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The crossplane V8 has uneven firing on each bank whilst a flat plane V8 has even firing pulses. The odd firing produces the characteristic 'V8' noise whilst a flat plane sounds like a 4 cylinder.
The even firing of a flat plane gives much better exhaust tuning and is the only real configuration if you are after an ultra high performance / high rpm naturally aspirated race engine. The exhaust tuning potential also gives it a slight edge in turbocharged form as well. As explained in the link, a flat plane V8 has significant secondary inbalance ( like a 4 cylinder ) which cause the engine to vibrate which can start shaking the car to pieces. A crossplane V8 has good balance and the vibrations are much smaller, which may give it an advantage in long distance sports car racing.
Overall, a flat plane is probably the way to go. However, most sports car racing these days use inlet restrictors which will tend to limit the tuning potential of the flat plane crank. So it may be decided that the extra smoothness of the crossplane is a good trade-off against a small performance loss.
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