24 Hours LeMans 2005

[666fast]

I figured we could put everything into one big thread to make things easy.

Live Timing and Scoring: http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/live/pages/chronos_gb.html

It's also active during qualifying. Just leave the page open and it'll constantly refresh itself. It's not the best format, but it works. If there isn't any qualifying or race on, it shows it's last results.

Radio LeMans: mms://wmsglobecast.ld.mediawave.co.uk/globecast
Copy and paste that into windows media player. I forget the site address, listen for it while listening to the coverage, but you can send them an email and ask questions and such. I was listening to it earlier, they say there are some 11 million hits on their site today! :shock:
This will be th ebulk of my coverage, since I don't get Speed Channel. I might be going over to a friends to catch a bit of it on TV hopefully.

The ACO has put off it's 3:55 rule for this year it seems. First reports were that the C6R and Ferrari's would be given weight penalties. It's been changed to go into effect after the race. If any GT1 car runs 30+ laps at 3:55 or faster (which they will) the cars will be given a wieght penalty for all of next season. Pretty stupid IMO.

The new Pescarolo's seem to be damn fast. Both entries are roughly 2 seconds faster than the fastest R8 (Champion entry). The R8's were grandfathered in, with added wieght and smaller air restrictors. I think it'll be a reliability game for the R8's. We know they can last 24 hours (provided no accidents), but can the Pescarolo's?
Haven't heard much about the Courage, Dome or Dallara, Zytek or DBA. We should hear much more about them tomorrow (Friday) during qualifying.
Current standings:
1. Pescarolo #16
2. Pescarolo #17
3. Audi R8 #2 (Champion)
4. Dome Mugen (Jim Gainer)
5. Audi R8 #4 (Oreca)
6. Courage Judd #13 (Courage Competition)
7. DBA Judd #7 (Creation Autosportif)
8. Audi R8 #3 (Champion)
9. Dallara Judd #18 (Rollcentre Racing)
10. Zytek 04S #9 (Team Jota-Zytek)
11. Dome Judd #10 (Racign for Holland)
12. Courage Judd #12 (Courage Competition)
13. Dallara Nissan #8 (Rollcentre Racing)


In LMP1, I've heard pretty much nothing, even after listening to Radio LeMans for a few hours! LOL I know the Courage's have been pretty quick, but thats about it.
Current Standings:
1. Courage C65 #37 (Paul Belmondo Racing)
2. Lola AER #32 (Intersport)
3. Lola MG #25 (RML)
4. Courage AER #34 (Miracle)
5. Courage Judd #30 (Kruse Motorsport)
6. Courage AER #33 (Intersport)
7. Courage CG #31 (Del Bella Noel)
8. Courage C65 #36 (Paul Belmondo Racing)
9. Lola AER #39 (Chamberlain Synergy Motor)
10. Pillbeam JPX #20 (Bruneau Pierre)
11. WR Peugoet #24 (Rachel Welter)
12. WR #23 (Gerard Welter)
13. Courage C65 Judd #35 (G Force Racing)


In GT1 the Astons are leading the way right now. It's been bouncing all over today. Supposedly at one point, the Vettes we just behind Aston and Ferrari once was in the lead. I know the Vettes have been rumored to be sandbagging it. Plus, it rained. So I doubt many teams were pushing it too hard.
Tomorrow's times will be the important ones, but as it sits, it's like this:
1. Aston #58
2. Aston #59
3. Corvette #64
4. Ferrari #61 (Cirtek 550)
5. Corvette #63
6. Ferrari #50 (Larbre 550)
7. Ferrari #51 (BMS Scuderia 550)
8. Ferrari #52 (BMS Scuderia 550)
9. Ferrari #69 (JMB 575)

GT2, I also haven't heard much from GT2. Other than that Alex Job has been doing very well. As is Flying Lizard, it's their first year at LeMans. I have high hopes for them! I'm also surprised by Panoz, I didn't expect them to be doing this well this early.
Current Standings:

1. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #71 (Alex Job Racing)
2. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #80 (Flying Lizard)
3. Panoz Elan #77 (Panoz Motorsports)
4. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #76 (Raymon Narrac)
5. Panoz Elan #78 (Panoz Motorsports)
6. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #90 (White Lightning Racing)
7. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #91 (T2M Motorsports)
8. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #72 (LuC Alphand Adventures)
9. Ferrari 360 #93 (Scuderia Ecosse)
10. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #89 (Sebah Automotive)
11. Ferrari 360 #92 (Cirtek Motorsport)
12. TVR Tuscan T40 #95 (RaceSport Peninsula TVR)
13. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR #83 (Seikel Motorsport
14. Spyker C8 Spyder #85 (Spyker Squadron)

The standings are based off of the link I gave above. I just organized it by class to mke it easier to read.
I'll update it after tomorrows qualifying, then we'll have the grid order.

[detsan]

Thanks for the links! Radio le mans is brilliant.

Furthur info here:

http://journal.autosport-atlas.com/2005/lemans/radio.html

including the studio email:

[email protected]

Final grid:

http://www.radiolemans.com/

Great job 666fast, look forward to furthur updates!

[SFDMALEX]

Looks like the 550 has more grunt the the Vette, he just cant seem to get past, doesnt even close in on the straights with all that draft, this is a good battle, 3 car lengths the entire lap between the two :D




My god man, the GT1 cars are whooping the LMP 675 ass! GT1 has 11-15 lol.

[Mr.Vercetti]

These new C6-R are awesome..and they look soo compact comparing to the AM for instance..

[T-Bird]

Damnit I slept right through the beginning!

[mclaren_Gt]

wow in de lm1, the Audi R8, makes the 1-2-3 at 18/06/2005 à 21:18:02, cool audi rulz in lemans

[leo_26782]

What is the point of the LM2? I know they are fast on an absolute basis, but they are slower than the GT1, and I doubt it is a great technological show-case? Anyone have an explanation?

[leo_26782]

21h55: in GT1, 4 first cars are in little more than one lap: 2 Astons and 2 Corvette. GO ASTON MARTIN

[T-Bird]

well well in LMP1 it's an American team in 1st, in LMP2 an American Driver in 1st and GT1 an Amercan team in 1st and 2nd

[666fast]

What is the point of the LM2? I know they are fast on an absolute basis, but they are slower than the GT1, and I doubt it is a great technological show-case? Anyone have an explanation?

Almost all of the cars running in LMP2 are not up to spec. The next series of cars will be much much faster. Take a look at the new Lola.

I just got home, so I've just started listening to Radio LeMans. No Speed channel for me. :(

What I do know so far:
Pescarolos jumped to an early lead but have come under gearbox problems and broken steering due to accidents, giving the lead to Champion Audi #3.

Champion Audi #2 went off at Arnage into the wall and has fallen back to 4th.

Surprise of the race so far has been the Rollcentre Dallara-Judd currently running 2nd!

Aston Martin and Corvette have been trading off the GT1 lead early on, but the #58 Aston Martin has lead for a few hours now while the #59 car had it's front splitter replaced and suffered from 2 penalties. GT1 cars have already begun breaking into the Top 10 overall.

Panoz has suffered numerous problems in the fight for GT2, which they briefly led.

More cars out:
#39 Chamberlain Synergy Lola B05/40-Judd has withdrawn with gearbox failure.
#20 Pierre Bruneau Pilbeam MP93-JPX
#52 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550-GTS
#23 Gerard Welter WR04-Peugeot

The #85 Spyker Squadron Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R caught fire in the Porsche curves and has come to a halt, currently burning to the ground a bit, bringing out the safety cars for the 2nd time so far this race.

The #51 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550-GTS is also out as well, meaning the end for that team, as is the #13 Courage Competition Courage C60H-Judd which has been in the garage for a few hours.

#93 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 360GT Modena is out as well.

GT1 class cars are again creeping into the Top 10 overall, and the Top 5 in GT1 class are all within striking distance of one another.

#17 Pescarolo and #8 Rollcentre Dallara-Nissan collided on track, both are in garages getting repairs.

#69 JMB Racing Ferrari 575GTC has dropped out as well.

39 cars remain after 8 hours.

The #34 Miracle Motorsports Courage-AER is now out, more then likely disqualified after reversing the car back into the pits after a wheel fell off.

The #4 Oreca Audi is in the garage with front right suspension failure, their second suspension failure of the race.

