Thank you guys!
Overall a great race, and a podium, fantastic feeling, that view truly is magical from up there. A win was possible but we had yet again a technical problem (gearbox) in the second hour and I had to pit, we lost two laps, then at midnight, I tried an audacious overtake on the leader and finished in the gravel at Mulsanne, lost another two laps, when you see that we got second in the same lap as the winner...
Gutted for Toyota, LM can be so cruel, but tha'ts racing. Fairness and racing don't go well together. Look at GTE Pro and all the BoP debates. We all knew that Ford was sandbagging in Silverstone and Spa and they delivered in LM. Shame for AF Corse and their 488.
The race for the world title is looking good, we scored maximum point as the winner of LM is not competing in the WEC.
Jun 20, 2016 4:40:19 PM
Congratulations again F, to compete in LM is one milestone, to finish another one, but to be second... 👊
Given I'm not competing, I had a different type of Le Mans, but brilliant nontheless, as ever. Some pictures to illustrate the atmosphere.
Edit: Can't get this horribe platform to work properly with an iPad.
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2003 BMW M3 CSL (sold) / 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS / 2013 MINI John Cooper Works GP / 2014 BMW Alpina D3 biturbo Touring
Jun 20, 2016 7:11:48 PM
Spyderidol:If you listened to what Porsche were saying during the race you would know that because of the unfavorable BoP, the drivers were having to really push the cars and hitting the curbs so hard just to try and keep up. This proved too much for the cars.
BoP often allows the cars that are favored , to race with a safety margin in their pockets. It is much easier on the cars.
So, Yes, it does have something to do with BoP.
Furthermore you miss the point of BoP.
BoP is supposed to bring all the cars into a "window of performance.". Obviously, this year that window was an extremely large bay window.
There is also a 7% performance gap that is required (by the ACO) between the GTE and LMP2 class. The Fords were so favored that they managed to violate this gap during the race. Ferrari have issued a protest against Ford for this violation.
How do you put a 7% minimum gap restriction on a lower class car without putting a minimum restriction on a higher class car? Maybe the LMP2 car was slower than it should have been.
The difference in fastest lap between the Ford GT and the 488 was a mere .4s. How could the Ford violate the gap but not the Ferrari?
Futch:The atmosphere is second to none.
At Mulsanne once the tractor recovered me, to rejoin the track, I had to drive round a roundabout behind the tyres barrier, waving to cops and people barbecuing. Just insane !!!!
It's incredible indeed, the endless cat and mouse with the cops at Mulsanne, climbing trees to get a vantage point, ...
2003 BMW M3 CSL (sold) / 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS / 2013 MINI John Cooper Works GP / 2014 BMW Alpina D3 biturbo Touring
Aside from the many positives, as a viewing experience, the noise the current crop of cars make is mostly horrible. The LMP1's, the LMP2's sound generic, the 488, the Ford GT, ... The only decent sounding cars are the Corvettes, Astons and the RSR imo.
2003 BMW M3 CSL (sold) / 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS / 2013 MINI John Cooper Works GP / 2014 BMW Alpina D3 biturbo Touring
Some Porsche wallpapers (P1 and GTE) from this weekend:
Jun 21, 2016 12:12:21 AM
Spyderidol:
- I'm very happy indeed with Porsches 18th win but.....I think it the following have become very clear:
- Toyota has caught up with them.
- Audi will surpass them once their car is sorted.
- Porsche need to quickly get a good Technical Director on board (substitute of Alex Hitzinger).
- The 919's current concept is rapidly reaching it's end.
Many congratulations to Porsche!!
Agreed with most of this, Spyder. However, how long will it take Audi to get the car sorted? It seemed like it was ready to go at Silverstone. Maybe Porsche and Toyota were just that much better prepared for Le Mans than Audi. Also, as others have said, with the 2018 regulations coming, I think Porsche are content with the current 919 reaching its end. I remember reading somewhere that they (and most likely Toyota and Audi, too) won't develop the 919 nearly as much for 2017 in order to get the 2018 car ready.
