Outrage? Or Not? Your Comments on the ACO's Entry List

[Fab]

Paul, RD and Tim, as a french, I'm agree with... you ! I think that french teams are completely wrong here, forgetting that this race is international, and living mainly thanks to English and American commitments... Jack Leconte would maybe be back in the early 90', when the race was almost dead, and Poincloux complains althought he has an entry... what could Morgan think about the fact of having NO car, despite of their nice 2002' race ?!?

French teams doesn't show great fair-play here

PS : not talking of the two WRs entries, and the Norma again

[Tim Northcutt]

I don't know if the ACO is favoring one nation's entries over another...

I would think that they would have the integrity not to do such a thing...whether it is favoring French car builders, oweners or drivers in the Prototypes as some have suggested (and I don't necessarily agree with those who think it)...or favoring the American entries in the GTS and/or GT classes (which, when you look at the roster in those classes, is loaded with American teams)...

I just want any excuses or reasons for these possible accusations to go away....

And I hate to beat a dead horse, but qualifying is the only onjective way to do that...period...

[rdjones]

Also remember that here in Europe we do not a series which runs to Le Mans rules, as in the States there is - the ALMS, and maybe that's why there are several entries from there.

[Tim Northcutt]

There is only one source for the blame in that issue...The FIA...

Of course, it would actually make sense for them to operate under the same rules as Le Mans....

Maybe FIA and "makes sense' don't go together...it is a shame...

[FK-One]

As a french member of this forum I would like to say that I'm not proud of J. Leconte behaviour...but he is know for being someone quite "uninteresting" concerning many things!!
Concerning Ph Poincloux it's more understandable if you know the whole story. In order to be sure their Porsche would be admitted To LM in 2003 they requested an entry to road atlanta and petit le mans for their car...everything was ready, hotel and plane booked...but they learned just 3 weeks before the race that they were not admitted!Since that it seems they decided not to go back to the US, especialy to sebring...so you can understand now why they are disapointed, but Ph. Poincloux did not say that any country was neglected...he is really more intelligent that the one mentioned before ;-)
Just one MG but it seems that the other ones did not have budget to race these cars...if you know more tell me!
Concerning the Morgan I really don't understand why the ACO did not accept it...sebring wisdrawal may be??
Two WRs but each one has got a different chassis and engine, so I think it's the reason why they accepted the two WRs
Really hope taurus will enter the game.

Some of you are proposing longer prequalification...it is really not possible to close the road more than what they do now. Every year the ACO has to fight for this and it's possible that one day PQ will be held on the bugatti circuit (there's a strong neibourghood association that think that The race should be better run in another place than the public road!!!remember that not everybody in the world is interested in motorsport!).
Also if you want to restore real prequalification instead of test days you should say good bye to cars such as pagani, spyker, F550 N-GT etc!!It would be a porsche cup in GT class!
Last thing, 24H of nuburgring take place on the 37km track , and LM is only 13,5Km long; also you see more catheram super7 or VW golf than LMP900!!!It's really not the same class of event.
Thank to everybody for your interesting contribution to this forum!!

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally posted by Splatz the Cow
I actually can't understand peoples affection and enthusiasm for the Morgan, because it looks so ugly (IMO), and doesn't look like it has the aerodynamics to get above 100mph. Although I agree it did impress last year. i guess if it is still quick it should be admitted. I'd rather see a little Panoz, Maserati, TVR or Lotus in their though. - Or Honda NSX, Toyota Supra or Nissan Skyline. And surely a Mosler MT900R is acceptable.

Skyline, Supra, Honda NSX? Nah, this is a race for LMP cars and GT cars, those cars are closer to being touring cars if u ask me. The Lotus, TVR, Panoz and Maserati I agree with though.

[Tim Northcutt]

To FK-One:

Thanks for your thoughts above....I'm big on the Pre-Qualifying, because it puts the selection into performance, and no one can complain if they are not fast enough or have a bad session...that's racing...

maybe a closed circuit that has similar qualities to Le Mans, but obviosly not as long of a course (not many 13k race tracks in the world)....

Every year, somebody left off the list gripes about politics, and fans of teams, specific builders, etc, start in with the favortism nonsense...

To Saleen:

To me, the Morgan 8 has a modernized "retro look" like we see in the Ford T-Bird and will see in the Ford GT soon...I personally agree with you, but only because the "racing version" with the hard top and the big wing in the back on that type of classically-styled raodster is like pouring ketchup on chataeubriand....

