Wayne Taylor Racing Not Doing Le Mans

Maybe not their decision? Call made by sponsors?

 

when the ALMS/GA merger first happened, the ACO said they'd "consider" allowing a DP at LeMans.

then the reality of a DP actually winning its class at LeMans set in, and they rescinded that decision.

WTR was given an invite, and originally it was for a DP, but now they'd have to use a P2, which means buying or leasing a car and a whole ****load of spares for one race...not logistically or financially possible (that would probably have been a $5mm+ program for one race).

 

I agree; but that was the nature of the "blue skies and unicorns" thinking when the merger happened.

 

the plan was to have a DP run in P2. however, in the US (IMSA), P2 cars are slowed down to match the DP speed (even after massive concessions in power and aero); it's unclear what more a DP would need to be up to WEC P2 times.

 

IMHO this will become a non event in 2017 when P1/P2/DP tubs will be the same dimensionally and be able to fit various engines and body work. IMHO the reason DP's can't run at Le Mans until then is tube frame safety for P class cars. Under the new regulations I believe this will become a non issue.

IMHO DTM and NASCAR will use the same platform one day as well and MB, BMW, and Audi will race in NASCAR and Ford, GM and others will race in DTM.

IMHO as the new Ford GT and SCG 003 will show the fastest GT cars will run TTV6's and like the Ford GT, style wise, follow the path we are traveling, GT as LMP.

It now make no sense for Wayne to spend the money to race a totally different car than his DP (a P2) for one race but IMHO in 2017 that will no longer be an issue.

As I said elsewhere about the new Ford GT:

"I like it.

This car was designed to bring Ford back to Le Mans (In GT not P).

They will have to sell 1000 street examples.

I agree with their choice of TT V6 as in endurance racing it can make maximum HP allowed with lower weight and better fuel consumption which is Key these days as it allows fewer pit stops and in some races total fuel is regulated. These engines can also be tuned to make huge torque which is what you need to overcome drag which is what downforce producing shapes also create. The problem all car companies have when designing cars that will race in GT is that, unlike us they have to fit a cockpit that is wide enough to fit two large people. This width is more than the minimum required by the GT rules and it this case will present more frontal area than for example our car and also effect carving away the front fenders to channel air to the rear wing. LMP's are shaped the way they are for a reason. To move air around the cockpit, not over it to the rear wing. Our car for example is much closer to LMP1 so much so that we can make enough downforce without having to raise the rear wing to it maximum allowed height thus reducing drag and increasing VMAX with regulated HP. The key is aerodynamic efficiency ratio, how much total (downforce less lift) downforce can you make for similar unit of drag. Our design will be more efficient than this one for that but is more extreme looking. This new Fort GT should work very well against Ferrari's 458 GT. It's carbon center section is better than Ferrari's alum chassis, similar to McLaren's, but as both have alum rather than CF subframes the base car will be heavier than our's which is an issue as even with required minimum weight using ballast which you can put very low down in the center of the car vs heavier front and rear subframes to reduce CG and polar mass for better handling. Our's does cost a bit more than theirs will...

For comparison. "
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yep, DPs (and most if not all current P2s) will be obsolete in 2017.

I don't see NASCAR ever sharing a platform with DTM, or anyone else for that matter. *maybe* Australian Super V8, but only if NASCAR buys them first

 

We shall see...

 

unless you know something I don't....

I don't think it will ever happen, for a few reasons:

-NASCAR's long standing suspicion of technology/innovation
-NASCAR likes to be the 900 pound gorilla, I don't see them having "design by committee" meetings with unrelated parties.
-completely different uses for the cars (road racing vs all manner of ovals) ever wonder why F1 and Indy don't use the same specs? same reasons, but they're bigger differences here.
-it would require total rethinking of all NASCAR classes...Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, maybe even K&N (one of the primary economies of scale for NASCAR teams is the similarity of construction amongst the cars in different classes)
-competing manufacturer goals and agendas-Mercedes and Nissan go racing for remarkably different reasons than Ford and Chevy.
-safety-NASCAR's current cars are probably the safest race cars ever built; it's remarkable what they can withstand. to be honest I'm not sure DTM is on that level, needs to be, or is willing to build to such an insane standard. again, look at F1 vs Indy safety requirements.
-NASCAR, under the IMSA banner, was looking at homologating DTM specs for a US series (basically as a support series for IMSA) and talks fell apart.

 

DTM builds to a VERY Safe/Strong Standard.

We shall see...

 

More than that I just don't see them giving up control (over anything really). I agree that unless they buy DTM, I just can't see why they would want to share a platform.

 

agree, that wasn't a knock on DTM, but they aren't build to NASCAR standards-which are different, and (in most people's definitions) better.

yeah, I just don't see what's in it for NASCAR. if Nissan/Mercedes/Audi/BMW or whoever wanted to be there, NASCAR would make it happen (witness Toyota coming into the sport); they're not going to sit around and wait for a common formula to come to them.

 

Unless...

To save money and enable MB/Audi and BMW to run in the US and Ford and others to run in Europe.


As Karl Marx said:

"In the end there will be one company and then the government will take it over."

 

I cannot really understand why a team like Wayne Taylor that obtain an entry at Le Mans wasn't able to make use of it.

There is no need to buy a car and plenty of spares just for one race, that's true, but there are several LMP2 teams that would like to race in the Sarthe and can't get an entry.

Wayne Taylor has one, and nothing could stop him from arranging a deal with one of those teams, and borrow/rent/lease a car just for one race under the WTR banner.
Both sides would have benefited, I think.