61 replies to this topic

[_R_]

Le Mans organiser the ACO has ruled the bodywork on Audi's R15 legal after dismissing the protest lodged by Peugeot before yesterday's practice session.

The French manufacturer called for a clarification of the regulations after claiming that flaps and appendages fixed to the R15's front wings are in violation of the rule that parts of the bodywork cannot be fitted with the sole purpose of generating downforce.

The ACO last night threw out Peugeot's protest and released the following statement.

"The ACO has the discretionary power to deem whether or not the sole function of an element of bodywork is to generate downforce. It is based on this discretionary power of appreciation, compounded by the exclusive power it has to interpret the technical regulations as laid out in Article 18, that the ACO homologates the cars which take part in the events covered by its regulations."

Peugeot will now appeal to the FIA, as the team stated it would yesterday if the protest was not upheld by the stewards.

The ACO also announced that it will, at the request of the manufacturers, hold a meeting at the end of June for technical directors and design engineers to discuss the regulations for 2010 and 2011.

this means that we won't find out the real winners till after the race is finished... so even if Audi win, if the FIA deems the car illegal, then who knows...

so far 2 different ruling bodies have found the front end of the audi legal... in sebring and now lemans...

hope this doesn't fuck audi over, but knowing the fia, anything can happen

[_R_]

Allan McNish set the fastest time on the final lap of the first qualifying session for the Le Mans 24 Hours to take provisional pole position for the #1 Audi R15 ahead of tonight's final qualifying session.

Audi spent the vast majority of the two-hour session working on set-up and consistent pace over long runs, but McNish brought the #1 car into the pits in the last five minutes to bolt on a set a new tyres and go for an outright time on a single-lap run.

McNish improved by more than two seconds to lower his best time from a 3m25.9s to a 3m23.6s and pinch provisional pole from Peugeot, who had sat atop the timesheet for almost the entire session thanks to Franck Montagny's early pace in the #8 car.

The Frenchman had been lapping in the 3m25s bracket in the first 20 minutes of the session and went on to lower his time to a 3m24.852s with around half an hour to run.

Montagny was a couple of seconds clear at the head of the field for much of the two hours, until the other Peugeots and Audis increased their pace in the final half hour.

Jean-Christophe Boullion set the third quickest time of the session in the #17 Pescarolo-run customer Peugeot, just two tenths shy of Montagny's original benchmark and 1.2s slower than McNish.

Mike Rockenfeller posted a 3m26.3s lap in the #3 R15 and had been lapping at around the same pace as McNish before the Scotsman's new tyre run.

The other factory Peugeots filled fifth and sixth places, with Pedro Lamy and David Brabham setting the best times in the #7 and #9 cars respectively.

Anthony Davidson put the quickest Lola Aston Martin into eighth place, breaking into the 3m29s during his brief stint, while Danny Watts also ducked below 3m30s to put the Strakka Racing Ginetta-Zytek ninth. The #16 Pescarolo completed the top 10.

Each of the front running cars claimed not to be chasing laptimes, instead focusing on race set-up and consistent pace over long runs.

Casper Elgaard set the best LMP2 class time of the first qualifying session in the Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder, more than two seconds quicker than Seiji Ara in the similar Team Goh car.

Just half a second separated the two works Corvettes at the head of the GT1 class, with the #63 car just edging out the #64. Both were two seconds clear of their nearest challenger, which was the Jetalliance Aston Martin.

Jorg Bergmeister set the fastest GT2 time of the session in the Flying Lizards Porsche, ahead of early session pace-setter Marc Lieb in the Felbermayr 911. The BMS Scuderia Italia F430 was the quickest of the Ferraris, one second off Bergmeister's time.

Qualifying 1 results...

Night qualifying yet to come...

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Wow.. I'm a bit surprised the 908HDi FAP clinched pole over the dream team #1 R15 TDI

[_R_]

Wow.. I'm a bit surprised the 908HDi FAP clinched pole over the dream team #1 R15 TDI

over 1 lap, the Peugeots have always been faster... since day 1 last season...

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

over 1 lap, the Peugeots have always been faster... since day 1 last season...

against the R10 yes.. but not the R15.

[_R_]

against the R10 yes.. but not the R15.

hasn't the 908 been averaging .5 - .7 seconds faster over 1 lap than the R15? Audi has gotten closer to the Peugeot in lap speed over one lap, but I don't think they've passed them. The Peugeots are still quicker cars...

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

hasn't the 908 been averaging .5 - .7 seconds faster over 1 lap than the R15? Audi has gotten closer to the Peugeot in lap speed over one lap, but I don't think they've passed them. The Peugeots are still quicker cars...

i thought the R15 was faster at sebring over a single lap..

[_R_]

i thought the R15 was faster at sebring over a single lap..

While the Scot admits that the three-year-old Peugeot 908 Hdi FAP has a pace advantage over the new R15 TDI, he believes that the gap between the two cars is smaller than in previous years and is seeking to exploit the pressure the French team is under to win its home event....But the two red sectors, and the fact that he got held up and still did a 3m26s - I calculated they are capable of 21s. Which is one and half to 1.7s quicker than us, which is roughly where I think it probably is."

[_R_]

So far in the first hour...
Audi off track in the first 15 minutes
and a Peugeot hitting another Peugeot while leaving the pits destroying a tire and bodywork bringing out the saftey car since the car is ripping itself apart on the track
Aston LMP1 having issues and in the garage...

this is the most exciting first hour ever

[_R_]

and that commercial with the red R8 driving through Maranello and the Italians getting pissed is

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

So far in the first hour...
Audi off track in the first 15 minutes
and a Peugeot hitting another Peugeot while leaving the pits destroying a tire and bodywork bringing out the saftey car since the car is ripping itself apart on the track
Aston LMP1 having issues and in the garage...

this is the most exciting first hour ever

i 'd when that happened..

[_R_]

i 'd when that happened..

between the audi going off track and the peugeots taking themselves out in the first hour, these guys are racing straight off the bat...

[mads]

anyone watching the SpeedTV feed.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

anyone watching the SpeedTV feed.

watching online for now. is it back on tv?

[Redliner]

Any live feeds?

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Any live feeds?

http://stream.speedt...urs-of-le-mans/

[kngrsll]

Any live feeds?

please!

[mads]

watching online for now. is it back on tv?

4:30 Est

[mads]

What happened to Le Seb?

[mads]

wurzy for lemans!


i was kinda cheering for le seb, but then i remembered it was le seb

[mads]

wow that onboard crash of luhr looked slow as hell.

[mads]

trying to drive away from that

[_R_]

Peugeot taking it to Audi

[kngrsll]

Peugeot taking it to Audi

if kristensen was out, id be worried... the man has golden luck

[Redliner]

http://www.justin.tv/sportzonemotors

It's still on!