331 replies to this topic

[Massa]

Penske tried really hard to get an Audi R18 for ALMS.  Wayne Taylor Racing (Grand-Am) did, too.  Audi had no interest in running in North America.  Point being: Penske still likes sports cars.

But does Penske like racing outside of the U.S.?

[JHS18]

Mind games have begun. Wurz said at scrutineering Toyota told him to back off on his flying lap on test day to stop "the Audi guys from crying."

Even in that jokey context I can believe it. But saying that, I'd be surprised if anyone's shown their hand yet, including Audi.

[JHS18]

Interesting quirk on Starworks car:



Anyway, pictures from day 2 of scrutineering can be found here:

http://www.endurance...?page=1035&np=1

No doubt more to come. Not long before the track action begins now...

Edited by JHS18, 11 June 2012 - 07:02 PM.

[JHS18]

Comprehensive gallery of day two of scrutineering here:

http://www.facebook....63622911&type=1

[Massa]

Images like that are sort of a tradition for American machinery¹ going off to France to battle other machines.  Similar graphics were on a lot of American planes in WWII.

I think it's stupid but hey, whatever works for them.

¹ Starworks prepared the car in the U.S., at least, even if it's a Honda designed by a British man and made from parts that originate in all sorts of places.

[Massa]

A Starworks side story that you guys may already know:

Peter Baron's team used to be called SAMAX and ran in Grand-Am with Milka Duno.  Their best result in that era was second in the 2007 Rolex 24, with drivers Patrick Carpentier, Darren Manning, and Ryan Dalziel, and rider Duno.

Anyway, he took SAMAX to IndyCar with Milka Duno in 2007 and that was just a huge train wreck.  Duno switched teams and SAMAX carried on in Grand-Am for 2008.  The car was driven by Dalziel and Henri Zogaib and won at Lagune Seca.

Henri Zogaib was, like a few in sports car racing's past have been, a con-man.  He was funding the ride through his Ponzi scheme.  Zogaib was promising that with the help of this made-up man, he would get a quick 38% profit on his investors' money and pay it back.

The team folded before 2009 when the money disappeared, and Zogaib was eventually arrested.

Peter Baron had invested $800,000 in Zogaib's scheme, believing it to be legitimate.  Ryan Dalziel and his father invested $550,000.  Zogaib also owed Baron $450,000 for team expenses that he never paid.  Other drivers who were scammed included A.J. Allmendinger and J.C. France, who would later be arrested himself for drag racing on public roads while drunk while under the influence of cocaine while having drugs in his car.  The charges were dropped on France because the France family essentially owns the city of Daytona.

Anyway, Baron and Dalziel lost their livelihoods in the scam, and you can take that either as "wow I feel bad for them" or "wow who would ever believe in some get rich quick scheme without ever meeting this iron ore magnate, isn't this all a big red flag, sounds like some people got a little too greedy for their own good" but however you see it, that's the backstory of Starworks, which joined Grand-Am in 2010 after SAMAX folded and didn't race in 2009 and has since had some success, winning at Mid-Ohio in Grand-Am last year and taking pole at the Rolex 24 this year.

Baron himself has a podium finish in class at Le Mans.

[JHS18]

I didn't know that actually, and that is a cool story.

There's some crooks in motorsport isn't there? It's a dodgy sport full of con-men!

No, I kid. I'm glad they got it sorted out and they're a welcome addition to the P2 grid. Tom Kimber-Smith is a solid driver, but to be honest, he's the only one of the three in that car that I know an awful lot about.

It's great that there are a lot of good stories on the grid. A lot of teams that have had to really fight to even get here. I guess that's why you see such scenes of emotion at Le Mans - like in that clip I posted a while ago. I've watched motorsport for many years, and the only race I've regularly seen such vivid emotions, from elation and victory to despair and frustration is Le Mans. Again, look at last year. Look at how much it means to Audi, but equally how much it meant to Peugeot to not win.

It's a great place.

[JHS18]

Also on an unrelated note - either my eyesight has been damaged after looking at them so long, but the fins on the prototypes don't appear to be that bad. They look worse on some than others, but mostly it is alright. Besides, you can't complain about looks if it has a genuine safety benefit.

But I still think (and I'm probably biased) that the best looking car of any is the 458. Man, I love that car. It looks how a racing car should look.

[Massa]

Now you know why I made hundreds of posts about Indy.  It's the same thing.  Emotion is everywhere all month there.  Cool stuff, hope to "feel" Le Mans this year.

