86th Running Of The 24 Hours Of Le Mans, 16-17 June 2018

[Grayfox]

One thing has me perplexed.

With the FIA going nuts over safety.
Why do they still let someone on track to wave the flag?

Is this another case of we ignore safety for tradition, if so.
I want to see the drivers run to their cars as that is tradition.

 

[Michelin Man]

Away from the race-track, a big thanks to guys at RLM for me, as always providing an excellent broadcast, very much the back-drop to the LM24 for me as it is every year. .

 

[Downhill Dino]

One thing has me perplexed.

With the FIA going nuts over safety.
Why do they still let someone on track to wave the flag?

Is this another case of we ignore safety for tradition, if so.
I want to see the drivers run to their cars as that is tradition.

They do run to their cars still don't they? Just not an immediate start when you hop in.

 

[Grayfox]

They do run to their cars still don't they? Just not an immediate start when you hop in.

Rolling start now.

I want to see the classic style.
Run and Gun

 

[Hetare21]

FINALLY.
I am so much relieved.

 

[SilkCutXJR]

Chaps, it was great to share the experience with you. Hopefully we‘ll see each other on the screens for Silverstone!

 

[bdj57]

That's it. After many years of unfortunate chance and luck (it was begin since 90's though. Quite a long journey tbh) Toyota wins Le Mans for the first time in history! Congrats for both drivers and team they are doing a good job to keep the car running through race. Also, congrats for Porsche to gain more and more victory again in Le Mans. And for those who isn't satisfied, there is always next year 👍

Hope BMW and Aston could a bit more competitive next year though...

 

[nick98]

My reaction when Toyota won:


But still, a well-earned victory for Toyota despite the lack of competition. They've surely learned from the heartbreaks and disasters they had to endure in these years, and this year was the perfect time for them to finally win it. The fact that they won the 86th running of the race makes things even better. If you catch my drift... (pun not intended)

So, Mazda, about that voodoo doll you had for Toyota...

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Someone needs to edit that over the video when the Toyota's cross over the line.

I was thinking about doing just that, as soon as my fricken computer finishes loading everything.

 

[GTP_Patrick1]

1 minute ago
I was watching the race late last night and started tweeting to the broadcasters. They were talking about Derani and I tweeted this to them.

Patrick‏ @patrick19602005
Pipo Derani is a fantastic driver. His passes at Sebring and Daytona are legendary. #hotbox24

Then this happened on the broadcast a few minutes later.

 

[PzR Slim]

1 minute ago
I was watching the race late last night and started tweeting to the broadcasters. They were talking about Derani and I tweeted this to them.

Patrick‏ @patrick19602005
Pipo Derani is a fantastic driver. His passes at Sebring and Daytona are legendary. #hotbox24

Then this happened on the broadcast a few minutes later.

Ah, someone mentioned that a GTP member got a mention!

 

[adb]

GTE Pro was great, really enjoyed it

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

um...

 

[epic_apri_39]

I don't like that Toyota won but I'm going to turn a blind eye to Bentley's 2003 win. /s

Congratulations to Toyota though. Well deserved

 

[JohnBM01]

Allow me to get on with my musings of Le Mans 2018...

I saw as much as I could for Le Mans 2018. As someone who loved cars like the Toyota GT-One, I am extremely pleased that Toyota finally knocked down a Le Mans outright win. You could argue that Toyota only made it this far because there was nobody like Porsche or Audi challenging. Even this morning in a Facebook group, someone said that Toyota's Le Mans triumph shouldn't be as celebrated because of a lack of competition like Porsche and Audi in the LMP1 Hybrid ranks. Someone even mentioned Toyota's win was staged in that Facebook group. Let's not downplay this victory any more than it should- Toyota won Le Mans. They held together long enough and didn't beat themselves. This was probably their best chance to win Le Mans; and while they could have folded or not race as hard, Toyota kept going and did everything in their power to erase years of frustration in a majority of their international racing efforts. All in all, I'm proud for Toyota finally knocking this one down.

Not to be outdone, this Ferrari guy wants to salute Porsche on a job well done in the GT ranks. It was SO fun following the Pig Porsche! That Rothman's style Porsche was a good looker also. I thought those Rebellions were super sexy and sweet. I was pleased seeing Rebellion finish 3rd overall.

Aside these musings, it was great to finally follow Le Mans and get into the flow. I know I've been mostly out of the loop with sportscar racing of late, but I do enjoy seeing this great race. Le Mans is my Christmas as a racing fan. Everybody who races this great track and in this great race are all winners regardless of final finishing order. As for Velocity's full race coverage, I think I'm going to grade it C+. Maybe it wasn't quality coverage, but it was still very good for the most part. That is granted there weren't personalities like Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, Calvin Fish, Dorsey Schroeder, Justin Bell, Andrew Marriott, and the like. It was, though, great getting insight from The Great Dane- Tom Kristensen. It was still great to see. Well... let's get a countdown to Le Mans 2019 going!

And before I close this post... I see what you did there about 86, @nick98 ...

 

[BoneSawTX]

Congrats on their participation trophy.

 

[DesertPenguin]

It could have been a closer battle but we'll never know because the ACO put in stupid rules about fuel loads and and stint times. Took away any chance of a strategy win. Same with allowing fuel and tires at the same time. You used to be able to potentially get positions just by doing the tires faster than someone else.

