Lites / LMP3

[Deleted]

Extreme Limite chooses "Ligier" P3 as well
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/0...ms-return.html

It's the same Extreme Limite Paris, the little team that could, which carried unfashionable Normas in Minardi esque fashion and made adorable "we aim for top 6 position in championship" goals some years ago

Too bad you won't see them at LM with this.

[Mike E]

Team AAI to run Adess LMP3 in AsLMS.

http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/ite...ales-confirmed

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Mike E

Team AAI to run Adess LMP3 in AsLMS.

http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/ite...ales-confirmed

Great to see additional manufacturers making sales.

[Richard C]

If I had the money, I would love to have a track day version of an LMP3 car!

Richard

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

If I had the money, I would love to have a track day version of an LMP3 car!

Richard

Same.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Mike E

Team AAI to run Adess LMP3 in AsLMS.

http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/ite...ales-confirmed

The only reason to still continue in that dead series as well as in investing in new machinery would be if there were quarantees LM invites at the end of the line. Does the AsLMS P3/CN class winner get (P2?) invite for LM now? It didn't last season. Because since they still allow CN cars there, and if such hypothetical entry was to hypothetically beat these P3s and win the class over season, would they still hand them the invite?

[Mike E]

I think the LMP3 champ gets an LMP2 invite. That's why Eurointernational is doing LMP3 in AsLMS.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Mike E

I think the LMP3 champ gets an LMP2 invite. That's why Eurointernational is doing LMP3 in AsLMS.

Correct Mike.

3 competitors (who must be full season AsLMS entrants) will be invited to the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours, as follows:

• The 1st LM P2
• The 1st GT team (invited in the GTE class)
• The 1st LM P3 invited in the LM P2 class subject to a minimum of 3 entries in the category. Should this minimum be not reached the invitation will be granted to the 2nd team of the GT overall classification which will be invited in GT Am.

from: http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/0...urth-race.html

[Deleted]

So only one auto entry for GT(3) instead of two like before. I don't think you see anyone wanting to run there except that Australian one off entry at some point, and perhaps trofeo lamborghini or audi cup car something. Maybe AAI enters one GT3 there and then the two LMP3s to have 3 cars in the series again, thus again making like 40-50% of the grid... :P

I assume that the (again hypothetical) CN cars will run integrated to the LMP3 class, but will still remain uneglible to get any invites even if they outscore the P3s. Because ACO hates those cars, as witnessed last year, yet still prays to see them in order to not have to write press releases on how the 3 hour race contested with five cars in four classes was the greatest in the history of world. Well, let's be fair, they'd still write that whether there was 3 cars or 13 or 23

Anyway putting all the rest away, it's good for P3 and wish AAI would get P2 LM entry for next year, they would be the second little team that could among with Pegasus

[joeb]

News today is that the class will be limited to 5 constructors and the minimum weight is going up from 900 to 930 kg. Any guess on which manufacturer couldn't make weight and mentioned to the ACO the class would be better at 930? Also given the lack of speed the cars already display, adding weight is an odd choice....

S365 has a few articles including an update from the Ave Riley project.

[Coach Ep]

930? That's more then the old LMP900s - with less than half the horsepower... what a farce!

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by joeb

News today is that the class will be limited to 5 constructors and the minimum weight is going up from 900 to 930 kg. Any guess on which manufacturer couldn't make weight and mentioned to the ACO the class would be better at 930? Also given the lack of speed the cars already display, adding weight is an odd choice....

S365 has a few articles including an update from the Ave Riley project.

Great, as if ruining LMP2 wasn't enough for the ACO...

The cost cap has also been increased slightly (as if the price-performance ratio wasn't bad enough, especially also in comp to spec-LMP2), so obviously the constructor(s) demanding for these changes have exchanged pretty amounts of $$$ under the table.

[tux]

I can see next year will be the last time i attend an ACO event

[Deleted]

Well, think of it like this: you have the glorious LMP1s running together, and then XX amounts of miscellaneous traffic in the way. You don't care about the cars that make up this traffic itself, but seeing your car passing them feels so good. It's like that old swedish couple slowly driving that stupid van ahead of you and you anxiously wait for straight to pass them, for the open road.

