48hrs of Le mans ! ?
Discussion
I was thinking... is the 24hrs still the same challenge to car makers as it would have been when the race began.
Where will modern prototype design go.. what will be the next big thing after carbonfibre? How will the motorcar be pushed into a new direction.
The race today is almost a sprint race. Does it still push the boundaries of endurance?
The cars from years gone by might not have todays aero knowledge, but they were driving faster and were more powerful; weren't they? So are we limiting things, making endurance less of an issue.
Over 80 years on since the first LM race the motorcar has come on a long way. Don't get me wrong, I love Le Mans and still think it is a huge challenge, but would 36 or 48hrs really push the racing car into a new areas or would it simply be the same cars with less highly strung engines and tougher components.
What kind of event would it become with a race distance like that?
In 1986 a Porsche 962 won completing 4,972 KM (average 207kph). In 2000 an Audi R8 did 5,007 Km (average 208kph).
Not sure I've got across what I was trying to say.... but what do you think?
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www.lemans24.piczo.com
>> Edited by ds240 on Friday 2nd June 10:22
Where will modern prototype design go.. what will be the next big thing after carbonfibre? How will the motorcar be pushed into a new direction.
The race today is almost a sprint race. Does it still push the boundaries of endurance?
The cars from years gone by might not have todays aero knowledge, but they were driving faster and were more powerful; weren't they? So are we limiting things, making endurance less of an issue.
Over 80 years on since the first LM race the motorcar has come on a long way. Don't get me wrong, I love Le Mans and still think it is a huge challenge, but would 36 or 48hrs really push the racing car into a new areas or would it simply be the same cars with less highly strung engines and tougher components.
What kind of event would it become with a race distance like that?
In 1986 a Porsche 962 won completing 4,972 KM (average 207kph). In 2000 an Audi R8 did 5,007 Km (average 208kph).
Not sure I've got across what I was trying to say.... but what do you think?
----------------
www.lemans24.piczo.com
>> Edited by ds240 on Friday 2nd June 10:22
Well the Mulsanne now has two chicanes which slow the cars down considerably compared to the monsters of the '80s. I think this was down to driver safety. The cars are sprint cars to an extent, but which can sprint for 24 hrs. The number of retirements each year shows it is not an easy task.
Best ever!!!!!All you have to do is watch the Team Creation documentary for 2005 on sky discovery. Le-mans is by no way an easy affair, from the drivers to the pit crews they all seem to work very hard to shave 10ths of seconds off their lap times. The newer cars of today also have so many adjustable settings not ignoring the drivers driving styles also the cars are constantly plugged into laptops for extra data retrieval. The track has also been changed so many times for safety, so you can't correctly compare lap times from say 10 years ago. I think we should all respect the work that they do and congradulate everyone that finishes regardless of finishing position. In short for the spectators its just as much a social event as an endurance event, sit back, chill out have a few beers and enjoy the race. 
I'm not suggesting for one minute that racing at LM is easy or that people work hard to do that!
80 odd years ago 24hrs must have been an amazing challenge, barely beleivable they could do it.... does the same time scale still push the limits of vehicle endurance these days?
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www.lemans24.piczo.com
80 odd years ago 24hrs must have been an amazing challenge, barely beleivable they could do it.... does the same time scale still push the limits of vehicle endurance these days?
-----------------------
www.lemans24.piczo.com
So drinking is invlolved when going then
ds240 said:
I'm not suggesting for one minute that racing at LM is easy or that people work hard to do that!
80 odd years ago 24hrs must have been an amazing challenge, barely beleivable they could do it.... does the same time scale still push the limits of vehicle endurance these days?
-----------------------
www.lemans24.piczo.com
Agreed, it would probably boil down to just money, how many teams would enter bearing in mind that there would be at least twice the costs. I personally dont think any car would survive for 48 hrs(pretty much the same belief 80 years ago about the 24hr).
Another point would be that most of general fans wouldnt be able to last the 48hrs, how many of us rush back like idiots just in time to start work on the Monday.
...
Bugger it 48hr Le-Mans bring it on, i'll have a week on the sick
When you consider last year 49 cars started, of which only 24 (less than half) were given a clasification (retired, insufficient laps completed or, in the case of the Zytek died on the last lap by the looks of things).
Audi have made things LOOK easy, but that's just by building one hell of a race car in the A8 that could be repaired in minutes by swapping whole sections of the car (until the rules were changed to stop them).
This is one thing I'd personally like to see brought back - all cars must be road legal and must drive under their own power from the circuit to Le Mans town centre for final scrutanering. Even if it didn't make any difference to the race just think of pulling up next to an LMP1 car at the lights
Audi have made things LOOK easy, but that's just by building one hell of a race car in the A8 that could be repaired in minutes by swapping whole sections of the car (until the rules were changed to stop them).
puffpuff said:
In the 1930s, race cars drove from England to the circuit, completed the 24 hr race and were then driven back again. I can't see that happening today,can you?
This is one thing I'd personally like to see brought back - all cars must be road legal and must drive under their own power from the circuit to Le Mans town centre for final scrutanering. Even if it didn't make any difference to the race just think of pulling up next to an LMP1 car at the lights
Bob the Planner said:
What proportion of the cars finished the early races - was it down to 10% or is 50% about average over the history of the race ?
Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_24_
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