Club Arnage

http://www.lemans.org/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Pdf/2012/24-heures-du-mans/entry_list_24_heures_du_mans_2012.pdf

Lots of mobile chicanes in GTE.

But 2 hybrids each from Audi and Toyota.
When the Pugs withdrew I was very disappointed, but I'm getting quiet excited seeing that entry list.
Will be interested to see how Henri's Dome performs, there's some quick drivers in that car.
Shame that Lotus are on the reserve list, 2 Evoras finishing was an achievement for their first year, I thought they would get 1 entry for 2012.

Thought they might have had Mclaren in GT as well.

Were there any entries by teams running them?

Only holomagated for GT3 not ACO GTE yet!

No bimmers!  Were there supposed to be some? I know I do not know much about motor racing, but I thought they were still doing this.

>Martini...LB

Allez les Bleus

There are still beemers in the ALM's, but the european money has gone to the DTM were BMW join Audi and merc.

Your countryman is driving one. Expect he will struggle tbh.

Yep, the Rahal-Letterman M3's will defend their ALMS GT title, but no LM entry.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20111130/ALMS/111139969
Fax

I do not rate him to be honest, I think he used the reversed grid system in WTC to its full potential to get points but think he lacked the ability or cahones to do much passing

IMHO

>Martini...LB

is the delta wing car in?is car with new technologies a class?will mr blobby be driving?am i confused?or just stoopid.

The additional pit which was introduced last year is for a car in the new tech category and yes, the Delta Wing is it this year.  It's not you - it's the weird layout of the entry list.

It's in, but as soon as it's been blown off the track into the trees, after it got paased by 3 Audi's and a Toyota, it will be out again  8)

The new 'experimental' category is what the ACO are calling the '56th pit'. The DeltaWing got the invitation this time (cynics might suggest Michelin tyres involvement could have scored a few points with the selection board). The GreenGT will be allowed at test day but not the race, and the DeltaWing will also need to convince ACO scrutineers of its safety before it is allowed on track at all, and with such a novel design that could be a tough challenge.

For me personally the DW looks just wrong. There is no way that thing will have enough lateral stability, even with the silly fin on the back. It will be nervous and impossible to drive. I remember talking to Panoz LMP07 driver Jamie Davies who said that sitting so far to the rear was quite alarming at first, and took some time to adjust to. I can imagine the DW suffering similar problems but much worse.

Quite right about stability GF, its all about roll stiffness, or the Reliant Robin effect as we know it.  Without any width at the front, it will pick up the inside rear wheel and either have no traction or put itself into the barrier.  I wouldn't want to drive the damn thing.  Frankly its a death trap

I can't see what is special/new about this.  Even Morgan gave up with this 70 years ago

Not the only thing that's a weird layout. I'm not going anywhere indy until it's done a few hot laps.

Didn't Morgan have a single wheel at the back though?

Yes, and that layout can work very well.
I just can't see the DW surviving qualifying, let alone the race.

Agreed.  It is a shame that there are no McLarens or BMW's, and the DeltaWing is surely just a publicity stunt to drum up sponsor support.  What odds to see them wheeling out a customer car come the test day?

 BMW's were a doubtful entry a few years ago, suddenly everyone misses them. why?

McLarens, well why not, should have had an entry.

Astons - well got a few entry's  so nice to see ££ counts after last year but make up for previous years

Lotus LMP2 - Nice to see, hope to say the same after 6 hrs...

Henri. well same as above, IF he can take a fight to Audi great....

Toyota. looks good maybe a surprise, maybe a 3rd overall

Delta wing.. bound to make a BIG impression, probably well impressed into to the barriers at the end of muslanne on the 1st lap...

McLaren don't have a suitable car so why do people expect them to get an entry? There is only a GT3 version of the MP4-12C.

I won't miss the BMW's as in my eyes they are Touring cars and not GT cars!

Astons were pretty successfull in GT1, so let's hope they can do the Vantage GTE justice and take the fight to the usual GTE players.

Lotus LMP2 - Well it is a Lola and Kolles are running it,  and it does sound like it's going to be a Judd engine, unless Lotus can get an engine of their own sorted out, highly unlikely that.  So I would expect them to be able to go the distance.

Henri will be like the rest of the petrol runners,  fighting over the scraps left by Audi, and I include Toyota in that this year, maybe next year it will be different for them.

I reserve judgement on the DW untill I see it actually running, like most I'm not convinced it'll work but then not many of us ever thought a diesel would win LM!

The big question is, will Audi let the 4 cars fight amongst each other, up to a point, or will the grid positions define the result?  OR will they favour one of the two hybrids to get that first hybrid win, providing one of them is still running at the finish?