[666fast]

From the ALMS Forums:

Basic Calculations show that the Pesca will need the Audi to have problems for them to win!

The Pesca #16 has been a consistant 1 to 2 seconds/lap faster.

It will need to be at least 3 sec/lap faster (and thats only if they have equal time in the pits).

I will say right now (with 13.5 hours to go) that unless Audi has something that forces them into the garage, there is no way for the Pesca to win.

Even with extra wieght and bigger restrictors, they still go out and prove thier worth! LOL

[RC45]

12 hours down

12 hours to go.

And where are those 550's? ;)

[ViperASR]

^^^^
crashed.......

go Audi, is it true that Audi is comming out with a new car for P1, and is porsche comming out with a new car for P2?

[666fast]

^^^^
crashed.......

go Audi, is it true that Audi is comming out with a new car for P1, and is porsche comming out with a new car for P2?

The Porsche P2 car was announced a few months back. Penske will get the first two and run them in ALMS.
As for the Audi, nothing I've heard says it is absolutely true. I think they will though, there are rumors of a diesel engine as well.

[SFDMALEX]

And where are those 550's? ;)

Down the field, off the pace.

But hey, Aston is leading so... :lol:

[T-Bird]

AAAHH the #2 Audi just messed something up it rammed the wall and sparks were flying everywhere as he went back to the pits where it's now back in the garage.

[blah]

Aston Steal Leads the way. What happen Compueware??? Sad first year the astons run and they are owning the Vettes in every race they compete it. God ASTON! :P

[blah]

Aston Steal Leads the way. What happen Compueware??? Sad first year the astons run and they are owning the Vettes in every race they compete it. GO ASTON! :P

[RC45]

Aston Steal Leads the way. What happen Compueware??? Sad first year the astons run and they are owning the Vettes in every race they compete it. GO ASTON! :P

Really? :) Not at the moment --- it is a 24 hour event... which doesn't end until hour 24... ;)

[666fast]

#64 Vette in the lead, passed the #59 Aston while it was in the pits. A lap or two later #59 had a puncture.

I really think the #16 Pescarolo will catch the #3 R8 from Champion, it's posting some very fast laps.

I dont' think anyone in GT1 is gonna let the ACO hit them with a weight penalty from the 3:55 rule. They are constantly posting lap times under it, then over it. Same in GT2, but 4:08 lap times.

About 5-6 hours left I think. I'm trying to stay up for the finish. Radio LeMans is really irritating me though. Works, doesn't work, works, doesn't work etc.....


Fehan said the Astons have a huge speed advatage, plus they are double stinting their tires. Which the Vettes can't do. Supposedly, the Vettes were supplied with a lower octane fuel than they are used too. :(

[RC45]

# Radio LeMans is really irritating me though. Works, doesn't work, works, doesn't work etc.....

The anti-Corvette sentiment is also a little irritating... everything from "they better win to sell some cars" - to "well if it wasn't for this or that the Corvette wouldn't be there" yada yada yada... "its not that the Corvette are going fast its that the Astons have had some issues..."

Excuses, excuses... :P

It's going to be a race to the flag..... :twisted:

[666fast]

Yup, it's gonna come down to the wire on this one.
Brabham overheated and cramped himself up in the Aston. Maybe his cold suit broke, which does the opposite when they don't work. They had him in the pits with ice all over him to cool him down.

That damn 16 Pescarolo still hasn't caught the Champion Audi. I'm beginning to think it isn't going to happen. The math says it's not gonna happen!
Pescarolo 17 hit the wall hard and dropped out.

#64 Vette is only 8 seconds off from 5th overall and the Jota Zytek. Damn impressive since there are still 9 P1's left!

It's an ALMS sweep in GT2 right now. Job, White Lightning and Flying Lizard. I'm damn impressed with Flying LIzard. Their first year and will probably be on the podium. Damn good team!

Just under 3 hours left!

[zondaland]

Can't wait for the Aston DBR9 v corvette race to the end, should be a nail biter. :D

Now if only someone was actually telecasting the damn race in Australia. :cry:

[666fast]

Tire problem for #59 Aston, falls 2 minutes behind #64 Vette!

