LM24 Race GT2. Ferrari win, Porsche don't and Spyker finish

**joeb** · 14 Jun 2009, 14:38 (Ref:2483336)

Really surprised by the GT2 Porsche results or lack there of. But great work by a whole bunch of Ferrari teams to finish the race. Oh and lets not forget the Spyker in 5th!!!!

**Adam43** · 14 Jun 2009, 21:22 (Ref:2483339)

http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...78#post2483078
Another copy of a post from the main thread so that we can develop the discussion on a specific topic.

Well Porsche were quick, but had problems, not all of their own doing. However the fuel pick up problem was a disaster and put them on the back foot.

A great win from the same Ferrari as last year and Spyker finish a race, fifth in class. Well done to them too.

AndrewF31 · 14 Jun 2009, 21:56 (Ref:2483370)

It was a hell of a fight for the first few hours, especially until the safety car period. Then the Porsches starting having troubles:

- 77 with the fuel problems
- 70 changing from the speedy Jorg to his less speedy teammates Law and, of course, Seth
- 76 still being up there but starting to suffer the same problems 77 had until its downfall

It was especially enjoyable listening in to Flying Lizards radio during the race.

Things got worse for the 70 car when a Ferrari took it out, forcing it to the pits.

All in all, Porsche was fast but the reliability of their car did them in. Ferrari was consistent and had a clean race and eventually the top guys at Risi found their way to the top!

cmk · 15 Jun 2009, 01:26 (Ref:2483468)

If there is one Porsche 'issue' that undeservedly came under fire this year, it is the fact that Porsche didn't do enough to stock its cars with pros. They were always on the back foot to Ferrari in terms of the number of automatic entries granted, so it's not like they could just expect to have a gazillion cars in the race because they wanted to, nor could they expect the gentlemen who earned those auto entries to not want to drive. Raymond Narac in particular deserves a huge amount of credit - he was absolutely flying this year. It goes to show that if you've got some innate ability and you practice hard, being a gentleman is not mutually exclusive to being fast. Pity they didn't get the results, but well done Raymond, and well done Porsche for supporting him!

Can't fail to note that Risi and BMS are building quite the reputation in enduros though. Risi in particular is obvious...LM/PLM/Sebring/LM on the trot through clean, consistent runs and great race setup (from the 'crashers' no less!). BMS though, with back to back 2nds at LM bridged by a faultless run to the victory at the Spa 24 last year, also deserves kudos. Way to get on Pirellis for the first time in '09 and just go like the wind, guys! Italian temperaments nicely cooled too... Heartbreak for JMW though...one of these years they'll get the result they keep knocking on the door of.

pplater · 15 Jun 2009, 01:54 (Ref:2483473)

Risi were amazing. Melo set the tone with his epic pass on the Felbermayr car going into the first chicane. Risi came to win, and kicked ass. Brilliant stuff.

On another note it seems Michelins are the tyre to put on a Ferrari...

cmk · 15 Jun 2009, 02:37 (Ref:2483479)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pplater

Risi were amazing. Melo set the tone with his epic pass on the Felbermayr car going into the first chicane. Risi came to win, and kicked ass. Brilliant stuff.

On another note it seems Michelins are the tyre to put on a Ferrari...

Funnily enough I would say nearly the opposite. For sure, Michelin-shod Ferraris are strong, but what isn't strong on Michelins? I think the Ferrari actually has performed well on more types of tyre than any other GT. The Dunlops on the JMW car have been consistently excellent (can't say that about Dunlop Porsches!) and the Pirellis on the BMS car have occasionally been solid on race pace (Spa 24h, Ecosse at Bucharest '08, and none to shabby at LM this year). Remember how awful Pirelli-shod Porsches have been (Ebimotors, BMS)?

AX lover · 15 Jun 2009, 08:28 (Ref:2483578)

Go Spyker

Let's hope they will now be able to find some extra speed and keep their reliability. That would be great.

And hopefully they will start racing with the new C8 Aileron next year.

nobster · 15 Jun 2009, 08:35 (Ref:2483584)

Was nice to see all the team personell on the pit wall at the end of the race, a well deserved result ( it has been a long time coming ) but it bodes well for the future!

