[LM24] Test Day 2017

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Brake dust

ACO should put electronic devices that define the track limits. Going outside of limits should result in a time penalty (5 or 10 seconds) assessed at next pit stop or added on at the end of the race if infraction occurs at the end of the race.

I like that idea, but only if it's coupled with human interaction. Going off to avoid something, or making a mistake, losing time etc shouldn't be punished.

[fieldodreams79]

Agreed on track limits. No need to punish for using the extra tarmac to avoid peril but it could be worked out to trigger and have it investigated by humans every time.

Just reading through this thread and getting excited for next week! Hopefully, the work schedule will work out where I can watch most of practice and quali.

Only took me 10 mins to find it, but for those looking for the Test Day results, here they be:
http://assets.lemans.org/explorer/pd...sification.pdf

I'll echo the thoughts that Ford are "playing the game" again. Let's see who bites and who gets bit.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Only took me 10 mins to find it, but for those looking for the Test Day results, here they be:
http://assets.lemans.org/explorer/pd...sification.pdf

There is a simplified version of course - located in a place I'm far too modest to mention.......

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by Simmi

So Salih Yoluc binned the TF Sport Aston already at the end of session one. Won't be the last time during this race week. Bit of a weapon from everything I've seen in the last few years.

From what I've seen (not including his BGT stint), Salih has been doing alright, since he switched to driving Aston's.

Originally Posted by Simmi

Cool thanks - think that was some miss-info from the RLM crew then. Or I think actually one of the works Astons had some damage in the early session.

I think I read on the live ticker on the LM website that Thiim had an off.

[Akrapovic]

Did Dalla Lana not have an incident? Or did I miss hear that?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

There is a simplified version of course - located in a place I'm far too modest to mention.......

Ha! I cram before the exam, so I take what I can get!

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Did Dalla Lana not have an incident? Or did I miss hear that?

I think you were probably just expecting it....... (Sorry Paul)

[Articus]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Rumor has it that Freitas is going to bust some balls by docking teams practice time for the first practice session at LM next week for track limits abuse.

I think that the ACO should just bring back curbs that if you hit them enough times you risk breaking the car or you risk upsetting the car when you hit them. I know that a lot of the cut down curbs are there to placate MotoGP, but Le Mans is what it is because of the LM24, not because of MotoGP using the otherwise rarely used Bugatti Circuit.

Why not just disqualify the lap time? What's the point in stopping the cars? Why does it matter if they go out of the track, if you simply disallow the time? Does it really matter at all how the driver chooses to drive around a track in a practice session or a test day? If he wants to straightline the Ford chicane all testday long, whats the issue? For qualifying practice, just delete the time entry. Long story short, they will start respecting track limits.

[chernaudi]

Or, as I said, bring back curbing that the drivers won't want to hit or bring back grass and gravel verges. It's not like the FIA have a hands on deal with the WEC anyways, I feel their name is on there just to give the WEC world championship status.

In various interviews, not one FIA official has been interviewed pertaining to the WEC, it's all be ACO people all along, let alone the fact that the ACO write all the technical regs and most of the sporting rules.

IMO, I think that it's ridiculous that the ACO and FIA make all these paved run off area and don't have any effective countermeasures other than arbitrary penalties to discourage such practices. As always, the best penalties are self-enforced. Hit a curb or lose traction on grass, you lose time and give up what you gain and more.

No reason why this can't be done at LM, which, BTW, is a Grade 2 track. If Monaco can get a Grade 1 rating and most other street circuits like Long Beach and Detroit can get a Grade 2 rating, there's in my thought no excuse that the ACO and FIA can't back away from the Grade 1 stuff a bit.

[seanyb505]

I'd imagine laps that earn docked on track time won't stand in any session.

[chernaudi]

Only other option I can think of is use the abrasive paint that Paul Ricard uses, that if you drive over it enough times you'll wear your tires out quicker.

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Or, as I said, bring back curbing that the drivers won't want to hit or bring back grass and gravel verges. It's not like the FIA have a hands on deal with the WEC anyways, I feel their name is on there just to give the WEC world championship status.

