lmp3 do we need it?
Discussion
Personally I would love to see an LMP3 class and CN seem like the regs to go for. Price capping the chassis is a good plan and also the spares. A CN car with bog standard 2ltr GroupN homologated engine makes for reasonable running costs and they go like stink. Only issue I can see is FIA crash testing which will drive the costs of the chassis up enourmously.
I really like the idea of an "affordable" LMP3 class car. It could provide opportunity for chassis constructors and teams to enter the sport without the expense of a full blown LMP1/2 assault. I think it would also open up the possibility of national/regional feeder series to help people move up progressively through the classes. It gets a thumbs up from me!
race said:
Lmp3 do we need it to be the next evolution of motorsport in the UK?
What rules should we have?
Should fuel economy come into play?
Should there be a cap on the engines and chassis budgets?
A new designers market?
What rules should we have?
Should fuel economy come into play?
Should there be a cap on the engines and chassis budgets?
A new designers market?
There are too many classes now. We have GT2, GT3, and GTC. There should be three classes at the most, so if you bring in LMP3 or whatever, one of the existing ones has to go.
There should be a full s**t GT class, and a production GT class. As for the other one, difficult to say whether it should be a prototype class.
Fuel economy - oh yes! You have 100L of ordinary unleaded, supplied by the organisers who send out their "boy" with jerry cans to the local supermarket, or whatever, therefore no funky fuel etc..
You could also choose to run on E85 or pure BioEthanol, and there's obviously 200L of that.
No turbo's, stock block engines only, no turbo's.
H gate gearboxes, conventional clutch pedals, no ABS, no traction control, no carbon fibre, for chassis, bodywork, or brakes.
are you talking about UK racing or endurance racing? the aco keep changing the names of classes as they change the rules and specs. its still 4 classes but as new technolgy arrives they have to move the posts to accomodate. having worked on gt,gts,lmp900,lmp675,lmp1 and lmp2 cars it confuses me sometimes.. as for no carbon etc i dont agree. racing in any description would envolve making things light as poss. carbon helps this.so sportscars dont flick your switch, but a road going porker or beemer just isnt a race car.did the british gt series a few years ago and was quit a good mix but thebig teams with the big budgets always do better. part of the reason of the death of gt1 was cost, manufacturer backed teams spending too much money compared to privateers.
The idea of making things as light as possible... well if you make the minimum weight such that a cheap GRP/Kevlar composite panelled, alloy monocoque/tubeframe chassis is on the weight, then you don't need carbon, which means that you stand more chance of repairing a damaged tub without the need for specialist companies or equipment - reducing the cost.
Having steel brakes brings it back to the driver too. You have longer braking distances, and that offers more overtaking opportunities. Restricting the engines/transmissions to more stock block / non-exotic stuff also reduces the costs to the privateer. The privateer who will still be there when the manufacturer has had a change of management who doesn't see the sport in the same light, and pulls the plug.
IF there was to be a LMP3, then this sort of restricted by "lack of technology" sports racing car would be a good way to go. To the punter on the side of the track, it's a racing car. It's faster than his vectra/A4/mondeo, and it's the mutts nuts. To the person who owns it, it's a cost effective sports racing car, possibly more so than a porker, or beemer.
To my mind, it'd have 500 to 650bhp, 5 speed manual shift H gate agricultural gearbox, not a great deal of downforce, therefore far more power than grip, making them very fast in a straight line, and out of the corner, and hairy chested handling, steered partially by the circular object in front of the driver, and partially by the right foot! And it sounds like GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, and it means it!!!
Rob.
Having steel brakes brings it back to the driver too. You have longer braking distances, and that offers more overtaking opportunities. Restricting the engines/transmissions to more stock block / non-exotic stuff also reduces the costs to the privateer. The privateer who will still be there when the manufacturer has had a change of management who doesn't see the sport in the same light, and pulls the plug.
IF there was to be a LMP3, then this sort of restricted by "lack of technology" sports racing car would be a good way to go. To the punter on the side of the track, it's a racing car. It's faster than his vectra/A4/mondeo, and it's the mutts nuts. To the person who owns it, it's a cost effective sports racing car, possibly more so than a porker, or beemer.
To my mind, it'd have 500 to 650bhp, 5 speed manual shift H gate agricultural gearbox, not a great deal of downforce, therefore far more power than grip, making them very fast in a straight line, and out of the corner, and hairy chested handling, steered partially by the circular object in front of the driver, and partially by the right foot! And it sounds like GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, and it means it!!!
Rob.
If a British LMP Championship were to be set up, then the biggest factor in the rules should be controlled costs. It's no good having 500-600bhp to play with, because that sort of power results in a heavier car because of the chassis and drivetrain needed to control and put down that amount of power. This in turn leads to increased running costs, as gearboxes brake, the cars run through tyres and brakes more quickly, etc etc.
The basis for LMP3 should be CN prototype style rules, with maybe a little more power. There should be an upper capacity limit of 3 litres (or 1.5 if turbo/supercharged), and the engines should be modified road units. Obviously, the rules would need to strictly control the mods permitted, but around 300-350bhp in a 600kg car is more than enough for most people.
Aero rules should also be strictly controlled, but downforce is a part of modern motorsport, and the cars should have enought to be decently quick, around F3 lap speeds. Of course, we had this a few years ago with the National Supersport Championship (it ran on PowerTour if anyone remembers), which sort of went quiet for a bit and then died completely.
I don't know if there's an appetite for national level prototype racing. I mean Britsports can hardly boast full grids most of the time can it? It's a shame, because in some ways I'd rather watch 'LMP3' than British GT in it's current form
The basis for LMP3 should be CN prototype style rules, with maybe a little more power. There should be an upper capacity limit of 3 litres (or 1.5 if turbo/supercharged), and the engines should be modified road units. Obviously, the rules would need to strictly control the mods permitted, but around 300-350bhp in a 600kg car is more than enough for most people.
Aero rules should also be strictly controlled, but downforce is a part of modern motorsport, and the cars should have enought to be decently quick, around F3 lap speeds. Of course, we had this a few years ago with the National Supersport Championship (it ran on PowerTour if anyone remembers), which sort of went quiet for a bit and then died completely.
I don't know if there's an appetite for national level prototype racing. I mean Britsports can hardly boast full grids most of the time can it? It's a shame, because in some ways I'd rather watch 'LMP3' than British GT in it's current form
Edited by the DJ 27 on Monday 7th August 21:48
Having been involved with a LMP2 team last year I would really welcome a LMP3 Class and see prototypes mixing it with GT cars as happens in the LM Series, ALMS and of course at Le Mans I have suggested to both James Tucker and SRO about letting the prototypes mix it with the GT cars but this is always given little support.
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