What is Aston Martin up to?

[Pandamasque]

FFS! How many more pages of pointless moaning will this thread take? If you have nothing worth reading to contribute then just don't.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Audi Racer

I personally think they should drop out and come back with a new aero package for next year.

Your proposed solution for the engine failures is a new aero package

We have no clue how good the mechanical and aero package are, because the engine is completely unreliable at this stage.

The whole project got the green light too late. They knew that the engine would blow, but the solution for this issue will only be available on Tuesday. Sadly the test day came a few days too early.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Gil Abobeleira

They were slower and covered less miles than the Oreca-Hybrid, for ffs! :

It's a meanigless stat, once the issue was discovered Richards had a meeting with the engineers to discuss their test schedule, then flew his engine team home early so they could press on with the next phase of development.

Today was a test, the AMR-One lost nothing, the R18 has won nothing.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by JAG

You only need look at the mistep Audi took with the '99 R8C.....

Yep, what a desperate shame Audi pursued the R8R route instead of developing the coupe......

[Gil Abobeleira]

Originally Posted by JAG

It's a meanigless stat, once the issue was discovered Richards had a meeting with the engineers to discuss their test schedule, then flew his engine team home early so they could press on with the next phase of development.

Today was a test, the AMR-One lost nothing, the R18 has won nothing.

No, it only shows how late the whole project is. AFAIK, they've run before with the Aston (with engine problems, let's not forget), something the Hope Racing had not the luxury to.

Let's hope that their performance in Spa is much improved!

[cmk]

Thanks for the insight knighty. This board is awesome, you page someone and they show up!

Would an issue with flexing be less likely to show up on the dyno compared to the cylinder lining issue, since the flexing should at least in part be a product of the actual mounting in the chassis? I'm trying to figure out why the engine, which should have been the bit they got on top of first, is causing so much struggle. I would have thought that the liner issue would have shown up on the dyno ages ago.

The other thing that gets me is that if they knew they had this issue and planned upgrades, why did they bring 2 cars to test day knowing they had a fatal flaw? I would have thought time and money would be best spent at home.

I agree with gwyllion that without a functional engine we and probably they have no idea what sort of mechanical or aerodynamic potential the car holds.

[isynge]

The car's late, a disappointment so far, and I'd hoped for a lot better given the run at Ricard and subsequent test, plus the couple of days they spent at Spa.

That said a common fault that hadn't raised its head so far is something I can handle, so long as they work professionally to fix it. Nothing I see about Prodrive gives any indication that they won't work very hard to get things as right as they can before June; we're not talking about Andrea Moda in Formala 1 here. I'm happy to hold judgement until Spa in a couple of weeks - there I'd like to see them run credibly, if it's not there by then I'll ask questions.

To others questioning their place in June I'm curious as to what we really think is being kept out? The Kronos Lola AM probably deserves an entry but what else are we missing out on? On the other hand, if you though 1992 was a brilliant year you're probably right - get rid of this attempt to do something different, all we need is a trio of Audis and Peugeots and that'll be fine; just not something I personally am in a hurry to watch.

[Simmi]

Have to agree with isynge about the calls to step aside. I'd rather watch a works team try and get themselves together than let in some average runners. That's just my opinion as much as I do enjoy the V12 Lola-Aston.

[reef1234]

What running at Spa???

[isynge]

Originally Posted by reef1234

What running at Spa???

Cited by Andy Meyrick in his twitter feed. Not a huge fan of the guy, but no reason to assume he's telling senseless lies about spending time testing at Spa.

Drill down at http://twitter.com/#!/AndyMeyrick and you should find reference to him going and coming back.

[gwyllion]

FYI http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsmarch11.html has some closeup picture on the exhaust and the left side of the engine bay.

[reef1234]

Guess that there is no way Andy could be testing something other than LMP1 at Spa.... 2 + 2 = 5

[gwyllion]

No need to do any guessing. This tweet is pretty clear:

Development of the AMR-One continues with a two day test at Spa.

source: http://twitter.com/#!/AMR_Teams/stat...22217236414464

[reef1234]

AMR_Teams that official tweeter!!! Who must have read Andy's and ASSUMED the same!!!!!

[gwyllion]

Okay, in hindsight the hypothetical 2 day Spa test was a bit close to the official Le Mans test. And now that we have seen how reliable the new engine is, it is safe to assume that Meyrick was testing something else

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Okay, in hindsight the hypothetical 2 day Spa test was a bit close to the official Le Mans test. And now that we have seen how reliable the new engine is, it is safe to assume that Meyrick was testing something else

Most likely an old C2 Spice.

[nobster]

I would rather see them staying at home then showing up and making a fool of themselves at Le Mans in june.
They have a great reputation at Le Mans but that does not make you an overall winner there!

[courageous]

Couldn't have been testing at Spa, Dave Richards on RLM explained that the reason for them being so rubbish in public is "apart from race conditions, there are no tracks you can take a prototype like this and be allowed to do any proper testing, so we are having to do the development in public".

So either he was spouting BS or there really is nowhere in Europe that you can run an LMP1 test program; who knew?

[Le Vieux]

If they did test the AMR-One at Spa, as Andy Meyrick's tweet suggests, then, following Dave Richards' logic, will we see them perform much better on Saturday week?

Nowhere in Europe to test? Every other team -specifically Audi and Peugeot can come to the party with a well-sorted car, so why not Aston Martin?

[reef1234]

Andy's tweet said he was testing but nothing about it being in an AMR-One...... And no there isn't a circuit in Europe with same four flat out straights one after each other to put the engine under the same loads!

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by courageous

Couldn't have been testing at Spa, Dave Richards on RLM explained that the reason for them being so rubbish in public is "apart from race conditions, there are no tracks you can take a prototype like this and be allowed to do any proper testing, so we are having to do the development in public".

So either he was spouting BS or there really is nowhere in Europe that you can run an LMP1 test program; who knew?

Is that quote to Ricards accurate? I can't believe he actually said that. Peugeot and Audi have been doing more testing this year than I can ever recall them doing. Not to mention, if that were indeed the truth, there any many places to test outside of Europe.

[JAG]

He said something along the lines that suitable test venues were limited due to noise restrictions, being booked up etc.

They are testing in private and publicaly as new parts and developments are coming on stream weekly.

[AndrewF31]

Paul Ricard is not a possibility? They did miss the LMS test I think. Probably because the car was not ready yet.

I highly doubt that Richards and the AMR boys wanted this to happen. They must be quite embarrassed to choke on themselves at Le Mans. Last year Audi also had a very bad start to the year and we're really looking quite humbled at Le Mans until Peugeot tripped over themselves.
So, although AMR doesn't have a budget as high as Audi, I do hope we'll see these problems solved. I'll hold my thoughts until after Spa.

[JAG]

They tested at Paul Ricard, the bigger point was new parts were coming on stream at such a rate they were still effectively building the definitive car, at which point they can start building up spares.

[MulsanneMike]

Everyone seems to have excuses du jour for Aston, but Aston simply should have used this as a by-year to develop the car out of the public eye aiming for a race debut late 2011 or Sebring 2012. The execution of this project, full on in the public eye, is not professional by any standards. Where was the need to attend Le Mans this year, especially given the very late start date? As it is now, if they scratch from Le Mans (and this is within the realms of possibilities, like it or not), what would have been the difference if they had simply tested in private this season aiming for Le Mans next year, other than the really bad publicity?