Le Mans 2023

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Harold_Crick

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Le Mans 2023 weekend, but the real reason I created this was for all of you to bask in the glory of Garage 56, NASCAR's Le Mans entry. 'Murica is going endurance racing boys & girls, and they are running a 670hp modified Stock Car. The car will be driven by Jenson Button (former F1 World Champion), Jimmie Johnson (7-time NASCAR Champion & 2-time Daytona 500 winner) and Mike Rockenfeller (1-time Le Mans & Daytona 24 Hour winner), and it has been posting competitive times in practice so far.

NASCAR Camaro at Le Mans Looks Huge and Hilarious Next to European Rivals​


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Ferrari have locked out the front row on their return.

Motor racing-Ferrari take first pole in 50 years as Le Mans turns 100​


(Reuters) - Ferrari swept the front row in qualifying for the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race on Thursday, with the number 50 car taking the Italian marque's first pole at the Sarthe circuit in 50 years.

Italian Antonio Fuoco was at the wheel of the 499P car he shares with Spaniard Miguel Molina and Denmark's Nicklas Nielsen as Ferrari ended champions Toyota's run of six successive Le Mans poles.

"It feels amazing, in front of all these people. Ferrari's back after 50 years and we scored a pole position," Fuoco told Eurosport television after the 30 minute hyperpole session.

"It was a really good lap, a really tough qualifying."

The sister number 51 car, shared by Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi, Britain's James Calado and ex-Formula One racer Antonio Giovinazzi, qualified 0.773 slower than the pole lap of three minutes 22.982 seconds.

The number eight hybrid Toyota of defending champions Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland, New Zealander Brendon Hartley and Japan's Ryo Hirakawa qualified third.
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Update on the NASCAR entry, which is running in its own distinct class - They qualified 37th overall, faster than the LMGTE field by nearly 5 seconds (only the Hypercars & Prototypes are faster). Reliability is going to be its biggest test.

Fun fact on the car: They shaved off 500 pounds by simply replacing the NASCAR-spec steel brakes with carbon fibre brakes. Further weight reduction was gained by removing parts of the roll cage that extend in to the ''boot'' area of the car to meet oval-racing safety standards.
 
Harold_Crick said:
Le Mans 2023 weekend, but the real reason I created this was for all of you to bask in the glory of Garage 56, NASCAR's Le Mans entry. 'Murica is going endurance racing boys and they are running a 670hp modified Stock Car. The car will be driven by Jenson Button (form F1 World Champion), Jimmie Johnson (7-time NASCAR Champion & 2-time Daytona 500 winner) and Mike Rockenfeller (1-time Le Mans & Daytona 24 Hour winner), and it has been posting competitive times in practice so far.

NASCAR Camaro at Le Mans Looks Huge and Hilarious Next to European Rivals​


GettyImages-1258436747.jpg
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I'ma watch button hitching a ride when that bad boy beaks down after 90 laps!
 
lkpat said:
I'ma watch button hitching a ride when that bad boy beaks down after 90 laps!
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Yeah, that is going to be the acid test.

A NASCAR engine can last an entire race weekend, this includes the Superspeedway races where they are run at maximum throttle for extended period, but this will be an entirely new challenge.

The car has been a huge hit though with the fans. The sound alone is a spectacle as it completely drowns out the higher-pitched screams of its more civilised European peers.
 
Harold_Crick said:
215. Don't know if they will bounce it to one of the other variety channels during the late/early hours when there is a break in the commentary.
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Ah okay I don't have DSTV
I thought it might be on a SABC channel
 
Yats said:
Same. I'm a big F1 fan but seeing this live would outweigh seeing a F1 race live.
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20 years ago I camped out in my buddy's lounge over the weekend.
4 of us were playing Grand Turismo on endurance mode
We took it in shifts racing for 24hrs non stop while we had the tv next to us watching the le mans for 24hrs

What an awesome weekend it was, the memory will stay with me forever.
 
So, if Button wins this one, Will it count towards the Triple?

I mean, he is the only car in his class.....so?
 
Harold_Crick said:
Yeah, that is going to be the acid test.

A NASCAR engine can last an entire race weekend, this includes the Superspeedway races where they are run at maximum throttle for extended period, but this will be an entirely new challenge.

The car has been a huge hit though with the fans. The sound alone is a spectacle as it completely drowns out the higher-pitched screams of its more civilised European peers.
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They have apparently done a 24 hour test session already and the engine survived. I don't there has ben this much interest in a garage 56 entry since the Deltawing project. At least this one is quite big so the Toyotas won't crash into it like they did with the Deltawing!
 
Would like to see how the new safety car rules will affect the race. They no longer have 3 SCs picking up the pack dependent on their track position. There is now a single one and lapped cars are allowed to get 1 lap back. Its similar to what is being done at IMSA and Toyota are complaining about this and saying they are "americanising" the race.

I kinda agree as a late SC (say within the last hour) may result in a sprint race at the end and the other 22-23 hours may essentially count for nothing. It will be good for the fans but would not necessarily be good for the teams who lose out. You pretty much just need to keep within 1 lap of the leader and hope for a late SC. This would affect Toyota most so far since they are probably the most at risk if this happens. They are also a little on the backfoot since they have been BOP'd quite severely compared to the other LMH cars. But they won all previous WEC races so far and have not started on pole as yet (iirc)
 
marbro said:
So, if Button wins this one, Will it count towards the Triple?

I mean, he is the only car in his class.....so?
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Unfortunately, no. You have to claim overall victory, class wins are not considered for the Triple Crown.
 
Harold_Crick said:
Yeah, that is going to be the acid test.

A NASCAR engine can last an entire race weekend, this includes the Superspeedway races where they are run at maximum throttle for extended period, but this will be an entirely new challenge.

The car has been a huge hit though with the fans. The sound alone is a spectacle as it completely drowns out the higher-pitched screams of its more civilised European peers.
Click to expand...
How does it compare to the Ferraris tho... Going to watch testing and quali
 
lkpat said:
How does it compare to the Ferraris tho... Going to watch testing and quali
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So, it isn't directly competing against any specific car as it is running under its own rules - Garage 56 at Le Mans is reserved for once-off unique projects.

For reference though, the Ferrari Hypercars are in a completely different universe and were 25 seconds faster in quali, with the GTE Ferraris about 7 seconds slower.

EDIT: Practice and quali are finished. Grid has been set.
 
Harold_Crick said:
So, it isn't directly competing against any specific car as it is running under its own rules - Garage 56 at Le Mans is reserved for once-off unique projects.

For reference though, the Ferrari Hypercars are in a completely different universe and were 25 seconds faster in quali, with the GTE Ferraris about 7 seconds slower.

EDIT: Practice and quali are finished. Grid has been set.
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I meant the sound...
 
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