Previews LMP1

[amazing43]

Le Mans 2004 Preview   
This years 24 hours looks to be one of the most open races for years as other than in GTS where we have the might of GM behind the Corvettes all the other entries this year are “Private” entries. Yes you can say that there are works cars from Lister, Courage, Zytek and Panoz but in comparison to the recent years where the full might of the likes Of Porsche, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, Audi have been present these small manufacturers I think qualify as Private Teams. Certainly I am sure the Audis will have some factory support but I believe this year the gap between Audi and the rest has shrunk. Sebring showed that the rest have got closer and we will consider the reasons in this preview.
PROTOTYPE "LM" P1
2 * CHAMPION RACING USA LMP 900 AUDI 3600T
4 TAURUS SPORTS RACING GBR LM P 900 LOLA JUDD 4000A
5 * AUDI SPORT JAPAN TEAM GOH JPN LMP 900 AUDI 3600T
6 ROLLCENTRE RACING GBR LMP 900 DALLARA JUDD 4000A
7 SPINNAKER CLANDESTEAM ITA LMP 900 DALLARA JUDD 4000A
8 AUDI SPORT UK TEAM VELOQX GBR LMP 900 AUDI 3600T
9 KONDO RACING JPN LMP 900 DOME MUGEN 4000A
10 TAURUS SPORTS RACING GBR LMP 900 LOLA CATERPILLAR 4920T
11 PANOZ MOTOR SPORTS USA LM GTP PANOZ ELAN 6000A
14 TEAM NASAMAX GBR LM P1 NASAMAX JUDD 4997A
15 RACING FOR HOLLAND NLD LMP 900 DOME JUDD 3994A
16 RACING FOR HOLLAND NLD LMP 900 DOME JUDD 3994A
17 PESCAROLO SPORT FRA LMP 900 PESCAROLO JUDD 4997A
18 PESCAROLO SPORT FRA LMP 900 PESCAROLO JUDD 4997A
20 * LISTER RACING GBR LMP 900 LISTER STORM 5990A
22 ZYTEK ENGINEERING LTD GBR LMP 675 ZYTEK 3396A
25 RML GBR LMP 675 LOLA MG 1995T
27 * INTERSPORT RACING USA LMP 675 LOLA JUDD 3397A
29 * NOEL DEL BELLO FRA LMP 675 REYNARD LEHMANN 1998T
88 AUDI SPORT UK TEAM VELOQX GBR LMP 900 AUDI 3600T
* Pre-selected Competitors
Audi
Sebring hinted that the invincibility of the Audi has perhaps come to an end. The R8 has perhaps been the greatest sports prototype of all time but it is now one of the oldest designs in the field. The newer cars from Lister and Zytek have made progress since last year and the Dome and Pescarolo’s  Courages particularly now he has a proper racing engine have been close. The other major factor in closing the gap is the rule changes preventing Audi from doing a three minute rear end change. The #88 Audi required gearbox work at Sebring and but for the fact that most of its time behind the wall was under a full course yellow the Rollcentre Dallara would almost certainly have finished on the LMP podium. The Audis must be considered the warm favourites come the race particularly with their economy, if the drivers remember when to stop! But let us examine the merits of the opposition.
Dallara;
The quality of the small Rollcentre Team shone through at Sebring, Sebring as Martin Short said was their start of a steep learning curve, they acquitted themselves with honour, the car was designed for Le Mans and they have a considerable measure of support from Oreca. The wing specifications are different from when the car was last at La Sarthe but the car should be in its element here. The second Dallara is at present a bit of a mystery but the team is the team that entered the Durango last year.
Dome
The withdrawal of the XL Ferrari has ensured a second car for Racing for Holland, surely Jan merited two entries from the start? The dome has had further development since last year and testing at Paul Ricard suggested that as usual Jan will be in amongst the Audis. The Kondo Dome with Mugen power showed great speed at times last year and with some official works Dome support can be expected to have benefited from last years first appearance of this Chassis engine combination.
Lister
If Lawrence Pearce was a dog he would be a pit bull! I greatly admire the way he goes his own independent way and worries away at a project until it works. The old front-engined Storm is still after many years a top notch GT contender and the LMP with its very unusual appearance shows every sign of becoming a force to be reckoned with. The addition of Danish drivers and much needed funds has left Tom Coronal without a Lister drive at Le Mans and Monza but the experience particularly of Nielsen will be a great asset to the team. The car was close to front running pace at the 1000 K and increases in engine power have arrived since then.
Pescarolo
A real darkhorse here, the car now has a 5 litre (the only 5 litre petrol Judds in the field). I always had the suspicion that the car was held back by its Peugeot engine, Sunday will be very interesting.
Lola
Two big Lolas from Taurus although these are now much more Taurus than Lola as Ian’s Team have done a considerable number of chassis modifications to their cars. They have also developed a long tail for Le Mans. The real interest here is going to be the diesel car, how noisy, how fast, how economical and will it have the famed diesel reliability, Sunday will reveal the first answers  but the project is still in its infancy, no news yet as to the origins of the engine. The Judd car should be a quick challenger for the top 10.
The two small Lolas from RML  and Intersport should be quick but I am yet to be convinced the turbo can last 24hrs. The cars have also been fragile at times and have lacked the development of a full manufacturer backing. The Judd in the Intersport car looks the best chance of a good finish.

