BMW rumour for Le Mans 2017

[Acid09]

No, that won't be BMW.

A big company like BMW surely has a longer process to make such fundamental decisions.

It's either somebody else, or no one. Remember last year, the rumors of the big LMP1 reveal on race day that possibly was supposed to be Ferrari and then turned out to be..nothing?

People too easily get excited about stuff this time of year...

If BMW would announce such a project they would probably do it in Munich too. I remember when they gave DTM the go ahead it was a big thing with the board members present and stuff.

[GriffM3]

I am sure you are right Acid but one can dream?

[deggis]

Originally Posted by Acid09

It's either somebody else, or no one. Remember last year, the rumors of the big LMP1 reveal on race day that possibly was supposed to be Ferrari and then turned out to be..nothing?

Yes, there were supposed to be announcements and press events, but if invitations are now being handed over isn't that a bit more substantial?

Altough, if there is an invitation shouldn't it also say who is keeping the event?

Learnings from past two announcents: either completely out of the blue (Porsche) or event known and made official well in advance (Nissan).

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by GriffM3

I am sure you are right Acid but one can dream?

Sure, it would be great. But the problem with dreams is that you'll wake up at one point

I'd love to see it happen but BMW really isn't a company to make rash decisions with respect to their racing.

It has been only a few weeks since they were first rumored to possibly evaluate the option and now they're already announcing what would be their biggest racing programme since entering F1 in 1999?

Does not feel like their usual style of doing things. Also, when was the last time a manufacturer actually launched a LMP works effort on location at Le Mans?

I can't remember anything like that in the past 15 years. Manufacturers usually make that part of a corporate event they can fully control. Ford at least has their presence there to work from but BMW does have nothing going on in Le Mans this year, no presence whatsoever.

Hard to imagine them announcing such a fundamental program with just a press conference and no way to do further marketing on the spot.

It's probably a privateer LMP1 project looking for some press...and good for them too

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by deggis

Yes, there were supposed to be announcements and press events, but if invitations are now being handed over isn't that a bit more substantial?

Weren't invitations sent out last year as well? I remember something like that coming from John Days, that there was even a date and time set for a presser.

And then nothing happened, for some reason.

[deggis]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Weren't invitations sent out last year as well? I remember something like that coming from John Days, that there was even a date and time set for a presser.

And then nothing happened, for some reason.

I had a bunch of old links saved, none mention press invitations.

This is the original story: http://sportscar365.com/lemans/leman...t-for-le-mans/

And I guess this was Dagys' "explanation" in the end: http://sportscar365.com/lemans/leman...iday-notebook/

***While a senior-level Ferrari source had confirmed an announcement from the Italian manufacturer was due to take place at Le Mans this weekend, it’s understood those plans have been delayed. The ACO has stated no LMP1 manufacturer announcement is scheduled, while the organizers are in talks with two to three candidates for a possible Garage 56 entry in 2015. Ferrari, meanwhile, has yet to formally comment on its widely believed LMP1 factory program.

[Acid09]

Hm, okay. That is a bit thin indeed..

Still, the whole timeline makes no sense for me w.r.t. BMW. On the other hand, if they are really eying 2017, they would need to get going quickly. Because 1 1/5 years is little time to develop a competitive LMP1 car.

I still don't buy it, in all likelyhood it will be Glickenhaus. The whole setup (announcing a Le Mans with no visible presence beforehand (unlike Ford now)) just screams small-time to me. Manufacturers act differently.

[TF110]

Maybe its a program thats been in the works and we havent heard about it? Id like for this to be true, and it being bmw, but I expect nothing.

[GT3.14]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Still, the whole timeline makes no sense for me w.r.t. BMW.

When does the timeline begin? This could have been on the table for years for all we know. Did we foresee the Porsche P1 announcement? The 2014 debut of the car was announced in a YouTube video in 2011 and as I recall nobody really saw it coming.

Not saying you are wrong, it would indeed be to good to be true. I just don't see BMW sending brass out to WEC events early on a timeline rather than after a period of watching from afar.

[Acid09]

By timeline I mean that Jens Marquardt publicly said the current LMP1 regs really don't do it for them just recently.

I doubt this would have been said this way if they had plans to announce a program just weeks later.

I'm not sure about Porsche but I remember there were rumors for quite a while, with the (then-new) CEO starting to talk about how important Le Mans is for Porsche etc.

[GriffM3]

Maybe since Jens made the public statement he has gotten an inside look at the new regulations and he and the BMW brass are now satisfied with the direction the ACO intends to take the LMP class in 2017 to suit what they want to accomplish...anything is possible. We will see soon enough.

