Acura/HPD's future plans - Page 56

MulsanneMike · 27 Mar 2009, 00:33 (Ref:2425699)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Have to say, I have serious doubts about this car (the P1). Reading between the lines (based on comments from the drivers), it sounds like it's a bit of a handful. 2 mistakes from Brabs in the same race......just doesn't happen, does it?

Question is, is it simply a case of the drivers needing to get used to it, or is there something more fundamentally wrong?

One thing is being overlooked: physical effort to drive the car. I don't think the car is a handful in the "tricky" sense. It's a handful when you've been at the wheel for X-number of hours driving at 10-10ths (do I get a bonus for using the forum name in a post?), and that can lead to mistakes.

porsche91722 · 27 Mar 2009, 00:52 (Ref:2425710)

It is still early days for the new Acura. They showed that the car has good potential. It is just a bit of a dog in some respects. Having the might of Audi and Peugeot at their first major outing for the car didn't make it easy for them and the de Ferran car was on pole (conspiracy theories aside). Remember, they will have next to no pressure (as far as realistic competition is concerned) for possibly the rest of the ALMS, therefore a good opportunity to iron out the bugs and more than likely pick up a championship on the way.

KA · 27 Mar 2009, 08:42 (Ref:2425933)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

One thing is being overlooked: physical effort to drive the car. I don't think the car is a handful in the "tricky" sense. It's a handful when you've been at the wheel for X-number of hours driving at 10-10ths (do I get a bonus for using the forum name in a post?), and that can lead to mistakes.

Not an ideal quality in a sportscar....

gustavobamba · 27 Mar 2009, 09:57 (Ref:2425985)

Acura to go further in developement need to compete against other LMP 1 good teams, not Intersport (with all respect for them).

They want to go, in the future, to Le Mans, so why not do a full season in LMS to compete against Aston Martin?

**Bentley03** · 27 Mar 2009, 09:57 (Ref:2425987)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

One thing is being overlooked: physical effort to drive the car. I don't think the car is a handful in the "tricky" sense. It's a handful when you've been at the wheel for X-number of hours driving at 10-10ths (do I get a bonus for using the forum name in a post?), and that can lead to mistakes.

I don't think that's a mile away from where I was coming from. However, I get the impression the car is a handful in both senses of the word. The wearing down of the drivers physically and mentally, certainly, and then there are the reports of unpredictability in the way the car handles. So, a mixture of the two.

I bet Brabs can't wait to get his hands on a Peugeot..........

gwyllion · 27 Mar 2009, 10:30 (Ref:2426008)

Quote:

Originally Posted by gustavobamba

They want to go, in the future, to Le Mans, so why not do a full season in LMS to compete against Aston Martin?

In its current form and with the current LMP1 rules the ARX02a is unsuited for Le Mans. The car is designed for the short and bumpy ALMS tracks.

gustavobamba · 27 Mar 2009, 10:41 (Ref:2426014)

So do you think if they went to Le Mans they will build another car, or do small adjustements?

But thinking better they only went to Europe when they sell road Acura´s.

IMO, Acura have excelent potencial... even to beat the big boys.

KA · 27 Mar 2009, 12:30 (Ref:2426088)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bentley03

I don't think that's a mile away from where I was coming from. However, I get the impression the car is a handful in both senses of the word. The wearing down of the drivers physically and mentally, certainly, and then there are the reports of unpredictability in the way the car handles. So, a mixture of the two.

I bet Brabs can't wait to get his hands on a Peugeot..........

Whether it's just a case of fine-tuning to find a set-up that's less demanding on the drivers, or something more fundamental with the design of the car, it's definitely an issue they'll need to resolve.

Fast-forward your imagination to, say the last couple of stints of PLM, you're in the cockpit of an Acura holding a clear, but not unassailable lead, and half-a-minute back you've got an Audi- with McNish chasing you down and starting to smell the scent of a potential win.....

That's not a situation where you want to be driving a car that's physically hard work to a degree where you stand more chance of making a mistake

Audi Racer · 27 Mar 2009, 12:55 (Ref:2426100)

Quote:

Originally Posted by juicy sushi

they don't have anywhere near the budget of audi or acura, and gordon kirby wrote in a recent article on mazdaspeed that their entire competition department in north america (the group overseeing all their racing in north america) was less than 15 people, if i recall correctly. they really are a lot smaller than the other players, in budget and other resources...

Mazda has much more budget than that. They just can't get a budget going for AlMS(They have fish in every pond in America) even though a fully developed P1 would do wonders for them in terms of marketing and roadcar development. Don't you see there commercials. They have more cars racing every sunday than any other manufacturer. That says alot

Flyin Ryan · 27 Mar 2009, 14:13 (Ref:2426159)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audi Racer

Mazda has much more budget than that. They just can't get a budget going for AlMS(They have fish in every pond in America) even though a fully developed P1 would do wonders for them in terms of marketing and roadcar development. Don't you see there commercials. They have more cars racing every sunday than any other manufacturer. That says alot

That's because the Miata is the perfect club racing car. Cheap, tons of parts and aftermarket stuff out there, easy to work on, damage is relatively easy to fix. Mazda might give a little bit of support but Mazda in sportscar racing in that regard is more like Chevrolet in late model racing. Chevy just produces simple, easy to work on, relatively cheap engines that a person can work on and improve easily due to the vast amount of parts out there, and the small-block Chevy for those reasons is the engine of choice by far in that kind of racing.

