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4 Apr 2002, 07:57 (Ref:251590) | #1 | ||
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Courage : interresting projects...
Two years without the presence of Yves Courage team at Le Mans... he was missing at the french fans (not a lot here, I know ) ! He's back with new projects... check it out at this adress, on Maison Blanche :
http://www.maisonblanche.co.uk/nw0304m2.html Next year will definitely be interresting at a lot of point of view... Remember that a Courage chassis almost won in 1995... Andretti went out of the track again in the early hours , but they lost at the end by one lap... And with the new Judd engine, some start to hope... Last edited by Fab; 4 Apr 2002 at 07:58. |
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4 Apr 2002, 12:47 (Ref:251744) | #2 | ||
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Audi's just _not_ going to be beat... It's gonna take a decade or a major revamping of the rules before the R8s lose a major endurance event.
Cars like that are the best and worst part of sports car racing. You've got the love them, because they're so damn sleek and fast and dominant... But you wish _anyone_ beat them! Or at least I do, maybe I'm just crazy. Either way, they're going to have another easy win. |
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4 Apr 2002, 14:42 (Ref:251812) | #3 | ||
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Some thoughts:
1.) So Courage claims he is talks with two factories... One is said to be German. Really? Let's see: - would it be a semi-works effort supported by Mercedes, that would not see itself directly involved in Le Mans after the 1999 fracas? - or a semi-works supported by BMW? Gerhard Berger, head of BMW Motorsport, pulled the plug on the sportscar program back in 2000. Would BMW give a hand to a private team? I found this unlikely, it may be risky from a marketing (and purely sportive) perspective: a "half-hand" BMW effort fighting against a full-fledge Audi works team... - would Audi step down from a works involvement and then sell engines to Courage? - would another brand of the VW group be used instead? In my opinion the possibilities of having a German manufacturer playing in this picture are slim. I believe Courage would instead keep and step up his links with Peugeot, especially if Renault begins to do really well in F-1. Peugeot would need a marketing strike back, and sportscar racing success can be achieved by a fraction of a F-1 budget (although I concede that the marketing impact of sportscar racing success is clearly much smaller). Maybe PSA group would consider Peugeot sister company, Citroen... (PSA is the holding that controls Peugeot and Citroen). I would simply love to see Nissan back to Le Mans. On the recent Ten Tenths poll "What manufacturer would you like to see back to Le Mans" I voted for Nissan. This is quite possible, because Nissan is owned by Renault. Renault management has publicly manifested the interest to commit to a "strong, long term motorsport campaign". This might mean Renault in F-1, Nissan doing something else (hopefully sportscar racing). A link between Courage and Nissan can be complicated by the memories of the rather sour split in 2000. Nissan had a contract to supply engines to Nissan (derived from the unsuccessful R390 project) but the contract was suddenly terminated by Nissan. Yves Courage was very, very vocal about his disappointment (Fab, you may recall that, it was all over the French press at the time). But, of course, yesterday's disagreements can be quickly forgotten in today's business world... 2.) The second picture in the http://www.maisonblanche.co.uk/nw0304m2.html offers a good view of the Courage front splitter, doesn't it? And the car really looks like a Dallara - I had never realized that. And the Dallara looks like an Audi... And the new Caddy also looks like an Audi... Oh well, there are only a few ways of getting the aero right in these cars... Cheers, Muzza |
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4 Apr 2002, 16:42 (Ref:251876) | #4 | ||
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Maybe it's already done, but if not, have a look on the new Courage of Pescarolo Team here :
http://www.maisonblanche.co.uk/nw040402.html What a look ! Touch of Audi (the nose), some of Toyota GT1 (Ayse ? D'you like that stuff ?)... really André De Cortanze touch in the new team... one month to go !!! I'll have a heart attack before... |
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4 Apr 2002, 17:34 (Ref:251900) | #5 | |||
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Well, after Bentley and MG, I know who I shall be supporting...... |
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4 Apr 2002, 17:47 (Ref:251915) | #6 | ||
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What a beautiful car. Bonne courage to the Courage team.
Worth noting: - some good effort was put on reducing frontal area (it looks slimmer than the previous Courages); - the high, 'a la Toyota GT-1 rear wing is a departure from the last Courage cars. This means that the rear wing works more as a conventional wing and less as an undertray extractor, what lead us to... - take a look how the rear extractor of this car is different from last Courages. - note the engine air intake ("periscope") fully integrated with the body work. - no front splitter, no noselets. Although Le Mans is a low-downforce circuit, I would be surprised if they run the car with this configuration. I expect it to get more complex as the aero development of the car evolves. Allez les Verts! Muzza |
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4 Apr 2002, 17:49 (Ref:251917) | #7 | ||
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Can anyone explain why the Pescarolo Courage looks horrid compared to the normal Courage?
