All of my information comes from youtube videos and links usually posted by you, I used the term "as far as I know" which I chose wisely as I'm not completely up to date with all things LMGTR and expected someone to pull the old internet trick "you know nothing!!!" And spam me with updated links proving its eligibility,
Please explain how it isn't eligible... it's passed the crash tests (admittedly late, which meant they missed Silverstone and Spa due to the homologation deadline rules on newly crash-tested chassis'), it's running in the same ERS category as the winning Audi from last year, and is deploying that energy through the same wheels as the ICE, which is perfectly legal...
There are a lot of people on the internet who seem to be making 🤬 up about this car for some reason... the 'only as fast as an LMP2 car' one has come up recently and has no evidence to support it, just as the lack of evidence to support the other rumour that the car is not running any hybrid power is notable.
Whatever people think of Darren Cox and the way he markets Nissan and their motorsport activities (I find him a bit abrasive, but he understands how to market this stuff to young people and that's a good thing), and whatever people think of Ben Bowlby's credibility as a designer (I'll admit, I don't think the DeltaWing was any good, and he had a hand in some increasingly poor Lola Indycar chassis in the 90's...), they have put their reputation on the line and designed a car that innovates and defies conventional thinking on prototype racing cars, whilst at the same time making a lot of good sense in relation to the problems Le Mans offers engineers and car designers.
I'll repeat what others have said...
Nissan have
confirmed themselves that they are running in the 2MJ Hybrid sub-class, deploying the energy through the front wheels.
They passed all the mandatory FIA crash tests which means their car is perfectly safe to run in WEC races.
There is video evidence of the car exceeding 200mph (325kph) in testing whilst looking like it was easily capable of more, and there are RUMOURS that it has been clocked at 245mph in testing... that is unsubstantiated though. Even if it is only breaking 200 on the straights that will mean it will stream past the LMP2 cars who struggle to crack 190mph through the Mulsanne speed trap. The way the car produces downforce is quite innovative and whilst it is therefore hard to back their claims up with relevant evidence, I would suggest they are producing enough grip to beat the P2 cars in the bends too. The fastest LMP1 on the Le Mans speed trap last year? The #14 Porsche at 205.55mph... so if Nissan are capable of beating that figure by even 10-15mph they will gain bucketloads of time.
Those who criticise the car seem to fundamentally misunderstand what the car's concept is. It has massively reduced drag over 'traditional' LMP1 car shapes (Mulsanne Corner's Mike Fuller reckons as much as 20%+!), a powerful, if limited in energy recovery capacity right now, hybrid system and an innovative way of producing relatively drag-free downforce with the venturi tunnels and the aero-mechanical layout of the car. I am not calling this car a winner because the concept is unproven and the team has admitted to having issues delivering a car that fitted their whole design brief, but it is innovative and will turn heads at Le Mans for the right reasons.
As far as I remember, in order to be classified you need to cover 70% of the winning distance.
And nowadays you have to get the car out and running before the last hour as well.
I am!