#16 Pescarolo has some problem, in the pits, already lost almosta full lap. Looks like it'll be another win for the Audi R8!

Shame really, I would have liked to see the Pescie win!

[666fast]

Aston #58 has a puncture and running out of fuel!!!!!!!
Aston #59 overheating!!

GO VETTES!!! GO GO GO!!!!!!!!

[666fast]

The Vettes are now in first and second!!!

http://www-org.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/live/chronos/24h.htm

[SFDMALEX]

Congrats to the Vettes, not to bad not to bad :wink: Shame for the Astons though,,,,,,running out of fuel.......how embarising is that.

[666fast]

P1
1st Champion R8 #3 Lehto, Werner, Kristensen
2nd Pescarolor Judd #16 Collard, Boullion, Comas
3rd Champion R8 #2 Biela, Pirro, McNish

P2
1st RML Lola MG #25 Erdos, Newton, Hughes
2nd Belmondo Courage C65 #36 Gosselin, Ojjeh, Sharpe
3rd Belmondo Courage C65 #37 Belmondo, Andre, Sutherland

GT1
1st Corvette C6R #64 Gavin, Beratta, Magnussen
2nd Corvette C6r #63 Fellows, O'Connel, Papis
3rd Aston Martin #59 Brabham, Sarrazin, Turner

GT2
1st Alex Job Porsche #71 Hinderly, Rockenfeller, Lieb
2nd White Lightning Porsche #90 Bergmiester, Long, Bernhard
3rd Flying Lizard Porsche # Van Overbeek, Pechnik, Neiman

What a race!! I was worried that the Astons would catch up to the leading Vette and BAM! They both go down! At the same time! Unbelievable! The #59 Aston sat in the pits for some time, I wasn't sure if it would come back out.
It's too bad it was a tad bit earlier in the race, the 550 was rapidly gaining on them, but there just wasn't enough time left!

The R8 wins another one. What a track record for that car, 67 wins, 48 poles! Thats one hell of a record! The best part: Wolfgang Ulrich "I can tell you we will stay in prototypes and we will win LeMans" I can't wait!

GT2 was an ALMS sweep! I must say, Flying Lizard has gone way beyond my expectations, 3rd postition in class and it's their very first LeMans! Had Miracle not gotten themselves DQ'd, it could have been an american team sweep of all major classes! P2 went to a British team.

Next year, I'm either going to LeMans, getting speed channel, or praying for pay per view! I'm aiming for option 1!

Congrats to all the winners!

Overall positions

http://img69.echo.cx/img69/5786/overall123wn.th.jpg (http://img69.echo.cx/my.php?image=overall123wn.jpg)

http://img69.echo.cx/img69/2295/overall131td.th.jpg (http://img69.echo.cx/my.php?image=overall131td.jpg)

[SFDMALEX]

550 was actually catching up? Well I dont know what happend with the 550s, but Im very dissapointed, it should have been a tight 3 way fight.....

[RC45]

So - old tech push rod V8's with bad HP/L have won the 24 hour endurance race .

Having arrived in 2000 as the rookie and finishing 3rd & 4th - winning in 2001 and then again in 2002 - a forgivable slip in 2003 to 2nd & 3rd but returned to win in 2004... and now again in 2005... :)

That's 4 wins out of 6 starts - and 100% finish rate - The Ferrari couldn't do it - neither could the Aston... come on Porsche, be real men and enter a GT1 class car (instead of beating up on GT2 weaklings) and let's have a real battle in 2006... ;)

BTW - we didn't show our "potential" - we showed our true colours. :) Looks like they just sold every C6 Z06 they can produce, to go to all those F-Car and Porker fans who want to be driving a winner.. :P

[blah]

I will give corvette credit for that 1-2 win. I fell asleep with 1 hour left. How did they get around the Astons? I know Aston was having some heat problems inside the cars.

[DTM8]

come on Porsche, be real men and enter a GT1 class car (instead of beating up on GT2 weaklings) and let's have a real battle in 2006... ;)



bah, so true. As much as I love Porsche, I would like to see them actually get challenged in the GT1 class.

[blah]

If Porsche wanted to they could. I think Aston has given Compuware team the best run for their money since they entered. The ferrari team is just plain terrible. They were out before 12 hours.

