Author Topic: Le Mans 2011 (Read 2921 times)

gucom · « **on:** 09-Jun-2011, 12:11:41 »

The 79th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be held this weekend

This year there're new engine rules: the old, large-capacity LMP1 engines are gone, and have now been replaced by 2.0 litre turbo petrol, 3.4 litre NA petrol or 3.7 litre turbo diesel engines.
In LMP2 they now use roadcar-derived engines with the same engine rules as the GT cars.
GT1 has been dropped, GT2 has been renamed GT Endurance (GTE), with 2 subclasses: GTE Pro (with pro drivers and all the most recent updates to the cars) and GTE Am (with at least 1 amateur driver, and a car that's at least 1 year old).
Also, all LMP cars built from 2011 onwards must have a "shark fin" on the engine cover, which should help prevent cars from getting airborne in a spin (although there're doubts about its effectivity).

Scrutineering didn't result in any significant problems, and the first of 2 qualifying sessions was yesterday evening.

So far, in LMP1, it's Peugeot 908 - Audi R18 - Audi - Audi - Peugeot - Peugeot - Last Year's Peugeot, with the fastest petrol car (Pescarolo) some 5 seconds slower than the slowest diesel. It's hard to tell who's sandbagging and who's not, we'll probably know by the end of tonight's qualifying session.
The Aston Martins aren't doing well, so far they're slower than the LMP2 cars. Aston Martin now say they're treating this year as a testing season, and want to go for success in the next 2 years...

The fastest car in LMP2 is the Honda ARX-01d (with a minivan-derived turbo V6), but it crashed heavily at the end of the session. I don't think they'll be participating in tonight's session, in fact they'll be lucky if they manage to repair the car in time for the race! Their main competitors are Signatech Oreca-Nissan, with a Nissan luxury-car derived V8 engine

In GTE Pro, so far it's very close, with BMW M3 - Ferrari F458 - BMW M3 - Corvette - Corvette forming the top 5. GTE Am is Porsche 911 - Porsche 911 - Aston Martin Vantage, although the Vantage was T-boned by one of the Audi LMP1's (but both should be repaired in time to make it to the race).

All these results are only preliminary, tonight's qualifying session will probably give more answers about who's where, if the weather remains good.

Today there will also be a press conference with more details about the new FIA World Endurance Championship, I'm very curious!

stradale · « **Reply #1 on:** 09-Jun-2011, 12:16:44 »

Thanks for the update.

Will you be there again this year?

gucom · « **Reply #2 on:** 09-Jun-2011, 12:31:56 »

yup, leaving tomorrow morning. Very excited to see how the new rules will work out, to see the awesome new cars like the Audi R18, and ofcourse the old Mazda 787b, and to test my sister's 26x zoom camera!

danidmas · « **Reply #3 on:** 09-Jun-2011, 15:01:37 »

Thanks for the update, Bart! And have fun there! I'd love to hear the sound of the 787B, so unless you bring a video of it, consider yourself banned!! j/k

pzgren · « **Reply #4 on:** 09-Jun-2011, 17:16:18 »

yeah... looking really forward to it. just received the last newsletter from Marcel Fässler. i wonder how the R18s perform since they had problems at the 1000km race in SPA. after extra testing in Monza and Le Castellet the team is confident that the cars a ready for the big event.

goodduck · « **Reply #5 on:** 09-Jun-2011, 18:52:32 »

god i wish i was going this year. peugeot is on provisional pole again. but we all know that means nothing. i bet they lose the lead in the first lap

i hope its a great race. audi and pug have their best cars ever and i just hope that there arent many retirements. i want to see a fight to the finish. also cant wait to see footage of the 787b

from lat nights quali

bmagni · « **Reply #6 on:** 09-Jun-2011, 20:30:39 »

I'm excited about the race, and after many years we'll have live coverage!

