Now cars must complete the final lap of the race in less than 6 minutes to qualify. If the Toyota had stopped before the finish line, maybe they could have qualified with a lap down the winner.
What's ignorant about it? He said anyone with enough money and little talent can win. AF Corse is extremely talented and well funded yet they didn't even finish because it takes more than money and a little talent to finish. It takes a lot of talent and a very reliable and well engineered car.
I know battery/electrical issues took #51 out but what put #71 out? Amazing that both cars DNF'd. BHW
James Calado damaged his AF Corse Ferrari's sump on a curb, delaying that #51 488 GTE significantly before it eventually retired with overheating issues. And according to a 71 driver's twitter: ""Guys we are out �� a rim exploded while davide was driving. Thanks to everyone for there support. We will fight on at the next race." I don't really know what an exploding rim means.
#82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE: Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander, Matteo Malucelli #68 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, Sébastien Bourdais #69 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook, Scott Dixon Night race action #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE: Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander, Matteo Malucelli By: Charles Bradley, Editor in Chief Yesterday at 9:26pm Both the winning and runner-up cars in the GTE Pro division of the 24 Hours of Le Mans were both penalised post-race, after the Chip Ganassi Team USA and Risi Competizione teams protested each other. The winning #68 Ford GT – driven by Dirk Muller, Joey Hand and Sebastien Bourdais – was given a 50s penalty after Risi alleged it had been speeding in a slow zone. Additionally, stewards also found that the #68’s wheel speed sensors were not working properly – and a further 20s penalty was added. This would have handed the victory for the #82 Ferrari, driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander and Mateo Malucelli. Ganassi, meantime, had protested the Ferrari as one of its leader light panels was not working. The car had been shown a black and orange warning flag in the closing stages of the race to have this rectified, but failed to pit as instructed. Stewards also gave this car a 20s penalty *– and a EUR5,000 fine. The re-issued final result means that the #68 Ford GT wins the class by 10.2s from the #82 Ferrari. The #69 Ford, which finished third, closes to just 4.6s behind the #82 Ferrari. The top three cars were covered by 15s after 24 hours of racing. The decision upholds Ford’s class victory 50 years on from its first Le Mans win, when it beat Ferrari for overall honours in 1966.
My 2 cents-- speeding through a slow zone is a real offense.. The position lights not working on the side of the car in the day light and the last 5 minutes of the race. It's not a big deal..
Other cars had to come in to serve penalties/fix their position lights during the race, if I'm not mistaken. You can't make other cars do it at 12h and then say it's not a big deal at 23h. It's not like other cars were driving around with no lights at all. If anything they're just for the TV and audience. If you were to actually use scientific or rational methods for determining penalties, you'd most likely find that many are not proportional or a big deal. Did Ford gain a legitimate 50s for speeding through a slow zone? Probably not. Are leader lights relevant at all? Probably not, but they make people fix them. That said, they are penalties. It is what it is.
Agreed. Was really excited for this project and didn't let colleague's negative comments as far back as Daytona spoil it for me but the closer we got to LM the less enthusiasm I felt. Now what I feel is a little bit like disgust. Now I'm conflicted: I want to like the car but the politics and the tainted victory make me want to forget the whole thing. Thanks Ford. Thanks ACO. Maybe I'll go buy a Corvette to make me feel better.
depends on whether or not a) the ACO does the right thing regarding BoP and then b) Ford comes back next year and wins again in a fair fight.
Thanks for this. On the WEC/ACO broadcast, the first time #51 came into the pits and was wheeled into the garage, they reported a battery issue. A wheel failure is not unheard of, rare, but they do happen especially if they've been banging over the kerbs. BHW
You guys make little sense. The cars are within spitting distance of each other based on the lap times and results. The race is highly dynamic and long. BoP didn't win or lose the race. You could win the race just by having one less problem. If you want to see races where the performance is guaranteed to be almost identical, watch single-make series. The beauty of Lemans is that it's a test of endurance. Fastest car in the world doesn't mean anything if it breaks at 23:55 or the driver screws up. The race is dynamic enough that BoP isn't going to decide who wins and loses after 24 hours. People say the BoP was unfairly in favor of Ford and Ferrari yet the AMs beat both AF Corse cars in the end because they actually finished. Having a reliable car in Lemans can be more important than even being a little bit faster. You can lose entire laps just by breaking something.
then why have BoP? hell, why have classes at all? this is the lap chart by driver for GTE-Pro. Top 14 are all Ford or Ferrari drivers. you can't stay there wasn't an imbalance in BoP. yeah, sure, you have to finish, but a clear speed differential is a huge advantage over 375+ laps. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Such is life if you're going to have a race with massively different designs. You'll never be able to balance performance such that it's completely fair. Why bother having BoP? Well, it's the only solution if you want to run vastly different cars against each other. You'd have to do an insane amount of independent testing to verify they are level in all respects on all tracks, and at that point, why even bother in the first place? It is what it is,
God forbid cars win and lose on their own merit. We can't have someone build a better car than others, that may hurt someone's delicate little feelings. Mark
They (aco/wec) should not only test the GTE cars at Ladoux, but test at Monza and Spa as well. Why BoP GTE and not the LMP1? How many Ford GTs have been sold already to the public?
Audi won how many Le Mans where they were basically the only entrants, fair maybe, exciting yeah, nah. You need vibrant racing throughout the classes and this years event had that with most classes seperated by seconds throughout the race.
Wow the rose colored glasses are pretty thick! A test of endurance? Hardly. A test of who brings in the more cash is more like it. So where are the street legal Ford GT's that are supposed to be there to qualify for this class? Oh, Ford hasn't picked the owners yet. Ooops. Well, let them race anyway. They promise to make the cars after all. The FIA changes the rules all the time. They even controlled the boost and weights differently between the cars to try to "adjust" them. So, Ford sand bags before the changes to avoid even more reduction in power. There were agendas going on here beyond the actual race. Its all about the money, not the actual times. Ford was not racing to win. They were racing for MONEY.
Now now now....didn't you get the memo on the new world order that requires that we all play fair and everyone gets a "participation" trophy??? i say.....screw the rule book and open the rules. Spend as much as you can afford and innovate to your hearts content. Somewhere in the universe...we have that kind of society.
This. If a Ferrari is faster than a Porsche or Aston Martin, well, then Porsche or Aston Martin needs to build a faster car. All this adding ballast and other associated BS after the fact is just silly. It's like making the Patriots wear ankle weights when they play the Browns and hoping for a "better" game. Make the rules for each class, make them simple, enforceable, and equal across the board, and may the best car win.
You don't think the silly rules heavily favoring diesels were to blame at all?? Endurance racing, the only sport in the world where winning is frowned upon; the only sport in the world where you can show up with a total loser of a car, and everyone else is punished. I hate seeing the better teams penalized for building a better car....i.e. doing exactly what they're supposed to do. Mark
After 24 Hours of racing nobody needs to do any explaining to ANYONE. Congratulations to all of the teams who triumphed after this years battle at La Sarthe.
