FR 3.5 Paul Ricard

[ivanalesi]

I thought the engine was the major cause of the problems. Just like in GP2.
Change the engine with a more reliable one and there shouldn't be any problems. It was surprising in the first place when Renault chose the A1 GP Zytek. At the end of the day you don't design a bulletproof engine if your customer is a sheikh, right?

[bella]

i'm not really familiar with the range of potential engine blocks around that would have fit the bill at the time, but iirc there weren't many alternative options?

[ger80]

Thats a Le Mans engine, surely it was design to make the 24h and the sound is just great

[ivanalesi]

That's the problem. It's not strong enough for this. Nissan had a 3.4l V8 from Super GT as have Toyota and Honda which doesn't require much adaptation to fit a mid engine configuration chassis and it's currently the engine of choice in LMP2. The situation is taking a bit too long to be fixed, hopefully it doesn't take forever as in GP2.

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by ivanalesi

That's the problem. It's not strong enough for this. Nissan had a 3.4l V8 from Super GT as have Toyota and Honda which doesn't require much adaptation to fit a mid engine configuration chassis and it's currently the engine of choice in LMP2. The situation is taking a bit too long to be fixed, hopefully it doesn't take forever as in GP2.

The Nissan V8 currently used in LMP2 is based of the VK45DE engine and is a 4.5L unit.

I don't understand the move away from the VQ, it's a fantastic base with a lot of good qualities and Nissan and Infiniti(not sure about Renault) have it in many cars in their current lineup. Plus it would have been awesome to say I have the engine from a thoroughbred racing car in my road car, even if that's not entirely the case.