The Audi just looks fantastic in the night!

goodduck · « **Reply #7 on:** 09-Jun-2011, 22:37:54 »

this stream is working for me right now i hope it keeps working thru the weekend

http://bbc-player.com/eurosport2.html

gucom · « **Reply #8 on:** 10-Jun-2011, 00:45:56 »

final qualifying results: Audi-Audi-Peugeot-Peugeot-Audi-Peugeot-Old Peugeot-Rebellion Toyota.
can't be bothered to write a full story, gotta go to bed, gonna drive to Le Mans tomorrow. here's the story from Autocar:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92108

The Strakka team's Honda ARX-01d somehow made it back to the track by the way, which is nice since they're a great group of guys, from what I've seen/heard.

Saadie · « **Reply #9 on:** 11-Jun-2011, 17:41:41 »


McNish's massive crash at Le Mans 24 hours 2011

holy fuck!

.. he skipped over the sand trap like a skipping stone :|

bmagni · « **Reply #10 on:** 11-Jun-2011, 18:13:29 »

the photographers surely crapped their pants, if the Audi had flown one feet higher it would have been a tragedy.


Allan McNish Huge Crash 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours

Glad McNish and every one is ok

Schwalbe · « **Reply #11 on:** 11-Jun-2011, 20:38:41 »

It's a miracle that nobody was injured. Sad for McNish.

Stanae86 · « **Reply #12 on:** 11-Jun-2011, 22:20:43 »

Just got an e-mail on this (and didn't do a Stan!).

Speed coverage starts at 8pm tonight through the finish at 6. I'm sure they'll have more when it airs...glad he's okay. He was hauling at the time and it looks like the Ferrari didn't see him coming on the inside and pinched the line and it was disaster at that moment.

bmagni · « **Reply #13 on:** 11-Jun-2011, 23:53:22 »

ZOMG

Another R18 vs 458 Crash!


Mike Rockenfeller Crashes - Le Mans 2011


Night Crash 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours

bmuller · « **Reply #14 on:** 12-Jun-2011, 00:00:21 »

Quote from: Schwalbe on 11-Jun-2011, 20:38:41

It's a miracle that nobody was injured.

No kidding, IMO it's a miracle McNish not only survived but walked away from that crash basically unscathed

It still amazes me how much punishment these driver compartments can take and stay intact. The engineers who design them don't get nearly the credit they deserve. If you ask me, they are the unsung heroes in this sport.

Saadie · « **Reply #15 on:** 12-Jun-2011, 00:05:09 »

Quote from: bmuller on 12-Jun-2011, 00:00:21

The engineers who design them don't get nearly the credit they deserve. If you ask me, they are the unsung heroes in this sport.

Indeed!

Kubica's crash in canada and this crash is testimony on epic proportions!

Stanae86 · « **Reply #16 on:** 12-Jun-2011, 03:07:00 »

Clearly the Ferraris made some underground pact with Pugeot or something!

At least everyone is okay. I haven't watched any yet...how was Audi doing against Pugeot before the wrecks?

bmagni · « **Reply #17 on:** 12-Jun-2011, 04:26:51 »

Quote from: Stanae86 on 12-Jun-2011, 03:07:00

Clearly the Ferraris made some underground pact with Pugeot or something!

At least everyone is okay. I haven't watched any yet...how was Audi doing against Pugeot before the wrecks?

It was pretty close. No advantage to anyone IMO. Audi was leading but because the leading Peugeot just had entered the pits.

novass · « **Reply #18 on:** 12-Jun-2011, 06:23:29 »

I turned the TV on this morning about 2 minutes before McNish crashed. I turned it off, did some errands then came back and turned it on about 5 minutes before the Rockenfeller crash. I'm not going to watch the race anymore

I think I'm bad luck

Seriously though, glad no one got hurt. I'll probably turn in on towards the end since I'll be up and there won't be anything else on.

danidmas · « **Reply #19 on:** 12-Jun-2011, 08:43:38 »

If you're not watching the race, do it now. About 30 minutes before, the 3 leading cars were driving within the same second!!! I don't remember a race as close as this. Hope the Audi can maintain the lead until the end. It's gonna be an epic final! (unless another Ferrari goes out of mind and sends the remainig Audi out of race... Five minutes after Novass turns on the TV LOL!)