Rollcentre running a pescarolo?

[nickliv]

Has this been posted before?

http://www.crash.net/news_view.asp?cid=28&id=142621

If so, I apologise, but I did do a small search.

[Christopher]

It has been…..but not to worry.

What I still find a little odd is his exact motives……he talks about wanting to be competitive in LMP1 and then states that basically the best he might achieve is 6th…..then he says how great the Radical could be and that there is a chance of LMP2 honours (before Porsche commit….?)

I assume it is all about getting a car close to overall honours……the publicity it brings…..and getting a car that is well developed already…..maybe the Radical still needed too much development and Rollcentre don't want that amount of challenge on top of being a privateer trying to compete with works teams.

Pity, as the Radical offered another bit of variety in the field.

[mgmark]

I think you're probably right, boiling down to trading off what can be obtained as a proven package, affordability, and the best chance of a decent finish.  Given the probability of the top-level runners pushing each other for performance advantage and possbily compromising reliability as a result, there is also the prospect of being around to pick up further places if they run into problems.   

MG Mark

[Jay (Team Cannonball)]

Rollcentre's return to LMP1 was sponsor driven if I am informed correctly. The sponsors wanted to be in the top class.

I think Martin was very happy with the Radical and mentioned in a recent interview that it was not sold yet and so the team have placed an entry for the cars at Le Mans.

[hgb]

That's correct. Deutsche Bank X-Markets want to be in LMP1. The decision to use a Pescarolo chassis was surprising (at least for me) but understandable after seeing the record of the Pescarolo chassis in 2006: 5 outright wins out of 5 LMS races plus a second place at LM.
There was a good thread on ten-tenths at the time when the deal between Rollcentre and Pescarolo took place. Read this for a good laugh: http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89542&highlight=rollcentre