I did wake up for the Checkered flag, that was cool.

Now im watching Grand Am Cup racing on speed, before this F1, and before that Le mans. The best thing is there is no nascar on Speed! GOod day indeed. 8)

[666fast]

550 was actually catching up? Well I dont know what happend with the 550s, but Im very dissapointed, it should have been a tight 3 way fight.....

Yup, they had some problems at the beginning. I think they got hit with the 3:55 rule and had to carry an extra 65Kg. They weren't catching the Vettes. They were catching the remaining Aston as it sat in the pits. Had it happened a little earlier, they could have caught and passed them. As it was, they were too far behind to take 3rd in class.

I will give corvette credit for that 1-2 win. I fell asleep with 1 hour left. How did they get around the Astons? I know Aston was having some heat problems inside the cars.
One Aston was running out of gas and had a puncture. The other overheated badly. They both ended up in the pits for quite sometime. One car withdrew, the other got back on the track at the last minute.
When it happened, one Vette was in the lead, but one Aston was nipping at it's heels. So when they both went down, it left the door wide open for both Vettes to just scream by and coast to Victory. Much like what happened at Sebring! LOL

come on Porsche, be real men and enter a GT1 class car (instead of beating up on GT2 weaklings) and let's have a real battle in 2006...

St Anger did mention a 997 GT1 at one point. Even if it happens, it's a ways off. I would think they are more concerned with their upcoming P2 program.

Audi did deliver as usual its all in a days work

Almost a shame it's the R8's last LeMans. At least they went out with a win. Truth be told, had the Pescarolo's not run into the problems they did, they would have smoked the R8's. They were anywhere from 5-8 seconds faster each lap.

Don't count the Astons out just yet! They have proved themselves to be damn good! If anyone can give the Vettes a good run for their money, it's them. Rumor has it, that Bells original plan of getting two Vettes has changed to two Astons for ALMS. PCM has supposedly ordered two C6R's as well.

[RC45]

To finsh first, you first have to finish.

:)

[irrational_i]

It was a great Le Mans. I was very sad for the Astons. They looked and sounded great. I am sure they will be back next year.
I do not understand why the Ferraris did so badly though. They where way off the pace.

I also do not understand why so many mechanics can not bolt a wheel on tight! :lol:

A good result for Chevrolet. Reliability wins Le Mans.
I was also very sad for Vanina Ickx. Pity the car let them down. I think they deserved better.

I am also looking forward to a Porsche in GT1. I was curious to know, if possible, where a BMW M3 GTR would compete. Are they legal for Le Mans?
I would assume GT2, where they can really harry the Porsches. Just to make things more interesting there, of course!

[666fast]

I was curious to know, if possible, where a BMW M3 GTR would compete. Are they legal for Le Mans?

It's not legal for LeMans. They compete at numerous events in Germany. 24H of Nurburgring being the big one.

[SnakeBitten]

That's 4 wins out of 6 starts - and 100% finish rate - The Ferrari couldn't do it - neither could the Aston... come on Porsche, be real men and enter a GT1 class car (instead of beating up on GT2 weaklings) and let's have a real battle in 2006... ;)



Careful what you wish for. Remember what happened when a Factory backed experienced team ran in the Vettes class back in late 90's early 00...If Porsche gets into GT1 look out Vettes and everyone else.

Seriously though, I really wish there was real competition for the Vettes it would make the class a bit more exiting. Maybe American cars need to be banned from GT1 so that the other cars can have a chance lol...

[666fast]

Seriously though, I really wish there was real competition for the Vettes it would make the class a bit more exiting.

Ahem, Aston Martin is real competition! They may have had some problems, but they are a serious threat to the Vette team. Not all races are 24 hours. The Astons ARE faster.
Had the ACO not pulled thier usual nonsense, they Saleen might have been there. The new engine package with it's new tires, the Saleen is much quicker.

[SFDMALEX]

Maybe the Vettes should enter a series with some real competition? No one wants to race in ALMS, and the place to be for GT competition is FIA GT, so Id love to see the ALMS/LM Vette Team to race there.


