Valkyrie Race Car To Be Canned

[Jellinek]

Seems a counter intuitive move to me. AM currently has an agreement with RB who have clawed their way up to battle with the top three, achieving considerable kudos in the process. To abandon that and put your eggs in the Racing Point basket seems destined to produce mid-field results at best for the next few years, unless Stroll intends to throw millions more than the others to attain instant success??
Sportscasters seems much more relevant, a better fit historically and for the brand today. Valkyrie is a bit of a popinjay imho (no offence intended), but the other mid engines super cars in the pipeline would be a plausible route.

[RL17]

the current Valkyrie promotion curve with Red Bull and Verstappen driving at Le Mans was great for both parties.

Can see why a 3rd rate F1 team would want that to stop.

AM in F1 has a terrible record (not including the current in name only sponsorship) , none of the prestige or results of those great F1 teams such as Minardi or Zakspeed. May be a 5th if top 3 teams have an off day will be AMs best day in F1?

[jakeb]

raceboy said:

There looks like a glimmer of hope to see one racing though.

https://www.lemans.org/en/news/statement-in-respon...

Reads like a statement from Barnier on brexit negotiations.

[anonymous-user]

I'm going to cancel my imaginary Valkyrie order in the morning! Seriously though, how disappointing. I wonder if they just need the cashflow from the poverty spec road Valkyries to come through before they embark on the AMR Pro?

[anonymous-user]

Am I right in thinking there wasn't a McLaren F1 race car back in the day until several years after all the road cars were sold?

[Alfapapatango]

Fear for Dr Palmer. Time in the garden.

[ralphrj]

fblm said:

Am I right in thinking there wasn't a McLaren F1 race car back in the day until several years after all the road cars were sold?

Not exactly. The F1 was not conceived as a race car but purely as the ultimate road car. Some privateers expressed an interest in running F1s in the BPR GT series but McLaren weren't very keen. However, McLaren were struggling to sell the F1 and realised that 1.) a run of race cars would give them a desperately needed boost and 2.) they could probably do a better job of turning the F1 into a race car than any privateers could.

The first race cars appeared in 1995 but F1 production didn't end until 1998. It sounds strange when you consider the value of an F1 today but it never actually sold out. McLaren ended production as there was no demand.

[Jon39]

fblm said:

I'm going to cancel my imaginary Valkyrie order in the morning! Seriously though, how disappointing. I wonder if they just need the cashflow from the poverty spec road Valkyries to come through before they embark on the AMR Pro?

My first thought was that it might be due to finances, but as I now understand, only two manufacturers have entered the new race leading Le Mans Hypercar class. Then in the 2021/22 WEC race season, prototype cars will be allowed again, so the hypercars would probably no longer be the overall race winners.

The official explanations are confusing, so I might be completely wrong.

[cookie1600]

Jon39 said:

YouTube onboards please Andy.

I'm still hoping he'll pick me up from work in it for a real ride! (it's on the way back from the school run Andy....)

[clubracing]

Jon39 said:

My first thought was that it might be due to finances, but as I now understand, only two manufacturers have entered the new race leading Le Mans Hypercar class. Then in the 2021/22 WEC race season, prototype cars will be allowed again, so the hypercars would probably no longer be the overall race winners.

The official explanations are confusing, so I might be completely wrong.

Full prototype racers without any road going version are already allowed as part of the LMH regulations, it was only Aston Martin that had chosen to go down the road based hypercar route. Toyota are producing an all-out prototype based on its GR Super Sport Concept, and it was anticipated that Peugeot would do the same.

Balance of performance measures will be used to make competition between the LMDh cars and the Hypercars in the 2021/22 WEC and IMSA equal, but the cost of an LMDh programme will be about 50% of that for an LMH car, and still able to take outright victory at Le Mans and Daytona.

[Wammer]

Just bring back GT1, the best cars from the best manufacturers battling each other to win the greatest race.

I thought the LMH series was going to be this but no they had to ruin it by letting prototype cars race.

LeMans should be made up of GT1, GT2 and GT3 like the old days. Proper recognisable cars racing not these Spaceship prototypes.

[ecs0set]

Wammer said:

Just bring back GT1, the best cars from the best manufacturers battling each other to win the greatest race.

I thought the LMH series was going to be this but no they had to ruin it by letting prototype cars race.

LeMans should be made up of GT1, GT2 and GT3 like the old days. Proper recognisable cars racing not these Spaceship prototypes.

Amen

[faa77]

Wammer said:

Just bring back GT1, the best cars from the best manufacturers battling each other to win the greatest race.

I thought the LMH series was going to be this but no they had to ruin it by letting prototype cars race.

