ILMC/ALMS Round 1 - Sebring - 13-19 March 2011

[Audi Racer]

Originally Posted by Pandamasque

Risi's alternative front end.
I've seen them run something similar (albeit painted) ever since they brought the car to Sebring in February. All other teams (including AF Corse at HTTT) appear to be using flatter nose.

another thing is the splitter on the luxury racing car looks very susceptible to damage. Much like the old splitter that they used in nascar. If you go over a curb wrong you could wreck that splitter. the splitter on the risi ca looks like the new nascar splitter which is a lot more durable and will survive the bumps.

[Pandamasque]

I had another look at the earlier version of this bumper...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/old_boone/5440611540/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24792983@N02/5457413049/
...and noticed that it's pretty much the same in shape, but the 'lower lip' thingy is bolted onto the normal bumper. So that must have been a test-mule version, while the unpainted CF part is the first test of the proper one piece design.

[Audi Racer]

Originally Posted by Audi Racer

another thing is the splitter on the luxury racing car looks very susceptible to damage. Much like the old splitter that they used in nascar. If you go over a curb wrong you could wreck that splitter. the splitter on the risi ca looks like the new nascar splitter which is a lot more durable and will survive the bumps.

on second thought ignore this

[Victor_RO]

End of testing, we finshed p3 today, means nothing anyway. finished endless debriefing, now driver change practice! Practice makes perfect

http://twitter.com/#!/alex_wurz/stat...85680465707008

Looks like some French people in the pitlane have been doing their homework...

[Lppiesaudi]

Does anyone know what are the chassis numbers of the Audi R15's? And also how many spare tubs/spare cars have they brought along to Sebring? They used 4 in total last year at Petit

[The Badger]

I thought differant nose's had to be homologated ? Can they homologate 2 ?

[arakis]

Originally Posted by The Badger

I thought differant nose's had to be homologated ? Can they homologate 2 ?

during the introduction year they are alowed 1 homologation and 2 "updates"

so esentialy they can have 3 versions of the car, until the end of the year

[Deleted]

Interesting comment from Gavin...

"One of the big issues, I think, is going to be that every class seems to run a similar speed on the straight. Gone are the days when the Peugeot or Audi came whistling past you with some 25 or 30 mhp more on the straight than you. Now they are maybe 10 mph faster which is fine but the LMP2 and LMPC cars are virtually the same speed on the straights as us and the GTC cars are exactly the same. You have to get past them in the brake zones or into the corners so it adds another element of challenge to it."

[chernaudi]

And in the afternoon practice, the Audi and HPD machines didn't back up their times from the morning or, in the case of the HPD, Monday morning.

And let alone the fact that Peugeot have yet to really back up the 1:47 they ran on Monday.

Either everyone is posturing and sandbagging, or they're just taking what the track will give. Figure this--it's in the mid 80's on a day with little humidity and constant sunshine. The more the sun beats down on the track, the warmer it gets and the slicker it gets. In short, that means that any improvement in times will be harder to achieve, as teams have to run harder tire compounds to get the endurance they want, and harder tires and a slicker track means that grip is sacrificed.

I know that practice doesn't matter too much, but if Audi have been consistantly as fast as they have been, it could be an hard fought battle for Peugeot, unless they get that speed back (which may not be an issue of getting it, but showing it). And we can't forget the Highcroft car, which has also been fast, and they've said that the track has lost a bit of speed yesterday, and they arguably have the most sorted car there from a chassis/mechanical stand point and have been fast out of the box.

We can't count out the fact that with two long straights and fast bits connecting quite a few corners, Sebring is a power track(see post above for a testiment of that). And with 550hp vs 650-700+, these cars are topping out well below the last few years's speeds, and have to gain time in braking and cornering, and there, they're at the mercy of the track and what it will offer.

[joeb]

I just wanted to remind everyone that if you aren interested in entering the Predictions competition for this year the entries for Sebring are due in a little over 48hours.

[The Badger]

Enough driver confirmation for me :

http://www.pitlane-vision.com/fils-d...et-a-nue-.html

[chernaudi]

I've found some photos on the ALMS site's photo gallery from the past couple of days, as well as a few photos that Mike has posted to his Facebook page.

It seems that teams are on various agendas as far as the aero on the LMP cars. Some cars, like Rebellion's Lola-Toyota are running in almost it seems an LM-spec aero trim, which with Sebring's long straights makes some sense.

