[WEC] FIA World Endurance Championship

[AGD]

Since when have the Olympics been the barometer of sports purity? The IOC is about as corrupt as it gets. Even with that, as AndrewF31 pointed out, the US boycotted the Moscow games and the USSR boycotted the LA games. It's pointless to compare the Nazi games to today's Olympic games or motorsports events because I'm guessing the Olympics back then weren't nearly as commercialized as today's sporting events. We've heard about companies not wanting to have anything to do with the Bahrain F1 race. They don't want to show any sign that they support what is going on with Bahrain's rulers and it's very, very hard to separate Bahrain's power from the racing since they are so closely linked. Major companies like Mercedes and Pirelli are saying "no" to Bahrain. The ACO is now making companies involved in their racing make a tough decision about Bahrain.

[alexkiller8]

people be quiet, beyond moral questions, i don't know if this year f1/WEC will be able to run in bahrain, but for sure WEC won't run anymore there after 2012, for the simple reason that bahrain and interlagos races have been imposed by peugeot. Now that peugeot disappeared, next year is close to impossible that there will be again rounds in those countries.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by alexkiller8

but for sure WEC won't run anymore there after 2012, for the simple reason that bahrain and interlagos races have been imposed by peugeot.

Bahrain has nothing to do with Peugeot. In fact, Peugeot seemingly did not like Bahrain ending up on the schedule. There are a few theories about why Bahrain ended up on the schedule, but it's not because Peugeot, Audi, Toyota, or anyone like that wanted it.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by CTD

It would be the same as saying racing in France under Sarkozy, is associating oneself with his politics.

The problems starts when people starts to draw parallels between things which doesn't have to have any thing to do with the race itself!

But if it's money which rule, then there is NO idea in why F1 and WEC shouldn't run in Bahrain.

The difference between holding a race in France as opposed to Bahrain is Sarkozy wouldn't be using the race as a propaganda tool, to further his political ends, which is what is happening in Bahrain and the FIA are facilitating this by allowing the race to be held there.

[gucom]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

The difference between holding a race in France as opposed to Bahrain is Sarkozy wouldn't be using the race as a propaganda tool, to further his political ends, which is what is happening in Bahrain and the FIA are facilitating this by allowing the race to be held there.

I don't know if he'd use it as a political tool, but I seem to remember Sarkozy being eager to see a new French GP, and him and/or the prime minister talking to some people in the racing world to see how they could make that happen...

[AGD]

Originally Posted by gucom

I don't know if he'd use it as a political tool, but I seem to remember Sarkozy being eager to see a new French GP, and him and/or the prime minister talking to some people in the racing world to see how they could make that happen...

I think the Bahrain F1 race has been used to try to increase the international profile of Bahrain. Well, in theory at least. In practice, the Bahrain F1 race has probably helped highlight the injustices going on within Bahrain. At least that has been the case the last couple of years.

[gregtummer]

Originally Posted by gucom

I don't know if he'd use it as a political tool, but I seem to remember Sarkozy being eager to see a new French GP, and him and/or the prime minister talking to some people in the racing world to see how they could make that happen...

Didn't he get Paul Ricard on the calendar in 2013 in place of Spa?

Spa and Paul Ricard are going to switch every year, right?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by gucom

I don't know if he'd use it as a political tool, but I seem to remember Sarkozy being eager to see a new French GP, and him and/or the prime minister talking to some people in the racing world to see how they could make that happen...

The French GP is where it all started and it was only taken off the calendar by Bernie because they wouldn't cough up the money he was asking for. Silverstone nearly went the same way, so I don't have a problem with Sarkozy trying to do what he could/can to reinstate the French GP.

[CTD]

Adam asked us to close the discussion between Motorsport and politics, so i ask to please respect that.

The debate is also far off topic.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by CTD

Adam asked us to close the discussion between Motorsport and politics, so i ask to please respect that.

The debate is also far off topic.

Fair dinkum, .

[AGD]

Originally Posted by CTD

Adam asked us to close the discussion between Motorsport and politics, so i ask to please respect that.

The debate is also far off topic.

I don't know how the Bahrain round can be discussed without discussing the politics of the matter. Such is the nature of Bahrain. Also, we've been discussing the matter since November in this thread and that has been one of the main topics of this thread since then. Frankly, I don't see why the discussion should stop now especially with Bahrain seemingly entering another period of chaos. The Bahrani government may disagree, but a human rights group is saying that there have been 9 protest related deaths in January so far in Bahrain. That could definitely have a serious impact on the Bahrain race.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by CTD

Adam asked us to close the discussion between Motorsport and politics, so i ask to please respect that.

The debate is also far off topic.

