Le Mans 24hr Race Thread
Discussion
LB14 said:
Fantastic experience to be there, there seemed to be a groundswell of goodwill towards Alonso. Getting this close to his race winning car within an hour of the chequered flag was pretty special:
It looks glorious with all the marks and debris. Three or four years ago someone brought a prototype to the Goodwood FoS uncleaned, just as it crossed the line. It looked more of a race car than all the others.Was a great race. Not a classic, but still a great race. GTE pro was awesome, GTE am had a real fan favourite take the win and LMP2 was an old school battle of attrition.
LMP1 played out exactly as the rules dictated - The privateer teams knew that the only way to win was for the Toyotas to hit trouble. As it was the Rebellions spent too much time in the pits and the SMP drivers were hampered by electrical gremlins and not being able to keep it on the track. The history books will say that it was a Toyota 1-2 much like the Peugeot win in 1993 where they were the only real top prototype (and they took 4 cars to ensure the win!)
It wasn't perfect - the stint length rule needs to be reconsidered, as does the fuel flow adjustments. Aston Martin need to take a long hard look at themselves and stop relying on BOP, and possibly some thought needs to be given to the constant abuse of track limits / driving standards as there was some pretty poor driving from all classes at times.
Button sounded like he enjoyed himself, and was definatley hinting at a return next year, a Ginetta finished (!), and Toyota finally got the win.
A big thumbs up from me.
LMP1 played out exactly as the rules dictated - The privateer teams knew that the only way to win was for the Toyotas to hit trouble. As it was the Rebellions spent too much time in the pits and the SMP drivers were hampered by electrical gremlins and not being able to keep it on the track. The history books will say that it was a Toyota 1-2 much like the Peugeot win in 1993 where they were the only real top prototype (and they took 4 cars to ensure the win!)
It wasn't perfect - the stint length rule needs to be reconsidered, as does the fuel flow adjustments. Aston Martin need to take a long hard look at themselves and stop relying on BOP, and possibly some thought needs to be given to the constant abuse of track limits / driving standards as there was some pretty poor driving from all classes at times.
Button sounded like he enjoyed himself, and was definatley hinting at a return next year, a Ginetta finished (!), and Toyota finally got the win.
A big thumbs up from me.
Moley RUFC said:
Well I enjoyed it. But then I’d enjoy watching 60 x Ford Fiestas driving around for 24 hours tbh. I do hope there is more competition in both LMP1 and 2 in the next few years. I’m back there in 2 years so maybe I’ll see a McLaren or two....
I really hope there is still an LMP class in 2yrs time, but it feels like the regulations (and that GT styled Toyota unveiled last week) are pointing towards a swing back to the late nineties era of GT1 as a lead category instead. I really wonder if Toyota will stick around now they've finally secured their outright win - if they quit as manufacturer team then it's going to make for a very odd LM19.
Derek Smith said:
It looks glorious with all the marks and debris. Three or four years ago someone brought a prototype to the Goodwood FoS uncleaned, just as it crossed the line. It looked more of a race car than all the others.
It used to be an unspoken rule as such that you leave the winning car as it was when it finished the line. You used to get a few at FOS LMP to GT cars in lovely dirt and grime. Always look amazing.
I guess as these cars have to be used again they get cleaned up now.
jazzdevil said:
I really wonder if Toyota will stick around now they've finally secured their outright win - if they quit as manufacturer team then it's going to make for a very odd LM19.
I think Toyota will do this season and then quit to develop a car for the new 2020 regulations. We could have one year (2019/2020) where LMP1 is just privateer LMP1s and no hybrids, so that could be great.Jordan210 said:
It used to be an unspoken rule as such that you leave the winning car as it was when it finished the line.
You used to get a few at FOS LMP to GT cars in lovely dirt and grime. Always look amazing.
I guess as these cars have to be used again they get cleaned up now.
The chassis has to go through the season but the bodywork doesn't. I spoke to the guys at Porsche at the FoS last year and they told me that the winning 919 had its Le Mans dirty bodywork removed and put into storage exactly as it finished the race, with new panels fitted for the rest of the WEC season. Then it was reacquainted with its Le Mans bodywork ready to head to the Porsche museum at season-end.You used to get a few at FOS LMP to GT cars in lovely dirt and grime. Always look amazing.
I guess as these cars have to be used again they get cleaned up now.
greeny12 said:
Jordan210 said:
It used to be an unspoken rule as such that you leave the winning car as it was when it finished the line.
You used to get a few at FOS LMP to GT cars in lovely dirt and grime. Always look amazing.
I guess as these cars have to be used again they get cleaned up now.
