Endurance Racing News Thread

KenSwee

So now that the WEC has ended it's first season, whats does everybody think of it?

For me, I think it's got great potential but I'm not sure how it's doing regarding TV coverage. I think 6 hours is too long for a full live coverage. TV seems to be the ball breaker for so many championships but I actually think that this championship can buck the trend if they get good attendances at the race.

Can the championship survive with just two major manufactures teams? I certainly like to see Porsche, BMW or even Alfa/Maserati in the championship.

SniperSight

Agree with it having great potential.
Porsche are gonna be returning to the prototype battle next year at Le Mans, so if that goes well maybe we'll see at least 3 big names at the front. I think there was another major joining the LMP1 category, but I just can't think who it is/might be.

Toyota have defo upped their game, so a full WEC season could be quiet a close run thing.

And the P2 and GT classes always produce great racing and excitement, always worth a watch.

Looking forward to what next year delivers.

frostie500

I've been very impressed. Over at Sebring there was a lot of optimism for the year ahead but I dont think anyone thought that we'd have had such a good season but Toyota really stepped up to the mark.

Going forward the changes in the US mean that we won't have the Sebring 12 Hours on the calendar and with the Petit Le Mans being just ALMS this year that's two of the biggest "non Le Mans" races lost, and they're a big loss.

Audi have confirmed they'll race at Sebring in 2013 but I cant see them committing beyond that. At least they'll still race in Texas next year so there will be some US presence but the history of Sebring makes it a very special race for every sportscar fan so the sooner it gets back on the calendar the better.

The Deltawing got a lot of positive press which is always good for the series and the TV deal is a great one. We had live coverage of all races, with most shown in their entirety, and while there are very few people that will sit through 6, 12 or 24 Hours of coverage its great the few of us that love it!

KenSwee

frostie500 wrote: »

I've been very impressed. Over at Sebring there was a lot of optimism for the year ahead but I dont think anyone thought that we'd have had such a good season but Toyota really stepped up to the mark.

Going forward the changes in the US mean that we won't have the Sebring 12 Hours on the calendar and with the Petit Le Mans being just ALMS this year that's two of the biggest "non Le Mans" races lost, and they're a big loss.

Audi have confirmed they'll race at Sebring in 2013 but I cant see them committing beyond that. At least they'll still race in Texas next year so there will be some US presence but the history of Sebring makes it a very special race for every sportscar fan so the sooner it gets back on the calendar the better.

The Deltawing got a lot of positive press which is always good for the series and the TV deal is a great one. We had live coverage of all races, with most shown in their entirety, and while there are very few people that will sit through 6, 12 or 24 Hours of coverage its great the few of us that love it!

I'm really disappointed that the Sebring 12 hours is not on the calender for next year. It's right up there with Le Mans and Daytona 24 hours. Is Daytona off the potential calender because of contractual issues with Grand Am or is it because the prototypes are no longer suitable for the track?

It's good to hear that Porsche is going to be there next year. Shame Ferrari won't do another version of their 333SP. WEC needs an Italian marque in it.

I'd love to see the Spa 24 hours or Suzuka 12 hours back on the list.
Taking a look at the races for next years ELMS, it's pretty clear that it's taken a back seat to WEC in Europe. It seems to be a support set up for Renault http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/103591.

Overall, I'm really happy that the WEC gets TV coverage but I'm afraid my life at the moment wouldn't allow me to watch 6 hours all in one go

frostie500

KenSwee wrote: »

I'm really disappointed that the Sebring 12 hours is not on the calender for next year. It's right up there with Le Mans and Daytona 24 hours. Is Daytona off the potential calender because of contractual issues with Grand Am or is it because the prototypes are no longer suitable for the track?

It's good to hear that Porsche is going to be there next year. Shame Ferrari won't do another version of their 333SP. WEC needs an Italian marque in it.

Yeah since the early ninties, I think about 92 or 93, the Daytona 24 Hours has been regulated as a different class of rules from "Le Mans specs." This came about due to the huge cost of prototype racing at the time and the Grand Am series was much more of a stock formula in comparison.

Since then the Daytona International Speedway has been happy for the race to continue with Grand Am and with large fields they wont be making a change anytime soon. If the WEC was interested in returning to Daytona (and its pretty clear that they arent) they'd need to offer a pretty sizeable chunk of cash to show the organisers the benefits of the championship.

It would be fantastic to see the 24 Hours back on a World championship level but unfortunately the US is such a fragmented scene at present that there's little chance of anyone looking at it from a global perspective as opposed to from their own interest.

KenSwee wrote: »

I'd love to see the Spa 24 hours or Suzuka 12 hours back on the list.
Taking a look at the races for next years ELMS, it's pretty clear that it's taken a back seat to WEC in Europe. It seems to be a support set up for Renault http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/103591.

