[ELMS] ELMS (was LMS) 2012 discussion

[kober]

Originally Posted by lms

would be good to hear what are the smaller lmp2 teams are up to - WR, Rangoni, rlr, extreme limite, rml.....

Welter (WR Nissan), Rangoni (Zytek), RLR, Extreme Limite (Norma Judd) are all listed as (potential?) ELMS entrants on Mariantic.

[kober]

Looks like RLR's Lola and RML's HPD are up for sale.

[JAG]

DSC say Jota are entering a P2 Zytek in the ELMS, read elsewhere the factory Lotus team and Manthey will be in the series too.

P2

Jota
Greaves
Pecom
TDS
RLR
Status GP
OAK (customer)

[lms]

Originally Posted by JAG

DSC say Jota are entering a P2 Zytek in the ELMS, read elsewhere the factory Lotus team and Manthey will be in the series too.

P2

Jota
Greaves
Pecom
TDS
RLR
Status GP
OAK (customer)

... pegasus, race performance, boutsen, signatech, bailey also in p2. or not.

so... z11sn. will it be an evolution of last years chassis? like the new 2012 spec oreca 03? or exactly the same car as last year with holes?

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by JAG

DSC say Jota are entering a P2 Zytek in the ELMS.....

The article is free to view on DSC - here.

Great piece of news (not least, for the ELMS), delighted to see Jota back with an LMP!

[rich07]

Originally Posted by JAG

DSC say Jota are entering a P2 Zytek in the ELMS, read elsewhere the factory Lotus team and Manthey will be in the series too.

Would've thought that Lotus would do WEC because its a global series and to get a Le Mans entry.

[KA]

Maybe where Lotus choose to race might depend on who's running the programme and paying the bills- If they've got a 2012 sponsor whose business is mainly European-based, with little interest in the US, Asia or Middle East, then perhaps ELMS makes more sense to them- We've already seen Mike Newton and RML make the decision that the long-haul trips for the WEC aren't justifiable for them.

[Victor_RO]

MtC with some news...

Race Performance to run revised livery on their Oreca 03 Judd-BMW. Set to race in ELMS + applied for Le Mans entry. Drivers TBA. #ELMS #LM24

https://twitter.com/#!/dsceuroeditor...18992248381440

So apart from Strakka (moving to WEC) and RML (sabbatical) looks like the LMP2 field is set to keep a majority of its 2011 entrants. (Before anyone mentions Pecom, they'll be doing both the WEC and ELMS)

[Coach Ep]

Yup, including RLR and Extreme Limite plus (possible) additions from Jota, Status, Pegasus and Sbarta/Bailey. I expect a total of around 10 cars which is not too bad.

And there are still a couple of announcement to be made. Might we see one or two new programs?

[Deleted]

Are they actually planning to use the Mistral chicane @ Paul Ricard this year? I hope not, but the track profile on the ELMS site shows it:
http://www.lemans-series.com/en/s52_...php?circuit=19

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Are they actually planning to use the Mistral chicane @ Paul Ricard this year? I hope not, but the track profile on the ELMS site shows it:
http://www.lemans-series.com/en/s52_...php?circuit=19

They just messed up with the picture, the website also mentions that configuration 1A-V2 is being used.

http://www.circuitpaulricard.com/vie...s-de-piste.pdf

Page 9. Full Mistral straight, but they use the tighter section of esses for the first two corners. From the codes that the versions get, seems as if all the 1A configurations use the Mistral uninterrupted.

[courageous]

Originally Posted by AGD

EDIT: Newton - Maybe his schedule is too busy to race?

Partially correct - he has gone on record saying the 2nd half of the WEC would mean he would have to be permenantly away from the day job at home & those races are not in his market area so no benefit.
A long-shot suggestion that he would run the 1st half then lease the car to someone else who is interested in the asia rounds.
the Euro LMS is a no go because of concerns over media coverage (or lack there-of)


Believe it or not, Britcar looks like the main beneficiery of Le Mans going global - Pescarolo, RML & Rollcentre have all been talking about wheeling out their not-yet-historic cars

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by courageous

A long-shot suggestion that he would run the 1st half then lease the car to someone else who is interested in the asia rounds.
the Euro LMS is a no go because of concerns over media coverage (or lack there-of)

I doubt they lodged an entry for the WEC. Might see the car at a ELMS race, maybe Donington?

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by courageous

Believe it or not, Britcar looks like the main beneficiery of Le Mans going global - Pescarolo, RML & Rollcentre have all been talking about wheeling out their not-yet-historic cars

I try to make an effort to see at least one Britcar race per season nowadays, I'll be there for the Donington race in April, I certainly hope a few LMPs can join in! With such a small number of championships supporting ACO-rules LMP cars I think its a very good idea indeed to entice future potential entries into prototype racing. Certainly a series like ELMS should be supportive of this.

[Speed-King]

Certainly a series like ELMS should be supportive of this.

Not sure about this... Britcar attracting (even older) LMPs might actually be bad new for the ELMS.

[Simmi]

We have an Extreme Limite confirmation now on twitter for ELMS and LM24 posted entry. Via DSC.

@dsceditor Graham Goodwin
Extreme Limite confirm ELMS and LM24 entry with Norma Judd LMP2

Good luck to them although they might struggle to get an entry this year. They do have variety and Frenchness going for them.

