jealous have fun! I love the Nissan P1 program. racing needs more innovative thinking. usually projects like these are feast or famine, and I assumed given the people, budgets, and testing hours involved it would be feast. I guess not...
I guess it comes down to what's holding it back. I can't imagine it's power (I think they are running a 6MJ system with a total HP around 1,300), so is the front wheel drive set up slowing it down?
Fox Sports Go is streaming the coverage. I have Verizon and have the same issue with FS2 not being HD.. I love that Velocity is covering the Isle of Man. It is nuts to watch. The other night they showed Bruce Antsy hitting a curb at 120mph and not going down...NUTS!
Would you consider this in Indy Car? Someone here as been screaming this since God knows when! Now...with all due respect.....One ....this a new program so ...Rome was not built in a day. Nissan will get it right. Look at their GTP efforts. Two.......in regards to their performance so far......have you considered that Nissan may not be showing their hand? I think they may have a plan also.
I've never said that was a bad idea in IndyCar; I've said it's just not feasible with where the economics of the sport are right now. Props to the ACO/WEC for creating an environment where manufacturers not only can, but want to, invest in projects like these. If they were 3-5 seconds off the pace I'd say they aren't showing their hand. but they're like 20-24 seconds off the pace unless their plan is ridiculous efficiency AND reliability (unlikely for their debut race), I'd say they're in trouble.
Yep, agree with all of it. Thought crossed my mind that they might be sandbagging. The GTP program was awesome, notably in IMSA. The GTP-ZXT ended the Porsche 962's dominance in the IMSA GTP category, no small feat (especially considering how dominant Porsche / Al Holbert were).
To be fair, it is the first outing for the car. I'm guessing the unique configuration will make it a lightning rod for criticism, everyone will say "told you so". I did think they might be sandbagging or working out kinks. 20+ seconds is a lot though.
Jan Magnussen has had a huge shunt in the Corvette at the end of tonight's first session. Reporters agree it appeared something either broke in the car or a tire blew and the car speared off straight into the barrier. Magnussen is okay but the team will now have a real thrash to have the car ready for the race. BHW
Hi all, Do we have any data on top speeds, before the 1st chicane or before Indianapolis? I think 3.10's is wishful thinking but 3.13's maybe... Who knows if we will get any quali runs tonight at all? Am fondly recalling sitting on the steps of the big furniture store halfway down the Mulsanne straight in the late 80's before the chicanes during the day when cars would just fly by, daytime memories and then at the Mulsanne curve and between Mulsanne and Indianapolis at night, wow some things you never forget specially since they were forbidden zones MS
Listening to Radio Le Mans qualifying currently. Doesn't seem to be anyone making a run at Jani's time from yesterday (yet). Sounds as though they're mainly using the qualifying session as an extended test. One of the Audis did nearly 1000KMs in qualifying yesterday alone. If they've reported speed trap times, I've not heard it. BHW
Thanks Barton, It seems the anti car atmosphere here in France -the land of speedtraps everywhere nowadays- has extended to top speeds not being reported in case spectators would get excited on the way home argh... MS
Thanks for the heads up. Gnarly crash. Video: Magnussen placed on stretcher after Porsche Curves shunt - video | LE MANS news | Motorsport.com
Thanks for the link, seems something failed or right front tire blew at least there are no flying cars so far...
Except for one thing....if the eliminate 2 pit stops because of the technology......they are knee deep in it for the win. Don't count Nissan or Toyota out by any means. My love maybe for the guys in Stuggart, but never underestimate the Japanese. They will overcome regardless of the problems. BANZAI!!!!
Eh, except for Mazda(still a great victory for the underdog) not so much. Toyota spent more than any LeMans team in history-LeMans wins-zero. As to the DeltaWing thieves? Also zero wins. The Germans have owned the over all wins at LeMans for decades. The Americans have dominated GT.
Nissan suddenly 10 seconds off the pace instead of 20, 10 minutes before the end of qualifying? No there was a typo in the reports, which vanished right way, 20 seconds off not 10...oh well it would have been a thrill
And as the time to race draws nearer, the seconds keep disappearing. I bet by race time the margin will narrow further.
For Nissan to win this race, their first race ever with this car on the world's biggest stage, it would take a miracle of epic proportions. Given their problems in testing, broken chassis during testing at Sebring for example, and others, for Nissan to win Le Mans in their debut would be the story of the year, if not the century! Toyota just don't seem to be on the pace this year. The World Champions seemed content to stay with the 2MJs hybrid while both Audi and Porsche increased their electrical power with obvious results. Why Toyota took this decision is curious. While maybe not a miracle for them to win, it would be surprising given their performances so far at Silverstone and Spa where the Porsches and Audis left them in the dust. So, it's going to be down to Porsche and Audi to settle things on Sunday afternoon. BHW
A colleague just Emailed this interesting tid-bit... The Ligier/Judd that took the Pole at Sebring made a Le Mans Q time of 3m44.631 The Pole sitting Porsche at this years Le Mans had a Q time of 3m16.887 There ia a time differential of 27.744 seconds between the two... BHW
Based on this information.....I guess the national anthem of the fatherland will be playing late Sunday afternoon. Now....will the men that support my screen name please deliver the goods. I will feel so much better !!!
20 seconds per lap is over 10% of pole time. There is nothing much to guess there, that's about 40 laps pver the duration of the race. The Japanese also have calculators, and the display says "nightmare scenario". Why do they do it? Can't wait for the race, hope I can find a decent working stream. Any suggestions? Best, Jack.
I seem to remember a rule but for the life of me cannot find it now where in qualifying it is required that cars run at least one lap time within a certain percentage of pole for their class. Again I seem to remember that number being below 10%. Perhaps someone could qualify this for me but Nissan could find itself in problems to be eligible for the start.
You are absolutely right and the ACO has responded by putting the Nissans at the back of the P-1 pack. Is anyone laying odds on any of the Nissans actually finishing the first hour? Le Mans 24 Hour grid penalty for Nissan LMP1s - WEC news - AUTOSPORT.com BHW