Le Mans 24 hours 2009

[Scotracer]

Is Koenigsegg not doing GT1 this year?

[vyselegend]

I reackon they're doing FIA GT (I've read some stuff linking them to Vitaphone, but don't remember where...), but never heard about a possible LM entry.

[modbaraban]

I heard something about Le Mans and Koenigsegggggggg some time ago. Bot I'm not sure 2009 or 2010 though.

PS: Nismo are bringing R35 to FIA GT1 this year, AFAIK.

[tomislavp4]

They are still running some development stuff on the ccgt if I´m not mistaken, so I guess no koenigsegg this year anyway I would love to see them there soon

[roost89]

We're down 1 Aston. Gigawave are now not taking part in the GT1.
1 extra Ferrari in GT2 run by Seattle Advanced Engineering.

I have a question, now that Audi are letting teams use the R10, does this mean that they know the R15 is going to be significantly faster?

[wesley123]

i dont think so, because of the recession i think this is the way for audi to pay for the driving or development of the car.

[modbaraban]

I have a question, now that Audi are letting teams use the R10, does this mean that they know the R15 is going to be significantly faster?

Any doubts about it after Sebring? I think the 908 would beat the R10 there.

[roost89]

I have a question, now that Audi are letting teams use the R10, does this mean that they know the R15 is going to be significantly faster?

Any doubts about it after Sebring? I think the 908 would beat the R10 there.

I can't imagine a manufacturer like Audi, selling people old tech and watching the old-tech beat the new tech on performance.

However, I have some doubts as to how much faster the R15 is. Peugeot lost to the R10 at Sebring last year, to the order of 33 laps. With R15 and 908 being so close this year. I'm not sure.
The regulations have probably played a part in the difference this year and the 908 has been developed over the years as well.

[dumrick]

However, I have some doubts as to how much faster the R15 is. Peugeot lost to the R10 at Sebring last year, to the order of 33 laps. With R15 and 908 being so close this year. I'm not sure.

If that's how you compare results, then the 908 is slower than a GT1 Corvette... actually the Peugeot was the fastest car in 2008 and seemed leveled with the R15 this year. The fun about endurance is that often is not about who's faster

[roost89]

However, I have some doubts as to how much faster the R15 is. Peugeot lost to the R10 at Sebring last year, to the order of 33 laps. With R15 and 908 being so close this year. I'm not sure.

If that's how you compare results, then the 908 is slower than a GT1 Corvette... actually the Peugeot was the fastest car in 2008 and seemed leveled with the R15 this year. The fun about endurance is that often is not about who's faster

Quite true about how endurance is. I used that as I didn't have much else to go by way of a comparison between the cars in a race situation.
However, I am looking forward to the 24 hours of le mans. Going to try and follow the LMS and ALMS a bit more closely this year.

[RacingManiac]

The way I look at it, if Peugeot managed to lose last year at the 24 hours with a car thats 6 sec a lap faster, it can't hurt Audi to have a car thats not 6 sec a lap slower....

BTW, I do think Audi is pretty confident that R10 stands no chance against the R15. Mind you, Audi never let R8 run against the R10, and I think that says something....consider R8 was still legal to run in ALMS in 2006...

[modbaraban]

Not 6 but more like 3 or 3.5 seconds at Le Mans and up to 1.5 sec elsewhere.

[Scania]

AUDI won't join LMS this year, that mean they will not allow for LM next year if they can't get first 3 position?

[vyselegend]

What do you mean?

Audi just reduced their program accordingly to the financial situation. Their only serious opponent is Peugeot, given the rules favoring diesels.

And to beat Peugeot is easy, you just need to do your race normally and wait for them to shoot themselves in the foot. And even if they don't, next year they won't be able to fight, development on the 908 is already over, and the next car won't come before 2011 at least.

So Audi would be incredibly stupid to skip LM next year, as it would mean spitting on a certain victory.

As for the debate on the R10 vs the R15, I think there's not much to argue in favor of the old car. The R15 at Sebring was on par with the 908 at it's summum, while the R10 was several seconds a lap down on a regular basis...

For me, Porsche is still THE Le Mans manufacturer, but what Audi achieved in the last ten years is just magnificent. I think lots of people don't realise how competitive the field has become in the last two years, and with only two manufacturers at war! Let's wait for Toyota, Panoz, (and I feel BMW is a credible option for 2011, depending of their F1 and WTCC programs), then I predict endurance will become first class racing again, at the World's scale.

[sstanescu]

Thought to bring it up: less than 5 days to the great start! At least this year Eurosport is promising full coverage.

Updated lineup at http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/pa ... es_gb.html. First pictures at http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/pa ... os_gb.html

Any bets anyone?