[pach233]

That's good to see. I was worried that the ELMS field would be terrible after the changes and the delay in putting out a schedule. But so far it seems both P2 and GT will have pretty good fields.

[Deleted]

Agreed, it's not looking that grim after all. And the irony is that the Motors TV coverage of the series is likely to be more comprehensive than what Eurosport will show of WEC...

Seeing how many GTE-AM Ferrari teams in WEC are switching from F430 to 458, I wonder how many ELMS teams are opting for the same upgrade now? If the 430 is completely phased out of GTE then the GTC category - which allows you to run much cheaper 430 Challenge - could actually turn out to be the last place we can see them in ACO-sanctioned racing!

Speaking of which, could someone give me a short summary of teams that have shown interest in participating the GTC class this year? If any?

[AndrewF31]

Chiana, the only one I've heard about is the Portuguese team Oasis Motorsport, who announced a month or so ago an interest in entering exactly the 430 Challenge.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

Not sure about this... Britcar attracting (even older) LMPs might actually be bad new for the ELMS.

Is there any more details about this Britcar prototype thing? I'm not familiar with the series or the rules. I guess the answer would fit better in the Britcar thread.

Originally Posted by Chiana

Agreed, it's not looking that grim after all. And the irony is that the Motors TV coverage of the series is likely to be more comprehensive than what Eurosport will show of WEC...

Is the ELMS confirmed to be on Motors? All I heard was that the ELMS was trying to update their media package, but I did not think any networks were confirmed. That was a month or two ago so things may have changed by now. I think there will be web streaming as well.

Originally Posted by AndrewF31

Chiana, the only one I've heard about is the Portuguese team Oasis Motorsport, who announced a month or so ago an interest in entering exactly the 430 Challenge.

Loeb Racing has expressed interest as well. AFAIK, that's all that I know that have expressed interest. I'm sure there are others that I have not heard about. There were rumors about JMB also.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by AGD

Is the ELMS confirmed to be on Motors? All I heard was that the ELMS was trying to update their media package, but I did not think any networks were confirmed. That was a month or two ago so things may have changed by now. I think there will be web streaming as well.

Watch the European Le Mans Series on Motors TV in 2012
http://www.motorstv.com/car/endurance/lms

Also it's the only logical choice, really. Even though I'm still gutted about Estoril last year

Loeb Racing has expressed interest as well. AFAIK, that's all that I know that have expressed interest. I'm sure there are others that I have not heard about. There were rumors about JMB also.

I thought Loeb's team was heading to LMPC and French Carrera Cup?

[Speed-King]

Is there any more details about this Britcar prototype thing? I'm not familiar with the series or the rules. I guess the answer would fit better in the Britcar thread

Not sure if I can post this here since it is ultimately from DSC, but I found this posted on another forum. Please remove if necessary:

One of the new initiatives for the 2012 season that has attracted several serious enquiries has been an extension of the LMPX category. Some of the details may yet require fine tuning, but the Britcar GT2 Class 1 will now be open to Le Mans style, SR2 and Daytona prototypes as well as GT cars and entries like the Stealth and Aquila. The way in which the eligibility of all cars is decided under the regulations for the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship is based upon an assessment of power-to-weight ratio, and the LMPX class is no different. Essentially, chassis that would normally run within the ACO’s LMP2 category, FIA SR2 and GrandAm Daytona prototype regulations can race in Britcar events provided the power-to-weight ratio meets the stringent criteria.

“We have had approaches from several high profile names regarding the possibility of running prototypes within the Championship,” admitted Wood. “On Thursday we had a visit from Mike Newton, who has expressed an interest in running one of his Lolas, and then on Friday we had a long chat with Martin Short, who displayed similar interest in entering one of his ex Le Mans prototypes with a stock-block engine. We’ve also had a visit from an “emissary” from Pescarolo in France, where they have some “training cars” that they’re considering re-fitting with a regular Chevrolet V8 or Nissan V6. Obviously, such cars will need to be de-tuned so that their engines generate around 300 bhp, but it’s a very exciting development.”

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Also it's the only logical choice, really. Even though I'm still gutted about Estoril last year

Well, look on the bright side, I don't get to see any ELMS races on TV! Although Estoril was a great race. It would have been nice for someone to see it on TV. I guess there will be web streaming this year, but hopefully they will archive the streams like the ALMS does so those of us not in Europe can watch the race at a more normal time.

I thought Loeb's team was heading to LMPC and French Carrera Cup?

Not according to this:

"It’s an element that counted for us, as well as its reasonable price. We will be running two cars in France, but it’s also accepted in Porsche Supercup and even in the Le Mans Series, in the GTC class. Therefore, another program could come online as a compliment. This choice is the fruit of a lot of forethought. It’s a solid base."

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...cing-launched/

Maybe things have changed since then, I don't know.

[Simmi]

Really happy to see the ELMS will be on Motors. Great to be able to Sky+ a race if you work on weekends.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

Not sure if I can post this here since it is ultimately from DSC, but I found this posted on another forum. Please remove if necessary:

Thanks, that's interesting. The power-to-weight formula may eliminate the need for BoP. That would make it more interesting than ACO P2, but I don't know if Britcar has any other layers of BoP. Like I said, I'm not familiar with the series, but I may need to keep an eye on it. They run spec Dunlop tires, yes?