General Chit-Chat

Lewis Hamilton was pretty hard on the rain tires & according to him, they are the main problem.
Personally, I think that a ground effect car is hard to handle in the rain, because the car sucks the water in and blows it out at the rear, additional to the spray from the tires.

I would like them to scrap DRS and use some push to pass system, like back when they had Kers.
That was much more technical to use, not only for overtaking, but also for defending.

 

I‘m not a real Toyota fan, but credit where credit is due and they really managed to get this title in against all odds.

I would prefer a much simpler BoP, like only the weight and fuel use per lap should be balanced across the grid.

This season, ELMS ran LMP2 cars „open“ and compare the laptimes between them and the WEC hypercars where they both raced. The hypercars are not so much faster than the LMP2 cars.
In Spa, the LMP2 pole was 2:01.253, the Hypercar pole was 2:02.6… what a shame

 

It's strange how LMH is slower than the pre-BOP LMP2. Granted the LMH cars are much heavier and are quite restricted to keep costs down. However, I do think the Hypercars should be given more HP. When I went to IMS for the IMSA race, the LMP2 cars were only about 1.5-2.0 seconds off the GTP cars. In Daytona, the difference was about 5-6 seconds. Which I think just shows the difference between a high and low downforce track in terms of difference in pace between the prototypes. In PLM, the fastest first sector time was from an LMP2!

 

I just love the LMP2 and LMP3 cars! Drivers can make a difference & they look cool as hell.

 

It's not strange that Hypercars/LMDh are slower than preBoP LMP2. That was literally the goal of the regulations to keep costs down. Their target pace goal was LMP2, but they are not as agile as LMP2 are because of the extra weight they have and downforce limitations the regulations mandate.

 

Yep, and it's not all bad, it makes the driving experience quite distinct between the two. LMP2s almost feel like cars you have to drive by momentum, which sounds arguably silly for a 500-600 hp car (depending on BoP) that relies heavily on aero.

Compared to the LMDh cars they do feel like it though, while the LMDh cars can be pretty savage during cornering and on corner exit due downforce restrictions but more torque.

 

What's the shame? That they are slower? Do you want to go back to the tail end of the LMP1H days were we had one manufactuer and a couple privateers with 5 or less cars in the top class?

What's more important? Single lap time pace or a competitive series that has nearly 10 manufacturers competing against each other? I'll take that over the dying days of the LMP1H era any day of the week. Even at their peak we had three manufactuers and a couple privateers in the LMP1H days. Those cars were awesome and rocket ships, but anyone with sense could see the formula was unsustainable and that's exactly what it was. It's peak burned bright, but it was also a flash in the pan and was over after only a couple peak seasons.

 

I think I understand where he's coming from. It might seem strange to outsiders if the top class is just as or even slightly slower than the class below. I think that's what he was trying to say. However I also share your opinion that I'd rather see many manufacturers racing for the win compared to the situation where only one or two manufacturers share the victories among themselves. Pport needs variety.

 

Interesting news, I guess the IMSA is going to be their main focus.

Lamborghini Kills FIA WEC Program After One Season Of Terrible Finishes

 

I don't think the program will be around much longer. VAG are struggling financially, reports say they are not even funding the program much. The car outside of a wet Indy race hasn't even been competitive. They will likely run one car in IMSA for a season and then axe the program.

 

Yes, it‘s just my 2 cents, but I personally don‘t like that the „top class“ is slower than the LMP2 class (if they are not slowed down by regulations).
It doesn‘t change a bit of the racing action, but somehow the thought of it is nothing to my liking.
Also I don‘t think that the Hypercar/Lmdh class is in for a long run. Even with BoP it‘s very hard to beat the Hypercars with an LmdH and if you break it down Toyota and Ferrari are miles ahead of the other cars, sacrificing the most of the season for a good Le Mans BoP. In 2024, there were some strange BoP changes again, often on short term notice, which is also something I don‘t like.
Like I said, I would like a much stripped down BoP more, like only the weight and the fuel per lap.

Edit: Just to add: I like the hypercar class! IMSA and WEC working together is nice, the cars look great and some of the greatest drivers around these days are taking them out on track. Still hoping for a Sebastian Vettel & Mick Schumacher Teamdrive

 

I understand that the top class being slower than LMP2 isn't ideal, as I said I enjoyed the rocket ships that were the LMP1H cars, but it's what manufacturers wanted because it helps control costs and if sacrificing some lap time means we get the grid size and manufacturer involvement we have then I'll take it.

You say hypercar/GTP isn't for long, but it is literally going to be around through the 2029 season. 7 years with the best manufacturer involvement since the Group C days seems like a long run IMO.

Now in terms of hypercars vs LMDhs I think without BoP the hypercars would absolutely dunk on the LMDhs, but those cars are also designed from the ground up, have much more advanced hybrid systems, and are way more expensive. It isn't rocket science they would be way faster than the LMDhs without BoP, but that's why there is BoP. As much as you don't like how it's done, it's what the manufacturers agreed to when they signed up to participate. I'm not saying I agree with the BoP changes race to race 100%, but I also think it's undeniable that overall it led to a super competitive season. If we are heading into the final race with the drivers and manufacturers titles up for grabs I consider that a success. I disagree with your opinion that Toyota and Ferrari "threw away most the season for a good Le Mans BoP." Had Toyota done that they wouldn't have been in the hunt for the drivers title, won the manufacturers, and Ferrari wouldn't have finished 3rd.

 

I didn‘t know they are already set until 2029, thanks for that information.
As Insaid before, I still like the class, it was just a little critism from my side, nothing to hard

 

Cutting cost is BS in motorsport. All it does is limit the big teams and even out the field somewhat but it's not desired in motorsport. The sport itself is expensive and should be expensive. It's the place where manufacturers can come and get some nice advertisment for their brand if they are successful enough. Because that turns away players that aren't serious about competing. F1 cost cap is a prime example of how insane things can get. Haas F1 team has been one of the slowest on the grid in the past couple of years. So much so that the FIA had to introduce the cost cap hoping to even out the playing field by restricting the spending of the big teams. As the result of this we have closer racing, yes but you still have F1, F1.5 and F2 problems that you had before, just with slightly smaller time gaps. The only difference is that it's profitable enough for Gene Haas that he doesn't want to leave the sport and allow someone serious like Andretti to enter. I don't need to see likes of Merc or Ferrari competing with a company that makes CNC machines...

 

Got some badges from AliExpress today, so could put the finishing touches to my DIY Porsche trio
Two slightly customized Pokornyi wheels, and a Fanatec Porsche rim with my own DIY button box.

 

Where did you get the carbon fibre from?

 

The French Simracer and Pokornyi webshops.

 

I built the Hyp-r wheel as well. Love the thing to death.

 

I am not a huge fan of BOP, but you are right in that it gives much closer racing. What I don't like is that you will always have that feeling that some won and others lost "unfairly" because of it.

And even though it's my favorite team, I actually believe Toyota did sandbagged a bit before LeMans , even Ferrari's Cannizzo was alleging it after Austin I believe. I think that's why they became quite reckless as well in Austin and Fuji due to the pressure of getting the championship after failing to win LeMans.

In 2016 Toyota also concentrate fully on LeMans and gave up the championship, we know how that ended up, it still hurts.

 

I hate to be the killjoy but isn't the far left one from the M8 GTE?
Love the wheels BTW, how much would you estimate the cost of the Pokornyi wheels per wheel?