Here now are MY responses to my discussion questions. I'll probably say a lot for each one because I have a lot of ideas to share.
1.) The matchup against Audi and Peugeot was the marquee headline for this race. How do you think this matchup played out at race's end? What does Peugeot's performance say about their committment and devotion to succeed in sportscar racing?
This has been the key issue. Solidity in French racing. Pescarolo's been the heartbeat of France for as long as Peugeot wasn't in big league racing. Pescarolo once ran Peugeot engines. Think back to "Le Mans 24 Hours" for the PS2. The Pescarolo team (before their beautiful blue/green/white colors) has a Peugeot engine. Peugeot's efforts to take down Audi were dashed. Part of me still says that Peugeot probably could have lead since Lap 1 had it not been for that brief off by Sebastien Bourdais. I don't know. Maybe the Audis were just that 25% better.
I still think the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP could have been better engineered so that pit stops wouldn't be so long. I think Peugeot can beat Audi. It will just mean some better engineering of the Peugeot. Regardless, the Peugeot is set up and set up great. They'll be better than advertised. As far as the matchup went, it was a great one. If they raced consistently in America, this could be the next Audi/Panoz battle.
2.) What are your overall thoughts on this year's Le Mans? Was it a classic for you, or not as good as some other year?
When Audi stumbles, it seems like ANY race can be a classic. You basically have to BAN Audi to beat them. I still wanted Tom Kristensen to get #8 in his career. Otherwise, it was still a great race. I even wanted Risi Competizione and the Risi-Krohn entry to both finish. My dream scenario would have been Risi and Krohn- 1-2. Southeast Texas ruling northern France in the world's biggest race.
Also, Aston Martin finally got her done- you beat the Corvettes. The better-looking DBR9 (I like British Racing Green and yellow better than British Racing Green and red) won. And a shoutout to Binnie Motorsports bearing the lovliest paintscheme with the American flag. The American flag design was accompanied by Scottish colors, but I loved the design.
3a.) One Japanese racer at Le Mans was asked if he thinks a Japanese manufacturer or a Japanese team will race at Le Mans someday. Do you think this will likely happen in say... within the next ten years? Is it more likely that a Japanese manufacturer will compete at Le Mans or a certain Japanese constructor will compete? What would be your short list of Japanese makes and constructors to compete at Le Mans someday?
I would love to see some more Japanese involvement. Maybe because I love Japan and reading about Japan, but I'd like to see Japan be more involved in big-league sportscar racing. I want the JLMC to continue to get better and maybe attract some potent European and and even American teams. As I've said before, Japan has some challenging race courses. I love the Super GT series, but how many of the makes from the GT500 and GT300 classes are willing to build potent cars to compete at Le Mans and in the world's biggest sportscar endurances?
I have some ideas as to who would be fitting to compete at Le Mans someday. My biggest vision is to see Toyota return to Le Mans with a car even better than the Toyota GT-One. And think about it like this- they could make an LMP1 car for 2010 specifications whereas LMP1 machines have to be closed-top machines. They could make a car as beautiful and as capable as the GT-One [that could have won Le Mans 1999].
Nissan has great involvement in racing (not to mention Toyota's rivals). They could put together at least one car for three different classes. They could come up with a capable and reliable LMP1 entry. Or, they could do like an MLB baseball team and make a steady progression towards LMP1. They could field some LMP2 entires fitted with Nissan entries in either Lola or Courage chasses. Then, they could step up and make their own complete LMP for LMP2. With enough momentum, they could make their own LMP1 car to compete with other closed-top LMP1 machines within the next five to ten years.
They could try and make their awesome 350Z raced in Super GT, but make it more capable for Le Mans. Super GT cars haven't fared very well at Le Mans. So they'd need to make a car that could actually rival the bigtime GT cars. It has to have a great engine and probably be 300-400 lbs. lighter.
It's also possible Mazda could return, but I'm not sure if rotary power would be cool with the ACO. I'd really hate to imagine a non-rotary Mazda compete in big leauge sportscar racing. In addition to promoting a brand, you kind of want to promote what's been your bread and butter. Mazda won Le Mans in 1991 with a rotary car (that's has a very high-pitch sound). Mazda's still the only Japanese make to win Le Mans outright. Can they do it again?
Better question is if they could make a non-rotary car to try and win Le Mans. Maybe they could build a car that is more reliable than the beautiful RX-792P. The longshot would be a "super RX-8" that could run with Corvettes and DBR9's. It could be possible they could do GT2. But could they hold up against the Panoz, Ferraris, and a company called... Porsche?