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4 Apr 2002, 19:23 (Ref:252052) | #8 | ||
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A Germain manufacturer?
Could it be VW? The V8 Porsche badge VW, that would be great! I'm planning with some friends to return to Road Atlanta for the PLM. I'm looking forward to cheer Courage and especially Henri Pescarolo (The Man!)and his crew. |
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''L'homme n'est ni ange ni bĂªte, et le malheur veut que qui veut faire l'ange fait la bĂªte.'' (Pasc.) |
4 Apr 2002, 19:31 (Ref:252062) | #9 | |||
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4 Apr 2002, 19:44 (Ref:252076) | #10 | |
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the rear wing brings up a question.
why narrow it to less than the width of the car? the rules say that the wing can be no more than the width of the car which can be no more than 2 meters. a wider wing will have a high aspect ration than a narrower one with the same chord, wings with higher aspect ratio have a better lift to drag ratio, so is there any logical reson behind this? Last edited by clk-lm; 4 Apr 2002 at 19:45. |
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4 Apr 2002, 20:09 (Ref:252101) | #11 | |
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im curious as to what this means
"Yves Courage has also announced his future project : an LMP 675 for the race, but also for "public relations", to bring some people for a run on the track." is he going to rent out the 675 for extra money? or another customer car? |
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4 Apr 2002, 20:21 (Ref:252108) | #12 | ||
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Good point, clk-km.
Maybe Mulsanne Mike can explain that. A thought: I note that the rear wing is supported by the side fins only, no central pylon (again, 'a la Totoya GT-One). In the new Courage the side panels or the body work are carved in after the rear wheels. Note the shape of the louver-like air extractors behind the rear wheels. So, the rear wing is narrower than the car because the very rear section of the car is narrower than the rest of the car. But why? My conclusion: the very rear is narrower to increase the air speed through the rear diffuser and then increase downforce (like the "Coca-Cola bottle" diffusers pioneered in F-1 by John Barnard). The higher the air speed, the lower the air pressure (Bernouille Principle), and the rear of the car is "sucked down". This acquires even more importance on flat-bottomed cars, as per the current sportscar rules. This would go in line with my previous remark that the rear extractor of this specific Courage is different from previous models. Mulsanne Mike, where are you? Cheers, Muzza |
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4 Apr 2002, 20:56 (Ref:252136) | #13 | |||
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5 Apr 2002, 01:39 (Ref:252338) | #14 | |
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Last edited by clk-lm; 5 Apr 2002 at 01:41. |
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5 Apr 2002, 01:50 (Ref:252342) | #15 | ||
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Mulsanne Mike!
Hey, clk-lm,
Isn't Mulsanne Mike awesome? (and you've got a clinical eye too...) Cheers, Muzza |
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5 Apr 2002, 02:54 (Ref:252388) | #16 | |
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muzza:
i can honestly say that i am probably responsible for 10 hits a day at his site. and that eye will develod for anyone prepared to spend some serious time on that site. cant wait so see that perform |
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5 Apr 2002, 06:19 (Ref:252457) | #17 | ||
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For the "Ă* la Toyota" look of the new Pescarolo Courage : it's normal... AndrĂ© De Cortanze designed the Toyota, and he designed the new shape of the Pesca, to tranform the basic Courage shape...
Pescarolo said, in a french paper yesterday, that at each time André de Cortanze start to draw something, it's dangerous : he makes a brand new car at each time ! Henri Pescarolo had to take André down, to not transformate too much the Courage chassis, which is efficient (best of the rest in 2000 !), and not touching too much the Peugeot-Sodemo engine... I had the information this morning that the Pescarolo Courage made the third qualifying time at Barcelone for the FIA-Sportscar championship... I have no URL to verify that... anyone has ? |
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5 Apr 2002, 07:02 (Ref:252471) | #18 | |
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[she is something in me, that i despise ... she isnt real, i cant make her real.] vermilion part 1 - slipknot |
5 Apr 2002, 07:36 (Ref:252482) | #19 | ||
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Thanks Es Nes !
From Pescarolo site, the Courage Pescarolo could be... second at the qualifications ! And what an opposition : the Dallara Judd, the Courage Judd, and... the Dome Judd ! Significant performances ! Any opinion here about that ? Anyone following the FIA Championship at Barcelone ? Liz, any news ? Last edited by Fab; 5 Apr 2002 at 07:36. |
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5 Apr 2002, 16:44 (Ref:252832) | #20 | |||
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5 Apr 2002, 21:26 (Ref:252997) | #21 | ||
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FIA GT Champsionship at Barcelona?????
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6 Apr 2002, 10:51 (Ref:253339) | #22 | |||
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