That might solve the track cutting issue but it won't help when the car is out of control hurtling at 270 kph towards a wall with no deceleration because it's on grass/wet gravel.

[GasperG]

They could just make a small narrow zone of slippery surface, where drivers would loose time instead of gaining time. With slippery I don't mean ice slippery but just enough to not make it worth to drive on it.

[Simmi]

LoooL here we go. Was only a matter of time - http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/p...s-at-test-day/

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Simmi

LoooL here we go. Was only a matter of time - http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/p...s-at-test-day/

Pretty sure nobody else in the paddock is sympathetic to this. I'll be equally unsurprised though if we suddenly see them on pole.

[Akrapovic]

“Overall I’m concerned about the BoP, looking at last year’s race, and how it played out and how competitive it was.”

lmao

[kvenom]

Ford are despicable. That's Ferrari Formula 1 levels of entitlement right there.

[TF110]

If you read it without any bias, Ford is basically saying they got negative BOP but weren't much faster than Ferrari (last year), who have stayed the same. And the one Ferrari that challenged them late in the race wasn't the factory team. Seems a legit comment imo. Not that Ford should be crying over getting hurt, but it doesn't look like that's what was being said. More about concerns that Ferrari don't get any changes. If you look at Spa, they were the class of the field by some margin

[fieldodreams79]

Their speeds are "down" this year...

2016 Test Day

69 Briscoe/Westbrook USA Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford GT 3:56.039s
66 Johnson/Mucke/Pla USA Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT 3:56.167s
67 Franchitti/Priaulx/Tincknell USA Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT 3:56.596s
68 Hand/Muller USA Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford GT 3:56.630s

2017 Test day

69 FORD CHIP GANASSI TEAM USA R. BRISCOE / R. WESTBROOK Ford GT LMGTE Pro M 3:57.536
67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK A. PRIAULX / H. TINCKNELL / L. DERANI Ford GT LMGTE Pro M 3:57.881
68 FORD CHIP GANASSI TEAM USA J. HAND / D. MÜLLER Ford GT LMGTE Pro M 3:58.011
66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK S. MÜCKE / O. PLA / B. JOHNSON Ford GT LMGTE Pro M 3:58.181

[Akrapovic]

The Ferrari is 2 litres down on last year, and the Ferrari is also the benchmark car, so always gets the least changes, whilst everything else is BoP'd around it. You need a baseline, and you don't move it about, otherwise you don't have any way of measuring anything. The Ferrari routinely gets the least changes because of this.

The three Fords (excluding the crippled 67) were faster than every other car last year, and the only GTE cars to break into the 3:51s. That's why it's been slowed down. The Corvette and Aston were a full 2 seconds slower than the Ford, so they've been given a BoP break. This is perfectly inline with what the BoP process is (whether we like it or not, and I think we all agree we don't), and is consistent with using the 488 as a base. This is also a Le Mans specific BoP, so doesn't take into account any other track.

[Simmi]

I think the best Ford can hope for is to effectively break even and get that weight/boost adjustment removed with some politics and attention-grabbing slow laptimes. Let's see if the ACO cave. My instinct is Ford will sacrifice any type of qualifying effort and get thrown a bone late into race week.

Agree though it makes perfect sense they'd get dinged as the fastest car last year.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Simmi

I think the best Ford can hope for is to effectively break even and get that weight/boost adjustment removed with some politics and attention-grabbing slow laptimes. Let's see if the ACO cave. My instinct is Ford will sacrifice any type of qualifying effort and get thrown a bone late into race week.

Agree though it makes perfect sense they'd get dinged as the fastest car last year.

Absolutely agree.

[Articus]

Ford's claims are politics. They are just concerned they will have to actually push their cars in an endurance race...Fear that they might actually have to run the engines dialed up for the majority of the race...which brings reliability concerns.

Last year they cruised around and zipped past the Ferrari's at will. It was only close on TV.

[seanyb505]

lololol


Can't fault them for playing the game. But it sure is fun to see them squirm and lie.

[Jager]

If I were the ACO, after being made to look stupid by Ford last year, I'd be ensuring they qualified at the back of the class, and stayed there all race.