Hold it a second, where did Adam43 say that on this thread? I know he said something about staying away from the thread but that was posted on the WEC Peaugeot exits Le Mans racing thread.

[Rodger Davies]

soooo... Signature were involved in a private 908 deal that fell through and we still have no Signatech lineup confirmation.

Discuss.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by CTD

Adam asked us to close the discussion between Motorsport and politics, so i ask to please respect that.

The debate is also far off topic.

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Fair dinkum, .

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Hold it a second, where did Adam43 say that on this thread? I know he said something about staying away from the thread but that was posted on the WEC Peaugeot exits Le Mans racing thread.

My mistake . Just saw his post and thought it was a reference to this debate (i forgot the what thread it was in)

But let's resume then:
The Bahrain regime shouldn't pay any role in the races in the country, which can have a marketing value (ei. handing the trophies to the winner). Once you allow that you can say they mix a little politic into the sport (bad!).

But by choosing not to race, for non-sporting reasons is politics, and has nothing to do with sport. You will as a sport apply pressure on the regime/government, to imply a politic, that is lobbyism, and a part of politic.

[gregtummer]

Does anyone know what laptimes Toyota turned in testing?

[CTD]

Originally Posted by gregtummer

Does anyone know what laptimes Toyota turned in testing?

Cant remember them, but check the Toyota thread

[gregtummer]

Originally Posted by CTD

Cant remember them, but check the Toyota thread

I don't recall seeing any laptimes from the Paul Ricard test.

The only thing relating to Toyota and laptimes i saw was that their simulator said they could do a lap at Le Mans at 3:24-3:25.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by CTD

But let's resume then:
The Bahrain regime shouldn't pay any role in the races in the country, which can have a marketing value (ei. handing the trophies to the winner). Once you allow that you can say they mix a little politic into the sport (bad!).

How could the Bahrain regime not have any role in the races? The regime has paid essentially every cent for the event. If it wasn't for them giving the ACO a sack of cash, the race never would have been on the schedule. It's not about handing out trophies, the race is intrinsically linked to the regime right down to the core.

But by choosing not to race, for non-sporting reasons is politics, and has nothing to do with sport. You will as a sport apply pressure on the regime/government, to imply a politic, that is lobbyism, and a part of politic.

This isn't amateur athletics. This is big-time commercialized entertainment. The sponsors and factory teams/suppliers know that the fans know that there is a direct link between the Bahraini government and the major racing activities that go on in Bahrain. As we've seen in F1, that makes companies very nervous. It would make them nervous even if the direct link wasn't so obvious because the atrocities going on in Bahrain are quite serious and some would question the value of participating in an entertainment event with so much strife nearby even if the connection between the two was purely geographic (which it isn't). That's a big, big problem. The ACO is in no position to cheese off whatever few corporate supporters they have.

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

soooo... Signature were involved in a private 908 deal that fell through and we still have no Signatech lineup confirmation.

Discuss.

Well Nissan have just confirmed which of their GT Academy drivers will be racing for Signatech this year, so that means they're just taking their time with the announcement after any potential behind-the-scenes wrangling.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by gregtummer

I don't recall seeing any laptimes from the Paul Ricard test.

The only thing relating to Toyota and laptimes i saw was that their simulator said they could do a lap at Le Mans at 3:24-3:25.

http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...38#post3016738

[gregtummer]

Thanks for the link.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by AGD

The sponsors and factory teams/suppliers know that the fans know that there is a direct link between the Bahraini government and the major racing activities that go on in Bahrain. As we've seen in F1, that makes companies very nervous.

It also makes me nervous as a race fan because this association with the Bahraini government can only do damage motorsport.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by @dsceuroeditor

Found some interesting dates. Apparently there is FIA WEC Testing at Spa on May 7 - the Monday after the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. #WEC

source: http://twitter.com/#!/dsceuroeditor/...50252367675396

[bjohnsonsmith]

Not wanting to over egg the pudding on Bahrain but this was posted on the F1 section of Ten Tenths:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012...ear-of-unrest/

http://www.pitpass.com/45520-Bahrain...-are-concerned

[kober]

Not sure if this is news, but the following have been officially confirmed:

The equivalences between diesel and petrol engines - results:
 All the refuelling equipment will have the same flow.
 No modifications will be made to the petrol engines in 2012.
 The performance of the diesel engines will be pegged back by around 7% by decreasing the size of the air restrictors and the supercharger pressure. The diameter of the restrictors will be reduced from 47.4 mm to 45.8 mm for engines that have a single restrictor, and from 33.5 mm to 32.4 mm for those engines that have two. In addition, the supercharger pressure of the turbos will be reduced from 3 000 to 2 800 milibars.
 The fuel tank capacity of diesel-engined LM P1 cars will be reduced by 5 litres (65 to 60 litres).