The Vette is the best endurance GT out there by far. But we havent really saw how it goes in a typical 3 hour GT race. ALMS......well no decent teams race in ALMS and for the short period of time that the prodrive 550s were in ALMS it showed that it could have been some intense competition in that class.

[666fast]

Maybe the Vettes should enter a series with some real competition? No one wants to race in ALMS, and the place to be for GT competition is FIA GT, so Id love to see the ALMS/LM Vette Team to race there.

Maybe the teams in FIA should run in the ALMS, seems it would be more prudent if they wish to win at LeMans. Damn near a total ALMS sweep of GT1 and GT2.

The Vette is the best endurance GT out there by far. But we havent really saw how it goes in a typical 3 hour GT race. ALMS......

The Vettes ran with no problems at Road Atlanta and Mid Ohio.

well no decent teams race in ALMS and for the short period of time that the prodrive 550s were in ALMS it showed that it could have been some intense competition in that class.

:shock: No decent teams in ALMS? What world do you live in? Count the ALMS teams that took class wins. 7 out of 12, not too shabby.

Why the 550's jumped ship is beyond me, most likely because it's cheaper to run in Europe. They were good, but I don't think they would have laid waste to the Vettes like everyone seems to think they would.

[T-Bird]

Actually there are a lot of big time teams in ALMS alot of the big timers at the 24 Lemans race are ALMS regulars aswell Granted the field isn't as extensive but it's still a good turnout.

The Corvettes are going to probably do some changes to their cars to get them just that little bit faster than the Aston's I mean they are a Factory team and have backing up the ass so there is no way they are going to let Aston pull a quicky on them that easily. but we will see...

[SFDMALEX]

Maybe the Vettes should enter a series with some real competition? No one wants to race in ALMS, and the place to be for GT competition is FIA GT, so Id love to see the ALMS/LM Vette Team to race there.

Maybe the teams in FIA should run in the ALMS, seems it would be more prudent if they wish to win at LeMans. Damn near a total ALMS sweep of GT1 and GT2.

The Vette is the best endurance GT out there by far. But we havent really saw how it goes in a typical 3 hour GT race. ALMS......

The Vettes ran with no problems at Road Atlanta and Mid Ohio.

well no decent teams race in ALMS and for the short period of time that the prodrive 550s were in ALMS it showed that it could have been some intense competition in that class.

:shock: No decent teams in ALMS? What world do you live in? Count the ALMS teams that took class wins. 7 out of 12, not too shabby.

Why the 550's jumped ship is beyond me, most likely because it's cheaper to run in Europe. They were good, but I don't think they would have laid waste to the Vettes like everyone seems to think they would.

Did you see FIA GT mate? Tons more money there, their races are as packed as F1 races, FIA GT weekends are full great support races, plus WTTC. I see no reason for any European teams to run there when they can run in FIA GT were there is tons more money.

Did you see the car variety there? Just look at my sig.

As much as I would love to see ALMS turn out into anything good, its not happening.

What teams in ALMS? Im not talking about the prototype classes...thats a different story. Im talking about GT/GTS teams. GTS class is a joke. GT class is all Porsche. MIght aswel watch Carrera Cup.

Who ever said they would lay the vettes to waste? I said there would have been some intense competition.

And yeah prodrive pulled out because of money why else? Afterall its all about money, and there is none for them in alms......





anyway to be brutaly honest its all fucking bullshit if you ask me.


We should have a big Le Mans series. WLMS, NOT LEMS, and not ALMS.

There should be a big world championship like back in the day. Anything thats even close to that is this one Le Mans race we get once a year :?

[666fast]

The Corvettes are going to probably do some changes to their cars to get them just that little bit faster than the Aston's I mean they are a Factory team and have backing up the ass so there is no way they are going to let Aston pull a quicky on them that easily. but we will see...

The Vettes were way down on power. When they race here, they are supplied with 110octane race gas. At LeMans, they were given 94octane fuel. The Vettes had to lower the compression of the engine and no doubtedly, lost a lot of power.

That said, you can bet Fehan will do whatever it takes to win.

[SFDMALEX]

The Corvettes are going to probably do some changes to their cars to get them just that little bit faster than the Aston's I mean they are a Factory team and have backing up the ass so there is no way they are going to let Aston pull a quicky on them that easily. but we will see...

