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- entertowin(1st) and niNjasPY55(2nd and m
BROHAM
I totally agree! Good shots guys! đź‘Ť
The Le Mans General Discussion Thread
- Thread starter arvin charles
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I totally agree! Good shots guys! đź‘Ť
- 3,587
If WEC is invited to any USC event/weekend, I hope they get their own separate round as was said upstream. France or whoever determines this stuff must realize that if Audi and other upcoming LMP1 machines such as Porsche aren't invited then they're limiting the potential exposure they get from the marketing monster that is Audi/Porsche/Toyota/etc. Especially Audi, though.
- 2,980
- The Ramapo Mountains
- jjaisli
I think separating the WEC events from USCR events in the future is inevitable. It made sense to run some rounds together, so long as the ALMS/ELMS/WEC used a common rule book, especially at iconic tracks/events like Sebring where some of the teams viewed it as a test bed for Le Mans. It's kind of a shame. To me, a large part of the ALMS appeal was having ALMS teams visit Le Mans and ELMS/WEC teams visit Sebring. The Le Mans 24 was never officially part of the ALMS series, but I think back to 2004(?) when ALMS teams took 3 different class wins and it's clear how things have changed.
All that said, as much as I like Sebring as an event, I have to agree with some of the comments on here, that it's iconic partially because of it's history and not necessarily it's configuration. COTA is in many ways, a much more exciting and much more challenging track.
BTW, that's one of my favorite shots too. Except for the (design) of the cars in the background, that picture looks like it could have been taken at any time during the past 50 years.
Nice pictures too Mac! So how does it feel watching those guys come storming through the chicane now that you've driven the track yourself?
I've been around Lime Rock a few times with the Audi Quattro club, but it was many years ago now and that chicane has since been reprofiled.
- 10,276
- Sacramento CA
- cnd01
Tower Turn 13
Too bad they've already finalized the decision that none of them will be allowed to race in the USCR unless they build a car to what the USCR puts in place as the spec. Plus, Audi has always rubbed me the wrong way every year in the Sebring victory lane when they inevitably say "We've got some good data for Le Mans." That's a slap in the face to Sebring demoting its importance to a 12 hour test session.
- 3,587
True, I agree about Audi devaluing Sebring, but I'll take Audi over NASCAR and unfortunately we're already stuck with that lot...but I won't get into that.
I suppose for me it would be enough to have a single round of WEC at an American track. If not just for the fact that they draw a viewership and are a hugely fun series to watch.
- 9,058
- Murica
- BasedAckbar
How is Audi devaluaing Sebring when they bring their A-Game to prepare for Le mans 24 hours?
They take Sebring very seriously.
They take Sebring very seriously.
- 5,551
- Controls set for heart of sun
- GTP_RogerTheHors
I'm not even american and I think the WEC should have more than one American round. The number of classic tracks and races there there (Sebring, Daytona, Road Atlanta, Road America, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Sonoma (or whatever they're calling it this week), Lime Rock, etc.) should be more than enough to merit a second WEC round, if not a third.
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- FLAT_TWELVE
I guess what cnd01 and TT13 say is that they'd like Sebring to stand on its own instead of being a 12 hours "shakedown" for Le Mans.
However, I do think Sebring stands on its own, as does Petit Le Mans. Much more than any other european race the big guns go to. Maybe it is because Spa and Silverstone are also GP venues, while at Sebring and Road Atlanta the BIG annual event features Sports Cars. IMHO, Daytona also lost a bit of character because (like Spa and Silverstone) it serves two masters.
Le Mans, in any case, is unique and unparalleled, nothing truly compares to it so I can understand that the big teams that fight at Le Mans for the outright victory may consider everything in between as "testing".
- 3,587
Yeah I guess to be fair Audi puts EVERYTHING into Le Mans. Like you said I'm sure every WEC round but that one is more or less testing. In the past I have heard some commentary that suggested they didn't really care much about Sebring, a little insulting the way things have been worded in the past, when there are other teams (not to mention the fans) who take it very seriously. For some of us it is our Le Mans, at least to me I care more about Sebring than Petit. But I also understand their ambitions and goals in Europe supersede what to them is a points-less American race. And even if they're going to call it testing, the way that track beats the living hell out of cars is quite a test. 
- 44,185
- Blackburn
- Furinkazen_54
- 3,019
- Essex
Hopefully this means we'll see them come back even stronger in 2014.
- 44,185
- Blackburn
- Furinkazen_54
Best of the rest at Le Mans though, a great drive.
- 44,185
- Blackburn
- Furinkazen_54
All this said, LMP2 is primarily open top, so we will see them still.
- 5,551
- Controls set for heart of sun
- GTP_RogerTheHors
I never got why everyone thought the LC2 was so good looking. Sure, it's got a great livery, but as soon as you compare it to a 956/962, a C9, an XJR-9, a 787B, or an awful lot of other Group C cars, you see that it really was a bit of an ugly duckling.
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- 44,185
- Blackburn
- Furinkazen_54
- 831
- Valley of the Sun
- WaReAgLe1997
- BCSAUBURN2010
Yeah, but I think the 2016 regs for P2 will make it closed top as with P1 in '14
- 5,551
- Controls set for heart of sun
- GTP_RogerTheHors
Group C. It's an oddity, a lot more angular than other Group C's.
And none of them, not even the gorgeous 956, are on the same level as a Ferrari 330 or a Porsche 917.
I think there are good reasons to move to closed cars, primarily safety. Look what's happened with some terrible accidents with open cars over the years, and you'll realise why.
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- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
I'm not so sure about that. We've already been shown that even in something closed-top, you are no safer.
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- gdwest1
- 35,468
- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
Best it would have done is stopped him from perishing that way. It won't stop you from perishing at all.
- 35,468
- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
You remember this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans? That car wasn't open topped yet unfortunately look what happened.
Motorsport is dangerous closed top or open top, won't change much. If that were actually true, then I can think of some driver deaths that technically shouldn't've happened because they were driving something enclosed.
freshseth83
(Banned)
- 8,246
- freshseth83
- 35,468
- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
My point is having closed top doesn't automatically stop the chance of a driver being killed. There's this belief that drivers will be much safer with a closed top when all it does is prevent Hungary 2009 from happening. Its not guaranteed to keep you from being killed should some freak occurance happen.
- 3,928
- PepsiMaxCrew
All depends on the type of accident. If its side, front/rear impact, or even a rollover it probably won't make a difference because the structure is so stiff anyway.
If there's heavy debris or parts flying about though... I'd want to be in a closed car with a Polycarbonate screen, etc.
If there's heavy debris or parts flying about though... I'd want to be in a closed car with a Polycarbonate screen, etc.
Tired Tyres
Premium
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- Tired_Tyres
- Tired Tyres
Alternatively with greater visibility from an open top car, he would have seen it coming and backed out of it and never had the accident in the first place?
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