Honda's Mugen division has been in Le Mans. In fact, a Mugen-powered Dome raced at Le Mans this year. Didn't finish, but they were there. Any chance Honda races with a major league effort? Not likely. Unless Honda (not Mugen) supplies a potent engine to power a certain car. The JLMC has a Courage LC70 powered by a Mugen or Honda engine. I think if Honda wanted to make a serious contender for a Le Mans win, they'd have to make a SERIOUS race car to make some magic happen. They don't have any real worthy cars to compete in either class of GT. My short list would be of Toyota and Nissan.
Finally, I'd love to see Mooncraft try and build up a Le Mans-worthy race car out of their Shiden. I'd love to see Mooncraft try and put together a winning effort. They should be racing in the JLMC in addition to the Super GT series. LMP1 would be great, but would there be a such thing as a closed-top LMP
2 entry?
3b.) Do you think we'll see a Japanese manufacturer win Le Mans?
Is it possible for them to win? Of course. Will they? Maybe. Last Japanese team to win was Team Goh in 2004 with the Audi Sport Japan R8. Could another Japanese manufacturer win? I hope so. Something to spice up the variety as America and Europe beat each others' brains out around Le Mans. After all, variety is the spice of life.
4.) Only four Porsches ran in GT2. Porsche won in GT2 much to the dismay of Panoz, Spyker, and Ferrari. The ACO was told to have wanted to "mix things up" with the classes. If this is true, what did you think of the ACO's move to "mix up" this competitive class of racing?
I always say that Porsches in sportscar racing is like modded Honda Civics on the road- almost a dime a dozen. The Ferrari F430GT's all were competitive thought only four Porsches were in for GT2. Porsche's GT2 win makes the Stuttgart boys think "over-rated!" against Ferraris in this year's field. You HAVE to include Porsche in GT2 because they've been so reliable for so many years in GT2. I was okay with fewer Porsches. Only as long as you still provide exceptional opponents to Porsche, I'm cool.
5.) I usually say that the 24 Hours of Le Mans should be a motorsports holiday. Do you think it should be a motorsports holiday? How would you "celebrate" if it was a motorsports holiday? What are your own personal feelings when this race is either taking place or will take place?
The 24th weekend of the year... Le Mans motorsport holiday. We honor Indy. We honor Dakar. Why not Le Mans? A joke I've thought of was that you celebrate Le Mans by having drivers run to their cars, jump in, start the motor, and go. ^_^ Yes, even stock cars. Would be tougher for single-seat formula cars. Speed Channel had to make us sit through hype for the Nextel All-Star Challenge, so why not provide Le Mans updates every 30 minutes or every hour when Le Mans isn't on the air?
As far as "celebrating" Le Mans go, most of us video and computer gamers are racing Le Mans for the games we have them available. Maybe take Gran Turismo 4 and run some rounds around Le Mans in the purest GT and prototype cars. Run some races around Le Mans in "Le Mans 24 Hours." Run a race around Le Mans in games like rFactor. You have to download the track and find some capable cars. If you can't do Le Mans in a game, then try doing some kind of long-distance race in a game.
It's a time to enjoy sportscar racing and what winning such races entail. * How do I feel even when Le Mans is not televised or streamed? Proud the race is underway. I'm usually anxious each 30 minutes to an hour as to what's going on. I usually don't care about NASCAR at Michigan when you got Le Mans on. NASCAR at Michigan is just another race when Le Mans is on. I just get addicted to the race and the track. If I could (and if my mom would let me), I'd want half-hour updates from Le Mans on my cell phone if I'm away from a TV.
6.) What do you think makes the 24 Hours of Le Mans one of the best races in the world? Do you share some of the same passion for Le Mans as I do? What does it mean to win Le Mans, and do you need to win this event to be regarded as one of the best racers of all time?
The history, passion, and will to win Le Mans keeps me interested in this race. This is one of those races where you can acheive glory and reach Heaven by winning. This race means more to more car companies than almost any other racing series. Truly established makes who produce great sports cars want to win this race to solidify their status to the world. And as a I say, you're a winner if you compete in this race even if you don't do well.
I of course admire the history of Le Mans. Bentley, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Porsche, Matra, Peugeot, Audi, Mazda... all or most of the big names have won. You have names like Derek Bell, Tom Kristensen, Yannick Dalmas, Graham Hill, Speed Channel's David Hobbs, and much more who have competed at and even won this race. Don't even get me started on teams who got it done.
I've loved sportscar racing more than any other motorsport. I've loved road racing more than almost any other motorsport (I do like rally as well). All of this just culminates and is a reflection of the style of racing I've loved most of my life.
As far as if you need to win Le Mans to be one of the best of all-time... you don't need to win, but it helps. Winning Le Mans can be as tough as winning the F1 World Championship. I wouldn't say you need to win. But if you're trying to establish yourself as the best ever, you may HAVE to win Le Mans to set an example for the next generation of racing stars.