The Vettes were way down on power. When they race here, they are supplied with 110octane race gas. At LeMans, they were given 94octane fuel. The Vettes had to lower the compression of the engine and no doubtedly, lost a lot of power.

That said, you can bet Fehan will do whatever it takes to win.

Yeah the Vettes were down quite a bit, it was interesting to watch when the Vette was 1 car length behind the 550 and could never close in with all that draft......

Were they the only team supplied with the lower octane fuel? And why?

[666fast]

Did you see FIA GT mate? Tons more money there, their races are as packed as F1 races, FIA GT weekends are full great support races, plus WTTC. I see no reason for any European teams to run there when they can run in FIA GT were there is tons more money.

There isn't more money in FIA. Maybe in total field value. Check the ROI on ALMS, one of the best ratings in motorsport.

As much as I would love to see ALMS turn out into anything good, its not happening.

Dead wrong. PCM has two Vettes coming, Bell bought two Astons, Rahal is supposedly going to run 2 Astons, MAM has two of something (C5R's supposedly)
That doesn't even come close to the new LMP teams.

Want Ferrari or Porsche in GT1? Tell Ferrari and Porsche to get off their butts and build a GT1 car. Prodrive can't do everything.

We should have a big Le Mans series. WLMS, NOT LEMS, and not ALMS.

There should be a big world championship like back in the day. Anything thats even close to that is this one Le Mans race we get once a year

And raise prices to be competitive so high, it'll be a repeat of the "glory" days, when it damn near killed off sportscar racing for good.

Seems knocking the ALMS is just as fashionable as knocking american cars, regardless of how good it is. :roll:

Many of the ALMS teams are more than able to run circles around the majority of the European teams, yet ALMS just isn't as good. :roll:

[SnakeBitten]

Seriously though, I really wish there was real competition for the Vettes it would make the class a bit more exiting.

Ahem, Aston Martin is real competition! They may have had some problems, but they are a serious threat to the Vette team. Not all races are 24 hours. The Astons ARE faster.
Had the ACO not pulled thier usual nonsense, they Saleen might have been there. The new engine package with it's new tires, the Saleen is much quicker.

When some one beats the Vette team consistantly[read more than once] then I consider that competition...Who cares if the Aston or Saleen is faster..Remember this is an endurance race not a drag race..None of them are there at the end to challenge the Vettes....We all know on paper they are capable of competing with the Vette but it take more than speed to win these races....The only cars that gave the Vettes are real run for the money, actually beat em up good, was the American factory backed Oreca Vipers...Would love to see how the factory Vipers would stack up now..I think they would be swapping wins. I miss those days.

[666fast]

The Corvettes are going to probably do some changes to their cars to get them just that little bit faster than the Aston's I mean they are a Factory team and have backing up the ass so there is no way they are going to let Aston pull a quicky on them that easily. but we will see...

The Vettes were way down on power. When they race here, they are supplied with 110octane race gas. At LeMans, they were given 94octane fuel. The Vettes had to lower the compression of the engine and no doubtedly, lost a lot of power.

That said, you can bet Fehan will do whatever it takes to win.

Yeah the Vettes were down quite a bit, it was interesting to watch when the Vette was 1 car length behind the 550 and could never close in with all that draft......

Were they the only team supplied with the lower octane fuel? And why?

All teams got the same fuel, it's just that the ALMS teams are used to using 110octane, where as the European teams use 94 octane all season. It's a rather big disadvantage for the ALMS teams.

[666fast]

Seriously though, I really wish there was real competition for the Vettes it would make the class a bit more exiting.

Ahem, Aston Martin is real competition! They may have had some problems, but they are a serious threat to the Vette team. Not all races are 24 hours. The Astons ARE faster.
Had the ACO not pulled thier usual nonsense, they Saleen might have been there. The new engine package with it's new tires, the Saleen is much quicker.

When some one beats the Vette team consistantly[read more than once] then I consider that competition...Who cares if the Aston or Saleen is faster..Remember this is an endurance race not a drag race..None of them are there at the end to challenge the Vettes....We all know on paper they are capable of competing with the Vette but it take more than speed to win these races....The only cars that gave the Vettes are real run for the money, actually beat em up good, was the American factory backed Oreca Vipers...Would love to see how the factory Vipers would stack up now..I think they would be swapping wins. I miss those days.

