[LM24] Le Mans 2008 - Entry List/Driver News

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by prototype

My mistake. Tell me about the 22 and the 24 car. They don't have squat.

#24 has been running in JLMC for 2 years. More here.
#22 is being assembled. More here and here.

Both entries give some engine diversity in LMP1 (screaming Mugen V8 and V8 biturbo). And keep Japanese crowd interested in Le Mans, untill the Japanese manufacturers return.

[canam]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Some small remarks, most has been said.

• Autocon Creation has old 5.0 liter Judd engine.
• YGK Courage on Yokohama tyres. So Yokohama will develop LMP2 rubber for BK and now also LMP1 tyres.
• Virgo Ferrari on Dunlop and BMS Ferrari on Pirelli. This was not mentioned in LMS entry list.
• Spyker teams on Michelin tyres instead of Dunlop. Good choice.
• Still very strange that Farnbacher enters a Ferrari, while they also run a Porsche in LMS with factory support.
• French chauvisism is rather limited this year. Oreca gets 2 LMP1 entries and Pescarolo/Saulnier gets 2 LMP1s + 1 LMP2 (+ first reserve), while Creation only gets 1 LMP1 entry and Embassy only 1 LMP2 entry. But no WR

Three Pugs (two by right), three Pescas (one by right) and four Courages (none by right) seems pretty chauvinistic to me.

Outside of Peugeot and Pesca, there appears to be no benefit to LMS regulars either. 12 of the 20 P1 entries did not participate in the LMS last year and some have even not committed for this year. I suppose that, given the overscription for the LMS, they don't need to encourage participants.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by canam

Three Pugs (two by right), three Pescas (one by right) and four Courages (none by right) seems pretty chauvinistic to me.

I would not call the selection of the 2 Japanese Courages chauvinism. That is merely a marketing decision to keep Japan interested in Le Mans and a way to promote the Asian Le Mans series.

Originally Posted by canam

Outside of Peugeot and Pesca, there appears to be no benefit to LMS regulars either. 12 of the 20 P1 entries did not participate in the LMS last year and some have even not committed for this year. I suppose that, given the overscription for the LMS, they don't need to encourage participants.

Yes, in the past commitment to LMS was a necessity to get a Le Mans entry. However, all LMP2 selections for Le Mans do participate in LMS.

I find it is rather strange that Charouz/Cryptosport Lola-Judd is not selected for LMS, but they are for Le Mans.

[KaspervG]

No WR!
The ACO have chosen for excellence, rather than nostalgia.
That's great news!

[AstonGeoff]

Originally Posted by KA

Do teams on the reserve list have to turn up at the test day? If they're all second cars from teams already in the race, I guess it's easier that way, in that they're teams who are already going to be there, rather than teams who are having to make plans to attend the test day even though they don't know whether they're in the race

Yes, they do have to go to the test day, the reserves will be called up as other cars drop out, but there is a cut off date prior to the test day after which the reserves are not called up. So if someone destroys a car at the test day and can't fix it in a week then the 55 starters will be reduced rather than a reserve being called up.

[canam]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

#24 has been running in JLMC for 2 years. More here
#22 is being assembled. More here and here.

Both entries give some engine diversity in LMP1 (screaming Mugen V8 and V8 biturbo). And keep Japanese crowd interested in Le Mans, untill the Japanese manufacturers return.

Mugen's pretty much break within 12 hours or the drivers crash as they can't see the road from the scale of vibration in the engine. The #22 has struggled to achieve a 50% finishing record over six hours let alone twelve or 24.

As for the other entry, someone must have twisted a lot of arms. Am I to beleive that ths is a revamped Group C motor being run by a 'team' that has never run a race... never mind a top class entry at Le mans. Are these folks safe???

All the Japanese entries have no merit in my view (even Dome) but perhaps a necessary evil to get them out to Shanghai. Given that these cars are unlikely to get past the six hour mark, Japanese interest will have to rely on the 'Mazda' and AIM engines which ought to sound different from the others.

[mariantic]

Originally Posted by AstonGeoff

Yes, they do have to go to the test day, the reserves will be called up as other cars drop out, but there is a cut off date prior to the test day after which the reserves are not called up. So if someone destroys a car at the test day and can't fix it in a week then the 55 starters will be reduced rather than a reserve being called up.

