[LM24 Race] 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans

[Aysedasi]

Well, I'm steering away from the inevitable bickerings of all of our 'armchair critics and experts' to say that I had a bloody good time. The Le Mans trip for me is a 10 day festival encompassing scrutineering, driving around the circuit (the public bits), the museum again this year, 10 hours of practice and qualifying then watching all but one hour of the race. And I thought it was a pretty good race. I didn't study all of the machinations in depth and I doubt that I will now. I will remember those last few minutes for the rest of my days with the stunned silence in the grandstands and on the tribunes (apart from the Porsche fans) and the shock of Toyota losing a win that they had thoroughly deserved and earned. Yes, I was amazed by the performance of the Fords after watching them as also-rans at Silverstone (and they also sounded remarkably different during the night - to me, anyway), but I shan't lose any sleep over it. The main concern for me is having to wait another 351 days until I leave home again to go to this marvelous event for the 32nd time.......

[jimclark]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

(1)Well, I'm steering away from the inevitable bickerings of all of our 'armchair critics and experts' to say that I had a bloody good time.
(2) The main concern for me is having to wait another 351 days until I leave home again to go to this marvelous event for the 32nd time.......

(1) 'Don't blame you 'tall. I don't know why I let meself git caught up in it.

(2) I've been following since '65 but have yet to make it across the pond. 'Just retired, so mayhaps soon I'll get the
full experience (been doing Sebring and Daytona since '75)

[jimclark]

Originally Posted by LordDigital

Official Statement by TMG released 2 hours ago:

The team attempted to modify the control settings to restore power and this was eventually achieved, allowing the car to complete the final lap.However, it was achieved too late to complete that lap within the required six minutes.

Source: http://www.toyotahybridracing.com/le...race-update-2/

So it is just the last lap that has to be completed within 6 minutes?

[PascaLM]

Originally Posted by LordDigital

Car #5 suffered a technical defect on a connector on the air line between the turbo charger and the intercooler, causing a loss of turbo charger control.

Source: http://www.toyotahybridracing.com/le...race-update-2/

Well, only strong vibrations can do that (just my opinion).
Or Good Vibrations if you are a Porsche fan.

[kpkorsager]

Hmm...
what had happened if #5 Toyota had stopped just a few meters before the line?

Would it have been able to make the last round in 6 min?

we will never know, but the chance had been there.

[GasperG]

The car waited after finishing line for 1:30, so it would still take them more than 10 minutes to complete the final lap, they were really limping around the track, trap speed was 96 kmh.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by jimclark

So it is just the last lap that has to be completed within 6 minutes?

correct.

Originally Posted by kpkorsager

Hmm...
what had happened if #5 Toyota had stopped just a few meters before the line?

Would it have been able to make the last round in 6 min?

we will never know, but the chance had been there.

I thought about that too but it would have meant it could not have started the last lap (the one that the eventual winner did) because the Porsche would have finished the race by the time the 5 got going again. I'm guessing the Toyota team was aware of this 'option' but choose to roll the dice and gamble on a miracle...

This might show how much a win at LM means for Toyota - their 'decision' to park the car right after the finish line on the last lap ultimately had big series championship implications. But with being championship winners already in 2014 (and the second car locked in for a podium spot anyway), I don't think anyone would have done anything different!

[airbusA346]

"In the closing stages of the race a senior member of the Ford team entered the Risi Competizione garage with a piece of paper, revealed as an official protest over a non-operational leader light on the side of the #82 Ferrari, then running second, behind the leading #68 Ford, and ahead of the #69 and #66 Fords.

Ford’s justification for the protest revolved around the penalty doled out to their #66 car overnight for a non-operational illuminated number panel, both items falling into the same area of regulations, and Ford feeling that the race officials were not dealing with the two issues in an even-handed fashion.

That certainly would have explained a protest, but it does not explain why the Ford representative presented the Risi team with what amounts to an ultimatum.

That was expressed in clear terms and went along the lines of. If you promise not to race us for the win then this protest goes away, If you fight us then we’ll file it immediately.

Anyone who has even the slightest understanding of, or familiarity with, Guiseppe Risi would be able to guess the reaction. The protest was duly filed!"

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/0...-24-hours.html

[GT6]

Good on him perhaps he should file a complaint against the ford team for blackmail i know it is unlikely but the ACO could strip ford of the victory

[Aysedasi]

That would never happen.......