My own 2c on what I'd in like to see for sportscar racing would be like this:

I think that it's good to have some races as standalone from the WEC. The likes of the Spa 24 Hours works well in its current format and it doesnt have the history/tradition of other races to warrant a 24 Hour race on a WEC calendar. Having it as a 6 Hour race is sufficent and the 24 Hour race as its own entitiy works fine.

The same goes for most race. Having historic venues such as Silverstone, Spa etc is great for the WEC but the 24 Hour races should be limited to just Le Mans (and at some point in the future Daytona) where they have a long standing elite level sportscar tradition.

Add into that the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans and you would have four of the biggest sportscar races in the world on an endurance calendar with Silverstone, Monza, Spa, Suzuka, Interlagos and somewhere like India/Abu Dhabi where they can have a great facility and bring in a new audience etc.

And then have standalone races at tracks like Spa and the old Nuburgring that would have their 24 Hour races. Suzuka for its 12 Hours with 8 Hour races at Sepang, Philip Island (or some other Aussie venue) and Aragon. From these six races (and maybe add another four) that would be non-championship races teams in the WEC would be contractually obliged to race in, lets say, three of them a year to help promote both the races and sportscars in general.

You could have a situation where the championship is fought over six or seven races ranging from 6-12-24 Hour durations on three continents with some of the most historic races in the world. And in a addition you would also have 10 (or however many other sportscar races) that teams would have to enter and allow for huge promotion of local races and series.

dcr22B

frostie500 wrote: »

And then have standalone races at tracks like Spa and the old Nuburgring that would have their 24 Hour races. Suzuka for its 12 Hours with 8 Hour races at Sepang, Philip Island (or some other Aussie venue) and Aragon. From these six races (and maybe add another four) that would be non-championship races teams in the WEC would be contractually obliged to race in, lets say, three of them a year to help promote both the races and sportscars in general.

The Bathurst 12 Hours is run to GT3 rules although there are other lesser classes to boost the entry.

Grim.

Chris Harris drives the Delta Wing at Road Atlanta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_INdbXMqsw

ARGINITE

Grim. wrote: »

Chris Harris drives the Delta Wing at Road Atlanta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_INdbXMqsw

It's worth subscribing to Drive for Chris Harris and for the Big Muscle segment too, I find the rest of the presenters annoying.

Grim.

Audi testing with full width Toyota style rear wing at Yas Marina, sorry wheel arch extensions

frostie500

Audi announced this morning that they'll be sending two 2012 spec R18's to Sebring "for the last time"

Killinator

frostie500 wrote: »

Audi announced this morning that they'll be sending two 2012 spec R18's to Sebring "for the last time"

Is that Audi's last time @ Sebring or the last outing of a 2012 spec R18 I wonder.

Grim.

Killinator wrote: »

Is that Audi's last time @ Sebring or the last outing of a 2012 spec R18 I wonder.

LMP1 racing in the US ceases to exist as of 2014 because of the ALMS Grand AM merger, so this will be the last Sebring with LMP1 and possibly LMP2 for a long time i think.

Killinator

Grim. wrote: »

LMP1 racing in the US ceases to exist as of 2014 because of the ALMS Grand AM merger, so this will be the last Sebring with LMP1 and possibly LMP2 for a long time i think.

Not the answer I was hoping for

Grim.

24 HOURS OF LE MANS ENTRY LIST

LMP1 (8 entries)

1 – Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro – Andre Lotterer
2 – Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro – Tom Kristensen
3 – Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro – Marc Gene
7 – Toyota Racing – Toyota TS030 Hybrid – Alexander Wurz
8 – Toyota Racing – Toyota TS030 Hybrid – Anthony Davidson
12 – Rebellion Racing – Lola B12/60 Toyota – Nicolas Prost
13 – Rebellion Racing – Lola B12/60 Toyota – Neel Jani
21 – Strakka Racing – HPD ARX-03c – Nick Leventis

LMP2 (22 entries)

