[LM24 Race] 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours Race Thread

[Akrapovic]

I'm not sure the front wheel of the Corvette made contact with the Aston. Not convinced the contact caused that.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

According to timing, only the top 3 were on the same lap.

I think that the leader in LMP1 passed the 4th and 5th place cars in GTE on his final lap which ends their race artificially. Whereas the top 3 continued for an extra lap. That 91 Porsche was for certain on the lead lap all race long. I was following them closely.

[TRspitfirefan]

So happy to see the Porsche claim the victory. Nothing against the LMP2 teams, but I really dislike the new spec of LMPC cars. If the ruleset were more open, I'd have been thrilled to see a P2 car win, but tightly controlled spec prototypes don't belong at Lemans.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

I'm not sure the front wheel of the Corvette made contact with the Aston. Not convinced the contact caused that.

I think it was a delayed puncture, after he cut the first Mulsanne chicane.

[Articus]

Still can't believe Aston finally got this monkey off their back!! V8 Vantage swan-song!

[airbusA346]

Wonder how hard this is for Webber.

[tigas]

Originally Posted by TRspitfirefan

So happy to see the Porsche claim the victory. Nothing against the LMP2 teams, but I really dislike the new spec of LMPC cars. If the ruleset were more open, I'd have been thrilled to see a P2 car win, but tightly controlled spec prototypes don't belong at Lemans.

I won't say that they don't belong at LeMans, but not in the podium, especially after becoming, to nobody's surprise, a one-make trophy.

[tigas]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Wonder how hard this is for Webber.

Why? He wanted to leave.

[500]

A really eventful and interesting race. This year again shows how "pushed to the edge" the PI hybrids are...

Great to see Hartley record a first Le Mans win. I was watching the Porsche feed for car #2 and they switched it over to the camera that faces the driver for the last race lap and cool down lap. It was great to see Timo's reaction. Who would have thought that car could win when the problems first hit early in the race?

Tough race for Toyota obviously... I don't believe in curses though. They have every chance to win next time.

I wonder how this may or may not influence Porsche's decision to continue? I can see the reason why they may want to sit out for two years, as I think the 919 is getting long in the tooth and building a new car as a two year stopgap is an expensive proposition, but it is also not cheap to just develop the old car and run, so it will depend on what they determine is really possible. LMP1H is too expensive with limited marketing impact to just make up the numbers for a year or two... Anyway, that is a decision for later, right now they have just bagged a 19th overall win!

[ederss7]

These Germans know how to win this race. It's not coincidence, it's not luck. They know exactly what is needed to win LM.

[skycafe]

Originally Posted by gert

Not bad for a race that was declared over after 11 hours and a half.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by 500

A really eventful and interesting race. This year again shows how "pushed to the edge" the PI hybrids are...

Great to see Hartley record a first Le Mans win. I was watching the Porsche feed for car #2 and they switched it over to the camera that faces the driver for the last race lap and cool down lap. It was great to see Timo's reaction. Who would have thought that car could win when the problems first hit early in the race?

Tough race for Toyota obviously... I don't believe in curses though. They have every chance to win next time.

I wonder how this may or may not influence Porsche's decision to continue? I can see the reason why they may want to sit out for two years, as I think the 919 is getting long in the tooth and building a new car as a two year stopgap is an expensive proposition, but it is also not cheap to just develop the old car and run, so it will depend on what they determine is really possible. LMP1H is too expensive with limited marketing impact to just make up the numbers for a year or two... Anyway, that is a decision for later, right now they have just bagged a 19th overall win!

I'm clinging to my idea that they rebadge the stillborn 2017 Audi R18 . If they could fit a V6 diesel lump in the back, then a V4 will have no problem fitting in the back of the R18.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by tigas

Why? He wanted to leave.

Why did he leave?

[TRspitfirefan]

If only Audi had been racing this year.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Why did he leave?

He sounded miserable in the interviews he did afterwards. Saying it's not fun. Also said he wouldn't do V8s or anything because they're too slow and not fun. Basically if it wasn't F1 he wasn't interested.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Why did he leave?

He retired from racing I believe, and announced fairly early so don't think he was pushed out. Didn't seem like there was any desire left for racing, maybe series, maybe cars, maybe co-drivers but sounded like he wanted to go

[Paradise City]

Toyota can't keep up this punishment year after year surely.

Great event. I focused mostly on the GTE battle with all the onboard cams. And a great finish there.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Toyota can't keep up this punishment year after year surely.

Great event. I focused mostly on the GTE battle with all the onboard cams. And a great finish there.

But remember a different group than usual pays for Toyota to race, it's supposedly actual R&D money they are spending. Think the engineering exercise is still the challenge for them, and with the gentlemen's agreement with Porsche they can think ahead with smaller tweaks for '18 & '19 over the rebuilds each off season. Porsche on the other hand is a toss up for leave vs stay. Wonder what the ACO would say about LM only for 2018-19?

[tigas]

I don't think Porsche is going to miss the opportunity for win #20.

[gert]

Interview with De Chaunac: he laments how unlucky Toyota was, how excellent their preparation was. How good the LMP2 battle was, how good the Oreca LMP2 car, how good Th. Laurent is. etc...

Not A Single Word About Porsche.

[tigas]

Originally Posted by gert

Interview with De Chaunac: he laments how unlucky Toyota was, how excellent their preparation was. How good the LMP2 battle was, how good the Oreca LMP2 car, how good Th. Laurent is. etc...

Not A Single Word About Porsche.

Oh c'mon, do you still expect common courtesy or sportsmanship from Hughesy? You're a better man than me.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by gert

Interview with De Chaunac: he laments how unlucky Toyota was, how excellent their preparation was. How good the LMP2 battle was, how good the Oreca LMP2 car, how good Th. Laurent is. etc...

Not A Single Word About Porsche.

can you blame him!! He's got all sorts of reasons to be bitter the last 3 years. Isn't Porsche undefeated since their return?

[Skemer]

If Porsche would quit, it would be a bit like handing Toyota the win if they continue. More reason for Toyota to call it quits too if there is no competition in LMP-H.

[gert]

Originally Posted by tigas

Oh c'mon, do you still expect common courtesy or sportsmanship from Hughesy? You're a better man than me.

Silly me!

[tigas]

Originally Posted by Articus

can you blame him!! He's got all sorts of reasons to be bitter the last 3 years. Isn't Porsche undefeated since their return?

He's racing a major factory effort and convinced the ACO to transform LMP2 into a one-make series (his make - they used his existing car as a base for the new rules). He has two of his cars on the podium. No sympathy from me...