The street version of that car as a roadster is downright beautiful...

[SALEEN S7R]

To be honest, to me, and this I know is a minority view, but its what I think anyway. Le Mans isnt the best Endurance race ever, not in my eyes, that falls to the Spa 24hrs for me, mainly because I dont like LMP cars, and secondly u cant beat Spa, not in my eyes anyway.

Now before this kicks off a huge argument, I just want to say that well I know a lot of people love Le Mans and thats fine with me, so dont think Im just trying to cause trouble, its just not my favouite race thats all.

[Fab]

Originally posted by FK-One
As a french member of this forum...

Hello FK, and as one of the hostes of this forum, I welcome you as a fourth french contributor, with Bernard B, Chofar (sic !) and me... Julien is francophile too, but from Belgium

You pointed out here some precisions I sometimes give to our foreign friends who make us the pleasure to come in Le Mans...

I'm really disapointed too for Luc Alphand Adventures, but they at least entered one car, in the GTS class, which is not so bad. WR has two different cars indeed, but I think one of them could have been enough.

Regarding the entry list, we can see that the two new places (50 cars instead of 48) go to GT ; one LAA Porsche could signify one car less in an other category, or one more Porsche with one non-Porsche missing in the GT class (the Spyker, one TVR, one Ferrari...). The Morgan is already missing to everybody... this balance is difficult to find, choices could have been different, things are done, now it's time to race !

[Fab]

Originally posted by SALEEN S7R
u cant beat Spa, not in my eyes anyway.

Spa is maybe the most beautiful track in the world... and the 24 hours are a wonderful race. A wonderful race + a wonderful place = a major event indeed !

[courage]

to fab
Hey don't forget me!!! I'm french too (but I think you don't know me I don't write many messages...)
I'd like to say that I'm quite happy for alphand's porsche I wanted him to buy one or too C65... and I've heard that he had not been correct (he decided to change his c65 entry into a 550 just 2 hours before the end of the inscriptions and didn't say it to yves courage who entered a lmp900 and a lmp675 instead of too lmp900...)

[rdjones]

I have also had another thought on the MG situation, as we understand it 5 MG's where entered. I feeling that the ACO turned down a couple of them because they wanted to see the class dominated by 1 make of car. Just a thought........

[Aysedasi]

I just want to say thank you to all our French friends for hosting my favourite race!

And don't worry Saleen, I understand your point of view too!

[SALEEN S7R]

lol, thats good. Sometimes I think Im all alone in beliving Spa is the best enduro worldwide... lol.

[Fab]

Originally posted by courage
to fab
Hey don't forget me!!! I'm french too (but I think you don't know me I don't write many messages...)

Oops ! All my apologizes... don't hesitate to come more often ! You can fullfill you profile to precise the place you're from...

Originally posted by courage
I'd like to say that I'm quite happy for alphand's porsche I wanted him to buy one or too C65... and I've heard that he had not been correct (he decided to change his c65 entry into a 550 just 2 hours before the end of the inscriptions and didn't say it to yves courage who entered a lmp900 and a lmp675 instead of too lmp900...)

I heard that too : the team realized very late that enter a prototype was much expensive than a GT... To bad !

[KA]

Originally posted by SALEEN S7R
Skyline, Supra, Honda NSX? Nah, this is a race for LMP cars and GT cars, those cars are closer to being touring cars if u ask me. The Lotus, TVR, Panoz and Maserati I agree with though.

I know what you mean about the Skyline & Supra (much like the M3-sorry, but that's definitely a tourer....), but I'd have to disagree about the NSX- that has to be a GT car by anyone's definition, and one I wish had been seen more often racing outside Japan

http://www.jgtc.net/race/inside/2001e/repo012.htm

[Mal]

Of course the ACO is going to favour entries from ALMS, after all it is this series that together with LeMans has rekindled interest in Sportscar racing since the bad times in the early nineties. If the hoped for LeMans tournament gets underway then I would expect the same to happen there and this is where many future European entries will come from. The question is is there room in Europe for For the LeMans tournament, FIA GT and FIA sportscars to survive. They really need to start talking. (Dream on)

[Tim Northcutt]

If the FIA will ever get its act together and line itself up to be consistent with the ACO, there wouldn't be a problem...although it looks as though the FIA rules for 2004 will be very close to the ACO's from what I've read...it is a good start...

I think the key for the "Tournament" would be to make sure that events didn't conflict, and that there would be enogh time between ALMS and/or FIA races and these tournament races to let teams regroup, travel, etc.