[Bob Baldwin]

Not to change the topic BUT one week after LM 's Something keeps sticking in my mind .
Bob Varsha from the fox broadcast had mentioned a comment . Most of the Ford drivers from assorted motorsports venues were fairly well known . He seemed to be asking the question , WHERE did this Billy Johnson ? come from ? I was assuming he was Part of the Multimatic Group is that correct ?

Ideally at this point as drivers Who should be in and Who should be out ?

[Salamus]

Johnson is part of Multimatic in CTSCC driving a Mustang.

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Salamus

Johnson is part of Multimatic in CTSCC driving a Mustang.

And has been the main test driver for the GTE car from the start, correct?

[carbsmith]

Billy Johnson has been around a decently long time doing Conti Challenge, NASCAR road courses, and eventually Grand Am and a bit of IMSA. He's driven a lot of Ford backed Mustangs so it's not a surprise to see him in a factory Ford.

[Bob Baldwin]

Only my assumption but I am guessing Varsha's thoughts were there were more other Qualified Drivers with a better CV than Johnsons CV to land a Factory Drive .

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Bob Baldwin

Only my assumption but I am guessing Varsha's thoughts were there were more other Qualified Drivers with a better CV than Johnsons CV to land a Factory Drive .

Then he wasn't watching the fastest laps set by Ford drivers through the race, Johnson had the 3rd fastest time out of all 12 drivers. And given he's done most of the testing for the car, he probably knows it better than anyone else. Arguments enough for me to confirm the decision they made to put him in the driving squad for LM.

[Graham Goodwin]

The important part of that lap time analysis was when it was that Billy was doing the quick lap times - The answer was ONLY after their delay for the broken illuminated number panel - Once back into 4th the lap time dropped right off again.

Put bluntly the BoP was a joke

[PascaLM]

According to AUTOhebdo, 25000 people have watched the victory of the Porsche #2 in the fan zone of the Porsche museum at Zuffenhausen.

[tbtstt]

Finally got round to clearing my camera off last night. Have to say that, in photography terms, Le Mans was a disappointment this year. All my fave spots from the last couple of years were either blocked off or have been turned into hospitality suites, so I struggled to find anywhere both clear of fences and within range of my little lens.

Went to the inside of Tertre Rouge for the first time and rattled off a few shots from there. Couple I'm pleased with:





Few more here is anyone is interested:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/229616...57669407553010

[canamman]

Originally Posted by carbsmith

Billy Johnson has been around a decently long time doing Conti Challenge, NASCAR road courses, and eventually Grand Am and a bit of IMSA. He's driven a lot of Ford backed Mustangs so it's not a surprise to see him in a factory Ford.

He was in a Roush Performance Mustang in 2013 Conti.
Really fast in everything he gets in.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Finally got round to clearing my camera off last night. Have to say that, in photography terms, Le Mans was a disappointment this year. All my fave spots from the last couple of years were either blocked off or have been turned into hospitality suites, so I struggled to find anywhere both clear of fences and within range of my little lens.

Went to the inside of Tertre Rouge for the first time and rattled off a few shots from there. Couple I'm pleased with:





Few more here is anyone is interested:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/229616...57669407553010

It's always great to see photos of events from fellow 10thers.

[Aysedasi]

The inside of Tertre Rouge is now one of the few places where you can get above the fences. I have literally thousands from there over the last few years. There are one or two other spots, through the fence at the marshals gap at the Ford Chicane, the new viewing area at Indianapolis, the gap at the end of the viewing area at the bottom of the Esses and also at Mulsanne Corner, but most other places are obscured by fencing. Oh and on the top of the Audi Fan Area of course.....

[Simmi]

Apologies if it's been discussed elsewhere - did anyone try out the Red Bull pop up stands during the race? They were basically packed out with photographers because they got you over the fence.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Apologies if it's been discussed elsewhere - did anyone try out the Red Bull pop up stands during the race? They were basically packed out with photographers because they got you over the fence.

Great shots.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

The inside of Tertre Rouge is now one of the few places where you can get above the fences. I have literally thousands from there over the last few years. There are one or two other spots, through the fence at the marshals gap at the Ford Chicane, the new viewing area at Indianapolis, the gap at the end of the viewing area at the bottom of the Esses and also at Mulsanne Corner, but most other places are obscured by fencing. Oh and on the top of the Audi Fan Area of course.....

You are forgetting the inside of Esses, on top of the hill. (The place Treluyer wen't off in the Pescarolo 908)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6upFvKLkDw