[WEC] 2015 WEC Discussion

[Spyderman]

Le Mans is completely different to other tracks. No direct extrapolation should be made.
We will see. Each track is different. It depends on length of pit entrance, track position, race evolution, opposition's tactics, traffic, etc, etc.

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Spyderman

Le Mans is completely different to other tracks. No direct extrapolation should be made.

I was talking about Le Mans in terms of reliability, not tire wear or pitlane time loss. "If the car holds like it did at Le Mans".

[Spyderman]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

I was talking about Le Mans in terms of reliability, not tire wear or pitlane time loss. "If the car holds like it did at Le Mans".

I know what you were saying. What I'm saying is that it is not as clear cut as some are trying to make out.

[Starfish Primer]

Are they going to use the LM 2016 EOT in Nurburgring? ( If the ACO modifies the current EOT for 2016 ).

[chernaudi]

Probably not--ACO said that they can't change too much this year aside from possible BOP changes. Major changes probably won't happen until 2016. However, the guy from the ACO who mentioned that said it back in May after Spa, so things could've changed since then.

But those quotes seem to mean that major EOT changes (on the order of reducing power by 10MJ out of fuel flow allotment last I heard) or anything else will likely be put off until the end of the season.

Actually, with this now being a month after Le Mans, I'd have thought we'd have heard something about any EOT/BOP changes by now.

[Starfish Primer]

AFAIK the idea was to use a EOT/BOP cycle from LM to LM to avoid any kind of sandbagging.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Starfish Primer

AFAIK the idea was to use a EOT/BOP cycle from LM to LM to avoid any kind of sandbagging.

Yes, so if I'm interpreting that correctly they would have to make changes before the next round. That is, if they make any changes at all.

I'd be for leaving lmp1 as is for another year.

[Spyderman]

Originally Posted by joeb

I'd be for leaving lmp1 as is for another year.

...or two. I couldn't agree more. No need to fix what is not broken.

[Jam3s]

Originally Posted by Spyderman

...or two. I couldn't agree more. No need to fix what is not broken.

Doesn't tie in with the ACO motto though, "If it ain't broke, break it"

[Artur]

Spyderman, joeb
I agree with you. I already sent a message to ACO expressing my opinion for not slowing them down. If you guys wanna do the same:
http://www.lemans.org/en/contact-us.html

[CTD]

Originally Posted by Jam3s

Doesn't tie in with the ACO motto though, "If it ain't broke, break it"

I think that is uncalled for. ACO is actually quite good a keeping things healthy. Just look at the series as it is now. That is the result of ACO work, not the manufactures just feeling like racing.

[TF110]

Last rumor was -10mj (at Le Mans) total energy for the top 8mj petrol class. That was about a month ago.

[Starfish Primer]

I think the speed right now is in the sweet spot, faster at LM can be very dangerous.

[Giba]

It depends how much faster the ACO thinks the cars will be next year. As it is the third year of the current rules package the increase in pace next year (if everything stayed the same) should be smaller than from 2014 to 2015. However if they think that the cars will be faster than 3m 15s then I expect that they will be slowed down as Pierre Fillon said in the July edition of Racecar engineering that 3m 15s race times are not reasonable.

[Artur]

So, they will slow down the cars, then. I'm sure Porsche could've done times on 3.15(maybe even lower). They just didn't bother to put in all the potential in qualifying. Unless he meant 3.15 as race pace. Audis did quite some laps on the 3.17/18 during the race, so, with no ax, they could reach the 3.15 during the race, next year, perhaps.

I still think it would be a lot wiser to wait another year and see how much more they improve. If they still keep improving on the 5s range, then, yes, intervention is needed

[TF110]

I think times would gain by another couple seconds if left alone. But I see the rules dropping the total amount of energy per lap. But with the gains to be made vs the rule cutbacks maybe the cars stay in this 3:18 range. Lmp2 will be faster soon so they cant take too much performance away.