But the reason Mazda has more cars racing every Sunday than any other manufacturer is not because they're putting in a ton of money to support it, it's just because they built a good product for people to use, people buy it, and Mazda is smart enough to give them some support while making money because it provides the company a good image, which you see in commercials.

TWK · 27 Mar 2009, 15:22 (Ref:2426210)

Quote:

Originally Posted by juicy sushi

they don't have anywhere near the budget of audi or acura, and gordon kirby wrote in a recent article on mazdaspeed that their entire competition department in north america (the group overseeing all their racing in north america) was less than 15 people, if i recall correctly. they really are a lot smaller than the other players, in budget and other resources...

They (Mazda) seem to have plenty of money to paste their name on immovable objects, though, including whole tracks, bridges, and even an old Panoz LMP01 roller at Sebring. (Damn, I wish I'd taken a photo.)

**joeb** · 27 Mar 2009, 17:24 (Ref:2426287)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWK

They (Mazda) seem to have plenty of money to paste their name on immovable objects, though, including whole tracks, bridges, and even an old Panoz LMP01 roller at Sebring. (Damn, I wish I'd taken a photo.)

Do you mean the car that you could get your picture taken in? I got one, but the one from Petit was better because it came with a few other "models" sitting next to me!

Flyin Ryan · 30 Mar 2009, 20:42 (Ref:2429296)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWK

They (Mazda) seem to have plenty of money to paste their name on immovable objects, though, including whole tracks, bridges, and even an old Panoz LMP01 roller at Sebring. (Damn, I wish I'd taken a photo.)

Zoom Zoom Zoom!

**skycafe** · 31 Mar 2009, 00:26 (Ref:2429449)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

One thing is being overlooked: physical effort to drive the car. I don't think the car is a handful in the "tricky" sense. It's a handful when you've been at the wheel for X-number of hours driving at 10-10ths (do I get a bonus for using the forum name in a post?), and that can lead to mistakes.

I just read the Sebring updates on your site. The Acura is that much of a beast? Is this effort and punishment on the order of half again as much as an Audi or Peugeot? This is sounding like you couldn't double stint a driver.

Hugewally · 31 Mar 2009, 00:41 (Ref:2429457)

Reminds me of Johnny Dumfries grunting thru turns...

Canada ALMS fan · 1 Apr 2009, 16:39 (Ref:2430704)

Good article on DSC today with Duncan Dayton talking about his commitment to the ALMS. Should calm down the rumours a little bit.

JAG · 1 Apr 2009, 17:47 (Ref:2430752)

Quote:

Originally Posted by KA

Whether it's just a case of fine-tuning to find a set-up that's less demanding on the drivers, or something more fundamental with the design of the car, it's definitely an issue they'll need to resolve.

Fast-forward your imagination to, say the last couple of stints of PLM, you're in the cockpit of an Acura holding a clear, but not unassailable lead, and half-a-minute back you've got an Audi- with McNish chasing you down and starting to smell the scent of a potential win.....

That's not a situation where you want to be driving a car that's physically hard work to a degree where you stand more chance of making a mistake

But isn't that on the limit, high cornering speeds, driving style what has enabled Porsche and Acura's P2's to compete with Audi in recent years.

With an eye on the new regulations Acura's philosophy is what you'll need rather than relying on a big motor.

deggis · 13 Jun 2009, 01:04 (Ref:2481333)

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76057
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/moto...ne/8097574.stm

So what this means to Acura?

HORNDAWG · 13 Jun 2009, 01:40 (Ref:2481339)

If anything, it may be an inconvenience.

L.P.

MulsanneMike · 13 Jun 2009, 04:34 (Ref:2481373)

Quote:

Originally Posted by HORNDAWG

If anything, it may be an inconvenience.

L.P.

From Nick Wirth this morning in the email with the press release about Manor F1:

"FYI. Don't worry - we're still building sportscars!"

AndrewF31 · 13 Jun 2009, 11:09 (Ref:2481497)

http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...ance-1551.html

De Ferran is in Le Mans, lurking around Pescarolo because of Pagenaud.

Says in this mini interview he'd like to be at Le Mans but it's not possible at the moment.
He did call the Acura program a very interesting development program, so you'd think Acura would be sticking around in some sort for him to say that.

And he'd be delighted if Audi and Peugeot returned to ALMS (Petit Le Mans for Peugeot, at least).

deggis · 31 Oct 2009, 07:10 (Ref:2572858)

"Honda touring car specialist JAS Motorsport is aiming to run one of the Japanese manufacturer's Acura LMP2 prototypes in Europe next year."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79819

The359 · 31 Oct 2009, 09:06 (Ref:2572879)

Is Strakka picks up an LMP2 and JAS an LMP2, how many are left? 2? 3?

Nordic · 31 Oct 2009, 09:11 (Ref:2572882)

Quote:

Originally Posted by The359

Is Strakka picks up an LMP2 and JAS an LMP2, how many are left? 2? 3?

The Straka deal is for an ex Fernandez car, the drivers would be Watts and Leventis.

Pirro may have a role as either coach or 3rd driver.

CTD · 23 Nov 2009, 19:48 (Ref:2588018)

Highcroft will run the ARX-01c in ALMS next year!
http://www.motorstv.com/car/enduranc...-acura-in-2010
Will Audi come and challenge them?

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