We aren't going to get a repeat of last years race, but let's hope for a few battles here and there in the various classes!

As a car, and taking roll stiffness into consideration, I don't think there is an issue. I'm sure that the designers have spent countless hours making calculations before settling on the design. Race cars are no longer built in a shed with bits of string and chalk marks on the floor.

However...... I don't think that they have taken into consideration the fact that Le Sarthe is a road based circuit with heavy commercial traffic 360 days a year. There are some pretty deep tramlines on the Mulsanne created by les camions. Anyone who has driven a 3 wheeled car on such roads will tell you its not fun at 50 mph never mind 200mph.

With the 'centre' position of the front, the tyres are going to be permanently off  the 'racing line' and  more often on the painted centre line of the public road sections.

I agree that the designers must have taken lateral stability into account, but I wonder just how accurate computer models can be when there is no historic data for that design to use as a basis.

On the subject of Bimmers, I'm glad to see the back of 'em. However fast they make them, they still look completely out of place. 

IIRC
Seem to remember an interview on the TV recently (How to build a super car?).
McLaren said they wanted to concentrate on getting the GT3 car winning, and a complete customer package, then they would think about moving into other categories.

Have you seen the size of the deltawing front tyres!

http://www.americanlemans.com/primary1.php?cat=news%7C16471

I'm pretty sad that there won't be BMWs there this year. They sounded great and were really quick. The GT class has been brilliant over the last few years and BMW certainly contributed to the hike in competition.
As for them being touring cars. Well OK, I see your point, in the modern era we havn't had anything like that at Le Mans, but when you look back to the 1970s, the 320 Turbos and 3.0 CSLs were always there and looked at home.
 In an age where all the prototypes are starting to look the same, the visual diversity of the GT class should be welcomed. I feel the BMWs added interest to the class. There is also an aspirational bonus- how many of us can afford a Corvette, 456, Aston or Porsche? The Beemers are more affordable and within reach of the average LM attendee. That can only be a good thing even it just stops anyone else buying a TVR!

As a car maker, I'm no BMW fan, but as a fan of Le Mans I'll miss them.

Si  

I take your point about visual diversity, but Le Mans has evolved during the last 30 years and what looked 'at home' then doesn't now (at least to my eye).

I'd like the ACO regs on GT cars to include a clause that bans any chassis that has a 4-door variant. That would eliminate cars that would look more at home on the school run or shopping at Tesco.
 

With you there.  I won't miss the Beemers, they look well out of place to my mind and should compete in Touring Car races since that is what they patently are.

I wouldn't mind seeing one of these though..

http://player.vimeo.com/video/36223941 (http://player.vimeo.com/video/36223941)


 

 :) At least it looks like a sports car.  I have no probs with the Ms and would love to own one but they are still go-faster shopping trolleys, albeit amongst the best there are.

I would agree with Simon on this one, it is good to see cars racing that are not based on exotica.

delta things front tyres only 4 inches wide.hope there quick to change.dario franshitty named as driver along side dan dare and flash gordon.
dont the people ask themselves why?

As does the new one:

http://www.morgan3wheeler.co.uk/home.html

although I see that the company has nailed its colours very sensibly to the four wheel mast for the race.  What are those guys behind the Delta Thing on?

Can't be Bud, otherwise they would be sober enough to realise their folly.

Moonshine?
Crystal-meth?
Both?

Well I LOVE BMEEEEERRRRS :-* both on the track and off. :-X

Yeh call me a sad bugger, but my latest one is in Le Mans metalic blue as well ::) :)

Or Liquid-Meth, brewed by a certain Seth at Sebring....

Not exactly  Gulf Blue & Orange

Anorak on....

Gulf colours on racing cars started when Grady Davis, then Gulf's vice president, decided to enter his own GT40 as a private entry at Daytona and Sebring in '67 - and saw the advertising potential.  When he took delivery of the car in '66 it was a road car (albeit one already fitted with a race engine and gearbox and removeable roll bar).  I was finished in a dark blue metallic paint; on going racing, he added the orange stripe, so the car replicated the then Gulf Europe corporate colours.  Ford USA withdrew from sports car racing after '67, and Gulf took over sponsorship of John Wyer's racing team (who had been an exec vice-president at Gulf), who continued racing the GT40 through '68 and '69 when they wore the corporate powder blue and orange scheme, as had the Mirages which preceded them, and the Porsches which followed.  The Kremer Porsche at Le Mans in '95 was finished in the dark blue scheme, and various Mclarens GTRs carried both around that time, and the Astons have carried the light blue scheme more recently, as well as some of the LMP2 cars.

