[LM24] Thoughts on 2003 Le Mans (Race and Cars)

[Tim Northcutt]

Some may not be as obvious as you think...

I'm interested in reading your thoughts:

1. Open Note to Don Panoz:

I know that you have announced your Esperanza Plans for 2004, but...

Please don't pull a "Cadillac" and dump the LMP program when it finally has begun to show results...

I know we-ll see that car run under the "grandfather clause" as a privateer, but keep developing the front-engined prototype...

2. Deja Vu for R&S:

Their 2003 run was a mirror image of 2002...

An early off-course spin puts them in a hole (8th to 16th both years)

The Pro Drivers mount an incredible charge from 3-4 laps down (a lap per hour over the Pescas, 10-15 second per lap on the factory courage and 5-10 seconds per lap on the lead Panoz to get back to 8th by the 7th hour....

They were, at times, the fastest Non-VAG in the race...

The charge ended when Matthews hit the wall, but they raced on, and the hard charge early to get bask in the hunt probably led to their demise, again in the early sunlight hours of Sunday...the motor let go...

I sure hope R&S builds a 2004 specs LMP, and contnues to develop the Yates power's reliability...

I also hope the 2003 car runs again next year...with matthews or American Suites as a privateer or "semi-factory effort"

3. Where was the Factory car's Courage???

Sorry for the bad pun on a Monday, but the dramatic battle between the Panoz and the Facotory Courage disappeared on the final lap...

Can anyone tell me why??? and they faded to seventh under a hard charge from RfH to drop a spot....

I realize that the big goal is to finish the 24 hrs., but when you are racing for position in the final laps and are tucked under the wing of your competition, at least make an attempt to pass him....
after all it is racing...

Otherwise...superb effort this weekend!!!!!

4. An Open Note to Peugeot:

Please give the Pescarolo team the power they deserve so that they can run up front...that chassis and their efforts over the weekend were extremely impressive...a MAJOR improvement over 2002...but even Mr. pescarolo, in a quote printed on the official site, said they just didn't have the power to run up front...

5. "Best Non-VAG" most compelling action throughout the event...

Just look at the many instances, elements and sub-plots cited above...great racing that ebbed and flowed throughout the 24 hours like an epic story....and the action was continuous as each segement of the race unfolded...

6. The Whole Question of 675s and where the 750 specs will lead:

As I read the race reports on each car in the 675 class, those teams must be poster boys for masochism...

There were more trials and tribulations in each of those stories than in the Book of Job in the Bible...

Maybe the 750 class next year, with it's engine provisions, will lead to a different outcome for these teams choosing to go the smaller and lighter than an LMP 900 route, but after watching this class since its inception a few years ago, I don't think it is the right direction to go...they just cannot handle the pace and the strain for an endurance event....

I'd start my "LMP 1000" campaign for the Privateers, instead of the 750 proposal, but I beat that horse long past his death and will not continue that Don Quixotic quest....

At least they would run longer and stronger than the 675s have over the past few years...

[Tim Northcutt]

A few forgotten items:

7. Come Back Dallara...

I know that A.J. Foyt is helping your bottom line profits via his IRL team going though Dallara chassis like they are water, but We fans of the Sportscars want you to return with a 2004 Specs Prototype to Le Mans...

We missed you and the ORECA effort this year...we want you back!!!


8. To Fulvio nad Batcave:

Really wished we could have watched BOTH of you race this year...

Please keep us posted on your personal progress, and that of your racing teams, as this year continues and next year develops...

We look forward to watching you Drive in next year's Le Mans...as well as in the Tourney races...

[kdr]

tim...in ref to 3. as i wrote elsewhere the courage i think had a big "moment" trying to pass the panoz in the esses. it came back to be right behind it again...and i too was surprised that a lap or two later the courage was the length of the pitlane behind. i'd guess some sort of technical problem maybe...because the driver seemed well up for a scrap with the panoz.

[Tim Northcutt]

I thought that as well, especially since the RfH was supposedly about 10 seconds behind the two going into the last lap, but it overtook the Factory Courage during that last circuit...