Zytek
At Paul Ricard the Creation DBA proved to be a very serious threat to Audi. The Zytek is the MKII DBA and by all accounts will be better still. The works car has done very few miles so this weekend may not be a true indication of its potential in June. It will be interesting to see who the drivers are as Andy Wallace was Jan Lammers first choice for a second Dome. David Brabham has been assisting in testing.
Nasamax
The Reynard is now a Nasamax as it has been extensively modified to meet the new LMP1 rules. The troubles of last year with the Cosworth engine should now be behind the team as they now also have a Judd 5 litre. The difference to Pescarolo is of course that this one is running on bio- ethanol.
Panoz
Great to have the coupe back but to old to be a force
Reynard Lehmann
Will probably finish again!

[amazing43]

PROTOTYPE "LM" P2
24 RACHEL WELTER FRA LM P2 WR 1999T
31 * COURAGE COMPETITION FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A
32 * INTERSPORT RACING USA LMP 675 LOLA JUDD 3397A
33 COURAGE COMPETITION FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A
34 EPSILON SPORT FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A
35 EPSILON SPORT FRA LM P2 COURAGE JPX 3400A
37 PAUL BELMONDO RACING FRA LM P2 COURAGE AER 2000T
* Pre-selected Competitors
Weight of numbers suggests that Courage will win the class. Strangely particularly after all the work on the new car the WR that received an entry was the older car which came so close to a class win 2 years ago. It seems unlikely that this can challenge the Courages and thus the only challenge is likely to be the Intersport Lola. The little Lola is a strong car having won at Le Mans with Ian Dawson and has the benefit of several years development. The Judd in the Lola is perhaps more proven than the JPX and AER engines in the Courages.

[amazing43]

GRAND TOURISME ("LM" GTS)
60 FORCE ONE RACING FRA LM GTS PAGANI ZONDA 6916A
61 BARRON CONNOR RACING NLD LM GTS FERRARI 575 MARANELLO 5997A
62 BARRON CONNOR RACING NLD LM GTS FERRARI 575 MARANELLO 5997A
63 * CORVETTE RACING USA LM GTS CORVETTE C5-R 6991A
64 * CORVETTE RACING USA LM GTS CORVETTE C5-R 6991A
65 * PRODRIVE RACING GBR LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5853A
66 * PRODRIVE RACING GBR LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5983A
67 * CARE RACING GBR LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5853A
69 LARBRE COMPETITION FRA LM GTS FERRARI 550 MARANELLO 5853A
* Pre-selected Competitors
GM is the only major manufacturer with a works presence this year and they are out for revenge. They were soundly beaten by the Prodrive Ferrari last year who rubbed salt in the wound by coming in for a service and wash and polish at the last stop last year. Sebring was a hollow victory as the opposition was either too new or two old but the Corvettes showed signs of fragility the #4 car retiring early. They believe that the switch to Michelin rubber will give them a more equal chance with the Michelin shod Ferraris. They are talking the talk so lets see what this translates to on the track.
Its strange to see no Vipers in the field but the car has now surely reached its sell by date so it is not a surprise, what is a surprise is no Saleens were accepted and indeed did not even make the initial reserve list. Franz Konrad has withdrawn from the reserve list and again he seems a surprising omission from the original accepted list.
The acceptance of the Pagani is a surprise particularly when the Saleens did not get an entry. In theory the car should be competitive, a Mercedes engine in the middle but it has yet to show any real form in a race. Thus far we only have promising testing reports to suggest it may come good but it hardly seems to have done enough to warrant an entry. Only time will tell.
The Barron Connor Ferraris were just too new to show their real potential at Sebring but they did show encouraging reliability. In FIA the 575 is getting closer to the front and the progress at the test will be interesting. They still have Monza before the race in June to further develop the car and its future success may well depend on just how much support they get from the factory.
GTS at later rounds of the LMES may well feature the addition  of Aston Martin, Maserati and Lamborghini and could next year be one of the strongest and most interesting classes

[amazing43]

GRAND TOURISME
70 * JMB RACING FRA LM GT FERRARI 360 MODENA 3586A
72 LUC ALPHAND AVENTURES FRA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS 3598A
75 THIERRY PERRIER FRA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS 3598A
77 CHOROQ RACING TEAM JPN LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A
78 * PK SPORT LTD GBR LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS 3598A
80 MORGAN WORKS RACE TEAM GBR LM GT MORGAN AERO8 4500A
81 THE RACERS GROUP USA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A
83 SEIKEL MOTORSPORT DEU LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS 3598A
85 * FREISINGER MOTORSPORT DEU LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A
86 * FREISINGER MOTORSPORT DEU LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A
87 * ORBIT USA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A
89 CHAMBERLAIN - SYNERGY MOTORSPORT GBR LM GT TVR TUSCAN 400R 3996A
90 WHITE LIGHTNING RACING USA LM GT PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR 3598A
92 * CIRTEK MOTORSPORT AUT LM GT FERRARI 360 GTC 3596A
* Pre-selected Competitors
This should be a Porsche victory yet again but Cirtek arrive on the back of a win in the 1000K in November, the Ferraris are however heavily outnumbered. British interest will surely centre on Morgan and TVR. After the non entry last year Morgan are back, Sebring and the 1000k proved the car is reliable and the entry to the 24 hrs for Morgan like so many teams was the key to a budget. It is to be hoped that the budget will allow the team to release some of the extra speed they feel is currently available with a sensibly funded development programme.
The TVR at Sebring showed that potentially speed is not far from Porsche standards, again Sebring was too early for the heavily revised cars to show their full potential. The test this weekend should show how much they have improved but again they are working towards June and not the end of April!