[chernaudi]

Question about the test at the Nurburgring this weekend:

The ACO isn't expected to release a full list, but here's what Sportscar 365 says is to be expected:

"An official entry list is not expected to be released, although it’s understood the test will include four LMP1 cars, six LMP2 entries, six GTE-Pro and four GTE-Am cars."

Four LMP1 cars would make sense if there's one from each team (Audi, Porsche, Toyota, and one from Rebellion or Kolles), but does anyone think that the private teams would show up?

If they don't show up, who would be expected to have 2 cars for the test? I'd guess Audi in that they could have one sprint spec car and one LM/Spa spec car to be tested side by side, or one with a different aero package all together.

Also, the guys from the #7 Audi would be a short skip away in Spa for the Spa 24, but could Audi (if they're the LMP1 team with two cars entered) also simply be giving more testing time to the guys in the #9 LM car?

[chernaudi]

Also, COTA is up for sale, and negotiations between the current owners and prospective buyer fell though over the weekend.

[Giba]

Originally Posted by Artur

So, they will slow down the cars, then. I'm sure Porsche could've done times on 3.15(maybe even lower). They just didn't bother to put in all the potential in qualifying. Unless he meant 3.15 as race pace. Audis did quite some laps on the 3.17/18 during the race, so, with no ax, they could reach the 3.15 during the race, next year, perhaps.

I still think it would be a lot wiser to wait another year and see how much more they improve. If they still keep improving on the 5s range, then, yes, intervention is needed

I understood it to mean race times.

But I'm now thinking that they are not going to make any changes as if they did, it would be sensible to announce them before the nurburgring test

[Spyderman]

Maybe they have communicated them to the teams and they will use the Nurburgring to test it out before making it public.
I just cant see them let pass a chance to meddle.

[Pontlieue]

It's not just a question of how fast the lap times are, but also, how they get these lap times.

Taking energy away from the teams won't make much of a change in the Porsche Curves for example, and reducing straight-line speed will result in LMP1 cars having to pass more lapped traffic in the corners.

[Spyderman]

Originally Posted by Pontlieue

It's not just a question of how fast the lap times are, but also, how they get these lap times.

Taking energy away from the teams won't make much of a change in the Porsche Curves for example, and reducing straight-line speed will result in LMP1 cars having to pass more lapped traffic in the corners.

You are absolutely right of course, however it all depends on the Regulator's objective: If they want to be seen as "doing something", then all logic and reasoning will be firmly thrown out the window.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by Pontlieue

It's not just a question of how fast the lap times are, but also, how they get these lap times.

Taking energy away from the teams won't make much of a change in the Porsche Curves for example, and reducing straight-line speed will result in LMP1 cars having to pass more lapped traffic in the corners.

In this sense the way the current cars make their lap time is the "best" way to argue against any significant slowing down. The two big sticking points are high top speed and high corner speed. There isn't much to be done for the latter apart of reducing dimensions and tyre sizes (or brakes, but that will never happen). As for the top speeds [in race pace], the hybrid energy is used to boost early acceleration to get to the top speed quicker rather than using it later on to reach a higher top speed.

I'll also take this time to point you to my signature, because the above (regarding the use of hybrid energy) is what it is referring to.

I would have expected an EoT adjustment by now as well, but there's still more than 4 weeks left for them do to so.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by J Jay

In this sense the way the current cars make their lap time is the "best" way to argue against any significant slowing down. The two big sticking points are high top speed and high corner speed. There isn't much to be done for the latter apart of reducing dimensions and tyre sizes (or brakes, but that will never happen). As for the top speeds [in race pace], the hybrid energy is used to boost early acceleration to get to the top speed quicker rather than using it later on to reach a higher top speed.

Furthermore, the GT cars are expected to be faster next season, and the P2's faster in 2017. So I'm guessing slowing the P1's down too much isn't really an option.

[Deleted]

The P1(-Hybrids)s are still absolute miles ahead of other classes everywhere.

Anyway if there's even say 3 second general handicap for P1, GT500 could become the fastest category on Earth beyond F1 and GP2.