If I remember correctly, the Panoz ran a 4:02 and RfH ran a 3:56 or 3:57 on the last circuit, but the Courage slowed way down...something like a 4:24 or 4:25 lap....

But of course, the telecast didn't show that battle going on, and David Hobbs continued to say that they (Speed Channel) had no control over the images being shown or they would have been focused on the battle for 5, 6 and 7 places...

I remember the specific encounter you described above as well....when he tucked back in behind him, I thought he would draft and ultimately take the Panoz somewhere down one of the long straights between those chicanes, but the move never happened....

[SL]

The RfH Dome was a lot faster than the Courage so probably had little problem passing. The Panoz seemed to have to better speed and grunt out of the corners, so the Courage could only really pass going into a corner.

As LM is all about speed on the straights the Courage seemed to have to slow to Panoz speed in the corners and was unable to out drag it. Maybe the Courage had a better lap time but only because it could carry more speed though the bends.

S

[Tim Northcutt]

From following the "Non-VAG" class for most of the race via TV reports as they were given, and through the LM on-line scoring, the Panoz was generally running lap times that were a little faster than the Factory Courage...but of course, it varied as the traffic varied, etc.

I haven't looked into the individual race reports on the lead Panoz, but I assume they had some sort of "other than usual pit service" that took some extra time somewhere around the 20th or 21st hour that helped the Courage get back into it, because at one point, the Panoz was one or two laps ahead of the Courage car.

However, from watching the battle between the two, I agree with your assessment of which car had the advantage in various aspects of the circuit...

In a way it reminded me of the Sebring action when one of the Bentleys was running with an Audi for position, and the Audi was able to hold him off by being quicker into and out of the corners, but the Bentley negated that advantage with its straight-line speed...

[Fab]

Originally posted by SL
The RfH Dome was a lot faster than the Courage so probably had little problem passing. The Panoz seemed to have to better speed and grunt out of the corners, so the Courage could only really pass going into a corner.

Best lap times during the race to confirm :
- Panoz LMP-01 Elan : 03:44,386
- Dome S101 Judd : 03:39,664
- Courage C60JX Judd : 03:45,608
The Dome is easy on this... we see with the Panoz best lap that to be the fastest on the track is not the sole thing that count : the Dome is still behind...

Great race by the JML team, BTW, the best a Panoz had in LM... and Don Panoz said that, if they'll be there with GTs next year, the LMP 900 roadster is still available for customers...

[Bodysnatcher]

Originally posted by Tim Northcutt
3. Where was the Factory car's Courage???

Sorry for the bad pun on a Monday, but the dramatic battle between the Panoz and the Facotory Courage disappeared on the final lap...

Can anyone tell me why??? and they faded to seventh under a hard charge from RfH to drop a spot....

as mentioned in another thread, the Courage spun at Arnage on the last lap, allowing the Dome past.

[kdr]

does anyone know what sort of speed biela was doing on the lap he ran out of gas on? from what i read he knew he wouldn't make it. i'd have been doing 30mph in top!

[Super Tourer]

What was the story on that Biela incident, surely a driver of his experience doesn't miss the pit lane entry because another car is in the way. Better to slow down completely and make the pits than attempt another lap.

This was a bizzare incident, lack of Le Mans experience from the team or driver error from Biela, what was the cause?

Salo must have been sick, never even got to drive in the race,as for Perry his usual type of luck I guess.....

[enemy-ace]

Biela apparently admitted to his mistake, (or in technical terms "massive brain fart") and was just sick about it. Real shame as i was really looking forward to seeing what kind of pace Salo had over a race distance.
Good job by the Bentley's, race distance record I think! Valiant effort by the Champion Racing team.
And what a way to end with that battle for fifth between the Courage Judd and JML Panoz, great stuff!
One day I WILL make it to lemans. Or at least I hope I will

[Smokey 6 litre]

i think Lister should do very well in 2004, its a pitty they didn't run this year.

