ACO Press Conference tommorow

[JAG]

It's going to be interesting to say the least.

How are they going to explain away the 908's 3.18, while the quickest petrol P1 is 10 seconds slower, and bang in line, if not slower than their 3.30 race 'target times'.

Are they going to slow all cars, with slight changes in diesel/petrol equivalance, or will we see dramatic changes to diesel car regs?

I have a suspician the manufactuers have already agreed on the outline of future regs, hence Peugeot are happy to ring everything they can out of the 908!

We won't get detailed regs, but it's time to hear much more detail after two years of vague announcements.

According to a guy at Lola on Eurosport, current cars are here to stay.

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by JAG

I have a suspician the manufactuers have already agreed on the outline of future regs, hence Peugeot are happy to ring everything they can out of the 908!

We won't get detailed regs, but it's time to hear much more detail after two years of vague announcements.

Yup Jag I agree with you on this

[Aysedasi]

I don't give a monekys about that. I want to hear how they allowed the 2nd EE in......

[sssssssss]

Interesting

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by JAG

How are they going to explain away the 908's 3.18, while the quickest petrol P1 is 10 seconds slower, and bang in line, if not slower than their 3.30 race 'target times'.

And how do they explain that Audi is almost 6 seconds slower than Peugeot

If you compare P1 petrol with Audi, the difference is not so big. Something you can expect from manufacturer vs privateer

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

And how do they explain that Audi is almost 6 seconds slower than Peugeot

Audi perfected the art of sandbagging...they must have some performance in hand. Recall last year with Peugeot on pole, the Audis were able to turn laps in the race that were as good as their own qualifying times where as Peugeot wasn't able to reply to Audi much less their pole time. What also doesn't make sense is that Audi barely improved upon their '07 times (3:26.9 vs. 3:25.4). So I say they have some time in hand and are keeping it back this year so Peugeot gets too confident...

[gwyllion]

Last year Peugeot had to turn down the turbo boost for the race otherwise the car would not reach the finish. Audi on the other hand could run at full power.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

And how do they explain that Audi is almost 6 seconds slower than Peugeot

If you compare P1 petrol with Audi, the difference is not so big. Something you can expect from manufacturer vs privateer

This is why I believe the ACO are in a difficult position, Audi are very quick, 2-3 seconds up on the best petrol cars, but it won't take much to bring them back to 2006/7 pace, whereas Peugeot are miles ahead using the same technology.

If the ACO really hammered diesel technology (which they won't), Audi could be midfield without a new car!

[porsche45]

When my wife heard the lap time, she's said (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) "They need to be investigated."

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Last year Peugeot had to turn down the turbo boost for the race otherwise the car would not reach the finish. Audi on the other hand could run at full power.

Looks like Audi are on the exact same strategy this year...but I wonder if they've shown their complete hand. We'll know if they dip right into the 3:24s at any time in the race. Last year the fastest Audi's race lap was 99.8% as fast as the fastest Audi's qualifying lap. That's rather impressive...

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by JAG

This is why I believe the ACO are in a difficult position, Audi are very quick, 2-3 seconds up on the best petrol cars, but it won't take much to bring them back to 2006/7 pace, whereas Peugeot are miles ahead using the same technology.

I agree, a tough spot for the ACO. We won't know the full story until the race, but some credit needs to be given to Peugeot... it appears they have done their homework.

[sssssssss]

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

Audi perfected the art of sandbagging...they must have some performance in hand. Recall last year with Peugeot on pole, the Audis were able to turn laps in the race that were as good as their own qualifying times where as Peugeot wasn't able to reply to Audi much less their pole time. What also doesn't make sense is that Audi barely improved upon their '07 times (3:26.9 vs. 3:25.4). So I say they have some time in hand and are keeping it back this year so Peugeot gets too confident...

I'm pleasantly surprised that someone with the experience of Mike still is this confident in Audi's forces. It'd be nice to see a closer fight than what the current 5.7 seconds gap shows. Audi became so legendary, it would be a shame to lose so obviously the first time they really have powerful manufacturer competition.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I don't give a monekys about that. I want to hear how they allowed the 2nd EE in......

Whats your problem with this EE car? I get the impression you prefer 54 cars on the grid instead of 55.

[knighty]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I don't give a monekys about that. I want to hear how they allowed the 2nd EE in......

because the crash test validation of the Luchinni-Judd was out of date and not valid, so the scrutineers showed them the door........personally I think Sergio Rinland from Epsilon-Euskadi knew this all along, and was always ready to pounce with the 2nd entry.

Audi have nothing in hand, Kristensen and McNish have already conceeded thay cannot touch those Peugeot qualifying times........I have a source within Peugeot that has previously told be thay have 745bhp, which sounded far fetched........but a 3,18 qualifying lap confirms this......I dont think Audi have as much power as Peugeot, but certainly the Pug is the better chassis.

yes the ACO have a shed load of egg on their face.......a 10 second gap to the nearest petrol is a discrace, which ther ACO are entirely responsible for with their bent set of rules favoured towards manufacturers.

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

I agree, a tough spot for the ACO.

Nawww Peugeot is French. When teams complain, the ACO inforces the rules to the letter of the regulations. For French teams, it is the 'spirit' of the rules.