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Group C and LMP1 cars are quite equally fast around the Le Mans track. If you look at the last years of the Group C, after the two chicanes were installed on the Mulsanne Straight (so that you may compare the Group C times with the LMP times around the circuit) - that is, from 1990 on - you won't find those frightening lap times of 3:14-3:15 anymore. In 1990, all cars qualified slower than 3:33, except for that awsome Nissan R90CK which poled at 3:27.020. In 1991, the Sauber C11 was in pole position with a lap of 3:31.270. The only truly paranormally fast Group C model was Peugeot's 905, which had a time of 3:21.209 in 1992 and over 3:22 in 1993. That car was really S.F., so Peugeot are to be feared at Le Mans in my opinion, even by such a manufacturer as Audi. For comparison, the current LMP cars on that same track configuration as the times listed above had pole times at least comparable, if not simply faster than most Group C cars: the Audi R8 poled at 3:29.905 in 2002, Toyota GT-One had the 1999 pole with 3:29.930, the Audi R10 went at 3:30.466 in 2006 (actually its best sectors suggest it could have gone at 3:29.248), the BMW V12 LMR of 1999 lapped at 3:31.209, the Mercedes CLR 1999 at 3:31.541, the Bentley of 2003 at 3:32.843 (I think:-??). So the LMP's can go just as fast as the Group C's, except for that mighty Peugeot 905. And even top speeds are comparable on the same track configuration.
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