Damnit guys, slow down! Everytime I make a post, there is a new one to answer!

The Astons are pretty much brand new cars. Very few races under their belt and to do this good at their first LeMans, you can bet it's a damn good car. We won't see the DBR9 back in ALMS this year, save for maybe one or two races, so we'll have to wait for next year to see how they do against each other.
I believe the ACEMCO Saleen is more than able to beat the Vettes. They always have bad luck and stupid problems though. They got royally screwed this year when the ACO said their wing was too big, only to give it back and say it wasn't.

The Vipers were good, but despite rumors, I don't see them coming back to ALMS, LMES, or LeMans. Unless someone like Prodrive, picks one up and does the development work themselves. The Speed World Challenge is packed to the gills with Vipers, so maybe we'll see one eventually, but not a factory backed program. If it happens, then YAY!! but I'm not counting on it.

[SFDMALEX]

Seriously though, I really wish there was real competition for the Vettes it would make the class a bit more exiting.

Ahem, Aston Martin is real competition! They may have had some problems, but they are a serious threat to the Vette team. Not all races are 24 hours. The Astons ARE faster.
Had the ACO not pulled thier usual nonsense, they Saleen might have been there. The new engine package with it's new tires, the Saleen is much quicker.

When some one beats the Vette team consistantly[read more than once] then I consider that competition...Who cares if the Aston or Saleen is faster..Remember this is an endurance race not a drag race..None of them are there at the end to challenge the Vettes....We all know on paper they are capable of competing with the Vette but it take more than speed to win these races....The only cars that gave the Vettes are real run for the money, actually beat em up good, was the American factory backed Oreca Vipers...Would love to see how the factory Vipers would stack up now..I think they would be swapping wins. I miss those days.

Regular ALMS races arent 24 hours long though, and the Astons can do a 3 hour race.....but still........2 cars fighting? I want more :cry:

[gucom]

Hey guys... Le Mans was absolutely awesome, i had never been to a race before, and this was a GREAT way to start :D I didn't take many pictures, but the pics i did take will be uploaded ASAP...i have about 40 of em...

The cars were nice, the ppl were nice, the noise was incredible but nice, even the track officials were nice when they kicked me out of the pit lane :P
The sun was not so nice tho...saturday i was sitting in the sun thinking "i wish it would be like this in holland more often", not wearing any sunblock...boy did i pay for that on sunday...my neck is totally burnt, my arms and everything hurts as soon as a tiny bit of sunlight hits them...crrrap...
Anyway, those cars were insanely fast, on the straights when they were doing 335 or something...WOW :D and in the corners they were great too...porsche curves ROCK :twisted:

And ofcourse many of the visitors had nice cars, after awhile i caught myself thinking a TVR was nothing special...ive seen probalby hundreds of TVR's, dozens of Lotuses, a Gallardo, a Mosler, 2 Ultima GTR's (and ive sat in 1 8) ), some ferrari's, a Miura in a car park that i wasn't allowed to go into :cry: , lots of caterhams, lots of porsches, well just lots of everything except super high end supercars...altho there were a Invicta, a Zonda F, a Koenigsegg CCR and an Edonis on showcase :D :D :D so i shouldn't complain :) And also some old cars from the Le Mans Historic race, including a GT40 8)

Ah well i'll wait for my mom to get home so she can show me how to get the pics from the camera to the computer :P (ive never used this digital camera b4)

[Bugattiart]

Two very special prints that Tom Kristensen (7 times Le Mans winner)signed yesterday for my Fiancé Tina, and for me with his personal thanks for the drawing that I made as a tribute to him!!!
Translated from Danish to English it says: "Hi Carsten"
"My Big Race....forever immortalised by your pen ....Thank you!"

"TOM K :) "



http://www.supercars.net/pitlane/pics/1386791c.jpg
http://www.supercars.net/pitlane/pics/1386791d.jpg



You will find more on this at my website:http://www.bugattiart.com by entering the site and looking in the "Automotive Legends Gallery"!!!
http://www.supercars.net/pitlane/pics/1384409b.jpg


Carsten Christiansen
Automotive artist