Barely two months after Lewis Hamilton clinched the 2014 title, Formula 1 is back on track in 2015. And, for a few hours on Sunday, the first day of action at Jerez was all set to grab the headlines. But then, during an ad break for the XLIX Super Bowl (go Patriots), Nissan rolled out its amazing
GT-R LM NISMO
LMP1 challenger. A front-engined, front-wheel drive racer with no less than 1,250hp.
Yes, you did read all that right.
It's little short of extraordinary and it should come as no surprise to learn it's being masterminded by Garage 56 DeltaWing genius Ben Bowlby. In an intriguing interpretation of the LMP1 regulations (where the restrictions are on fuel flow rate, not engine capacity or boost), the car will run in the 8MJ hybrid energy per lap class, the maximum allowed under the regulations. A 700hp kinetic energy recovery system will harvest this under braking and then, as quickly as possible, offer it in support of the 550hp 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine. Yup, 1,250hp - "and those are relatively conservative figures," added Bowlby.
"We can't speak about our rivals but this is definitely an arms race and this is just phase one." In other words, it could indeed be the most powerful car on the grid come the opening race of the World Endurance Championship at Silverstone on April 12 - and who knows what they may have added by the time Le Mans rolls around in June...
"Unfinished business" at Le Mans apparently
Nissan's signed up former LM24 winner Marc Gene, who's already driven the US-built car during initial runs in Arizona and Austin, Texas: he speaks of the power and efficient aero but, um, makes no mention of torque steer.
Bowlby is convinced though, explaining the front-biased through-duct aero solution channels air straight from the front splitter to the rear diffuser, with no side leakage. "That's a solution that is very efficient in terms of low drag... you've seen all those louvres on the side of the other LMP1 cars that let the air out from underneath the front of the car to the sides - we don't do that because it's a bit draggy." Getting all technical on us there, Ben.
The key challenge is to keep the weight down to the 880kg target; every 10-12kg saved is worth half a second at Le Mans, reckons Bowlby (and the powertrain accounts for half the GT-R LM's weight). But it's one Nissan is fully embracing, with NISMO president Shoichi Miyatani admitting "our record at Le Mans is third place overall so we have unfinished business there.
"We want to win and we have the knowledge to do that."
Vettel has been quick at Jerez
Over in Jerez, all the F1 teams are getting their heads down pouring over data from the first official day's testing of the 2015 season. After an icy start, the first cars were quickly out and, ominously, Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes W06 was soon posting lap times two seconds faster than the rest.
But by the end of the day, despite him completing 157 laps - twice the number of the next-best - he was actually only third fastest. Yes, that man Vettel was back at the top in the new Ferrari SF15-T, ahead of Ericsson in the new (and very blue) Sauber C34. Ricciardo was also out in the Red Bull RB11 - complete with brilliant 'camo' livery - while Bottas gave the Williams FW37 its debut, leading Carlos Sainz Jr in the Toro Rosso STR 10.
Rossi confident of halting Marquez in 2015
And at the bottom of the timing sheets, 18 seconds off the pace? Fernando Alonso in the McLaren-Honda MP4-30. Yes, the car completed only one timed lap and no, it wasn't able to run properly due to 'technical issues'. All this was to be expected, insist McLaren and Honda - "and we've already solved the issues ready for today (Monday)", they say. Over to you, Jenson...
Oh, and the two teams from F1's already-depleted grid not currently at Jerez are Force India and Lotus. The former say there's no point in being there; the latter were, as Vettel was going purple, still trucking from Enstone with the new Mercedes-powered E23 in the back. They'll have arrived there by now but still may not run until Tuesday because of the need to set everything up. Talk about cutting it fine!
Rossi thinking big
It's not just F1 that's testing this week, either. MotoGP heads to Malaysia on February 4 to start work on the 2015 season - and Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi is in a great mood. According to some reports, he's already thinking about his 10th world title this year, particularly given the team's strong finish to 2014. Interest in the series thus duly ratchets up yet another notch.
Toyota has confirmed it will rejoin WRC in 2017 with a new Yaris challenger (nobody mention cheating or helmets through
rear windows
, now) and has also signed Kazuki Nakajima to partner Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi in the now-confirmed TS040 Hybrid challenge. There's more Brit interest in the partner pairing: Mike Conway joins Alex Wurz and Stephane Sarrazin.
The Japanese giant has also launched a new Lexus RC F GT3 car, and confirmed Gazoo Racing will once again be at the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May, running the Lexus LFA Code X and a new Lexus RC. As always, every engineer and technician will come from Toyota Motor Corp, making it a truly 'works' effort.
Finally, have you ever wondered how many tyres Pirelli supplies to F1? 38,168 is your answer for 2014. The firm also revealed there were 817 pit stops last year, and 636 overtakes - the highest number of 65 coming in the German race. No prizes for guessing the lowest number of overtakes, either: Monaco saw just seven passes...
[F1 and Rossi images: LAT]