The 2015 Le Mans Thread

[996GT2]

Anyone watching 24H of Le Mans this year?

Starting grid:
http://www.autosport.com/news/repor...tm_medium=social&utm_campaign=brand+awareness


So far, the talk of this year's race seems to be the front-wheel drive, front-engined Nissan GT-R Nismo LMP1 car. However, it seems to be doing 20 seconds/lap slower than the "proper" mid-engined LMP1 cars. Will be interesting to see if the Nissan can at least stay ahead of the fastest LMP2 cars.

 

[_Rick_]

Yeah, Nissan is either going to have to come back next year with a properly developed car, or they just wasted a ton of money on pretty negative PR. They'll be lucky to get one car to the finish, especially if they'll be running in the LMP2 field, where most of the traffic will be racing them for position....

Also notable: In quali trim, the Porsches are 2 seconds per lap faster than the Audis.
And compared to last year, their reliability is up significantly. Still not quite on Audi's level, but they actually lost the previous races in WEC this year not only due to reliability, but also because of other mishaps.
If they can pull a gap at the start and maintain it after the first pit stop, they should be able to drive the cars at below maximum pace, and still be able to hold the Audi's at bay.
Also, I hope Vilander/Bruni/Fisichella will recover from their Spa-disappointment. They're the most successful drivers Ferrari has had since Michael Schumacher, and I'm quite impressed by their performance, given that the 458GTE isn't one of the fastest cars on the grid - the Astons are as usual blowing the doors off of everything else in quali.
LMP2 is going to be a close fight, as usual - but one that I always find difficult to get excited for, since rarely are there names among the starters that really come with meaning.

 

[thescreensavers]

Last I checked its an endurance race, they are betting on good tire wear and to not have to change it much... we shall see how it goes

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Sounds like a PR nightmare for Nissan. I appreciate the boldness they have shown with the Deltawing and the GT-R Nismo car, but no amount of reliability and/or lack of tire wear is going to make up for a 20 second/lap speed deficit.

 

[996GT2]

Last I checked its an endurance race, they are betting on good tire wear and to not have to change it much... we shall see how it goes

20 seconds/lap deficit means they are getting lapped every 10 laps.

The only way they can win with that big of a speed deficit is if all of the other LMP1 cars crash or break down.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Sounds like a PR nightmare for Nissan. I appreciate the boldness they have shown with the Deltawing and the GT-R Nismo car, but no amount of reliability and/or lack of tire wear is going to make up for a 20 second/lap speed deficit.

i disagree. they got into it knowing they'd be at the back. the result they're after has largely already been achieved - publicly standing out from the crowd.

with so little development and track time, a brand new mid-engine car would also be way off the pace. who knows if the wrong-wheel-drive layout can compete with rear engine, rear drive if given thorough development? they've got and deserve applause for simply daring something different. i hope they tough it out long enough to score good results.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i'm cheering for:

1. mark webber
2. the hulk
3. anyone not driving an audi

i'd also like to see strong results from giancarlo fishyfella, chandhok, and bell.
no alex brundle this year. is he tied up with formula e?

 

[Skurge]

Yeah, Nissan is either going to have to come back next year with a properly developed car, or they just wasted a ton of money on pretty negative PR. They'll be lucky to get one car to the finish, especially if they'll be running in the LMP2 field, where most of the traffic will be racing them for position....

Also notable: In quali trim, the Porsches are 2 seconds per lap faster than the Audis.
And compared to last year, their reliability is up significantly. Still not quite on Audi's level, but they actually lost the previous races in WEC this year not only due to reliability, but also because of other mishaps.
If they can pull a gap at the start and maintain it after the first pit stop, they should be able to drive the cars at below maximum pace, and still be able to hold the Audi's at bay.
Also, I hope Vilander/Bruni/Fisichella will recover from their Spa-disappointment. They're the most successful drivers Ferrari has had since Michael Schumacher, and I'm quite impressed by their performance, given that the 458GTE isn't one of the fastest cars on the grid - the Astons are as usual blowing the doors off of everything else in quali.
LMP2 is going to be a close fight, as usual - but one that I always find difficult to get excited for, since rarely are there names among the starters that really come with meaning.

