Sportscar/GT (and Le Mans) Rumours and Repetition

[Simmi]

Looks like Martin Brundle has caught the bug more than we thought.

Seems like he wants another shot in a P1 at Le Mans! Let him.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101912

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Looks like Martin Brundle has caught the bug more than we thought.

He caught the bug years ago. What we find out now is that once you catch the bug, it never leaves you.

Good on him. As long as the FIA is sensible with regards to scheduling races, I hope to see it happen.

[Victor_RO]

http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...nce-12754.html

Wolf Racing Cars moving up from CN to design a LMP2 car for 2014.

[Articus]

LMP2 is certainly attractive nowadays. We have HPD, Zytek, Oreca, Norma? and soon to join Pilbeam, Wolf Racing, Lotus, Bailey... Its getting bigger than LMP1. Maybe they could try some kind of P1 cost capping so atleast a manufacturer knows how much they have to spend. I think thats the appeal of LMP2 right now with the cost cap. You know your competitors aren't talking to NASA's materials science department...

[Salamus]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...nce-12754.html

Wolf Racing Cars moving up from CN to design a LMP2 car for 2014.

Is there any relation to the F1 Wolf Racing team from the 70s?

[Salamus]

Originally Posted by Articus

LMP2 is certainly attractive nowadays. We have HPD, Zytek, Oreca, Norma? and soon to join Pilbeam, Wolf Racing, Lotus, Bailey... Its getting bigger than LMP1. Maybe they could try some kind of P1 cost capping so atleast a manufacturer knows how much they have to spend. I think thats the appeal of LMP2 right now with the cost cap. You know your competitors aren't talking to NASA's materials science department...

P1 has no cost cap because it is for factory entries and manufacturers who want to flex some muscle. The whole point of P2 and the cost cap is to help all these little companies who want to go racing and make prototypes.

[Articus]

When I say cost cap I don't mean 300,000Euro. Even F1 is heavily interested in resource restriction agreement.

[Gil Abobeleira]

Originally Posted by Articus

When I say cost cap I don't mean 300,000Euro. Even F1 is heavily interested in resource restriction agreement.

Which is impossible to enforce...

[CTD]

Originally Posted by Gil Abobeleira

Which is impossible to enforce...

Not impossible...
The best way is just not suitable for F1 and maybe LMP1
That solution being that manufactures have to sell their cars for a maximum price. This way making it unprofitable for a manufacture to "over develop" their cars.

[Gil Abobeleira]

Originally Posted by CTD

Not impossible...
The best way is just not suitable for F1 and maybe LMP1

Well yes, I was more trying to make the point that's impossible to enforce a budget limit in F1 (or LMP1 for that matter).

[lms]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...nce-12754.html

Wolf Racing Cars moving up from CN to design a LMP2 car for 2014.

awesome news. I hope their car will be much more developed then the atrocious norma.

[Articus]

lol @ the Norma name. Sounds like DEE-DEE's ugly sister

[joeb]

Originally Posted by lms

awesome news. I hope their car will be much more developed then the atrocious norma.

Originally Posted by Articus

lol @ the Norma name. Sounds like DEE-DEE's ugly sister

Say what you will about the Norma, but keep in mind they were the only manufacturer to make a cost capped P2 car from scratch. Lola, Oreca, HPD, and Zytek all started with an existing car.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by joeb

Say what you will about the Norma, but keep in mind they were the only manufacturer to make a cost capped P2 car from scratch. Lola, Oreca, HPD, and Zytek all started with an existing car.

And with that, how few sold cars they could split the development cost out on.
If Norma sold only a few more, the possibility of future development is huge.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by joeb

Say what you will about the Norma, but keep in mind they were the only manufacturer to make a cost capped P2 car from scratch. Lola, Oreca, HPD, and Zytek all started with an existing car.

I said the name! Norma...

[MitchZ06]

The rest made their money back on spares and parts packages, no cost capping there....

[lms]

Originally Posted by MitchZ06

The rest made their money back on spares and parts packages, no cost capping there....

?
I thought "cost cap" meant the max cost of engine/chassis that the teams buy.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by lms

?
I thought "cost cap" meant the max cost of engine/chassis that the teams buy.

Cost cap in a privateer class is to stop the manufactures from "over" develop their cars, making them impossible expensive for smaller manufactures to buy (Porsche). This is done buy setting a maximum purchase price for a car + engine, car alone and engine alone. However, how many engines, and spare parts each team buy is unlimited.
So if you like Oreca sell a bunch of chassis, the demand for spares for those cars is high, making the chassis easier to gain a profit on.

Norma however have only sold 1 or 2 chassis, making the demand for spare parts low, and therefor making a profit very hard.

[lms]

Originally Posted by CTD

Cost cap in a privateer class is to stop the manufactures from "over" develop their cars, making them impossible expensive for smaller manufactures to buy (Porsche). This is done buy setting a maximum purchase price for a car + engine, car alone and engine alone. However, how many engines, and spare parts each team buy is unlimited.
So if you like Oreca sell a bunch of chassis, the demand for spares for those cars is high, making the chassis easier to gain a profit on.

Norma however have only sold 1 or 2 chassis, making the demand for spare parts low, and therefor making a profit very hard.

ok

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by MitchZ06

The rest made their money back on spares and parts packages, no cost capping there....

Yes there is , spares are cost capped , except at the track where they are allowed 10% extra charge .

[JAGLeMans]

http://translate.googleusercontent.c..._kS5blr78hESdw

Speculated a few well know teams will be entering the WEC, I wonder if the French team is DAMS? As expected Loeb, Status GP and possibly Murphy looking to go WEC too.

GTE could be set for a revival with "GT3+" cars, the new all new manufacturer could be Nissan.

[MagVanisher]

I guess ACO will allow GT3 cars to race at last. Still, I hope they would balance it out.

On the other hand in regards to spare chassis and/or parts, is there a cap on how many parts they could build and sell to the customers?

[MitchZ06]

Would appear then that the McLaren will be the first of these GT3+ type GTE cars.

[lms]

Originally Posted by JAGLeMans

the new all new manufacturer could be Nissan.

crap :/ I hope this wont happen. but mclaren would be great. or a lamborghini.

[TF110]

The article reads as 5 manufacturers ready to make the GTE class bigger. One with an entrance in it is 'well known'. But that's not BMW, Mercedes, McLaren nor Audi. So who is it? They also talk of a French team

We know that a team of renowned car has closely followed the British round of the WEC and another (French one) would come back to Stamina. Most of these teams has re-enlist in 2013 for yet another season of transition before the arrival of Regulation 2014.

So potentially 5 makes entering or reentering GTE with one making it's debut in the class. And the two teams mentioned before this that I quoted in an unknown class. Amazing if true.