[deggis]

Originally Posted by Acid09

I'm not sure about Porsche but I remember there were rumors for quite a while, with the (then-new) CEO starting to talk about how important Le Mans is for Porsche etc.

I don't remember. Maybe it was something that was bound to happen at some point, but I really don't remember there being any kind of expectation of it happening right back then. I do remember being very surprised and in disbelief after seeing the announcement video (this, of course that was released together with the official announcement in a press release form, but I saw the video first).

[deggis]

Originally Posted by GriffM3

Maybe since Jens made the public statement he has gotten an inside look at the new regulations and he and the BMW brass are now satisfied with the direction the ACO intends to take the LMP class in 2017 to suit what they want to accomplish...anything is possible. We will see soon enough.

Imho more likely scenario would be that it has been greenlighted earlier (weeks/months ago) and Jens' comments were just blah blah because in this case he obviously wouldn't be revealing the truth.

[Artur]

Originally Posted by GriffM3

I has to be Ford for GTE and BMW for LMP1...BMW is getting crushed by Audi and Mercedes right now in top level racing and has to do something to combat that. They do not want to spend the $$ in F1 again so they can take on Audi and Porsche for supremacy in P1...God I hope this come true they need a top level race program badly!

BMW is not getting crushed because they're not even competing in the series you have in mind. On the series that they all race together(DTM, N24), BMW is the best(champion on DTM and fastest car on N24)

BMW had good increase in profit last year(steady increase since 2011, 2014=5,798,000 2013=5,303,000 2012=5,085,000 2011=4,881,000. These numbers are in thousands of Euros, so it means 5,8 billions in 2014), so Mercedes glory run on F1 beating wees like Fiat and Renault(both not even in top 10 car makers) is nothing to worry

BMW profits on the region of 6 billion Euros while the likes of Fiat/Chrysler are a far cry from that:

the automaker reporting a profit of 632 million euros (about $718 million) in 2014, significantly down from 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in 2013

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ings/22456117/

I think it's Mercedes that has to rethink it's F1 program as it's not helping much in their finance even with this strike of good results, which, btw, are very uncharacteristic of them
http://www.daimler.com/investor-rela...of-income-loss
Their net income was 8,7 billlion in 2013 and decreased to 7,2 in 2014. With that all said, I think it will be either nothing(most likely) or Glickenhaus

[zere]

Hang on there, current 2015 DTM standings are: 1. Audi 265 points, 2. Mercedes 91 points, 3. BMW 48 points. And you know the N24 is currently very much in the Z4's favor because of the Nordschleife's enforced speed limits.

But, yeah, this appears to be more a privateer than of a manufacturer like BMW.

[Artur]

BMW didn't start very good this year but Wittman is the reigning champion and Farfus was runner's up, the year before. Mercedes has been easily the worst team of the past few DTM seasons

On topic, when will we know who are the manufacturers coming in?

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Artur

On topic, when will we know who are the manufacturers coming in?

Not sure how you'd begin to answer this. We won't know until we're told.

All announcements are different. Some seemingly come out of the blue like Porsche. Others are long-rumoured open secrets like this upcoming Ford GTE. Some manufacturers like Nissan are open about their intentions. Others will deny everything until the moment they announce.

[deggis]

Marquardt repeats his comments:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/119395

[Acid09]

That's a reality check for sure. Whoever is going to announce what on Friday, it surely won't be BMW.

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by deggis

Ben Constanduros
‏@BenConsty
Oh geez! Just been informed that there will press invitations for a new GTE AND LMP1 projects at Le Mans - can guess one, but TWO!

https://twitter.com/BenConsty/status/606799290527313922

Originally Posted by Acid09

That's a reality check for sure. Whoever is going to announce what on Friday, it surely won't be BMW.

Makes you wonder if there actually is a second announcement on Friday - have I missed something or has this only come from the one source so far?

[deggis]

The LMP1 announcement does not have to be a manufacturer.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by TheNewBob

Makes you wonder if there actually is a second announcement on Friday - have I missed something or has this only come from the one source so far?

Two sources, Sam Collins confirmed that there will be a LMP1-related announcement/press conference.

It's most likely Glickenhaus really.

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Two sources, Sam Collins confirmed that there will be a LMP1-related announcement/press conference.

It's most likely Glickenhaus really.

Thank you - I missed Sam Collins' confirmation. I agree on Glickenhaus, or perhaps a current P2 team/manufacturer stepping up to P1. Did Oak ever completely stop work on their P1 car...?

[GriffM3]

This is more than likely not an announcement from BMW but I still feel as though eventually BMW will join the P1 ranks to promote its 'I' technology.

[pablocomics]

Apine and Ford have both a website with a countdown

There are a double presentation, GTE and LMP1 this friday


Piece of cake