Ryan Dalziel (pronounced Dee-al) is a pretty solid driver, 30 years old, so pretty young.  He won the pole for the Rolex 24 this year (he was in the car) and was the lead driver; quicker than his teammate Allan McNish, though he has more Daytona Prototype experience (including three wins).  He then finished third overall (and LMP2 winner I believe) at Sebring with Enzo Potolicchio and Stéphane Sarrazin a few weeks later, so they're very capable.  After that, he took an LMPC class win with CORE Autosport.  So it's been a pretty successful year for him.  Dalziel participated in Champ Car Atlantic (the support class to Champ Car) and finished second in that championship twice with a lot of race wins, before eventually moving to Champ Car in 2007.  He was in a pretty shaky team and had a few top tens.

Enzo Potolicchio is competent.  He's a pro-am driver, and there's nothing wrong with that.  I think he comes from Ferrari Challenge-type stuff.  He's older (43), but has been fine as Dalziel's number two in the past.

[HandyNZL]

JHS18, on 11 June 2012 - 11:19 AM, said:

It's good to here that. It's a cool project, and I think the ACO really need to be thanked for coming up with an initiative that will allow cars like this to race. Even if it is a failure and doesn't make it past 12 hours, in a way it doesn't really matter because it is about future technologies - and as we know, future technologies don't always work straight away. Considering that this was quite a late project and it hasn't had as much track time as a Audi or a Toyota, they've done a good job so far.

I think in future years, it'd be cool to have a few more cars racing under Garage 56 regulations, but I know that probably won't happen. Anyway, GreenGT - next year's 56 car does actually exist. I didn't realise that it had even been built yet.



Question for you - what do you think Deltawing's realistic future after Le Mans is? I've read somewhere that this could be its one and only race, but I'd find it strange if they've gone to all this effort only to race it once.



Isn't that a camera from within Corvette's garage? Can recall that being the case in years gone by. May also be an option to ride onboard with the Corvette cars.

Thanks for the information by the way.

As I mentioned some posts ago - scrutineering is taking place now. Yesterday was the first day of scrutineering and there's a nice gallery of what was going on - including team photos - here:

http://www.endurance...?page=1034&np=0

Another gallery here:
http://www.facebook....63622911&type=3


I like seeing the team photos every year. I also think it is really cool that members of the public, fans, can just get so close to the action. You wouldn't see that during scrutineering at a Formula One race for instance.

Holy toledo Batman - has that thing ever seen a wind tunnel?  Do they know that large frontal area = slow?

[HandyNZL]

JHS18, on 11 June 2012 - 06:58 PM, said:

Interesting quirk on Starworks car:



Anyway, pictures from day 2 of scrutineering can be found here:

http://www.endurance...?page=1035&np=1

No doubt more to come. Not long before the track action begins now...

Nothing quirky about a woman, James...apart from them being women...that's just too damn quirky to contemplate!

[JHS18]

HandyNZL, on 12 June 2012 - 12:20 AM, said:

Holy toledo Batman - has that thing ever seen a wind tunnel?  Do they know that large frontal area = slow?

Hey, there's some pretty weird looking race cars around at the moment anyway! You'd think that the step on the nose of current Formula One cars wouldn't be very aerodynamic, but they're still as quick as ever.

Anyway, only one more sleep till track action starts. So excited! I'll try and keep track of any good new stories today, but it should be pretty quiet.

Just something very basic for those new to Le Mans: when it gets dark, cars with white headlights are prototypes. Cars with yellow headlights are GTs.

[JHS18]

It is funny to look at some of the drivers in the "Am" class on the entry list. There's some drivers you really wouldn't expect to see.

I know it is all down to the FIA's driver license ranking. I believe from memory it works like this.

LMP1 - Limited to platinum and gold ranked drivers only.
LMP2 - Gold and silver drivers. One silver ranked driver is mandatory in each car.
GT Pro - Mostly platinum and gold ranked drivers only, but then there's Roger Wills in the #66 who is bronze rated...
GT Am - Have to have one silver and one bronze driver in each car.

But then - if you look closely at some of the drivers in Am, there's people like Pedro Lamy (in the #50 car, he's a platinum rated driver), Allan Simonsen (gold) in the #99, Sean Edwards (gold) in the #75 and Brian Vickers (platinum, don't laugh Eric ) in the #61. Not drivers you'd really class as "amateurs."

If you can make any sense out of that, you're a better person than me. I'm confused.

