Endurance racing news

[gucom]

hey guys, it's been awhile since I posted anything about the endurance racing scene but there's been a lot going on, I dont feel like creating a new topic every time anymore though so unless you wanna go into specifics on a certain subject I think it's best to keep all the general news in 1 topic.

So, what's been going on?

- Acura won't keep playing with the privateers in LMP2 forever, they've announced a 2 team LMP1 programme. No details yet apart from 'the car will surprise a lot of people' so I'm curious It's said to be testing around Thanksgiving

- The last few weeks, toyota people have regularly said they're very interested in a hybrid Le Mans effort, and there's a good chance it'll be with a further developed version of the Dome S.102 car that far exceeded every1's expectations by finishing the Le Mans 24h in 6th without any prior race time. This is the S.102:

In the late '90s Toyota had the legendary GT-One car which was unbelievably quick at Le Mans and unbelievably unlucky, they failed to win the race, in '99 after a puncture only 30 minutes before the finish! Many people in Toyota feel Le Mans is unfinished business.


The Peugeot 908 Hybrid was announced at the Silverstone 1000km a couple of weeks ago:


it'll have an 80hp electric motor in addition to its V12 diesel and it might race as early as next year (but not for points yet untill the ACO have figured out a proper rule set for hybrid cars)

Other news: GT1 has 1 year left to live, after that, current GT2 will become the most important class, with probably an engine size limit of 5.5 litres. There are plans for a new GT1 class which would basically be a GT2 car with an upgrade package (and possibly intended for cars with > 5.5 litre engines).

LMP rules are also gonna be revised in 2011, but it's still kinda unclear what's gonna happen there...

[danidmas]

Thanks for the update on the Le Mans scene mate!

The Dome looks just soooo stunning, one of the hottest cars in the 2008 LM grid. And it was about time that Toyota decided to re-join the race, I bet they're gonna be a serious alternative to Peugeot and Audi... and again, it's good to have different carmakers with official teams, like the days of the GT-One, where there was also Nissan, Audi, Panoz, Mercedes-Benz or BMW with official entries

What I don't understand is the GT2 and GT1 modifications. So they're gonna get rid of GT1 just like that? they're one of the hot battles at Le Mans every year, the GT2 cars are not as atractive and don't generate as much passion IMO even if the new GT1 class are basically upgraded GT2 cars, I think it's a mistake.

[gucom]

It's true that the GT1 cars draw much more attention and are much more likely to make it to 12yo boys' bedroom posters and stuff, but they are incredubly expensive (around a million for the cars themselves, plus probably over a million for running a season), and the Aston / 'Vette competition has made it too expensive, and not enough possibility of success, for others to build new GT1 cars.

Ever since the Aston DBR9 arrived (2005!) there've been no new GT1 cars. The manufacturers themselves also pushed for cheaper cars along the GT2 ruleset (with possibly some more liberal aero rules), in fact Aston, GM, Porsche and Ferrari made a pact to persuade the ACO and the FIA to move in that direction... if you look at the potential of GT2 (Aston V8, Porsche GT3, Ferrari F430, Corvette Z06, BMW M3, Spyker and Panoz), that's just too good to ignore, it'll be the most amazing GT battle in years

[danidmas]

^ that's a good point... yeah, but I'm gonna miss the DBR9-C6.R battles that's for sure

[gucom]

Good news: Sebastien Loeb is gonna test the Peugeot 908 LMP1 car Let's hope he's gonna drive it at Le Mans next year peugeot and citroën are together in the PSA group anyway so why not?

News that's not-so-good: rumours are that the Aston Martin LMP1 programme is dead, possibly because of difficulties during the economic crisis...

[danidmas]

Good news: Sebastien Loeb is gonna test the Peugeot 908 LMP1 car Let's hope he's gonna drive it at Le Mans next year peugeot and citroën are together in the PSA group anyway so why not?

He and Sarrazin will switch rides... but I wonder why does Citroën allows that when Sarrazin is a semi-works driver for Subaru, getting to drive the Citroën

News that's not-so-good: rumours are that the Aston Martin LMP1 programme is dead, possibly because of difficulties during the economic crisis...

Sucks, because the Lola Aston Martin looked really promising......

