Le Mans Series 2009

[deggis]

Also there is this interesting snippet (translation is obviously a bit lost*):

Gibberish translation: http://translate.google.com/translat...-8&sl=fr&tl=en

"that leads him not to call into question the participation Charouz Racing System Le Mans Series despite the absence of the Brno circuit in the program of the championship. "We had promised Peter and Patrick shook hands with me to enter the market, then he called me to tell me that Peugeot, Audi and Michelin did not want the number of rounds increases, which I can understand."

So no Brno then

* "Peter and Patrick"? I guess this means Patrick Peter, GM of LMS

[deggis]

Originally Posted by JAG

The V12 motor has no future in P1 it seems, so the GT2 V8 or a purpose built race engine seems to be the way to go long term (2011) in P1.

But 'future' starts 2011.

Originally Posted by LeMans.pt

but what happened to Aston Martin? They speak a lot about an LMP program, and now nothing appears???

This financial crap, GT rules clarified, bad time to build new car because of 2011 LMP rules... plenty of reasons for change of mind.

Last word from anyone at AMR is from September:

http://tentenths.com/forum/showpost....4&postcount=28

[JAG]

Originally Posted by deggis

But 'future' starts 2011.

2011 is when everyone has to switch, but by 2010 some of these news cars may already be up and running.

We've seen how easy it was to balance P1 and P2 in the ALMS, so I would think the ACO would ensure a new gen P1 would be competitive in 2010, same goes for P2 runners using GT2 engines.

[deggis]

Originally Posted by JAG

2011 is when everyone has to switch, but by 2010 some of these news cars may already be up and running.

May or may not. I just meant there is still two more years to go with the current engine.

We've seen how easy it was to balance P1 and P2 in the ALMS, so I would think the ACO would ensure a new gen P1 would be competitive in 2010, same goes for P2 runners using GT2 engines.

If that happens, it might open a huge can of worms.

[LeMans.pt]

Its Official!
Racing Box as 2 Lola B08/80 (Official website) for LMP2 campaign in LMS

[LeMans.pt]

[quote=deggis](...)then he called me to tell me that Peugeot, Audi and Michelin did not want the number of rounds increases (...)"


What?? If they don't want it, don't run it... let the team who want no make more round do them!

[johntt]

Originally Posted by JAG
The V12 motor has no future in P1 it seems, so the GT2 V8 or a purpose built race engine seems to be the way to go long term (2011) in P1.

According to Murphy the new rules will allow multiple configurations, so we will still have V10s and V12s, but they'll be no bigger than 3.4l

[JAG]

That still rules out the Aston Martin V12 or Chevy V8, while Judd, AER and Zytek all offer more compact P2 engines.

I could see older P1 engines being grandfathered for a year or two with smaller restrictors, but if you only lease an engine, why not switch to the suppliers P2 motor?

It will be interesting to see if anyone offers an off the shelf KERS package apart from Zytek, as that piece of equipment would appear crucial if you're to be competitive.

[Dani Filth]

Originally Posted by LeMans.pt

Its Official!
Racing Box as 2 Lola B08/80 (Official website) for LMP2 campaign in LMS

i wonder what they can get in terms of engine ..

[LeMans.pt]

Originally Posted by Dani Filth

i wonder what they can get in terms of engine ..

Mazda perhaps?

[Aslak Vind]

Mazda yeah.. Should be up for graps at a reasonable price..

[The Badger]

EI are reporting that Racing Box have 2 Lola B08 coupe's , one for the gentlemen and the other for the pros . ..... good news indeed .

[FIRE]

...
This is likely to have a number of side-effects for the unhappy team. There are rumours that a deal between Force India and Mercedes will result in the departure from the team of Colin Kolles, who is understood to be less than popular in Mercedes-Benz circles. Kolles has run Mercedes-Benz engines in Formula 3 in the past but in recent years has been closer to rival firm Audi, which is headquartered in Kolles's home town of Ingolstadt. Kolles has been running a pair of Audis in the DTM in recent years and there are rumours that he is now looking to expand that programme to run an Audi-engined sports car in the Le Mans Series.
...

Source: http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20961.html

"Audi engined"
So it's not the R10 but a xxx chassis with an Audi engine (like Swiss Spirit with their Lola-Audi)

[Aslak Vind]

Interesting, it could also be a GT2 version of a R8, should that transpire.

However, it is a bit sad that Kolles TME continues to run halfhearted programs, instead of putting all in. But its all up to the wallet of the drivers.

[courageous]

Spyker then...

[isynge]

Is it just me or does DSC's reporting of the whole Charouz / Aston Martin affair smack of wistful what might have been?

The impression I got was that we may well have seen the last of the Lola Astons, certainly in their current guise, and that this was largely down to a failure to see eye-to-eye.

Personally I'm mystified about what Charouz are proposing to run that will be genuinely quicker than their 2008 package.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Source: http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20961.html

"Audi engined"
So it's not the R10 but a xxx chassis with an Audi engine (like Swiss Spirit with their Lola-Audi)

Hmm Lmp2 Lola Coupe with the race car R8 engine?
Or a Lmp2 Lola Coupe with a GT2 prepared R8 engine?.
I don't think the R10 Diesel is up for grabs!

[Dead-Eye]

Originally Posted by courageous

Spyker then...

My thoughts exactly. The other ideads sound more interesting, but this seems like the most likely outcome.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by isynge

Is it just me or does DSC's reporting of the whole Charouz / Aston Martin affair smack of wistful what might have been?

The impression I got was that we may well have seen the last of the Lola Astons, certainly in their current guise, and that this was largely down to a failure to see eye-to-eye.

Personally I'm mystified about what Charouz are proposing to run that will be genuinely quicker than their 2008 package.

The Lola-Aston car was one of the best petrol powered cars this season. Assuming Charouz has the budget for a LMS & Le Mans campaign like this year it makes no sense to drop the Lola-Aston. If Charouz switches to another customer car they are normally less competative. So did he a deal with Audi, Peugeot or Acura?

About Aston Martin. Their engine will be less powerful next season thanks to the ACO. Would that maybe a reason for not continue their LMP1 project?

[FIRE]

Epsilon-Euskadi is interested in Jos Verstappen for next season.
Source: Verstappen @ http://www.racexpress.nl/index.php?n...ikel&nid=13292

Team owner Joan Villadelprat knows Verstappen from their time at Benetton.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by FIRE

The Lola-Aston car was one of the best petrol powered cars this season. Assuming Charouz has the budget for a LMS & Le Mans campaign like this year it makes no sense to drop the Lola-Aston. If Charouz switches to another customer car they are normally less competative. So did he a deal with Audi, Peugeot or Acura?

Acura, might be a really good guess!
If AMR is stopping in Lmp1, or going solo, and Acura want a european based team with a lot of experince, then Acura and Charouz might be a good match!

[isynge]

Originally Posted by CTD

Acura, might be a really good guess!
If AMR is stopping in Lmp1, or going solo, and Acura want a european based team with a lot of experince, then Acura and Charouz might be a good match!

The issue with that, and to be honest a lot of what is being reported as being Charouz related, is that Charouz fundamentally isn't a team with lots of experience. In 2007 it was basically the old Jota squad then in 2008 it was Prodrive providing a lot of the personnel.

That's not to say they've got ability in pulling together a package, and given the folding of the likes of Embassy that there aren't people out there, but given Acura will be supporting a full on ALMS campaign and probably don't have European based staff to support it I'd be surprised if Charouz and Acura ended up together.

My skepticism is reinforced by Antonin Charouz's comments about possibly running three cars. If these were Lola-Astons I could see it being possible, but I struggle to see anything else that would allow him to do so.

[Speed-King]

My skepticism is reinforced by Antonin Charouz's comments about possibly running three cars. If these were Lola-Astons I could see it being possible, but I struggle to see anything else that would allow him to do so.

Hmm, there should be a number of 908s around by now. And quite feankly, the only existing upgrade from the Aston is right now a full factory car. I'm with you in ruling out Acura, so that leaves us with Audi or Peugeot.

[The359]

Could this all be as simple as Charouz running the DBR9 GT1s and maybe a V8 Vantage GT2 at Le Mans? Remember, Mucke was in the V8 Vantage in FIA GT.

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

Hmm, there should be a number of 908s around by now

Yeah , with a severe lack of parts . If something like that was to happen , I hope Pug would be more prepared for customer support , than they were prepared for themselves this year , with top bollok drivers .