2024 Le Mans race thread
Discussion
Ultimately a great race. Although some parts of it felt a little badly executed, ie the safety cars.
A great mix of hyper cars, with more coming next year.
I wonder if there will be any objections lodged... Hopefully not, but could well see some, as some of the regulations seem to be applied inconsistently or oddly.
A great mix of hyper cars, with more coming next year.
I wonder if there will be any objections lodged... Hopefully not, but could well see some, as some of the regulations seem to be applied inconsistently or oddly.
Edited by eps on Monday 17th June 04:17
blearyeyedboy said:
It does seem that penalties are relatively light for quite major infringements.
Look at the decisions towards the endThis is the justification for the ridiculous 5 second penalty for the 5, instead of the standard drive through for contact
The Stewards determined that while Car 51 had a significant portion of the car inside Car 8, the braking was less than Car 8, in wet conditions, which led to him getting inside of Car 8. In addition, Car 51 was on the inside, non-racing line. At the exit of the corner, Car 51 slightly understeered and struck Car 8, causing the subsequent spin of Car 8. The Stewards noted that the incident was part of the race between the two cars,and that the error by Car 51 was very small and thus the Stewards took this into account in ordering a significantly smaller penalty than had been applied to other incidents during the race
WTF?
And the non penalty for the 50 unsafe release
After having checked the video evidence, the Stewards determined that car Car 50 left it’s pit stop location in spite of the manager not lifting the sign board. Car 37 slowed when it saw Car 50 approach, but Car 50 never entered the fast lane, and never was dangerous for Car 37. In addition, Car 50 dropped back and entered the fast lane behind Car 37, thus giving priority to the car in the fast lane.
More nonsense, as had the 37 not slowed there would have been contact
Then we had the 50 & 51 being reported for a technical breach
The Stewards have received reports from the Technical Delegate stating that cars 50 and 51 did not respect the ERS deployment speed in lap 261.
Decision: Reprimand
freedman said:
Look at the decisions towards the end
This is the justification for the ridiculous 5 second penalty for the 5, instead of the standard drive through for contact
The Stewards determined that while Car 51 had a significant portion of the car inside Car 8, the braking was less than Car 8, in wet conditions, which led to him getting inside of Car 8. In addition, Car 51 was on the inside, non-racing line. At the exit of the corner, Car 51 slightly understeered and struck Car 8, causing the subsequent spin of Car 8. The Stewards noted that the incident was part of the race between the two cars,and that the error by Car 51 was very small and thus the Stewards took this into account in ordering a significantly smaller penalty than had been applied to other incidents during the race
WTF?
And the non penalty for the 50 unsafe release
After having checked the video evidence, the Stewards determined that car Car 50 left it’s pit stop location in spite of the manager not lifting the sign board. Car 37 slowed when it saw Car 50 approach, but Car 50 never entered the fast lane, and never was dangerous for Car 37. In addition, Car 50 dropped back and entered the fast lane behind Car 37, thus giving priority to the car in the fast lane.
More nonsense, as had the 37 not slowed there would have been contact
Then we had the 50 & 51 being reported for a technical breach
The Stewards have received reports from the Technical Delegate stating that cars 50 and 51 did not respect the ERS deployment speed in lap 261.
Decision: Reprimand
It's nice to see stewards working to keep the race spectacle running as smoothly as they can instead of trying to make themselves part of it. F1 could learn from WEC in many ways.This is the justification for the ridiculous 5 second penalty for the 5, instead of the standard drive through for contact
The Stewards determined that while Car 51 had a significant portion of the car inside Car 8, the braking was less than Car 8, in wet conditions, which led to him getting inside of Car 8. In addition, Car 51 was on the inside, non-racing line. At the exit of the corner, Car 51 slightly understeered and struck Car 8, causing the subsequent spin of Car 8. The Stewards noted that the incident was part of the race between the two cars,and that the error by Car 51 was very small and thus the Stewards took this into account in ordering a significantly smaller penalty than had been applied to other incidents during the race
WTF?
And the non penalty for the 50 unsafe release
After having checked the video evidence, the Stewards determined that car Car 50 left it’s pit stop location in spite of the manager not lifting the sign board. Car 37 slowed when it saw Car 50 approach, but Car 50 never entered the fast lane, and never was dangerous for Car 37. In addition, Car 50 dropped back and entered the fast lane behind Car 37, thus giving priority to the car in the fast lane.
More nonsense, as had the 37 not slowed there would have been contact
Then we had the 50 & 51 being reported for a technical breach
The Stewards have received reports from the Technical Delegate stating that cars 50 and 51 did not respect the ERS deployment speed in lap 261.
Decision: Reprimand
CLK-GTR said:
It's nice to see stewards working to keep the race spectacle running as smoothly as they can instead of trying to make themselves part of it. F1 could learn from WEC in many ways.
Id rather they issued consistent penalties, instead of seeming to be scared of penalising Ferrari near the end of the race when they were leadingfreedman said:
CLK-GTR said:
It's nice to see stewards working to keep the race spectacle running as smoothly as they can instead of trying to make themselves part of it. F1 could learn from WEC in many ways.
Id rather they issued consistent penalties, instead of seeming to be scared of penalising Ferrari near the end of the race when they were leadingLeithen said:
Do you determine the penalty on the basis of the outcome of the incident or what actually happened in the incident?
Both. Unless it was outright dangerous they take the outcome into account. In the case of the Ferrari unsafe release there was no negative outcome, but the one earlier in the race nearly took the other car out and therefore was sanctioned more heavily.Just moving the focus to the French teams for a moment. Quel desastre.
Peugeot - have been in the Hypercar game for a couple of years now. They spent the off-season radically re-designing the wingless car and then the ACO hand them the sweetest of BoP rulings. The cars were not remotely competitive this year - even in the wet which was their performance salvation last year.
Alpine - showed some reasonable pace early on but they surely must be regretting the use of the F2/Ginetta LMP1 Mecachrome V6. The unit has never been considered terribly robust and, despite in-house modifications, both cars were out with engine failure before sunset.
On the subject of BoP. After 24 hours of racing (well, 18 hours or so in reality) not bad to end the race with 9 cars on the same lap…..
Peugeot - have been in the Hypercar game for a couple of years now. They spent the off-season radically re-designing the wingless car and then the ACO hand them the sweetest of BoP rulings. The cars were not remotely competitive this year - even in the wet which was their performance salvation last year.
Alpine - showed some reasonable pace early on but they surely must be regretting the use of the F2/Ginetta LMP1 Mecachrome V6. The unit has never been considered terribly robust and, despite in-house modifications, both cars were out with engine failure before sunset.
On the subject of BoP. After 24 hours of racing (well, 18 hours or so in reality) not bad to end the race with 9 cars on the same lap…..
moffspeed said:
Just moving the focus to the French teams for a moment. Quel desastre.
Peugeot - have been in the Hypercar game for a couple of years now. They spent the off-season radically re-designing the wingless car and then the ACO hand them the sweetest of BoP rulings. The cars were not remotely competitive this year - even in the wet which was their performance salvation last year.
Alpine - showed some reasonable pace early on but they surely must be regretting the use of the F2/Ginetta LMP1 Mecachrome V6. The unit has never been considered terribly robust and, despite in-house modifications, both cars were out with engine failure before sunset.
On the subject of BoP. After 24 hours of racing (well, 18 hours or so in reality) not bad to end the race with 9 cars on the same lap…..
Peugeot designed the whole car around ground effect. They're bolting wings on now but the fundamental design is flawed and they probably need to start from square one. I wonder if they're better off scrapping the 9X8 and shifting to LMDh with Oreca.Peugeot - have been in the Hypercar game for a couple of years now. They spent the off-season radically re-designing the wingless car and then the ACO hand them the sweetest of BoP rulings. The cars were not remotely competitive this year - even in the wet which was their performance salvation last year.
Alpine - showed some reasonable pace early on but they surely must be regretting the use of the F2/Ginetta LMP1 Mecachrome V6. The unit has never been considered terribly robust and, despite in-house modifications, both cars were out with engine failure before sunset.
On the subject of BoP. After 24 hours of racing (well, 18 hours or so in reality) not bad to end the race with 9 cars on the same lap…..
Feels like any one of Ferrari, Toyota, Porsche, Alpine, Cadillac or BMW could win races right now.
I think this race ended any criticism of BoP. It worked flawlessly. After ~22 hours the top 7 were all in one camera shot.
CLK-GTR said:
I think this race ended any criticism of BoP. It worked flawlessly. After ~22 hours the top 7 were all in one camera shot.
If you managed a private conversation with a Porsche honcho, you might find some disagreement with that. Big difference from initial practise to the race. Very difficult for the powers that be to police though. Maybe be Porsche need to be a bit more reserved in practice and testing.
Leithen said:
If you managed a private conversation with a Porsche honcho, you might find some disagreement with that. Big difference from initial practise to the race.
Very difficult for the powers that be to police though. Maybe be Porsche need to be a bit more reserved in practice and testing.
Hard to disagree that Ferrari might have been sandbagging in previous rounds but also equally likely Porsche are just smarting that they're not getting it all their own way. The 963s got down to 3:29 laps same as Ferrari. They had the pace.Very difficult for the powers that be to police though. Maybe be Porsche need to be a bit more reserved in practice and testing.
Between drivers binning cars and picking up penalties they can't be annoyed they weren't up there at the end. Ferrari won because they kept their cars pointing the right way at all times.
MiniMan64 said:
What happened to the third Caddy? The yellow one?
I could have sworn I saw it circulating yesterday afternoon and heard that Caddy had all 3 cars finish but in the results I see it listed as DNF?