Nissan only started development just over a year ago? The car was supposed to be 4wd drive with with an 8MJ hybrid system. They couldn't get the hybrid system to work so they are carrying the weight of the system minus the power and minus rear drive. Also, since the hybrid system isn't working, they're braking is also effected. So they are running 550HP vs the 850HP+ for Audi, 1000hp for Toyota and probably 1100hp for Porsche. Less testing and less practice. This is the cars first race. From first qualifying they improved 5secs to the third qualifying. Give them till 2016 and that car will be competitive.

 

[_Rick_]

Sure, it just seems half-assed in comparison to Porsche's first season, for example.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

bon jour!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

hour 1 closes with a record pace - 18 laps/hour, over 400 laps / 3200 miles (record 398 laps).

...and simultaneously there's a big crash with 3 cars, a 911 goes up in flames

 

[The Boston Dangler]

now a "slow zone" (much slower than yellow) for safety has caused a huge crash

 

[k3n]

Someone (Felipe Albuquerque?) just obtained a lap time of 3:17.6 during the race.

2010 lap times during qualifying was 3:19.7. Damn!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans

 

[996GT2]

Someone (Felipe Albuquerque?) just obtained a lap time of 3:17.6 during the race.

2010 lap times during qualifying was 3:19.7. Damn!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans

The Porsche 919 and Audi R18 both have the ability to set new lap records during the race if things go right.

Meanwhile, the Nissan LMP1 car hasn't even managed to outpace most of the LMP2 cars yet. I get that it's their first year at Le Mans and all, but when you enter a car in the LMP1 class, it shouldn't be struggling to keep pace with the LMP2 class.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

10 hours in and it's been non-stop punishment for nissan.

2 porsches and 2 audis continuously shuffling through the top 4 as they cycle through pit stops. round and round they go, how they'll end up noone knows

 

[shabby]

You mean those fwd nissans are losing?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

we're halfway home! the big dogs are still going at it, too close to call.

You mean those fwd nissans are losing?

nissan has had an absolutely torrid race, nonstop punishment.

 

[core2slow]

Not to discredit Ben Bowlby's vision, but anyone feel that his past two ideas are a dud? The deltawing/zeod rc was a pretty radical concept but after 3-4yrs of development, it does not seem to advance anywhere. Good for a few laps until some catastrophic problem.

Now the gtr-lm nismo carry that same radical concept of fudge-packing everything up front with a hybrid system that's non-existent and I'm here wondering if nissan is trying to troll everyone or were ever serious in the first place.

 

[_Rick_]

Yeah, 51 is back in the lead
These guys are monsters!

And the Hulk looks in a position where his first 24 hours could be his first victory as well. Hope they keep running clean.

 

[_Rick_]

Meh, 51 dropped two positions due to a technical
Such a shame, they were running so well, until 2 hours before the end :-/
Still, hopefully they're on route for a podium. 10 more minutes!

 

[_Rick_]

And The Hülk wins a top-level championship race at last!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

what a great race!

 

[core2slow]

Congrats to Porsche! Only a few years back in the business for their 20th(?) win! Can't wait to see what audi does next. Obviously relying on aero alone won't cut it with a diesel engine and half a MJ vs Porsche.

 

[_Rick_]

Been in Zuffenhausen at the Porsche museum today, but left before the finish. Still, they had a nice party going, and some of their old race winners running, the first 917 winner, the GT98, a 962 and some class winners and other classics, as well as 2013's RSR class winner.

I'm pretty sure that a pretty big party is going down there right now. Maybe I should drive by the gates of the Weissach facility later today, where the cars come from. I wanted to go for a bike ride anyway

 

[foghorn67]

Big win for the #64 Team Corvette. They were just about faultless!