The chassis has to go through the season but the bodywork doesn't. I spoke to the guys at Porsche at the FoS last year and they told me that the winning 919 had its Le Mans dirty bodywork removed and put into storage exactly as it finished the race, with new panels fitted for the rest of the WEC season. Then it was reacquainted with its Le Mans bodywork ready to head to the Porsche museum at season-end.You used to get a few at FOS LMP to GT cars in lovely dirt and grime. Always look amazing.
I guess as these cars have to be used again they get cleaned up now.
VladD said:
I think Toyota will do this season and then quit to develop a car for the new 2020 regulations. We could have one year (2019/2020) where LMP1 is just privateer LMP1s and no hybrids, so that could be great.
Definitely... it feels very, very likely that LMP1 will be privateer only for 2019. The hybrid era has proven itself with three manufacturer titles, so I'm expecting all the focus to be on the GTs until the new regs are cemented and cars developed for 2020.jazzdevil said:
VladD said:
I think Toyota will do this season and then quit to develop a car for the new 2020 regulations. We could have one year (2019/2020) where LMP1 is just privateer LMP1s and no hybrids, so that could be great.
Definitely... it feels very, very likely that LMP1 will be privateer only for 2019. The hybrid era has proven itself with three manufacturer titles, so I'm expecting all the focus to be on the GTs until the new regs are cemented and cars developed for 2020.what Im more interested in is... what if your are Ginetta or one of the other privateer LMP1 constructors... they've just built a new car, which has now been made redundant due to new regs ??
perhaps ACO are thinking of a LMP1, LMP2 and LMP3 series ?
Edited by Lynchie999 on Monday 18th June 12:06
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How on earth did you get that close?
I climbed the fencing to get a shot of the cars after the race and nearly got kicked out by angry security guards/walts
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We walked part of the track after the podium celebrations as far as Dunlop Bridge. Turned back and walked through the pits and as we got towards the podium they were pushing the car back presumably towards the Toyota garage, it was fairly quiet so we got a number of photos.
Was actually quite amusing - the tyres had stuck to the plastic advertising banner underneath it so they struggled a bit to unstick it!
Agree with Derek, it looked utterly fantastic covered in grime and debris, I hope they leave it that way.
Lynchie999 said:
jazzdevil said:
VladD said:
I think Toyota will do this season and then quit to develop a car for the new 2020 regulations. We could have one year (2019/2020) where LMP1 is just privateer LMP1s and no hybrids, so that could be great.
Definitely... it feels very, very likely that LMP1 will be privateer only for 2019. The hybrid era has proven itself with three manufacturer titles, so I'm expecting all the focus to be on the GTs until the new regs are cemented and cars developed for 2020.what Im more interested in is... what if your are Ginetta or one of the other privateer LMP1 constructors... they've just built a new car, which has now been made redundant due to new regs ??
perhaps ACO are thinking of a LMP1, LMP2 and LMP3 series ?
Edited by Lynchie999 on Monday 18th June 12:06
Clockwork Cupcake said:
SevenR said:
I've always wanted Toyota to win, but this felt like a hollow victory to me. No competition.
Apart from the victory of getting to the end without crashing or breaking down, you mean? Didn't attend this year so it was my first time watching on tv for about 5 years and I'm still annoyed at the dollar shave club advert that was constantly repeated on eurosport through the night - almost as much as the google assistant one!! 
I missed from about 2am - 8am but we've all gotta sleep at some point
I take it the suggested penalties for #8 (reversing in the pit box and spinning wheels on the jacks) either weren't spotted or were ignored by race control?
Alonso certainly deserves respect for his decision to partake in 2 different race programmes, and being immediately on the pace at LM was impressive given the scale of the task, I guess that is what people mean when they say he's the best driver - as JPM found out it's not that easy
. I guess there will always be debate about the circumstances of the win though, in much the same way that some people don't rate other dominant performances (the Mercedes / Red Bull / Ferrari eras in F1 or Citroen in WRC immediately spring to mind). Yes they won the battle against reliability and the track but they were massively helped in this regard by not being pushed by a realistic competitor in class.
I missed from about 2am - 8am but we've all gotta sleep at some point
I take it the suggested penalties for #8 (reversing in the pit box and spinning wheels on the jacks) either weren't spotted or were ignored by race control?
Alonso certainly deserves respect for his decision to partake in 2 different race programmes, and being immediately on the pace at LM was impressive given the scale of the task, I guess that is what people mean when they say he's the best driver - as JPM found out it's not that easy
. I guess there will always be debate about the circumstances of the win though, in much the same way that some people don't rate other dominant performances (the Mercedes / Red Bull / Ferrari eras in F1 or Citroen in WRC immediately spring to mind). Yes they won the battle against reliability and the track but they were massively helped in this regard by not being pushed by a realistic competitor in class.Gassing Station | Le Mans | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff