Showing posts with label 24 hours of Le Mans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 24 hours of Le Mans. Show all posts
This is What a Ferrari LMP1 racer Might Look Like



Based on the official pictures of LaFerrari, Sicilian student Daniel Pelligra designed this stunning Ferrari LMP1 racer. Dubbed Concept Prototype Cordero LMP1, the concept borrows LaFerrari's headlights and front splitter but also shares some design elements with the current LMP1 race cars from Porsche, Audi and Toyota.

While Ferrari's return to Le Mans is far from being confirmed, we can only hope that when they decide to take the challenge, their LMP1 car will just like Daniel's design!

[Source: wtf1]

12:23 AM Read More +
Audi Triumphs again at Le Mans!

Photo credits: Audi

What a great race it was! The 24 Hours of Le Mans proved its self once again as one of the best races of the year. The 2014's edition saw an epic battle between Porsche, Toyota and Audi. Each one the three giant constructors looked like a winner at some point of the race.


After Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo gave the drivers the chequered flag last year, it was Fernando Alonso's turn to wave the French flag at the start of this year's race. This strengthens the possibility that Ferrari might consider entering Le Mans with a LMP1 prototype in the near future. But this is just speculation since Ferrari is already involved in Le Mans racing in the LM GTE Pro category. With that said, back to the race!


During the first part of the race, Toyota built a solid lead thanks to Audi's and Porsche's troubles but especially thanks to its powerful TS040 Hybrid racer which was clearly the fastest among the three.


Toyota dominated the race throughout the night but then came the time for the Japanese automaker to have its share of troubles. Audi took the lead of the 24 Hours race after overtaking the leading Toyota which stopped at Arnage. Porsche was following close behind but with a clearly slower car.


The dawn lights brought us a new leader as Nakajima's Toyota TS040 Hybrid #7 officially retired.


With the leading Toyota out of the race, things were looking good again for Tom Kristensen in the Audi #1 who might be running for his thenth Le Mans win! Until...


Within four hours from the arrival, the Audi #1 driven by T. Kristensen had to go back to the pit for a turbo change which cost the team more than 17 minutes. Meanwhile, the Porsche 919 Hybrid number #20 took the lead for a very short period of time, followed by the Audi R18 E-tron number #2 which was on average 5 seconds faster.





The Porsche seemed to have a really strong chance of finishing ahead since the more efficient 919 Hybrid required less pit stops. That was the case until, Mark's Porsche was hit by technical problems and had to enter the pits once again. It was the end of the race for the Porsche #20.





During that time, the Audi #2 took the lead followed by the Audi #1 and the Porsche #14. At this stage, it looked like nothing would stop Audi from claiming its 13th Le Mans victory. Sadly, the number #14 Porsche had to join the pits too, allowing the Toyota #8 to come back from far behind and occupy the 3rd spot.



The two Audi's then cruised together to the finishing line offering Audi its thirteenth overall Le Mans win and making it once step closer to Porsche all time record of 16 wins. Toyota once again failed to win after showing some real potential and the Swiss Rebellion racing team's Toyota R-One belonging to the LMP1-L sub category finished fourth.

Team Jota Sport won the LMP2 category's race with the Nissan powered Zytek Z11SN which crossed the line with O. TURVEY at the wheel.

In LM GTE Gro, it was Team AF Corse' Ferrari 458 Italia which crossed the line in 1st place with G. BRUNI at the wheel while ASTON MARTIN RACING's V8 Vantage completed the race at the top of the LM GTE Am category with K. Poulsen at the wheel.

It was a great race from Audi. But we're already excited about next year's race because we are sure that Porsche and Toyota won't accept their defeat. Next year, Nissan will be joining the show which means that we might be witnessing another golden era of Le Mans racing.




Full results can be found here.

11:12 PM Read More +
Le Mans 2014: Toyota on Pole, Porsche Close Behind


Toyota looks closer than ever to its first ever Le Mans win and the second ever for a Japanese car. The TS040 Hybrid #7 driven by Alexander WURZ, Stéphane SARRAZIN and Kazuki NAKAJIMA set the pole position with a time of 3:21.789, a new record for the Circuit de La Sarthe in its current configuration.

But the returning Porsche Team also looked strong during the qualifying practice. Car #14 driven by Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI and Marc LIEB fell just 3 tenths of a second short of the pole position time. The car will start in second position and can be a real threat for the #7 Toyota.

The number 8 Toyota TS040 driven by Anthony DAVIDSON, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Sébastien BUEMI and the number 20 Porsche 919H driven by Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY occupy respectively the third and fourth grid positions.

Surprisingly, the more experienced Audi team looked a bit slower than its main rivals. But we all know that raw speed isn't enough to win a 24 Hours race. But consistency and reliability can be the key. So Audi's mature package might have an advantage compared to Porsche and Toyota's sophisticated new hybrid race cars.

Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen's #1 Audi R18 TDI E-Tron Quattro will start from seventh position after being totally rebuilt following Loic Duval's crash. The latter will not take part in Saturday's race and was replaced by Marc Gené.

Swiss REBELLION racing team showed real improvements during qualifying and their times finally fell above 3 minutes 30 seconds. However, the red Toyota R-One was still at least 4 seconds slower than the closest LMP1 competitor.

Full qualifying results can be found here.

You can also check out this cool infographic summarizing some of the most important figures of the legendary 24 Hours Race.





4:29 AM Read More +
Porsche 919 Hybrid Fully Revealed



We did not get the Martini livery on the Porsche 919 Hybrid which would have been fantastic. But the new official livery features the words "Porsche Intelligent Performance" written all over its body. And that's also cool. For those who are waiting for the Martini livery, don't be so sad. Williams F1 is cooking something for you.

Porsche finally unveiled the 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car in all its glory at the Geneva Motor Show and here's how it looks (more after the jump):


10:39 AM Read More +
Porsche Getting Ready for Le Mans

Photo credits: Porsche

Only a few weeks left until Porsche will return to top-level racing: the LMP1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24h of Le Mans. And we couldn't be more excited! The wait is really painful but it's worth it. Now take off that camo!
11:50 AM Read More +
Aussie Grit Wants Ferrari at Le Mans

Fan made Ferrari LMP1 Prototype

Now that Le Mans is attracting top F1 drivers again and that F1 rules are becoming more and more restrictive. Prototype racing has become an attractive Formula, even for top F1 teams like Ferrari. Which explains why Luca Di Montezemolo recently declared that a Le Mans return is a possibility for Ferrari and needs some serious consideration. The Ferrari Chief was quoted saying: "who knows, maybe one day we can return and win, say thanks and come home, [...] Maybe we should give it some consideration".

And today, Mark Webber who already joined Porsche for its 2014 LMP1 project, came up with a crazy idea that could not be too far from reality if you think about it:


This is nothing serious of course, but it seems that Mark is willing to bring the rest of the F1 paddock to Le Mans (except Seb?). You should follow him, he has things to say.
10:08 AM Read More +
Porsche's 2014 Le Mans Prototype Officially Named 919 Hybrid


Things are already heating up for the 2014 Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Last week, Audi unveiled its 2014 LMP1 contender and today we can learn a little bit more about the Porsche LMP1 car. Porsche's Hybrid racer did not shed its camouflage yet but at least now we have an official name to call it: The 919 Hybrid.

During the Porsche Night of Champions last Saturday in Weissach, four drivers were officially confirmed to be part of Porsche's 2014 LMP1 programme: Timo Bernhard (DE, 32), Romain Dumas (FR, 36), Neel Jani (CH, 30) and the Mark Webber (AUS, 37) freshly released from Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing. Stay tuned for more.




[Source: 24h-lemans.com]
9:02 AM Read More +
Mark Webber Starts Testing Porsche's LMP1 Car


Fresh from the Formula 1 season finale in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mark Webber has already started testing Porsche's new LMP1 prototype that is set to compete in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. The most successful team in the history of Le Mans [1] is set to make a historic return this year in what will be one of the most disputed Le Mans races of the last decade.

The testing session took place at the Algarve circuit in Portugal and will be the last of this year. Mark Webber is no stranger to Le Mans racing and has already competed in the 1999 at the wheel of the infamous Mercedes-Benz CLR race car. Hopefully, things will go much better for Mark this time.


2:24 PM Read More +
Race Ready Nissan ZEOD RC Unveiled [VIDEO]

298 km/h (186 mph) top speed for the hybrid race car

NISSAN has revealed the final version of its ZEOD RC hybrid racer. The Delta Wing successor will compete in the 2014 Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race car is powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine working with an electric motor for a total output of 300 Hp.

So, Nissan is transforming the 24 Hours of Le Mans into a testing ground for its hybrid technology? Good.
8:25 PM Read More +
Good news: Porsche starts testing its LMP1 prototype for 2014!

Photo credits: Porsche

The most successful manufacturer in the history of Le Mans won't give up its record so easily to its sister company Audi. That's why they are already testing their prototype for the 2014 Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans even before this year's edition takes place.

Porsche released four pictures of its first camouflaged LMP1 racer prototype. The car's silhouette looks pretty much like its rivals from Toyota and Audi but you have to blame the rules for that. However there's a clear resemblance with the successful Porsche RS Spyder prototype. We are looking forward to know more about Porsche's historic return to Le Mans but for now you can look back at their past glories thanks to the dedicated micro site.



[Source: Porsche]
2:29 PM Read More +
Great News: Nissan Returning to Le Mans in 2014!

Nissan LMP1 Competitor speculative rendering by Oriol Folch Garcia

Nissan has announced its plans to comeback to Le Mans in 2014 but we don't have too much details for the moment except these fantastic renderings by artist Oriol Folch Garcia. All we know is that the new Japanese LMP1 racer will be carrying tons of new technologies to counter the likes of Toyota with its Hybrid TS-030 racer.

With Toyota and Audi already in the field, Porsche preparing a LMP1 effort and Nissan joining the year after, the golden era of Le Mans racing is about to come back! Stay tuned for more information..





[News source: Worldcarfans]
12:16 PM Read More +
<i>One of The Most Beautiful Mercedes-Benz Race Cars Sold for $1.1M</i>


The Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR that went on sale last month at the RM auction's event has found a buyer for $1.1 million. Only a total of 25 road going CLK-GTR's were made. This particular version of the CLK-GTR dubbed Supersport is powered by a 7.3-Liter V12 producing 720 Hp instead of the original 612 hp 6.9-Liter engine. That same 7.3-Liter V12 was later used to power the almighty Pagani Zonda R! The car is in perfect condition and has only done 2148 Km (1,335 miles) since it left the factory.


10:27 AM Read More +
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