Also, the factory Peugeot 908s and the ARX-01e are running an intermediate downforce spec, partway between LM trim and full on sprint trim (single diveplanes, a little less wing than in sprint trim, etc).

That leaves Audi, with the R15s running in a full-on sprint race specifcation (twin diveplanes, tall tail gurneys, sprint wing trim, etc). In fact, it's the same exact aero spec as at Silverstone, PLM, and China last year..

This obviously means that there may be more than one way to skin the cat as far as aero at Sebring, but whats interesting is that you'd think that Audi would pare off some downforce with the power reduction. Overall, though, it seems that the teams that have dialed in some downforce (Peugeot, Highcroft/HPD, and, in the case of Audi, seemingly a lot of downforce) have been setting the best times, especially as the track gets slicker.

Highcroft said that they'd start off sort of in an LM trim, and add downforce as the track rubbers in and slicks up, and we're seeing that with them.

It seems that the cars with a bit of downforce on them are managing the track better and are adapting quicker, which is a natural evolution. It also shows that at a track like Sebring (and most non-LM circuits) that downforce is still a bit of a requirement, and that the 908, but even more so the HPD and likely the R18 (abscent at Sebring) were engineered to produce downforce more efficently than the old cars.

With no real on track action today, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how everyone will get on after a couple of days of testing, but inspite of the variations between cars, the times have been close and should be a competitive field up front in the LMP1 class.

[Tom908V12]

Can't wait for tomorrow action

[chernaudi]

More conflicting reports on the R15--the Speed crew are saying that it's got wider front wheels and tires like the R18 and the 908 have, while Mike still says that the front wheels and tires are the same as last year.

At least there are photos at Speed so we can judge for ourselves, and I fail to see any major differences as far as the alleged wider tires.

[CTD]

Just joining the thread.
Will there be live streaming of Qualifying and or the race?

[thebear]

Originally Posted by CTD

Just joining the thread.
Will there be live streaming of Qualifying and or the race?

Welcome to the thread.

Yes: http://espn.go.com/espn3/index for video.

BUT . . . .

FRI 14h55 - 15h00 qualifying results

SAT 10h15 - 11h00 (start of race)

And that is ALL that is on the schedule. There may be more but the schedule shows wrestling, basketball, soccer and . . . .

WEBSITE MAY BE BUSY AND SLOW.

Also, live commentary by Hindhaugh & friends with possible timing at: http://www.radiolemans.com/ starting SAT at 14:30. There is some small text at the upper l/h corner that you have to click on to actually enter the website.

Times are GMT - 4hrs

.

[nasdriv87]

Originally Posted by thebear

Welcome to the thread.

Yes: http://espn.go.com/espn3/index for video.



.

i can't get it outside of US...

[Mike_Wooshy]

ALMS website is showing flag to flag coverage anywhere in the world via a stream... I Dont have a link to hand sorry.

[Audi Racer]

Originally Posted by CTD

Just joining the thread.
Will there be live streaming of Qualifying and or the race?

Yeah there will be live streaming. I just want everyone to know that since this is an american lemans series race. I am begging you to go the thehttp://www.americanlemans.com website.

that is what the site is for. It tells you everything you need to know.

[godlameroso]

americanlemans.com has the race

[Rennen]

I predict the 2010 restricted LMP1s R15's and the old 908 are the cars to beat this weekend!

[fjn356]

I will be there tomorrow and looking forward to having wifi access. I recommend that anyone who wants to draw inferences from test days, spend a few test days in the pits with a team. The best I can do is "If it runs, it will probably be the same general color".

[joeb]

IMSA put the LMPC cars back to their original restrictor for the rest of the week. So instead of getting in the way of lmp2 cars they will be back in the way of the gt cars. Yippee.

[Audi Racer]

Originally Posted by joeb

IMSA put the LMPC cars back to their original restrictor for the rest of the week. So instead of getting in the way of lmp2 cars they will be back in the way of the gt cars. Yippee.

This is a huge problem. GT2 has some serious competitors who arent looking to get binned in a corner by an LMPC car.

[andy_b]

If you didn't see in the other thread, my ALMS Spotter Guide, supported by Ten-Tenths is now available to download at
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The guide is supported by Ten-Tenths as well as Radio Le Mans, DailySportscars, ALMS and Speedhunters amongst others. The guide also forms the basis of the official Spotter Guide on the American Le Mans Series website.

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