This was the procedure in previous years, but this year ACO said they wanted to be able to sub resreves right up to the race. So guaranteeing 55 starters. We wondered how they would this (i.e. keeping reserves waiting around)
Now we know, the reserves are all second cars for teams that are already there. Ingenious!

Mariantic

[JAG]

Suprise, suprise, criticism of the Le Mans entry list.

[AU N EGL]

Impressive Start list. Very Impressive.

3 audis
3 pugs

8 Judd powered cars.

Going to be one heck of a race

[cmk]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Some small remarks, most has been said.

• Autocon Creation has old 5.0 liter Judd engine.
• YGK Courage on Yokohama tyres. So Yokohama will develop LMP2 rubber for BK and now also LMP1 tyres.
• Virgo Ferrari on Dunlop and BMS Ferrari on Pirelli. This was not mentioned in LMS entry list.
• Spyker teams on Michelin tyres instead of Dunlop. Good choice.
• Still very strange that Farnbacher enters a Ferrari, while they also run a Porsche in LMS with factory support.
• French chauvisism is rather limited this year. Oreca gets 2 LMP1 entries and Pescarolo/Saulnier gets 2 LMP1s + 1 LMP2 (+ first reserve), while Creation only gets 1 LMP1 entry and Embassy only 1 LMP2 entry. But no WR

Some remarks on the remarks:
- Autocon has very admirable spirit but they should not be there in my opinion, not at the required level (though not dangerous like certain funders of certain other privateer ALMS P1 teams...). Would like to see a 2nd factory Creation under that entry but it won't happen. At least they need some setup support.
- Yokohama has done tyres for Yves in the past (2 years ago? 3?) but I wonder if this doesn't detract from their BK effort.
- I think we knew about the tyres on the Ferraris already, but I'm looking forward to seeing how strong Virgo's Dunlops are at the big one.
- Agreed on Spyker, great news, but the Dunlops were also getting better as a result of Virgo's work.
- The Farnbacher Ferrari is Pierre Ehret's. A long time customer, so they run what he brung.
- No chauvinism at all this year in my opinion. One of the toughest years ever to assign entries imo. I thought it sad that Creation in particular got only 1 entry (and yet Cytoport snuck in) but what can you do? Someone has to lose.

[prototype]

Originally Posted by canam

Mugen's pretty much break within 12 hours or the drivers crash as they can't see the road from the scale of vibration in the engine. The #22 has struggled to achieve a 50% finishing record over six hours let alone twelve or 24.

As for the other entry, someone must have twisted a lot of arms. Am I to beleive that ths is a revamped Group C motor being run by a 'team' that has never run a race... never mind a top class entry at Le mans. Are these folks safe???

All the Japanese entries have no merit in my view (even Dome) but perhaps a necessary evil to get them out to Shanghai. Given that these cars are unlikely to get past the six hour mark, Japanese interest will have to rely on the 'Mazda' and AIM engines which ought to sound different from the others.

Grat points! I agree on the Dome. Hopefully they will find someone other than Alex Yoong to wreck, err... drive it.

I wish the second Creation would have gotten in replacing one of these. I agree it is an effort to increase interest in the Asian series.

[KA]

Originally Posted by canam

Three Pugs (two by right), three Pescas (one by right) and four Courages (none by right) seems pretty chauvinistic to me.

Outside of Peugeot and Pesca, there appears to be no benefit to LMS regulars either. 12 of the 20 P1 entries did not participate in the LMS last year and some have even not committed for this year. I suppose that, given the overscription for the LMS, they don't need to encourage participants.

To be honest the LMP1 entry is pretty much on the mark- If you take out the third Pug, two Pescas and those Courages, who do you replace them with?

The only P1 entries on the list (other than the third Audi & Pug- let's face it, the ACO weren't about to refuse either....) who aren't on the full-season LMS list recently published are the 3 Japanese entries, the Charouz/Cytosport Lola, and Autocon- who had a guaranteed entry from 2007 ALMS anyway.