LeMans should be made up of GT1, GT2 and GT3 like the old days. Proper recognisable cars racing not these Spaceship prototypes.

Ditto. I'm not a fan of the prototypes. What's the point? If I want to see a prototype I'll watch F1. I want to watch fast road-like cars.

I assume F1 is faster than LMP1?

[Welshbeef]

faa77 said:

Ditto. I'm not a fan of the prototypes. What's the point? If I want to see a prototype I'll watch F1. I want to watch fast road-like cars.

I assume F1 is faster than LMP1?

Yes it is - hence the 919 was only quicker once the destructors were taken off.

However derestrict an F1 car and it will go faster still

[faa77]

Welshbeef said:

Yes it is - hence the 919 was only quicker once the destructors were taken off.

However derestrict an F1 car and it will go faster still

I think the FIA need to have fewer classes, but more manufacturers/cars per class. This season GTE Pro has only 3 manufacturers (Aston, Ferrari and Porsche) and 6 cars. Last season it had 5 manufacturers (Aston, Ferrari, Ford, BMW and Porsche) and 10 cars.

I would simply have:

-Hypercar or LMP1 (I prefer Hypercar)
-GTE (combine Pro and AM, all teams have 3 drivers, one an amateur)

Scrap LMP2 and combine GTE AM with GTE Pro

[Welshbeef]

faa77 said:

I think the FIA need to have fewer classes, but more manufacturers/cars per class. This season GTE Pro has only 3 manufacturers (Aston, Ferrari and Porsche) and 6 cars. Last season it had 5 manufacturers (Aston, Ferrari, Ford, BMW and Porsche) and 10 cars.

I would simply have:

-Hypercar or LMP1 (I prefer Hypercar)
-GTE (combine Pro and AM, all teams have 3 drivers, one an amateur)

Scrap LMP2 and combine GTE AM with GTE Pro

But BOP one year destroyed the Ford GT and the other destroyed the AM (possibly due to 911’s giving too slow qualifying speeds... which want the truth/playing the rules)

[Mr.Tremlini]

Welshbeef said:

But BOP one year destroyed the Ford GT and the other destroyed the AM (possibly due to 911’s giving too slow qualifying speeds... which want the truth/playing the rules)

BOP is an interesting beast, as it creates parity in the races which makes the competition far more interesting but if it seriously disadvantages a brand then the knives come out, understandably. If the manufacturer you support has a run away winner, think Group B Audi Quattro back in the day, then you are as happy as Larry! On the flip side if you follow another manufacturer then you have a few years in the wasteland, like a fan of Williams F1.
My initial "yehaa" about Valkyrie competing was tempered by reading shortly afterwards that they would be de-tuned by some 400hp! You then wonder what`s the point, will the advanced aero etc let the car win anyway, or will other manufacturers build their cars to the exacting rules and have an advantage and you`re left thinking "but if it still had 1160hp..."
Regardless, I`d still like to see these things racing, fingers crossed a few make it.

[RL17]

AML's 2nd win (AM's 1st) at Le Mans came after the larger engined D Types, Ferraris and Maserati's were restricted.

Had a great chance to win in 2021 and further repeat history by concentrating on a poor F1 campaign.

Opportunity lost for Valkyrie at Le Mans and Red Bull collaboration for great publicity there also lost.

+1 on dislike of identical LMP cars, especially LMP2

[anonymous-user]

RL17 said:

AML's 2nd win (AM's 1st) at Le Mans came after the larger engined D Types, Ferraris and Maserati's were restricted.

Had a great chance to win in 2021 and further repeat history by concentrating on a poor F1 campaign.

Opportunity lost for Valkyrie at Le Mans and Red Bull collaboration for great publicity there also lost.

+1 on dislike of identical LMP cars, especially LMP2

Just to touch on the F1 link, it would appear that at present, the pink Mercedes is a pretty decent motor car - so the F1 aspirations for Aston Martin, might actually be off to a good start, should it follow through into 2021. That itself is a massive unknown for everyone though - the technical regulations get turned on their head next year and another year of Mercedes domination isn't a forgone conclusion.

A year of Mercedes domination this year though...pretty much is a forgone conclusion though, sadly.

[RL17]

Income and sponsorship and subsequent big budgets seem concentrated on 3 big teams, with prize money and additional incentives concentrated even more so.

Do have a concern on how much more spend (and time) would be required to break into this top tier or gain similar levels of sponsorship (probably currently lower mid tier or upper third tier). Changes normally favour the big spenders but hopefully restricting aero and the number of upgrades through the 2021 season will help.

https://www.racefans.net/2019/12/27/the-cost-of-f1...

https://www.racefans.net/2018/12/26/the-cost-of-f1...