By the way, there's a complete list of drivers and their licenses in the WEC (not sure if it contains everyone in Le Mans) here. I find it quite interesting actually:

http://www.lemans.or...otification.pdf

Edited by JHS18, 12 June 2012 - 11:53 AM.

[JHS18]

Now might be a good idea to post a track map as well James...



And this brilliant Audi promo from last year. A year old, but still relevant, and still really good.

[JHS18]

Also, just for Eric seeing as you said you wanted to get to know the track a bit better in the light, an onboard from last year:

[JHS18]

A cool feature running on Autosport at the moment - debating the 50 greatest Le Mans cars ever. Cool for finding out a bit of the history of the race too and how cars have developed over the years:

http://lemanscars.autosport.com/

Only real absence I can think of - and one of my earliest memories of Le Mans after having a model of it as a kid, would be this. The Ferrari 333sp:

[JHS18]

Oh, and a little bit of news. JRM will have an onboard camera on their car and you'll be able to watch it for the entire race:

http://www.thechecke...s-debut-online/

[JHS18]

Just a reminder - track action commences tomorrow (or today if you're reading this tomorrow).

The one and only practice session of the week starts at 4pm (French time) and ends at 8pm.

Qualifying in the dark then runs for two hours starting at 10pm and running to midnight, again, French times.

You can follow the coverage online with www.radiolemans.com or alternatively, it is pretty likely there will be a stream, which I can post here if moderators approve.

It has been raining at the circuit today and tomorrow could be more of the same. We'll have to wait and see.

[Massa]

You can post links to all legal, official streams.

These are streams that are supplied by the ACO and all related bodies (such as the WEC, FIA, 24 Hours of Le Mans, etc), or by the television broadcast partners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (such as Eurosport, SPEED, etc).

Illegal streams where a third party streams content without the consent of the copyright holder on their own website or on a streaming website cannot be shared on the forum, and only through PM.

[The Shadow]

Thanks James

[HandyNZL]

If Eric want's to learn the track then he should watch this:



(not that, but get the movie and watch that)

(actually go buy the movie)

(and some popcorn)

(unless you don't like popcorn)

[HandyNZL]

JHS18, on 12 June 2012 - 11:24 AM, said:

Hey, there's some pretty weird looking race cars around at the moment anyway! You'd think that the step on the nose of current Formula One cars wouldn't be very aerodynamic, but they're still as quick as ever.

Anyway, only one more sleep till track action starts. So excited! I'll try and keep track of any good new stories today, but it should be pretty quiet.

Just something very basic for those new to Le Mans: when it gets dark, cars with white headlights are prototypes. Cars with yellow headlights are GTs.

Aye, but an F1 car's nose is very skinny (put your feet together, spread 'em apart by two inches, measure across your ankles, and that's about it)

That car however looks like it has the air intake off a cruise liner!

[JHS18]

Practice session just starting, with plenty of cars taking to the track. A long session. Weather fine and dry at the moment, but it could rain later.

www.radiolemans.com is covering the action - just click "listen live". I also have a stream, but according to the moderators' wishes - PM me if you'd like the link.

Live timing will be available here once competitive lap times start.

http://live.lemans-tv.com/

[JHS18]

#8 Toyota goes quickest with a 3:30.162, then stops on the Mulsanne straight moments later with a minor fire.

[JHS18]

Wurz now goes quickest in the #7 on a 3:28.459

[JHS18]

Audi responds with the #3 Ultra. 3:27.833 - times coming down rapidly as you'd expect.

[JHS18]

One hour gone already.

No change at the very top. The #3 Audi is quickest, #7 Toyota second, #2, #1, #4 Audis and then #8 Toyota with a drivetrain problem.

Best of the rest is the #21 HPD followed by the two Rebellion cars.

LMP2 is lead by #46 Nissan. GT Pro and Am are being lead by the #51 Ferrari and #99 Aston Martin respectively. No lap time as yet for Deltawing.

Edited by JHS18, 13 June 2012 - 03:16 PM.

[JHS18]

#8 Toyota has finally been recovered to the pits. No idea whether it'll feature again this session. #7 still pounding round on a longer run.

[JHS18]

#42 car in the gravel at the Forza chicane apparently.

[JHS18]

Times fairly static at the top, but quite a few changes elsewhere. #45 car now quickes in LMP2 whilst as I made reference to only a couple of days ago, Allan Simonsen is anything but an amateur and goes second in GT OVERALL in the #99 Aston.