Now that would be awesome!

 

I'm really anxious for 2014, now that toyota seem to have a contender (after more testing of course) against audi and porsche coming back we will now see some real racing in lmp1 finally !

Edit: Oh and planning on being there too

 

Yes Carrera. The new regulation and new techs are in moving in. The fact is Audi won the 1st pole position for an hybrid car and Audi won the race with the two e-tron hybrids. Toyota hybrids were up to the task. At the test first week of June. At the qualifs and during the race till they got this accident. My thoughts go first to the Britt Anthony Davidson. Press reports said is OK. Wrong. He has two weartebas broken and the recovery will bepainfull and long... Hope he's going to be OK.
I saw your PM on the race. Sure, I was there the whole week. After the accident and the mechanical problem on the second Toyota the LMP1 race was an internal Audi affair! I'm on my way back. Let me sleep over it and will PM you on the subject. IMSA Performance Matmut lost P1 with #67 on a flat tire in the last 15 minutes of the race but on the podium, second in GT Pro-AM and best Porsche car against teams like the German Felbermayer and US's Flying Lizard and against Porsche works pilots! Still second...

 

Good to hear! And a definite shame for the Toyotas. While I was rooting for Audi to win, the race was basically given to them after the two Toyotas dropped out. Too bad Toyota wasn't there to make them really fight for a win this year. My thoughts go to Davidson too, that crash did not look good, but it goes as a testament to the safety of modern racing cars considering how hard he landed and shot into the wall. Same for the 458, he hit the wall really hard. A shame for the Flying Lizards this year, and Matmut. They ran a great race, but I guess the Corvette did it one tire better!

At least next year should be more interesting with Toyota's next attempt at the victory. Even more so in two years... Do you know if the 991 RSR will be ready in time for the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans? The 997 seems to be becoming outclassed very quickly.

 

Just think if the Delta Wing had been clouted by a (comparatively) massive GT or LMP car at those speeds - would've been a fatality almost certainly. Just another why Le Mans is, for me, the ultimate race - even though they've really tried to take the teeth out of the track (Dunlop chicane, chicane to esses, reprofiling Tetre Rouge, the Mulsanne chicanes, Porsches curves instead of Maison Blanche, etc. over the years) it is still a fearsome track, not to mention the closing speeds, the darkness, etc. There is plenty of risk at Le Mans, the likes of which we don't really see too often in F1, for example.

Is there any confirmation that the 991 RSR will actually exist? I've neither seen nor heard anything, so what if they are just scrapping it to concentrate on the LMP car? That would be a nice solution to the 9A1 vs. GT1 engine block debate ... for the next GT3. Plus, most Porsche customers care more about what message their Cayenne or Panamera send to the world rather than the ancient history of racing that characterized the "old" Porsche.

Seriously, though, in the latest issue of Panorama, there is a mention of Georg Kacher in connection with the upcoming 960 being a "super-911" (a la 959; it will apparently be a 2+2 with the engine mounted a bit farther forward, and apparently have enough power and torque to take the fight to Ferrari and Corvette, not to mention Viper). Anyone heard anything?

 

Sure Porsche isn't what they used to be, but I think it's safe to say they aren't ever going to forget about their roots in production based motor sports. Interesting point you bring up though about the 961 running in GT2 instead of the 911 though. My best guess would be we'll see a 991 RSR racing in the GT2 class for a while, and then a little after the 961 comes out (if it does), we'll see a GT2 version of that, like you said.

And the first part of your post really points out how challenging this race really is. This year, just over half the cars made it to the checkered. Not an easy race by any means even for the most experienced teams.

 

Hey, I'm just parroting what Georg Kacher of Car magazine is alleged to have said, according to Panorama. I hope it's not true. As an aside, the 918 is a big fat pig that absolutely will NOT be able to keep up with the F70/New Enzo/whatever, which is a gross misstep I'm afraid. I hope there are no plans to frankenstein that thing into a real race car given its weight.

 

Sadly, you're probably right. It'd be cool to see Porsche give up on the novelty that the 918 is a "plug in hybrid" (nobody who can afford this car will care about the all electric mode to save gas, therefore, it's a novelty), and just focus on the KERS system, which actually has a benefit to the performance..

 

wow,i really enjoy reading your posts

didn`t know that we had some really interested people on TS as well

love all the endurance and GT racing like VLN,ALMS,FIA GT1 etc

 

Well now that Audi swept Le Mans Porsche will have some serious amount of work to do....