amazing43
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« on: April 21, 2004, 03:50:15 pm » |
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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!
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