The Le Mans General Discussion Thread

[mister dog]

The season hasn't even started yet and we still don't know the specs for the cars?

3 months till Le Mans and you still don't have a clue?

Amateurs!

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

Amateurs!

Not really.

 

[SK8RBOI]

3 months till Le Mans and you still don't have a clue?

Amateurs!

I have narrowed it down to 4.

Porsche, Nissan, Toyota and Audi!

 

[The Stig Farmer]

Jumped in here and wanted to ask who are the contenders for the LMP1 win this year? Or will it be yet another audifest in your humble opinions?

Toyota will do pretty decent and Audi will steamroller La Sarthe

Pretty safe to say that.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Toyota will do pretty decent and Audi will steamroller La Sarthe

Pretty safe to say that.

Until their new more powerful hybrid leads to all three cars retiring within minutes of each other Peugeot style!

This is subject to being completely wrong due to Audi being Audi.

 

[mister dog]

I have narrowed it down to 4.

Porsche, Nissan, Toyota and Audi!

I really hope so, last years it was always Audi vs one contender that failed. The more competition the better 👍

 

[RACECAR]

Jumped in here and wanted to ask who are the contenders for the LMP1 win this year? Or will it be yet another audifest in your humble opinions?

The championship or the 24 Hour? Last I checked, The 24 hour wasn't Audi's race until the leading Toyota retired. The championship itself, well you already know.

 

[mister dog]

The championship or the 24 Hour? Last I checked, The 24 hour wasn't Audi's race until the leading Toyota retired. The championship itself, well you already know.

24hrs. Last i checked i saw Audi cross the finish line in 1st for the umpteenth time, hence me wondering what the competition looks like this year

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

The championship or the 24 Hour? Last I checked, The 24 hour wasn't Audi's race until the leading Toyota retired.

To finish first first you have to finish

 

[trustjab]

To finish first first you have to finish

Not really Toyota's fault. It was an fia sensor that failed. The #8 car's fate was on the shoulders of one driver (who no longer races for them). But, Audi had one car fail also, and the other two had to have their turbo's replaced. It was cruel to watch because mechanically, the Toyota ran trouble free

 

[R5]

24hrs. Last i checked i saw Audi cross the finish line in 1st for the umpteenth time, hence me wondering what the competition looks like this year

We simply don't know.

 

[RACECAR]

24hrs. Last i checked i saw Audi cross the finish line in 1st for the umpteenth time, hence me wondering what the competition looks like this year

To finish first first you have to finish

Point is, the race itself wasn't a "Audifest" as implied until the leading Toyota Retired (funny enough for a FIA part that failed)

Also, kinda silly to ask when the pre-season test hasn't happened yet AND the season hasn't begun.

 

[mister dog]

Also, kinda silly to ask when the pre-season test hasn't happened yet AND the season hasn't begun.

I'm not asking for form, just asking who is seen as possible competition for the Audi's at the 24hrs this year, something @SK8RBOI answered already. Seems like 2015 might be interesting because at least it's more than 2 contenders. Been a while.

 

[R5]

Seems like 2015 might be interesting because at least it's more than 2 contenders

I'd say... Not so much Porsche. Remember the cliché "It takes 3 years to win Le Mans" is a cliché for a reason (This also discounts Nissan who will probably need 4, with such a radical concept), and with the problems they experienced last year, that makes this year quite doubtful compared to Audi and Toyota.

So... 2 I guess.

 

[LancerEvo7]

I think Audi and Toyota will have the best shot, but anything can happen in 24 hours. Wasn't Porsche leading with an hour to go last year?

 

[Furinkazen]

I think Audi and Toyota will have the best shot, but anything can happen in 24 hours. Wasn't Porsche leading with an hour to go last year?

Yup and then it died.

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

I'd say... Not so much Porsche. Remember the cliché "It takes 3 years to win Le Mans" is a cliché for a reason (This also discounts Nissan who will probably need 4, with such a radical concept), and with the problems they experienced last year, that makes this year quite doubtful compared to Audi and Toyota.

So... 2 I guess.

Nissan are only commiting to 3 years so suppose that rules them out....

 

[Tyrone B]

Nissan are only commiting to 3 years so suppose that rules them out....

I thought it was only two years.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Their goal is to win Le Mans in 2016. Other than that, I really don't think they care about anything else.

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

I thought it was only two years.

3 year programme to win in 2 years if I remember correctly

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

Beechdean have bought GTE 001

My favourite livery at Le Mans.

 

[wowbaggerBR]

Looks like we were right when some of us said that the Sebring fiasco didn't looked so good.

Nissan will skip prologue and the first two WEC races

 

[Bram Turismo]

I think Audi and Toyota will have the best shot, but anything can happen in 24 hours. Wasn't Porsche leading with an hour to go last year?

Porsche have done better at their first attempt than Toyota has done in 3 years

 

[SagarisGTB]

Porsche have done better at their first attempt than Toyota has done in 3 years

How is that anywhere close to accurate? Toyota finished 2nd in their second year, while the 919s have yet to have a classified finish. Moreover, Toyota were closer to the pace in their first year than Porsche were and only force majeure prevented Toyota from winning in their third year.

 

[trustjab]

How is that anywhere close to accurate? Toyota finished 2nd in their second year, while the 919s have yet to have a classified finish. Moreover, Toyota were closer to the pace in their first year than Porsche were and only force majeure prevented Toyota from winning in their third year.

Porsche have done better at their first attempt than Toyota has done in 3 years

Like SagarisGTB said, Porsche won 1 race their first year back, under a safety car because their 2nd wec car crashed out. Toyota won 3 races their first year back with only 1 car entered in the wec. How do you figure thats a better performance? Even at LM, Toyota was crashed into and a slight mistake with the invisible DW took them out.

 

[sk8er913]

Looks like we were right when some of us said that the Sebring fiasco didn't looked so good.

Nissan will skip prologue and the first two WEC races

They failed their crash test.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/nissan-gt-r-lm-nismo-wont-race-at-silverstone-2015-03-17

Yup and then it died.

The Toyota died in the lead too, with 12 hours or so to go

 

[wowbaggerBR]

They failed their crash test.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/nissan-gt-r-lm-nismo-wont-race-at-silverstone-2015-03-17
The Toyota died in the lead too, with 12 hours or so to go

They deserved.

 

[CodeRedR51]

They deserved.

Great signature.

 

[aarror]

Honestly, I'm not too surprised they're going to miss the first couple rounds. If I were Nissan I would push back homologation as far as possible too, the more development time the better. Plus, it avoids the embarrassing and potentially damaging situation that Honda is going through in F1 right now. Lets hope Nissan put the extra time to good use. It's good to see someone take a new approach, even if it's one I don't particularly like.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Honestly, I'm not too surprised they're going to miss the first couple rounds. If I were Nissan I would push back homologation as far as possible too, the more development time the better. Plus, it avoids the embarrassing and potentially damaging situation that Honda is going through in F1 right now. Lets hope Nissan put the extra time to good use. It's good to see someone take a new approach, even if it's one I don't particularly like.

Well they can't homologate the car anyways if it isn't passing crash tests. But I agree they should focus on what you've said.