While I respect Audi and its purpose, I think one word may be standing in the way of that 14th victory............"PORSCHE" !
Unfortunately, I don't get Porsche's press releases the way I do from my Audi friends. For Porsche to win, outright pace isn't going to do it for them. As we've noted earlier they've run into reliability problems in the six hour races at Silverstone and Spa. If the Porsches may avoid the types of issues they've experienced so far, they may well win out on their brilliant pace but Audi will be there looming for any dents in the armor. Just read also that Toyota has found some of their deficiencies after the Le Mans test and so expect the World Champions to make some noise as well. Whatever the outcome, it's going to be epic. BHW
No question that this is going to be a battle. Audi reliablilty vs Porsche performance and speed. This has to be one of the besr lineups LeMans has had in a few years. But I still give the edge to Porsche. Just on sheer numbers of times they have won this race when not expected to do well or finish at all. All I can say is....3 and a half days and counting, Who is going to win it guys??
what surprises me is that Toyota does not just cut a big check and let the team run 3 cars like Porsche and Audi and try to increase their chances of getting that first win
One car is all you need. This can be anybodys race. Toyota, Nissan......its all up for grabs!!! Let the racing begin!!!
My heart says Nissan. My gut says Porsche. My head says Audi. While they may not have the speed of the 8MJ cars, the Audis are among the most efficient and reliable, and that's really what wins Le Mans. In 2 years time, it may be a different story. Given their history, it's really hard to bet against Porsche in the long run. Somewhat intriguing for me to see Porsche as an underdog...when was the last time you could say that? I hope IndyCar and F1 are watching...I haven't been this excited for a race in a long time.
As has been rumored from the debut of the next generation Ford GT, theyre coming back to run in GTE in the WEC and TUSC to be formally announced on Friday. So, Ford vs. Chevy competing against each other in a non-spec relevant format once again for the big prize. Ford to announce Le Mans and WEC GTE assault this week - WEC news - AUTOSPORT.com BHW
Nissan are running better than I expected with a best of 3:40 so far....18 seconds off of the Porsche's best time
Jani threw down at 3:18 straight off and then Radio Le Mans went missing. Can anyone pick up Radio Le Mans or some live streaming video? BHW
3'16.887 but let's not split hairs. They're plenty quick and Jani set the time almost straight off at the beginning of the session. There didn't seem to be much need to go out and try to lower the time and rain is predicted for tomorrow (Thursday) so we may not know. BHW
Oh...we will know. It will be when Porsche bosses send a message sometime during the race. I bet tomorrows practice in the wet brings some surprises also.
With Porsche's speed advantage, three seconds over the closest Audi, nearly seven seconds over the nearest Toyota, they may be well advised to play it cool during the race given their reliability issues. But, as we've seen with Porsche in the past when they've had three entires at Le Mans, one may be the rabbit and hope for no rain, no yellow and stay out of problems, the second may run a medium pace and support the lead sister car and the third runs a conservative pace and hopes for rain, cautions and attrition to keep close to the lead. I'm still hedging my bets on an Audi victory as Fassler, Treluyer and Lotterer are way too quiet so far. Still though, a 3M 16S lap is ripping along so the conditions may not have been right to get any lower as some were predicting the pole would be in the 3M 10S area. Things are also very close in GTE with the top Aston Martins, Ferraris and Porsches within a second. GTE is going to be very hard fought, Aston Martin appears to be loaded for bear. BHW
Are there any live streaming options? Here in the US it looks like Fox Sports is carrying coverage, but splitting it between FS1 and FS2, and even though I carry the HD package my provider (Comcast) does not carry FS2. On the other hand Velocity's taped broadcasts of the Isle of Man TT have been a reminder of what the old days of road racing were like, even if it is a two wheel competition.
I would agree to the Porsche scenario. But Audi isn't going to lay down either. I expect them to run a fuel program to make the others have to run hard and use up a much fuel as possible. Can't beat them on speed.......run them out of fuel.