Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
Who set the fastest lap in the race at Silverstone? That would be Audi. That race could have gone very differently had Audi not shot itself in the foot.
They still came second in Spa with a car in the complete wrong specification. Toyota should have taken a comfortable 1-2 but they couldn't. There is no way the low-drag Audi's will be that slow once they get to Le Mans.
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The problem in terms of race pace is that we've yet to see Audi bring it all together (sheer speed, stint length, top speed) in one car like Toyota have. All the pieces are there but somehow the jigsaw is still missing a corner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
People say Audi will win on reliability. I don't actually think that's a given either. Plenty of Audis have been wheeled back into the garage in the last few years. In terms of knowing what they've got under them, Toyota should have the advantage. But just because they can polish off a couple of six-hour races doesn't mean they will be bullet-proof over 24. I don't have that confidence.
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It's not reliability
per se, but if I had to pick a crew to look after my sportscar when I inevitably bin it, it would be Audi's. We've seen Audi drivers crack under pressure plenty of times, but in most of those situations their mechanics have worked wonders and got cars back out to get a podium or even win. Contrast that with the Porsche/Toyota crews, who I have no doubt are utterly fantastic, but crucially we've not seen them have to fix a car that was fighting for the lead. The #7 last year comes to mind, but IIRC they had been passed and gapped for 3rd at the time of the off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
I actually struggle to see any works P1 car having a completely clean run. I think it will be about who has "the least worst" time in the pits. It will be utterly fascinating, but I think Toyota will end up ruing only having two cars.
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I'm in complete agreement here. For the sake of a great race I hope it doesn't happen, but should mechanical failure befall both Toyotas they could be accused of not making the fundamental preparation of bringing
everything you have to Le Mans.
Edit: That post looks much more argumentative than it was meant to! I should add that whatever happens I hope it's a 24-hour long ding-dong.