24 – OAK Racing – Morgan-Nissan – Jacques Nicolet
25 – Delta-ADR – Oreca 03 Nissan – John Martin
26 – G-Drive Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Roman Rusinov
27 – Sebastien Loeb Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Franck Montagny
28 – Gulf Racing Middle East – Lola B12/80 Nissan – Fabien Giroix
29 – Gulf Racing Middle East – Lola B12/80 Nissan – Frederic Fatien
30 – HVM Status GP – Lola B12/80 Judd – Jonathan Kennard
31 – Lotus – Lotus T128 – Kevin Weeda
32 – Lotus – Lotus T128 – Thomas Holzer
33 – Level 5 Motorsports – HPD ARX-03b – Scott Tucker
35 – OAK Racing – Morgan-Nissan – Olivier Pla
36 – Signatech – Oreca 03 Nissan – Franck Mailleux
38 – Jota Sport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Simon Dolan
40 – Boutsen Ginon Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Koen Wauters
41 – Greaves Motorsport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Christian Zugel
42 – Greaves Motorsport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Tom Kimber-Smith
44 – Starworks Motorsport – HPD ARX-03b – Alex Popow
45 – OAK Racing – Morgan-Nissan – David Heinemeier Hansson
46 – Thiriet by TDS Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Pierre Thiriet
47 – KCMG – Morgan-Nissan – Alexandre Imperatori
48 – Murphy Protoypes – Oreca 03 Nissan – Brendon Hartley
49 – Pecom Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Luis Perez-Companc

GTE-Pro (11 entries)

51 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Gianmaria Bruni
63 – Corvette Racing – Corvette C6.R – Antonio Garcia
64 – Corvette Racing – Corvette C6.R – Oliver Gavin
66 – JMW Motorsport – Ferrari F458 Italia – Tim Sugden
71 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Olivier Beretta
91 – Porsche AG Team Manthey – Porsche 911 RSR – Marc Lieb
92 – Porsche AG Team Manthey – Porsche 911 RSR – Joerg Bergmeister
93 – SRT Motorsports – SRT Viper GTS-R – Marc Goossens
94 – SRT Motorsports – SRT Viper GTS-R – Dominik Farnbacher
97 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage – Darren Turner
99 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage – Stefan Mucke

GTE-Am (14 entries)

50 – Larbre Competition – Corvette C6.R – Patrick Bornhauser
54 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Yannick Mallegol
55 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Piergiuseppe Perazzini
57 – Krohn Racing – Ferrari F458 Italia – Tracy Krohn
61 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Jack Gerber
67 – IMSA Performance Matmut – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Pascal Gibon
70 – Larbre Competition – Corvette C6.R – Pedro Lamy
76 – IMSA Performance Matmut – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Raymond Narac
77 – Dempsey Racing-Proton – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Patrick Dempsey
80 – Extreme Speed Motorsports – Ferrari F458 Italia – Scott Sharp
81 – 8Star Motorsports – Ferrari F458 Italia – Enzo Potolicchio
88 – Proton Competition – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Christian Reid
95 – Aston Martin Racing – Allan Simonsen
96 – Aston Martin Racing – Rolad Goethe

Unclassified (1 entry)

0 – GreenGT Technologies – GreenGT H2 – Christian Pescatori

Great to see Murphy Prototypes and Status GP back at Le Mans

TheChrisD

Hmmm, Status in with Keith Wiggins and HVM. Wonder how this might potentially affect HVM's IndyCar program.

KenSwee

http://www.technologicvehicles.com/en/green-transportation-news/1835/le-mans-24h-greengt-h2-will-run-the-track-in

Not quite sure what to make of its looks but hopefully it will get a decent run there. Good to see another alternative take on sportscars again.

Grim.

Some superb laps by Matt Griffin at the Bathurst 12hr atm

Grim.

Audi seem to be trying something very different in the engine department for this year, much noisier than last years car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doCqElWoSHw

SniperSight

Niiiiiiiccccceeeeee!!!!!!

frostie500

Anyone heading to Silverstone for the 6 Hours this year? Was on their website and tickets are only £35 for the weekend, April 12-14, for a roaming grandstand ticket and it has an open paddock again this year.

Very tempted to head to it seeing as I doubt I'll be getting to Le Mans

Grim.

launch car looks like its in Le Mans low drag spec.

Killinator

Grim. wrote: »

launch car looks like its in Le Mans low drag spec.

It's a good looking thing, front ends seems very simple( compared to last year), somewhat surprised.

Grim.

they also seem to be testing different headlights

Killinator

Porsche 911 RSR testing:

Grim.

Beautiful car that, hopefully it brings Porsche back on par with Ferrari and Corvette.

Killinator

Grim. wrote: »

Beautiful car that, hopefully it brings Porsche back on par with Ferrari and Corvette.

They could all be in for a tough time with the Viper, unless they've completly neutered it to comply to regs.:D

Grim.

Nissan have just announced their plans to run a fully electric car in garage 56 at Le Mans in 2014 in preparation for a return to Le Mans in the LMP1 class

Grim.

New Deltawing livery and tyre supplier announced today

Grim.

And after ditching Ferrari 458's in GTE Extreme speed Motorsports revealed their new LMP2 HPD's complete with awesome livery.

Grim.

Kamui Kobayashi joins AF Corse

http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/news-detail.php?VARnewsID=16534