7a.) Frank Biela won his fifth Le Mans. Do you think he'll pass Tom Kristensen for most outright wins at Le Mans?
I don't think Tom Kristensen is done giving up making his Le Mans outright win record even more impossible to break. Frank Biela may get to seven Le Mans wins (or more), but he still needs to win at the percentage Kristensen has done in all of his outright win attempts. The man is magic. Good luck, Biela.
7b.) Speaking of Tom Kristensen, his hopes of winning his eighth Le Mans were dashed as the #2 Audi had that colossal off at Indianapolis. For Tom to compete in this race as best as he could despite his horrible crash in the DTM series, what does this say about the fitness and perserverance of Tom Kristensen? I would regard Tom Kristensen as a Hall of Fame sportscar racer. Is he as established in sportscar racing as some of the other legends of the motorsport?
I'm proud for Tom Kristensen even though his hopes for #8 were dashed on the tomfoolery of the #2 Audi camp. Think about it, people. You suffer a wicked crash a few months ago, cleared to go race, and try to motor on as best as possible. Most weaker kinds would probably settle for next year's Le Mans. The conditioning and such for Tom Kristensen was amazing for him to still compete at Le Mans. He's a gamer, no doubt. My dream for him was that he'd come back from a crash in DTM to win Le Mans yet again. Think about it. It would be the ultimate form of standing tall. He still stood pretty tall though the #2 Audi was kaput.
8.) The publicity of Jacques Villenue making ready to compete in one of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs. It showed that anticpiation for a certain driver exists- even at Le Mans. I anticipated Mario Andretti's attempt at Le Mans in 2000 (thought I wasn't as informed of the race prior to 2001) with the Panoz LMP Roadster. Do you think anticipation and hype at Le Mans is as big as... say... Danica Patrick in the IndyCar Series, Lewis Hamilton in Formula One, or even Juan Pablo Montoya in NASCAR?
I was rather surprised to see all the publicity for the French Canadian J. Villenue race at Le Mans. People flashing cameras and such like he's a celebrity. I could almost imagine if celebrities like Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis, Paul Newman (who does race), or whoever was about to strap into an LMP1 machine. The pub on J. Villenue was wicked!
9a.) This next one is simple. Which non-ALMS teams from this year's Le Mans do you think should compete in the ALMS?
I'd want to see the Peugeots compete here in America. I'm just unsure if Peugeot could actually supply customer versions of their wonderful new LMP to compete in the States. I'm probably sure the Peugeot boys are more focused on the LMS in their native Europe than making rounds in America. I still think they can do either/both the Petit Le Mans and the 4-hour Laguna Seca race.
Believe it or not, I'd be interested in seeing Pescarolo Sport compete here in America. Give Americans the chance to see your awesome race cars compete in America.
Hitotsuyama Racing should be pretty familiar if you follow the Super GT series. However, they have a pretty good JLMC program as well. They have a beautiful red Zytek in the JLMC's LMP1 class and a Ferrari 550 Maranello in JLMC GT1. Even if only to bring Japanese exposure to American sportscar racing, it would be a treat to see Hitotsuyama Racing run some laps in the ALMS. For a picture of the two red cars under the Hitotsuyama Racing group, follow this link: <
http://www.the-paddock.net/content/view/241513/49/ >.
I'd also be interested to see what Team Goh would be like in the ALMS. They did triumph at Le Mans in 2004 with the great Tom Kristensen as one of the drivers on the winning team. There's a number of options.
Finally, I'm going to give you some entries from a surprising location. I would invite some competitors from the Australian GT Championship (
http://www.gtchampionship.com.au ) to come compete in the States to give exposure.
9b.) Back in 1999 or 2000, ALMS and (then) ELMS competitors competed at some of the ALMS events. There were even times when the ALMS competed in Europe against European teams. Do you think LMS teams should invite themselves or be invited to compete in America for certain ALMS races?
Unless schedules conflict, I think more European teams should get involved in running a few races in the ALMS. I don't think car counts are depressing in the ALMS, but a nicer array of cars and teams would be nice. There's an alternative that may also work. Let's say teams that don't run the full load in the Le Mans Series could be some "free agents" to compete in the ALMS. It may entail some scouting to try and bring racers to compete in the U.S. and fall in line with some of the ALMS regulars and privateers.
10.) What teams' performances are your most impressive? least impressive? Were there surprise teams for you at this year's Le Mans? Who surprised you?[/I]
Most impressive I'd say would be a tie between Pescarolo Sport and the #009 Aston Martin DBR9.
Least impressive is likely the Spyker group.
I'm going to say that the surprise team was the GT2-winning #76 Porsche. It's the case of a virtual unknown getting it done edging out the other three aforementioned makes.
