Corvette vs. Marinello.

[Speeddemon555]

The real battle for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race tomorrow will be the GTS class of Corvette vs. the 550 Marinello. The Corvette team knew that it can't beat the Ferrari's straight line speed, but their advantage is durability. Ferrari might match Chevy for that department. I am betting that Corvette will win for the third time in a row. Any Opinions on this rivalry tomorrow at the 24 Hours of Le Mans GTS class?

I belive that the ferrari will give chevy a real problem.if the ferrari team has worked on its relabilty,and unless they brake,ferrari should do very well.But,i still think they will brake down on the long run.and Covette will win again.....I just love the sound!.

[Nick M]

Heart says Ferrari, head says Corvette.

Actually I've got a soft sport for the Corvettes too - they were among the noisiest cars at Le Mans and they sound great as they accelerate away from Mulsanne corner !!

Like you've all said - it should be Ferrari if they don't break, but that's far from being a certainty even with Prodrive behind them.

[alfasud]

Originally posted by Speeddemon555
Corvette vs. the 550 Marinello. The Corvette team knew that it can't beat the Ferrari's straight line speed, but their advantage is durability.

It would appear that the Corvette has the advantage of being easier to spell

The lower reving 7.0L engine, plus a few extra years development of the Corvette is an advantage in lasting a 24hr race distance. With inlet restrictors, the larger capacity Corvette engine can't make good use of higher revs and doesn't really need them. Logic says the Ferrari Maranello should be good for a win if they don't strike any problems.

[Fogelhund]

A wet track, which it presently is, will favourthe Vette's, with their greater downforce.

[Chevyguy]

At this point, it would seem the Ferrari has the durability advantage. My heart sank when the 50 car hit the garage. It's a long race still, but don't count Prodrive out on the ability to create a dependable race car.

[429CJ]

Candyass fairy V12 versus roaring V8. Just guess witch one I'm supporting.

[Speeddemon555]

Unfortunately, the 53 team is having engine problems. The Ferraris are in the top 3 in the GTS class. The Corvette are fourth and fifth currently, but this is not over yet.

[skycafe]

Congrats to Ferrari and Prodrive (I think more to Prodrive)! Reminds me of the good old days with the Daytonas!

[gttouring]

Bravo prodrive they sorted it out- even if they did sweat at the pits with 'bearing or differential trouble"
Shame abouit the Vettes my heart wanted them to do it, but how wonderful that ferrari is up on top?!
F1. LeMans. and a relative Ducati in MotoGP
will the italians just stop!

[JAG]

And the scary thing for the Vettes is that the new works built 575Ms will be out soon which should be quicker even than the Prodrive cars.

Whens the new C6R coming out?

[ViperACR]

What are the rules for the Vettes and the Ferraris. I assume that the Vette has a disadvantage put on it due to its bigger engine. Does anyone know what they do to not give the Vette an advantae due to the bigger engine. Is it weight.

Thanks

[JAG]

All GTS cars are 1100KG with the same restrictors that give each car around 650BHP. Theres no artificial manipulation of the rules to beg back certain cars.

Engine size does not determine how powerful an engine is.

The ferraris V12 is more advanced than the Vette engine and so can get more power from a smaller displacement.

[Chevyguy]

Now I guess I have to eat crow, right? I really thought it would be the 550s spending time in the pits getting serviced. I'll be perfectly honest, I really thought the Vettes were doomed before the race started, but I beleived the reliability of te Vettes would show though for them. Seemed it turned out opposite. It's just not the Vette's track.

Doug Fehan made a very intelligent comment before the race. He said the most difficult part of coming to Le Mans this year was to manage the expectations of a Vette threepeat. Everyone at P&M knew this would be a near impossible feat. Second and third is still a badass result, and I'm more than proud of both P&M and Prodrive. Time to renew this battle on Corvette homeground. Two weeks, Road Atlanta, were the Ferrari is also quicker.

[Speeddemon555]

The Corvette team won the technical award for their efforts during the 24 Hour race. Whether they win or not, the Corvette team won a moral victory through adversity.

[ViperACR]

Your wrong Jag. Cubic Inches of an engine does determine how much power an engine makes. I am also sure that there is a weight penalty of some kind for a bigger engine no matter what kind of high technology advantage an engine has. Every other racing body in the world adds some kind of penalty to a car with a bigger engine so why would LeMans not do the same. The Viper GTSr of a couple of years ago had restictors on the car so that the car could not make more than 700HP. How can anyone say that the size of an engine has no factor in power. It is the songle most important feature next to turbocharger which makes a smaller engine act like a bigger engine. That is why they have limits as to the size of the engine a turbocharged car can be.

[Lee Janotta]

The 7.0L 'vette has to run smaller restrictors.

And there's no replacement for displacement.

This engine came out in 1997, it's not that old, but the pushrod design isn't that efficient.