[gucom]

Reiter Engineering confirmed they are working on a GT2 Gallardo LP560

link, it's translated from french and rather badly so, but still has some nice info
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.endurance-info.com%2Farticle.php%3Fsid%3D6755&lp=fr_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

Other news:
-Acura LMP1 has been spotted testing, but only very grainy and unclear pics so far, I'll post better pics when they surface... however first impressions are rather less spectacular (read: more conventional) than expected

-2011 rule set for Le Mans Prototypes general picture:
     - smaller engines for LMP1 (petrol: 3.4 litre V8 / 2.0 litre turbo V6, diesel 3.7 litre twin turbo V8)
     - LMP2 adopting GT2 engines (4.0 litre, or 4.5 litre if it's a true production engine) or a 4.0 litre turbo V8 diesel
     - increased weight in LMP2, smaller fuel tanks for both LMP1 and LMP2
     - hybrid systems aimed primarily at fuel saving, not higher speed. relatively large freedom of systems used.

the above rules are to decrease speeds and to reflect the engine downsizing trend in roadcars, as the ACO feels that Le Mans should keep its roadcar relevance (or so they say at least...)

[a007apl]

Yabadabaduuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 

[gucom]

Audi R15 announced for 2009, it will first race at Sebring 12 hours in March. All that's known so far is that it'll be an open-top car again, and that it'll have a smaller, lighter, more efficient diesel engine and be more agile.
They say it'll be a bigger step from the R10 to the R15, than it was from the R8 to the R10, because that's needed to remain competitive (aka to beat the Peugeots which were much faster in 2008).

[danidmas]

They really need a new, quicker car. If it wasn't for the drivers (IMO McNish and Kristensen are the best you can get for Le Mans)... Peugeot would have finished 1-2-3 this past June

[gucom]

Yupp... I hope Peugeot will be quick enough to give Audi a real fight, I don't want another boring Audi victory... I don't think Acura will be fast enough yet (I don't even know if they'll be coming to Le Mans)

[gucom]

OK here're the first clear pics of the Acura LMP1 car...
not super unconventional but still, some differences to most prototypes, definitely some complex aerodynamics going on there, most notably around the nose and the side pods...




it looks like it'll be a high revving petrol engine, but nothing is known about the layout of the engine aor wether it'll have special systems (hybrid etc)...

Now let's hope it'll kick some Audi ass  

Credits to mulsannescorner / mulsanne mike
http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsnov08.html

[goodduck]

is the acura going to be at Le Mans?

i just cant wait to see the R15 although i wish they were making it a closed cockpit.

[gucom]

is the acura going to be at Le Mans?

So far they've only expressed a desire to do so, but no plans yet

i just cant wait to see the R15 although i wish they were making it a closed cockpit.

same here on both points...

[danidmas]

Porsche quits the ALMS... at least the official team

http://jalopnik.com/5110187/porsche-follows-audi-pulls-factory-team-from-alms
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/15/porsche-following-audi-pulls-factory-team-out-of-alms/

[yeckmohr]

Porsche quits the ALMS... at least the official team

http://jalopnik.com/5110187/porsche-follows-audi-pulls-factory-team-from-alms
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/15/porsche-following-audi-pulls-factory-team-out-of-alms/

(Image removed from quote.)

said again, what happens to motorsport ?

[danidmas]

said again, what happens to motorsport ?

Motorsport is always an extra for car companies... so when it comes to cut expenses, it's always the first to go. As I said before, you cannot shut down an entire factory because of the crisis and then keep wasting money on a $20M motorhome just to show off in the paddock

[gucom]

Could it be true? A Nissan GT-R GT1 car?



http://www.gtrblog.com/index.php/2008/12/26/update-more-nissan-gt-r-fia-gt1-spec-spy?blog=4

Not much (aka nothing) is known about the new GT1 regulations from 2010 onwards, but early reports suggest this car will have a V8 engine, based on the engine they use in the Japanese GT500 championship. I'm not sure if that'd be allowed in GT1, it almost certainly won't be allowed at Le Mans...

[danidmas]

The Skyline already races at Le Mans with a R33 GT-R LM... so this would be great news if it was true! I'm sure they'll fins the way to make the car eligible for Le Mans... even if it's just to beat the 997 GT3 RSR

[danidmas]

More on the GT-R GT1:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/26/fia-gt1-nissan-gt-r-spied-lemans-specs-rumored/