The only entries on the full-season LMP1 list for LMS who've missed out as far as I can see the Saulnier Pesca, and the 2nd cars from Creation and Euskadi- all of them on the reserve list with a car already in the race, and about the only other LMP1 entries that might have improved the entry.

Of the 2007 LMS entries missing from the 2008 LM entry, RfH aren't racing this year, and Swiss Spirit have lost the Audi engine deal- the only other absentees I can see in LMP1 are Lavaggi and Arena, on neither the LMS or Le Mans list. About the only other significant LMP1 absentee I can see is Intersport

[AU N EGL]

What about the P2 list? I dont follow the LMS much, so dont really know the teams.

[KA]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

What about the P2 list? I dont follow the LMS much, so dont really know the teams.

Of the 15 P2 entries on the LMS list released a week or so back, 12 are in. The only ones missing are WR, the Lista-Horag RS Spyder- I think Lienhard had already said they hadnt put in an LM entry- and Embassy's second car again, think I've read on here or DSC they'd only put in a single entry for LM.

[KA]

LMS full-season list recently published on E-I, as a comparison

http://www.endurance-info.com/articl...d=4887&thold=0

[rdjones]

Well I wasn't expecting to see the entry list just yet. Most people have given there thoughts and tend to agree with them.

I see the Lucchini has made it which interesting, as is the Vitaphone Aston, as is only one Labre Saleen. The rest is pretty much as expected.

I guess the next job is putting drivers in cars....

[Fogelhund]

nm

[The359]

It's odd, Vitaphone actually turned down their GT1 auto entry. So why did they now show up with a GT1 Aston?

I assume the DBR9 is the Phoenix Racing car.

[Marcel ten Caat]

Originally Posted by rdjones

Well I wasn't expecting to see the entry list just yet.

It's only a week earlier than last year though

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by canam

I doubt Creation are happy campers today.

I feel absolutely gutted for Creation, their second entry should have been a given, it's the one 'stand out' glaring omission from the list in light of several who are (inexplicably) there. Shafted!

[ss_collins]

Those who are slagging off Tokai and Dome really need to read up on it! Dome is a stunningly good outfit - don't forget you are talking about the works Honda GT500 team with a very very well designed car. More deserving of its entry than most! They are one of the worlds top racecar constructors every bit the match for Dallara or Lola

Tokai is a stunning project - 10/10 for effort!

I'm a bit deflated about the lack of WR

[gwyllion]

I totally agree. Creation should have been the first reserve, instead of another Pescarolo LMP1. Pescarolo/Saulnier already has 2 LMP1 and 1 LMP2 entry. It does not make sense that 2nd Epsilon-Euskadi and 2nd Lamborghini are above Creation in the reserve list.

[FIRE]

Great grid

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Some small remarks, most has been said.

• Autocon Creation has old 5.0 liter Judd engine.
• YGK Courage on Yokohama tyres. So Yokohama will develop LMP2 rubber for BK and now also LMP1 tyres.
• Virgo Ferrari on Dunlop and BMS Ferrari on Pirelli. This was not mentioned in LMS entry list.
• Spyker teams on Michelin tyres instead of Dunlop. Good choice.
• Still very strange that Farnbacher enters a Ferrari, while they also run a Porsche in LMS with factory support.
• French chauvisism is rather limited this year. Oreca gets 2 LMP1 entries and Pescarolo/Saulnier gets 2 LMP1s + 1 LMP2 (+ first reserve), while Creation only gets 1 LMP1 entry and Embassy only 1 LMP2 entry. But no WR

Courage and Kondo-Dome used Yokohama LMP1 tyres in the past.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by KA

Of the 15 P2 entries on the LMS list released a week or so back, 12 are in. The only ones missing are WR, the Lista-Horag RS Spyder- I think Lienhard had already said they hadnt put in an LM entry- and Embassy's second car again, think I've read on here or DSC they'd only put in a single entry for LM.

Lista Horag didn't ask for a Le Mans entry. And Embassy not for a 2nd car.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

Dome is a stunningly good outfit - don't forget you are talking about the works Honda GT500 team with a very very well designed car. More deserving of its entry than most! They are one of the worlds top racecar constructors every bit the match for Dallara or Lola.

And the Dome S102 is a stunning coupe with a nice non-F1 nose