The only issue is for the races when P1 is not present and you only have the dumbed down and restricted / spec / cost-cap / pro-am / sub-trophy / bop / granny speed cars out there

[joeb]

Matt McMurry had some interesting analysis of his driving time with the lmp3 at Watkins last week

http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/11895...ginetta-s-lmp3

[silente]

current LMP3 are very very heavy....i see why they increased the minumum weight...

[Deleted]

Apparently these cars could be eglible for French GT next year. Riight

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by silente

current LMP3 are very very heavy....i see why they increased the minumum weight...

I am actually not that fazed by the weight increase - 30kg isn't a whole lot and it probably gives the teams/manufacturers some more wiggle room with how the car is built, i.e. the possibility to run more durable/cost effective part and things like that.

Also, I seem to remember something about Ginetta actually having a hard time meeting the 900kg goal, so they may have been somewhat overweight all the time.

[Deleted]

So other than loosening up the air restrictors, how are they gonna bring the performance levels above GTE now?

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by Chiana

So other than loosening up the air restrictors, how are they gonna bring the performance levels above GTE now?

Will be interesting to see how well the Ligier and the other new cars will do, might just be that Ginetta/Juno built a bit of a lemon or their P3 still needs some sorting out and the gap is actually smaller than we think.

[Deleted]

If that were the case, that'd be catastrophic for the Ginetta customers. It's not like Ginetta can update the chassis either anymore because of the sealed specs and cost cap (bit unfair to them that it's been raised now though). Obviously ACO could just bop them up but they've been very cautious in that front on prototype side of things for few years now

[joeb]

Part of me shakes my head at this and thinks the ACO is messing this up, but another part of me says this is still early days for the class and might as well tweak it now until it works properly.

[Deleted]

If this controversial and artificial constructer limitation, and spread of spec components had only been issued for LMP3, not LMP2, the general feedback for this particular news in question would have been more neutral. Even better yet, had they actually announced the five chassis limit at the very beginning when they announced the P3 rules last summer, even just five chassis would have been massive increase over one in LMPC/FLM. I mean, that would have actually had positive spin - hey we have five prototype chassis in the junior class now, look at it!

But as it stands it's just irritating, as along with the weight add and cost cap, it sounds like bribery again ACO hasn't handled press side of things very well recently.

Anyway even with the five chassis limit, it's still pretty funny to have more approved constructors in P3 than P2

[ModelT]

Originally Posted by Chiana

If this controversial and artificial constructer limitation, and spread of spec components had only been issued for LMP3, not LMP2, the general feedback for this particular news in question would have been more neutral. Even better yet, had they actually announced the five chassis limit at the very beginning when they announced the P3 rules last summer, even just five chassis would have been massive increase over one in LMPC/FLM. I mean, that would have actually had positive spin - hey we have five prototype chassis in the junior class now, look at it!

But as it stands it's just irritating, as along with the weight add and cost cap, it sounds like bribery again ACO hasn't handled press side of things very well recently.

Anyway even with the five chassis limit, it's still pretty funny to have more approved constructors in P3 than P2

From rumors I have heard, the 30 kgs is partly to blame because the Xtrac box seems to have been built for a tank rather than an LMP3 prototype! Perhaps they made it over bullet proof thinking the class is for amateurs

But I have also heard that the Ginetta IS very heavy too, so one never knows what political agenda is behind it all. One probably does know, that decisions taken by the ACO are not generally very transparent

None the less, next season should be a little more interesting in the ELMS with a few more cars on track in this class, albeit, slower!

[silente]

as i said...the current LMP3 is VERY hevy. More similar to a GT than to an LMP car.

If Ligier could only meat the 930 kg weight limit, would already be much quicker than them, but let's see as soon as they bring their car on the track.

On the other side, i think that the complete engine/gearbox assy is actually very heavy, leading to also a very unfavourable weight distribution. That could be a limit also for Ligier.

I would anyway be a bit scared by the Ligier, if i were a Ginetta owner.