[JAG]

Originally posted by ViperACR
Your wrong Jag. Cubic Inches of an engine does determine how much power an engine makes. I am also sure that there is a weight penalty of some kind for a bigger engine no matter what kind of high technology advantage an engine has. Every other racing body in the world adds some kind of penalty to a car with a bigger engine so why would LeMans not do the same. The Viper GTSr of a couple of years ago had restictors on the car so that the car could not make more than 700HP. How can anyone say that the size of an engine has no factor in power. It is the songle most important feature next to turbocharger which makes a smaller engine act like a bigger engine. That is why they have limits as to the size of the engine a turbocharged car can be.

All GTS cars have the same engine power/restrictor and weight.

If a car cannot get down to the minimum 1100KG weight they are allowed a slightly bigger restrictor in order to have the same power to weight ratio as is the case, at least initially, with the Viper.

Rememeber the Ferrari has 6l V12 and the Lister Storm a 7l Jaguar V12 which are hardly 'small' engines.

With the restrictors only so much air is allowed into the engine to produce around 650BHP. Engine displacement is not the only factor. The regs are written s o that each car has 650bhp and weighs 1100kg. Its upto the manufactues tothen make the best car. If you took the restrictors of the Viper it could produce 750+BHP but then so could the Ferrari and Jaguar.


And as I said the new Viper can race as the race regs allow an engine to be reduced in size just as they can also be increased in size.

The Vipers chassis is just outdated now against the latest GTS cars without any development.

[pitviper]

chevyguy, i applaude your dignity and gracefullness in "defeat". exccellent job by the vettes to come back from adversity. those ferraris did show that they now have the complete package. ALMS this year will be killer. and jag is right, when the Micheletto F575M's start to race alongside the Prodrive F550 GTS's, it will be game on. the Ferrari looks to take the Viper's mantle for now of being the perfect customer choice (except that the Viper was never that expensive! lol).

pit

[ViperACR]

JAG how did the Viper chassis become outdated in one year. They won the last 2 years the FIA GT championship against ferraris, porshes, bmw's and everything else. If I am not mistaken they won 3 out of 4 years. The disadvantage that the Vipers have is that they have no factory support in any way. The Ferraris, and Porsches have all the support they want.
============================================================

Originally posted by JAG
All GTS cars have the same engine power/restrictor and weight.

If a car cannot get down to the minimum 1100KG weight they are allowed a slightly bigger restrictor in order to have the same power to weight ratio as is the case, at least initially, with the Viper.

Rememeber the Ferrari has 6l V12 and the Lister Storm a 7l Jaguar V12 which are hardly 'small' engines.

With the restrictors only so much air is allowed into the engine to produce around 650BHP. Engine displacement is not the only factor. The regs are written s o that each car has 650bhp and weighs 1100kg. Its upto the manufactues tothen make the best car. If you took the restrictors of the Viper it could produce 750+BHP but then so could the Ferrari and Jaguar.


And as I said the new Viper can race as the race regs allow an engine to be reduced in size just as they can also be increased in size.

The Vipers chassis is just outdated now against the latest GTS cars without any development.

[ViperACR]

JAG if you took the restrictors out of all engines and you wanted and you wanted an all out Horsepower war. Do you really think that a smaller engined car can create the same power as a bigger engine. Having the extra valves only goes so far.

[veeten]

well, let's all remember that what Prodrive is to the Ferrari 550, and Pratt & Miller is to the Corvette C5R, ORECA was to the Viper GTS-R; the pro-tempt factory development & racing team. From these is where other teams get their chassis from, along with any development returns for the other teams use.

All it would basically take is for Highland Park to give the go-ahead and release the new chassis with the rules-legal engine package to Mr. de Chaunac, and revive the Viper in a new chapter.

[JAG]

Originally posted by ViperACR
JAG if you took the restrictors out of all engines and you wanted and you wanted an all out Horsepower war. Do you really think that a smaller engined car can create the same power as a bigger engine. Having the extra valves only goes so far.

FIA GT was not a true picture of GTS cars performance as the pacesetter were in ALMS, Vette, Prodrive, S7R.

FIA GT just had Vipers and Lister. The Prodrive cars only came around last year and would have won the championship if they were reliable.

A 3l V10 F1 engine produces 850BHP, more than an 8l V10 Viper. If everythings equal of course the bigger the engine the more power, but if you compare a Judd V10 with a Viper V10 you could get the same power from the Judd with less displacement. Plus the engines half the size/weight at least

[veeten]

a lot of that comes more from engine speeds (RPM) combined with internal weight & engine management systems to maintain the Hp production. Be it natural aspiration or turbocharging, it's the three things mentioned earlier that will denote that engine's output.

[pitviper]

ACR- Vipers won the FIAGT in 97, 98, 99, 01, 02. Lister in 2000.