Closed roof prototypes back to Le Mans in 2010

[FourWheelDrift]

The ACO the club that runs the Le Mans 24 Hours recently announced during this years race that it's 2010 LMP1 prototype regulations will be for closed roof prototypes only, they will also have smaller rear wings to cut speed. Apparantly they will also have to take design cues from road going cars so spectators can recognise them.

Only Bentley in recent years has run a closed roof LM car (in LM GTP a different class to the LPM1's) but despite winning in 2003 the rules which mainly concerned rear tyre width and greater wear still favoured the open top LMP1 cars and they never returned.

But it seems the ACO want to see closed roof prototypes back at Le Mans and what they want they generally get. KWM who manufactured the CA06/H LMP1 chassis for Creation Autosportif have already announced a closed roof car and have said they might even have it racing next year or 2008 at the latest.

I can see other chassis builders like Lola and Dome building cars but I wonder if Peugeot or even Audi will still be in the sport come 2010.

Will any other major manufacturers will be back, Toyota, Mercedes maybe?

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Thursday 29th June 21:29

[groomi]

FourWheelDrift said:

Will any other major manufacturers will be back, Toyota, Mercedes maybe?

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Thursday 29th June 21:29

This is the real question. What the ACO do with the rules is irrelevent if only Audi are building works cars to compete. The endless string of uncontested victories rather grates against the whole meaning of Le Mans in my opinion.

Bring back Group C - Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Toyota, Lancia, Aston Martin et al...

[Graham]

Le mans always seems to go in cycles the maufacturers come and then eventually they loose interest and bugger off again after driving the budgets up. things then come back down to earth and its full of indies again.

Personally Im a fan of the big proper GT1 cars like the mac f1, viper, the panoz bat mobile, and rules were they can compete with the LMP cars. The current rules are in favour of the LMP's rather than the GT cars...


It does seem odd that the ACO say they want closed lmp cars to take design elements from road cars, why not simply let GT1 have the brakes in the rules to compete..


wouldnt closed cockpit LMP cars be quicker due to better aero? driver comfort should be ok as arnt they mandating air con a well ?

[dougc]

Audi were developing the R8C at the same time as the open R8.



Maybe they'll revert to the old design and contnue development for it to take the diseaseal engine?

[FourWheelDrift]

The R8C became the basis of the Bentley Speed Eight. They shared a fair bit and were also very similar in appearance.

[rude-boy]

dougc said:

Ah, the old door popper where the aero at 200MPH + caused the doors to fly open, great design for a race where the cars reach that 3 times per lap

I love the idea of the closed tops comming back. I looked at the pics in Autospite and the cars look so similar to the old XJR14

Anyone else remember the Yamaha Supercar that was killed after 3 propotypes had been made? the Toyota GT-One? Daura (sp) 962, Norbert's Fly circus and the other great closed tops. sooooo much more pleasing on the eye and to me far more the spirit of LM than the open tops.

[dougc]

rude-boy said:

Ah, the old door popper where the aero at 200MPH + caused the doors to fly open, great design for a race where the cars reach that 3 times per lap

Well, at least they didn't 'do a Webber'

Edited by dougc on Friday 30th June 10:06

[rude-boy]

dougc said:

Well, at least they didn't 'do a Webber'

rude-boy said:

...Norbert's Fly circus...

[FourWheelDrift]

Webber did it twice, in practice and in the mornng warm-up photo's here - www.mulsannescorner.com/benzCLR1.html

Then Peter Dumbreck decided he'd try to better Webber's effort in the race, but half way through the attempt he gave up and left the circuit.

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Friday 30th June 10:35

[rude-boy]

FourWheelDrift said:

Webber did it twice, in practice and in the mornng warm-up photo's here - www.mulsannescorner.com/benzCLR1.html

Then Peter Dumbreck decided he'd try to better Webber's effort in the race, but half way through the attempt he gave up and left the circuit.

A very lucky man who landed in a clearing that had only been there a few weeks. Almost anywhere else along there and he would have been very unlikely to have lived to tell the tale

[Robbo1]

As long as they don't look like the Daytona Prototypes!