Oil leak. The engine shut down on track and he was going slow on EV, then got the engine going at low revs in 7th back to the garage. As they were pouring oil in it was dripping out under the car. Game over. They also had to mop up a load of oil from their pit box where he pulled in.I could have sworn I saw it circulating yesterday afternoon and heard that Caddy had all 3 cars finish but in the results I see it listed as DNF?
ajprice said:
MiniMan64 said:
What happened to the third Caddy? The yellow one?
I could have sworn I saw it circulating yesterday afternoon and heard that Caddy had all 3 cars finish but in the results I see it listed as DNF?
Oil leak. The engine shut down on track and he was going slow on EV, then got the engine going at low revs in 7th back to the garage. As they were pouring oil in it was dripping out under the car. Game over. They also had to mop up a load of oil from their pit box where he pulled in.I could have sworn I saw it circulating yesterday afternoon and heard that Caddy had all 3 cars finish but in the results I see it listed as DNF?
I must have been sleep deprived yesterday as I could have sworn I saw it circulating. I'd forgotten how much harder it is to keep track of what's going on when you're actually at the track!
MiniMan64 said:
ajprice said:
MiniMan64 said:
What happened to the third Caddy? The yellow one?
I could have sworn I saw it circulating yesterday afternoon and heard that Caddy had all 3 cars finish but in the results I see it listed as DNF?
Oil leak. The engine shut down on track and he was going slow on EV, then got the engine going at low revs in 7th back to the garage. As they were pouring oil in it was dripping out under the car. Game over. They also had to mop up a load of oil from their pit box where he pulled in.I could have sworn I saw it circulating yesterday afternoon and heard that Caddy had all 3 cars finish but in the results I see it listed as DNF?
I must have been sleep deprived yesterday as I could have sworn I saw it circulating. I'd forgotten how much harder it is to keep track of what's going on when you're actually at the track!
Safety at that chute down to Indianapolis seems to have become a bit marginal despite those impressive tyre barriers. The cars are running at their fastest, the track kinks and narrows. The gravel trap doesn't seem to slow errant cars to any great extent.
Just wonder whether Le Mans may grow another chicane in years to come ?
moffspeed said:
Safety at that chute down to Indianapolis seems to have become a bit marginal despite those impressive tyre barriers. The cars are running at their fastest, the track kinks and narrows. The gravel trap doesn't seem to slow errant cars to any great extent.
It never has - my favorite viewing place at the track - if a driver gets it wrong it's always a massive shunt into the tyresLast time I was there for the 24Hr in 2019 it was also an Aston Martin that flew thro the gravel trap barely touching it before obliterating itself in the tyre barrier
moffspeed said:
Just wonder whether Le Mans may grow another chicane in years to come ?
I don't know what the answer is - modern racing cars with flat bottoms and aero seem to fly very nicely over gravel traps - maybe remove the aero 
eps said:
Ultimately a great race. Although some parts of it felt a little badly executed, ie the safety cars.
A great mix of hyper cars, with more coming next year.
I wonder if there will be any objections lodged... Hopefully not, but could well see some, as some of the regulations seem to be applied inconsistently or oddly.
There won't be a protest because the team that usually lodges them won the race. A great mix of hyper cars, with more coming next year.
I wonder if there will be any objections lodged... Hopefully not, but could well see some, as some of the regulations seem to be applied inconsistently or oddly.
Edited by eps on Monday 17th June 04:17
CLK-GTR said:
Hard to disagree that Ferrari might have been sandbagging in previous rounds but also equally likely Porsche are just smarting that they're not getting it all their own way. The 963s got down to 3:29 laps same as Ferrari. They had the pace.
Between drivers binning cars and picking up penalties they can't be annoyed they weren't up there at the end. Ferrari won because they kept their cars pointing the right way at all times.
But could the Porsche's do those laptimes consistently?Between drivers binning cars and picking up penalties they can't be annoyed they weren't up there at the end. Ferrari won because they kept their cars pointing the right way at all times.
Also the Ferrari's had a straight line speed advantage.
ajprice said:
Oil leak. The engine shut down on track and he was going slow on EV, then got the engine going at low revs in 7th back to the garage. As they were pouring oil in it was dripping out under the car. Game over. They also had to mop up a load of oil from their pit box where he pulled in.
Bourdais said a bolt had worked loose and 'drilled' a hole into the oil tank.airbusA346 said:
eps said:
CLK-GTR said:
Hard to disagree that Ferrari might have been sandbagging in previous rounds but also equally likely Porsche are just smarting that they're not getting it all their own way. The 963s got down to 3:29 laps same as Ferrari. They had the pace.
Between drivers binning cars and picking up penalties they can't be annoyed they weren't up there at the end. Ferrari won because they kept their cars pointing the right way at all times.
But could the Porsche's do those laptimes consistently?Between drivers binning cars and picking up penalties they can't be annoyed they weren't up there at the end. Ferrari won because they kept their cars pointing the right way at all times.
Also the Ferrari's had a straight line speed advantage.
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