 

[VspecZR1GT2RS89]

That's it. After many years of unfortunate chance and luck (it was begin since 90's though. Quite a long journey tbh) Toyota wins Le Mans for the first time in history! Congrats for both drivers and team they are doing a good job to keep the car running through race. Also, congrats for Porsche to gain more and more victory again in Le Mans. And for those who isn't satisfied, there is always next year 👍

Hope BMW and Aston could a bit more competitive next year though...

I know right? I am happy to hear that Toyota has finally broken their hardships at LeMans! :tup: Now they can be the next Japanese manufacturer behind Mazda who dominated the most grueling endurance race in history. Now when is Nissan going to be the third company from Japan to be on the legendary podium to win LeMans? I am happy that I heard they finally did it! Been a long time for them and I hope they return next year! But enjoy your victory Toyota and good luck with the rest of the season!

And another fantastic win from Porsche with their retro livery RSRs! Still showing who is thr ruler of GTE. There is no substitute.:tup:

Wish I could've watched the race! I couldn't find any sponsor or channel to watch the race! I had to read articles about the race online. Well I have to check YouTube and hope someone has it or at least the important parts and events during the race.

 

[desmodan]

Like everyone else I agree it would have been better race if Toyota had some competition , but let's not forget the toughest competition any endurance racer will face is reliability ,
and they handed that one a big can of whoopass !

 

[Bram Turismo]

It doesn't matter if Toyota had competition or not, both cars were driving as hard as they would've in any other scenario. After 20 hours they were still clocking in 3'19 laps, so they were far from cruising. Ultimately a mechanical issue could've set them back 20 laps, so they had no choice but to drive as hard as they would've otherwise.

This victory for Toyota means as much as it would've with Porsche and/or Audi. In the end, every manufacturer is racing against time, before things are bound to go bad. I'm just truly happy they've been spared from mechanical issues at last, this year the TS050 seemed absolute bulletproof.

Oh, and when those legend Porsche liveries are released in 1:18 scale, you better collect those. I reckon they will be going for a lot of money in the future.

 

[SilkCutXJR]

Oh, and when those legend Porsche liveries are released in 1:18 scale, you better collect those. I reckon they will be going for a lot of money in the future.

Very good point.

 

[Silent Drifter]

um...

Yes! Just how I imanged it!

 

[Northstar]

Oh, and when those legend Porsche liveries are released in 1:18 scale, you better collect those. I reckon they will be going for a lot of money in the future.

I doubt is since lots of people probably have similar mindsets (just like anything else labeled a "collectors item" before it even launches). The only way they will increase in value is if whoever makes them intentionally limits the production run to an extremely small number.

 

[kjeldsen]

Like everyone else I agree it would have been better race if Toyota had some competition , but let's not forget the toughest competition any endurance racer will face is reliability ,
and they handed that one a big can of whoopass !

If Porsche, Audi or Peugeot didn't want Toyota to win they should have entered the race and tried to beat them.

 

[Silent Drifter]

Peugeot had their new hybrid cars ready in 2012, they were already at Sebring ready for the season to start when management pulled the plug, it's 6 years old now though so wouldn't even be as quick as the current LMP2 cars.

When you think about it. It's kind of crazy how that is. Just 6 years, and LMP2 is on pace with it, or faster. Just shows how much development gets put into these cars over the years.

 

[Jezza819]

I started off Saturday morning being upset that I didn't have a commercial free stream through Motor Trend on Demand after paying for a premium membership. I wasn't so sure about Velocity and how they would handle the telecast. But now that the race is over I'm not quite as upset as before. The main thing is that the race was carried on one channel for the entire race instead of hopping all over the place like Fox used to.

Velocity had to follow Eurosport's commercial breaks so some breaks were very quick but still nowhere near as long as those 4 minute breaks American television has. But I still got very tired of seeing the same commercials for Velocity's stupid programs over and over again.

But overall it wasn't all that bad so if this is what North America is going to have for the next few years I think I can live with it.

Congrats to Toyota, G-Drive, and Porsche in both GTE classes.

 

[Brzlav]

It doesn't matter if Toyota had competition or not, both cars were driving as hard as they would've in any other scenario. After 20 hours they were still clocking in 3'19 laps, so they were far from cruising. Ultimately a mechanical issue could've set them back 20 laps, so they had no choice but to drive as hard as they would've otherwise.

This victory for Toyota means as much as it would've with Porsche and/or Audi. In the end, every manufacturer is racing against time, before things are bound to go bad. I'm just truly happy they've been spared from mechanical issues at last, this year the TS050 seemed absolute bulletproof.

I agree partly. On one hand, they had a pace and reliability that would have netted them the win in 2016 and 2017 as well. On the other hand, what they did was a long time trial. Direct fights on the track and/or more direct pressure from competitors could have made things a lot more difficult.

So in the end, I think their win is well deserved and it is not their fault that the other manufacturers withdrew - they certainly didn't kill off the competition by going overboard with their budget, but it (sadly) doesn't mean as much as it would've with real competition in the race.

It's a shame, really, they could've gone down in history as the team that beat the big budget competition...

 

[Crash]

Congrats to Toyota for finally getting a Le Mans win. They've been at this for so long, through so much heartbreak, and finally. Well earned.

 

[Spacegoat]

... until the post-race scrutineering reveals something that the stewards can disqualify it for...

That would have been the most Toyota way to lose the race.

 

[Dotini]

That would have been the most Toyota way to lose the race.

Are Toyota known and understood to be losers and cheaters?

Audi could not compete because of the massive loss of money and reputation earned by the diesel scandal. You could say, with honesty, that Audi lost at LeMans because they disqualified themselves.