Jun 21, 2016 6:49:59 AM
@ Adam R - Audi will get the car sorted. It is just a question of time. Remember that in 2014 , Porsche only got the first generation 919 really sorted out by the end of the season. Yes, I know there are big differences between a new team with a new car and Audi, but it should be noted that this new Audi (car) is a very different concept and even Audi (as a team) are undergoing quite a few personnel changes. What I'm not sure of is whether it will be an all conquering car, but I have little doubt that it will give both Toyota and Porsche a very, very hard time.
Yes, 2017 will be a boring year (in terms of new cars), and another reason for Porsche to be concerned about next year. They will have essentially a 4 year old car, whilst both Toyota and Audi will have 2 year old cars.
As for the 919 reaching its end: I don't think Porsche have any choice. Racing cars (especially at that level) have very short life spans. The rate of development is so fast that Teams have no choice but to introduce new cars every 2/3 years at most.
Jun 21, 2016 7:20:58 AM
noone1:Spyderidol:If you listened to what Porsche were saying during the race you would know that because of the unfavorable BoP, the drivers were having to really push the cars and hitting the curbs so hard just to try and keep up. This proved too much for the cars.
BoP often allows the cars that are favored , to race with a safety margin in their pockets. It is much easier on the cars.
So, Yes, it does have something to do with BoP.
Furthermore you miss the point of BoP.
BoP is supposed to bring all the cars into a "window of performance.". Obviously, this year that window was an extremely large bay window.
There is also a 7% performance gap that is required (by the ACO) between the GTE and LMP2 class. The Fords were so favored that they managed to violate this gap during the race. Ferrari have issued a protest against Ford for this violation.
How do you put a 7% minimum gap restriction on a lower class car without putting a minimum restriction on a higher class car? Maybe the LMP2 car was slower than it should have been.
The difference in fastest lap between the Ford GT and the 488 was a mere .4s. How could the Ford violate the gap but not the Ferrari?
Fastest time Ford# 69 = 3:51.5
Fastest time Ferrari # 82 = 3:52.3
Difference = 0.8
Also - The fastest 20 times in the class were set by the Fords.
Please try and understand that this is supposed to be a balanced class. You may disagree with that concept (I know I do), but that is what the rules state. What other manufacturers are upset about is that the class was not balanced appropriately. Ford played the sandbagging game and the ACO decided to look the other way, when its supposed role is not to do that.
Also - Listen to the Porsche press conference (I posted the link) and hear what Dr. Walliser has to say about BoP.
Jun 21, 2016 8:14:14 AM
Spyder is right. The BoP was completely fucked up. It's not easy and I don't want to be in ACO's shoes. But Ford has lacked transparency for sure. It's motorsport and it's unfair, c'est la vie. In 50 years, people will remember Ford winning 50 years after it won in 66 and Porsche's 18th victory.
Jun 21, 2016 8:20:54 AM
Spyderidol:Great photos Futch!
I only wish I could see you back in a Porsche!!!
I love Porsche but Ferrari's one year advantage in developement will mean that next year, the 488 will be ahead of the 2016 RSR. The 2017 RSR will be available for the AM in 2018 (if the rules don't change). So not before 2018 earliest. AF Corse is a brilliant team, I like the family atmosphere. Maybe LMP on day, we will see. I'd like to win this race, but it's so hard...
Jun 21, 2016 8:50:19 AM
Yes definitely, but it's already been "reserved" by another collector, we will see. Especially if we win the world championship.
This 458 is the last GT2 chassis number so for sure, it would be great to own and keep it. First thing I'd do is remove the restrictor and let it scream to 9000rpm (now it's 6800) and give it minimum weight. What a car it would be!!! Over 600hp compared to 460hp now, WTF!
The collection is moving quite a bit now, moving to bigger toys for track work, trackday cars have become too compromised for my tastes, the 991RS is gone, that car was such a disapointment, and the 675LT might even go, those buckets are great for trackwork but for the road, they're not very comfy and it's had a few problems which annoy me.
I bought a Renault RS01, proper racing car with a descent budget, should be amazing. Been reading RC's posts too and might switch the Cayenne for an RS6. I have to ditch the cars I'm not driving enough. I also bought a Mclaren F1 road car, the ultimate, the holy grail, needless to say, it's epic. Not perfect, but epic.
Nice pics Porker, proper spirit of LM style!