Dunlop Corner · 15 Jun 2009, 10:13 (Ref:2483651)

A disaster for Porsche. Losing the pride of Weissach after only 25 laps, really set the tone for what was about to happen. Lizard was never going to be a real competitor with a 10 secs/lap off the pace Neiman. And while Narac was doing great in the IMSA, that car really ran into all kinds of problems.
For the second year in a row, Le Mans was another complete disaster for the GT2 Porsches. The pace was certainly there, but their reliability was alot worse than Spykers. Really surprised to see Porsche not able to get GT2 cars to the end.

old man · 18 Jun 2009, 15:34 (Ref:2485957)

I was very surprised at the gap between the RISI and the others in terms of fastest lap, over 2 seconds is a lot even round 8.5 miles. The IMSA car got nearest at 04.188 against RISI at 02.016 and Fl at 04.840. I don't think that was just driver skill?

dxk1 · 18 Jun 2009, 16:24 (Ref:2485981)

Quote:

Originally Posted by old man

I was very surprised at the gap between the RISI and the others in terms of fastest lap, over 2 seconds is a lot even round 8.5 miles. The IMSA car got nearest at 04.188 against RISI at 02.016 and Fl at 04.840. I don't think that was just driver skill?

May I ask, where are you getting these numbers? According to the Le Mans web site, they list the fastest lap for a GT2 as the 4'04.188 by the IMSA Porsche as you indicate, but the next fastest times listed are 4'04.840 for FL Porsche (again as you indicate), but then according to them, the third fastest time was for the JMB Ferrari put up by Bouchut at 4'05.072. Fourth fastest was JMW Ferrari at 4'05:472. The Risi Ferrari doesn't show up until 5th at 4'05.677. From then on it is: 6th-BMS Ferrari at 4'06.196, 7th-AF Ferrari at 4'06.508, 8th-Felbemayer Porsche at 4'06.520, 9th-Farnbacher Ferrari at 4'06.544 and 10th-Modena Ferrati at 4'09.036. Slowest on the list was AE (Dempsey's car) at 4'14.648 as 16th fastest of the GT2s. Am I reading something wrong or are you?

DK

NightStalk3r · 18 Jun 2009, 18:09 (Ref:2486034)

Quote:

Originally Posted by old man

I was very surprised at the gap between the RISI and the others in terms of fastest lap, over 2 seconds is a lot even round 8.5 miles. The IMSA car got nearest at 04.188 against RISI at 02.016 and Fl at 04.840. I don't think that was just driver skill?

The Risi Actually showed a 4:01 aswell, but they were timing glitches and the real fastest for the Risi car was a 4:05.677

prototype · 18 Jun 2009, 20:14 (Ref:2486089)

With just 5 entries, Porsche need to stack atleast 2 cars with an all pro lineup. That is what GT2 has evolved to now.

The 430 does seem to be the best on its tires except for the Hankook car. Every time I saw it on TV, it was nursing a flat back to the pits.

AndrewF31 · 18 Jun 2009, 22:17 (Ref:2486162)

Quote:

Originally Posted by prototype

With just 5 entries, Porsche need to stack atleast 2 cars with an all pro lineup. That is what GT2 has evolved to now.

The 430 does seem to be the best on its tires except for the Hankook car. Every time I saw it on TV, it was nursing a flat back to the pits.

Well Porsche pretty much had 2 top line-ups in the IMSA and Felbermayr cars. Narac may not be a pro in the true sense of the word but the guy has learned how to drive that car really well.

Money was a problem this year, as seen by Westbrook not being a works driver. I read somewhere that Jeroen Bleekemolen was trying to get a works deal last year following his campaign in the Spyder but there were some funding cuts at Porsche.

cmk · 18 Jun 2009, 22:48 (Ref:2486181)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewF31

Well Porsche pretty much had 2 top line-ups in the IMSA and Felbermayr cars. Narac may not be a pro in the true sense of the word but the guy has learned how to drive that car really well.

Money was a problem this year, as seen by Westbrook not being a works driver. I read somewhere that Jeroen Bleekemolen was trying to get a works deal last year following his campaign in the Spyder but there were some funding cuts at Porsche.

More importantly, following his dominant performance in Supercup...which he's attempting to repeat this year in the hopes that the coffers will be a little fuller at Porsche AG in 2010.

cg7aa · 9 Jul 2009, 10:31 (Ref:2498236)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmk

...Raymond Narac in particular deserves a huge amount of credit - he was absolutely flying this year. It goes to show that if you've got some innate ability and you practice hard, being a gentleman is not mutually exclusive to being fast. Pity they didn't get the results, but well done Raymond, and well done Porsche for supporting him!

I couldn't agree more with your comments about Mr. Narac.

Listening to the radio Le Mans race commentary again, it appears some of the blistering times he was setting at one point in the race was due to a cracked airbox which they had to come in to fix.

Gingers4Justice · 9 Jul 2009, 16:14 (Ref:2498460)

GT2 is really the heroes class, it's where the drivers really shine. Sometimes, I wish GT2 was the premier catergory.

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