Originally posted by enemy-ace
One day I WILL make it to lemans. Or at least I hope I will

same with me

[Try Hard]

well what can i say. WOW. For a first time visit, i was most inmpressed by the last 20mins with the panoz, courage and dome racing for the flag, haven't seen anything like it for a while. And with everybody in the grandstands jumping to their feet to watch the screens, well i can't really describe it. Apart from that i think teta rouge at dawn was just stunning, cheers for the tip Fab .
I now have 5 rolls of film to develop, doesn't quite match my 8 from the champ car weekend.
BTW the reason i haven't uploaded any pics or videos yet (of which i have about 15) is because yesterday my heatsink on my computer decided to fall off, resulting in lots of white smoke, and a burnt out cpu, so got to get that replaced first.
Also watch this space, as i am going to atempt to update my site in a while a LM2003 page.
Regards
Ed

[Tim Northcutt]

To Bodysnatcher:

I was unaware of the spin by the Factory Courage, because the TV telecast (that David Hobbs kept apologizing for) was showing the Bentley on its final lap while the action was happening back in 5th-7th places....

Thanks!....that explains everything....

To Fab:

I agree completely with your assessment...that is why I was actually switching back and forth on my computer between the Speed Channel link and the Official site's scoring, because I wanted to see how the "Last Lap" category changed with each update, and I was getting more up-to-date changes by hopping between the sites for some strange reason....

That's how I knew that Goossens and Tinseau were running pretty consistently hot laps during that early charge back into contention...

Overall, the lead Panoz pace was fairly consistent at various points in the race....Their best was the 3:45, but they ran plenty of laps under 3:50 during the course of a given hour, whereas the Courages at various stages were showing last laps that were in the mid-3:50s...probably due to where they were catching backmarkers on those laps...

By watching that progress, that's how I could make the assessment that the R&S was picking up about a lap an hour on the Pescas, and about 10-15 seconds on the Factory Courage once it got closer to contend for the 7th spot...

But traffic always plays a big part in that, and there is always traffic to deal with in a race like this...for all of the faster competitors...

Overall, I REALLY enjoyed the "Best Non-VAG" competition throughout the race...many outstanding teams and cars really battling it out...

Now...Peugeot needs to give Mr. Pescarolo the power he deserves...

[Tim Northcutt]

One other Note that I watched that was significant:

During that R&S charge following the early mishap, I also kept track of the total time in the pits for many of those non-VAGS...the results by the 8th hour, when R&S had overtaken both Pescas and was within 1:32 of the Factory Courage was even more amazing when you figure that:

R&S by that time had spent 38 min. in the pit 9most to repair the damage from the off) and had 18 stops

Pesca #18 had spent only 15 min., yet the R&S made up nearly 3 laps and had passed for position...

Pesca #17 was 1-2 laps down to the R&S but had spent 28 min,. due to an off-road incident earlier, but still 10 min less in the pits...

The Factory Courage, and the two Panoz cars had spent somewhere between 15-71 min total in the pits up to that time...

Thus the R&S charge was dome while spenfin anywhere from 10-23 minutes more off the track than those cars they were chasing down and
in some cases passing for position...

[Fab]

Originally posted by Try Hard
well what can i say. WOW. For a first time visit, i was most inmpressed by the last 20mins with the panoz, courage and dome racing for the flag, haven't seen anything like it for a while. And with everybody in the grandstands jumping to their feet to watch the screens, well i can't really describe it. Apart from that i think teta rouge at dawn was just stunning, cheers for the tip Fab .
I now have 5 rolls of film to develop, doesn't quite match my 8 from the champ car weekend.
BTW the reason i haven't uploaded any pics or videos yet (of which i have about 15) is because yesterday my heatsink on my computer decided to fall off, resulting in lots of white smoke, and a burnt out cpu, so got to get that replaced first.
Also watch this space, as i am going to atempt to update my site in a while a LM2003 page.
Regards
Ed

Another one hooked !

Ed ! See you next year for the BBQ/Sangria party !

[Tim Northcutt]

Note:

My pit scenario should have read 15-17 minutes, not 71...

And with the 2004 specs cars, plus this year's competitors, running next year, it should be even more exciting...

I do want to try to make it next year.....