, although I would have liked to have been able to follow it from the start. We're in for a fascinating season, and another electric Le Mans.

[Disgrace]

Great race, I thought. Overtaking should be hard, the guy ahead should have a chance to keep ahead with a perfect drive. I hope Aston give the Valkyrie the time and resources it needs to improve…

[Disgrace]

Cheers JP, glad to be here.

On the Cadillac disaster the crazy thing just before that happened, the commentators had Sam Hignett on and during that Alex Lynn said on the radio something to the fact of "I see the lead I am going for it" and they were having a good laugh in the booth. Sam Hignett said that they just need to behave.... then that happened. I think both drivers messed up there.

Yeah, I think the stewards got this one right. Lynn left no margin whatsoever, I would pin 85-90% of the blame on him. Such poor team tactics and racecraft. What a way to poison the well for the year.

[Henri Greuter]

Great race, I thought. Overtaking should be hard, the guy ahead should have a chance to keep ahead with a perfect drive. I hope Aston give the Valkyrie the time and resources it needs to improve…

I was watching an after race TV report with pit reporters talking. One of them told that he had heard about a problem Aston has with making the car handle and finding and optimising the balance. And the reason why this will be so difficult for this car.

 

It was decribed as:  Because of that big lump in the back of the car they have to deal with and is almost impossible to alter so has to be worked around.....

 

 

Anyone still wondering why the majority of the teams use turbo V6 and Atmo or Turbo V8 s?

[TennisUK]

Aston Martin will quite rightly be given a poor BoP for a while. Same as every new entrant, particularly before Le Mans.

If nothing else a team with exactly the same hardware will find ways of making it quicker once they are familiar with it, but there will be diminishing returns on that. I expect their BoP to become a bit easier once the potential of the hardware is easier to quantify.

That said, it obviously isn’t as professional and ambitious a programme as Porsche, Toyota or Ferrari - or Alpine, BMW or Cadillac - so even with a helping hand from BoP I can’t see it being a winner .

It shows how good a spot the WEC is in though, that feasibly any of those six could feasibly win a race this year.

[KWSN - DSM]

Well done Ferrari, well done indeed.

[juicy sushi]

Le Mans Entry List is here:  https://assets.leman...hl9wt73upgk.pdf

 

The third Penske is back, along with AXR and newcomer Wayne Taylor Racing, who will have the crew from the 10 along with Jordan Taylor.

 

Tristan Vautier in a second Proton Porsche is the only Hypercar reserve.  The LMP2 and GT3 additions are unsurprising, but should add some great depth of flavour for this year.

[Dan333SP]

Proton have 2 confirmed LMP2 entries (one of them being the Iron Lynx machine). I guess the 2nd 963 being 1st reserve gives them the choice of pissing off the wealthy amateur of one of the LMP2s and running 2 Hypercars, or sticking with 1. 

[TennisUK]

It seems mad to have a hypercar on the reserve list at the expense of an LMP2 that only the people in the team care about?

[Dan333SP]

LMP2 amateurs pay the bills. Proton/Christian Ried have a choice about whether they'd like to spend a lot to run a 963 that may well be outclassed by the factories, or be paid to run an LMP2 that has as good a chance of a win as any other. I hope they choose the 963 but money always does the talking. 

[juicy sushi]

The LMP2 Le Mans entries, if sufficiently funded, vs the cost of running the car, might well add substantially to the budget for the main Proton 963 that keeps it on the grid for the whole season.  I cannot fault the team for doing the smart things to keep the doors open and the team funded.  

[August]

I’m a bit surprised to see AXR back given how miserable they’ve looked last two year and this time they didn’t have the IMSA invitation. But I guess ACO was willing to have four Cadillacs.

What I find strange is Toyota sticking to two cars. It feels like saving from the wrong place. While three cars some years back didn’t work out for them, I still think a 3rd car can be so beneficial, especially if one car is already out and you’ll find yourself in a position where you’d like to split strategies.

[FLB]

Alpine has had a car badly damaged by fire during a Michelin test in Qatar. Jules Gouon was the driver: he's unhurt. The team is very, very unhappy with the way the fire was handled by the track: https://www.autohebd...4-au-qatar.html (en francais)

[juicy sushi]

Nuts, hoping that doesn't hurt the program too much.

[juicy sushi]

I’m a bit surprised to see AXR back given how miserable they’ve looked last two year and this time they didn’t have the IMSA invitation. But I guess ACO was willing to have four Cadillacs.

AXR, given their ownership, will pretty much be guaranteed an entry any time they want it.

[KWSN - DSM]

English translation

 

https://www-autohebd...&_x_tr_pto=wapp

[juicy sushi]

Laudenbach holds forth on future rules:  https://www.dailyspo...-start-now.html

 

TL;DR:

 

Extending current rules to 2032 and delaying hydrogen to 2030 is on the way.  After that, ditching hybrids for efuels isn't on the menu, as it isn't where the market is going.  Long term, need to make sure the road does not go back to LMP1.  Taking what people like from LMH and LMDh and putting them together is the way forward.  Hydrogen will need to be a separate class as its hard to integrate different technologies if you have a lot of participants.  Budget caps sound great, but are very hard to implement and BoP has provided a lot of value.  Important thing is to talk now and settle things while the sport is in good health so that it is prepared for whatever is coming, since the future looks maybe more bumpy than anticipated.

[KWSN - DSM]

Take aways from article.

 

1. Emphasize the need for manufacturers to begin discussing future regulations for Hypercar and GTP classes now to secure the sport’s future.

 

2. Advocates for a single platform for the next set of regulations to create consistency and stability in the sport.

 

3  Current Hypercar rules extension has encouraged manufacturers like Genesis and Ford to enter the competition in 2026-2027.

 

4. FIA and ACO are focusing on developing hydrogen-powered prototypes for Le Mans and WEC this technology's introduction is delayed to 2030.

 

5. Hypercar rules are likely to be extended until 2032, with some manufacturers considering new programs in response to this shift.

 

6. Questions what future options will exist for manufacturers uninterested in hydrogen, suggesting a focus on eFuels and electrification rather than fully hybrid systems.

 

7. Porsche supports eFuels, however believes it would be a mistake for motorsport to move away from hybrid technology, as motorsport should remain relevant to the automotive industry.

 

8. Suggests merging LMH and LMDh regulations into a unified framework to streamline costs and create a healthier, more stable platform.

 

9. Is wary of integrating hydrogen tech into the current framework, fearing it would complicate balancing different technologies, especially with multiple manufacturers involved.

 

10. Proposes implementing strict technical boundaries and a potential cost cap, though acknowledges the challenges of enforcing such rules in motorsport.

 

11. Increasing budgets and changing dynamics in the automotive industry, Stresses the importance of starting discussions now to ensure the sport’s long-term health and stability, urging a manufacturer-led initiative to shape future regulations.

[FLB]

The FIA WEC (LMEM) has put the full Qatar race on Youtube