Anorak off.....

MG Mark

if the delta car had a wound up elastic band for power would it be  a hybrid as well?

No but it might go faster

Is there any truth in the rumour that someone like Wyer didn't like Gulfs blue, so used a lighter shade.

I've got a picture of the Mirage with the 3 litre BRM V12 somewhere

Not according to the video on the Gulf website page here:
http://www.gulfoilltd.com/about_gulf/gulf_today/colours_flash/index.html (http://www.gulfoilltd.com/about_gulf/gulf_today/colours_flash/index.html)
and article on the same website here:
http://www.gulfoilltd.com/cms_media/files/orange_disk_25_book_proof.pdf (http://www.gulfoilltd.com/cms_media/files/orange_disk_25_book_proof.pdf)
"The story begins in the 1960s when the Gulf Mirage was first designed to run in the 1967 motorsport season. With the design
of the car and the selection of the now iconic ‘Mirage’ name finished, all that was left was the livery design. After much
consideration it was felt that the corporate service station colours of dark blue and orange was not exciting enough and would not photograph well and so a different approach was needed. At the same time Gulf had just acquired the ‘Wilshire Oil Company’ based in California, USA and whilst this included the orange of the Gulf brand it paired this with a much lighter ‘powder blue’. This unique and highly visible livery was exactly what Gulf was looking for and so became the birth of a legend."

MG Mark

MG Mark, what colour is your anorak ;D

Blue and orange feature quite heavily, against a BRG backdrop..... ;D

Regarding the Delta Wing, it has been noted that they are to use the AMR 1 chassis.  As far as I am aware, two were built up and raced at Le Mans last year, and these two cars have been sold and delivered to Aston customers.  There were also two unused chassis, one of them presumably going to Delta.  However, with the news that Henri Pescarolo has bought 2 AMR 1 chassis to run in WEC this year, we are a chassis short.  Either Henri has only bought one, not two as has been reported, or Delta have returned theirs, or never had one in the first place.  Anybody any ideas?  ???

Pescarolo only have one entry in WEC, an 03-Judd, which is the AMR1 tub.
I think in selected rounds, ie Spa, they will run the Dome as well.

Well the original plan was to sell six AMR-Ones, five were sold with the sixth under option the last i heard, before the project was canned.  So if AMR built six tubs then it would make sense that two were built up as AMR-Ones, two went to Henri, and one went to DW,  maybe the sixth tub was built up to an AMR-One for a customer or is being kept as a spare.

One of Henri's people has posted on a different forum that six were built the two cars that raced went to private collectors, two went to the delta wing project and they have two

missing tub in hall of shame next to mansell.place ready for delta wing thing.

My point was here that I know for a fact that only 4 chassis were built, and as I say, I know this as a fact.  If 2 have gone to customers, and two have gone to Pescarolo, where does that leave Delta.  I think it leaves them back in the workshop with a mock up of a pipe dream.

You could be quite right.  The AMR tub would have the front suspension mountings in the wrong place, and  these tend to be metal bobbins rather than just a bolt hole.  Didn't one of the Peugeots retire a year or two back, because it had pulled a bobbin.  (Some tubs are built with extra bobbins, so you can fit different bits)

Several sources seem to think that Deltawing have a couple of tubs.  Perhaps they were unfinished, or cobbled together for this pile of crap

I get the impression that Henri has a complete AMR- One rather than just a tub. I read a quote somewhere where he said that they will keep the bits that worked such as the tub, suspension, tansmission and several key ancilliary parts and disgard the parts that didn't work such as the engine and bodywork.

That suggests he has a full car to play with. To be honest I can't see any speculating Aston owners wanting that ugly failure taking pride of place in their collections. I know the two AMRs that raced at LMhad already been sold to collectors prior to the event. My guess is that they stopped answering the phone once they realized what a lemon their new investment turned out to be.

So my guess is there were two complete cars and two tubs. One complete car is with Henri, one with a gutted investor and the two tubs are with Deltafarce.

Dome arrives at Pescarolo...

(http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/images/news/DSCF4296.JPG)


 http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/actualite-endurance-9573.html  (http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/actualite-endurance-9573.html)

Hope there is another pallet with the rest of it on.

His workshop must be a look like a junk yard, I hope for his sake he does not mix up parts of the various DIY projects he has on the go. I've done that in the past with airfix kits. not pretty.

Is the Dome a new car or the test mule that Toyota were reported to be using?

Yes, Toyota were using it to test the hybrid system drivetrain.

Is it just me.... or does Sébastien Buemi have weird scary eyes?