This weekend, the legendary race is back and look at all the contestants!

LMP1
In the build-up to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the big question was how well will Audi’s new diesel engined R10 fare against the competition.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/3051.jpg
The car’s debut victory earlier this year in the Sebring 12 Hours showed (to few people’s surprise) that there was plenty of pace in the oil burner, although there were still some bugs that needed ironing out. Thousands of testing miles later, Audi (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=feature_item.php&fid=10#) (together with Joest) arrived at Le Mans as a works team for the first time since completing a hattrick of wins in 2002. A quick look at Audi’s huge hospitality and paddock facilities shows that the German manufacturer takes the race more serious than ever. The very quiet R10 was immediately quick, although it is visibly a lot more difficult to drive than the R8, which looked like it was on rails in its heyday. At the end of the eight hour test, Audi was not quick enough to be at the top of the leaderbord. This place was reserved for Franck Montagny in his Pescarolo; two seconds ahead of the quickest Audi.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/3066.jpg
The more economical diesel engine (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=feature_item.php&fid=10#) could give Audi an edge over petrol V10 of the Pescarolos. However when driven at the limit, the consumption of a diesel engine goes up rapidly, so we might see one or both Pescarolos going all out early on in the race. A troublefree run could give four time winner Henry Pescarolo his first win as an entrant. Even more historical and also more likely will be the first win for a diesel engined car (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=feature_item.php&fid=10#). Hopefully the two top running teams will be as evenly matched as last year, which could keep things exciting at the top of the field the entire 24 hours.

Yes, there are eight other cars (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=feature_item.php&fid=10#) in this, the fastest of the four classes, but they are not quite able to match the top four for pace. Reliability is a big factor as well, so any problems in the German and/or French camp could see one of the other eight clinch at least a podium position.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/3041.jpg
Most likely to do so will be the Swiss Spirit Courage LC70, which should very good form in the recent Spa 1000 km with a pole position and a second place finish. The all new LC70 is getting quicker with every outing, but the two Mugen engined Works cars don’t have the best reliability record and are unlikely to finish. For that reason Jan Lammers’ Racing for Holland made a last minute switch from Mugen to Judd and should also be able to go for a podium. Harder to predict is the result for the related Creation and Zytek hybrids. The Creation team saw ‘Quick’ Nic Minassian move to Pescarolo to replace the injured Jean Christophe Bouillon. He will be replaced by Creation regular Jamie-Campbell Walter, who should be almost as quick. His two team mates are not, but if they can keep the car out of trouble for a change, the ‘CA06/H’ could very be still around on Sunday at 5 pm. Zytek had a relatively trouble free run at its debut in the Spa 1000 km, but it is hard to say if the car will be able to endure the 24 hours of abuse.

LMP2
The story thus far in LMP2 this season is that of the stunningly quick Radical SR9.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/2961.jpg
They showed good pace again in the test day and the Rollcentre team promised even quicker times in qualifying. What is worrying though is that a lot of time was lost fixing problems and the 24 Hours of Le Mans is not the type of event to achieve a racing car’s maiden finish. Radical and Rollcentre’s valiant efforts made them a lot of fans (us included) hoping they will complete the 24 hours, and if they do, a class win is a distinct possibility. Faster still at the test day was the RML MG Lola, which won this class last year despite spending well over three hours in the pits. The team did not have the best of luck in the season’s first race, but several long distance runs in testing have shown that reliability is not an issue this year. We tip the striking MG Lola for a back to back win.

The Spa winning Chamberlain Synergy Lola had a very bad test day, ending early with a heavy crash in the ‘Tetre Rouge Esses’. Driver Miguel Burgueno was able to walk away unharmed, but he had not completed the mandatory ten laps on the track to qualify for the race. His place will be taken by Warren Hughes.

GT1
It’s 2005 all over again with Corvette Racing and Aston Martin Racing dabbling for class honours. With the exception of the 2005 Sebring 12 Hours, the American team has won at every occasion.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/3001.jpg
The immaculately prepared yellow Corvettes are real endurance racers that might not be the quickest, but are quick enough to pick up to pieces when the competition breaks down. Despite, sporting the numbers 007 and 009 (the first three digit numbers in Le Mans history) there is not much covert about the Aston Martin’s goals this year. As expected, the Aston Martins dominated the test day, lapping considerably faster than last year, but the Corvettes were not far behind. With twelve highly experienced and skilled drivers, there is not much that will separate the four cars in the race and if the DBR9s can match the C6.Rs’ reliability, this one could also go down well into Sunday afternoon.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/3013.jpg
Outsiders in this class is ACEMCO Motorsport Saleen, which is of a similar specification to the S7Rs that recently took convincing wins in the Spa 1000 km and the Brno round of the FIA GT championship. Sadly the steering rack was damaged in transport, which saw the car go straight into the gravel pit after start finish early on in the test session.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/3019.jpg
Remarkably the driver managed to keep the car out of any serious problems, but the repairs to the rack lasted most of the morning. At the end of the day, the laptimes gradually went down, but we expect there is quite a bit more in the car, which should also be very reliable. A debutant at Le Mans is the Japanese Murcielago.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/2997.jpg
The recent outings of similar cars in the Le Mans Series and FIA GT have not been very convincing, but we were told this is a brand new car, so the problems of old might have been cured. It is not likely to be a top contender, but the howling V12 produces the nicest sounds of all fifty cars entered.

GT2
Welcome to Porsche territory. With nine examples present, there are twice as many 911s in this class than the competition combined.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/2934.jpg
Together with the Porsche’s reliability, this could make the difference once more for the German legend. In the last season and a half cracks have appeared in the old 911’s stronghold; the Panoz Esperante and the new F430 GTC have beaten the Porsches at more than one occasion. Sadly the Icer Brakes F430 was withdrawn a few days before the test as a result of the damage caused by the first lap mayhem at Spa.

This leaves just the Scuderia Ecosse example to defend the Italian manufacturer’s honours and it did so in style with a fastest lap time in the test. The two Panoz Esperantes suffered from uncharacteristic engine problems and were not able to show their full potential just yet. Lighter, more powerful and more aerodynamic thanks to the addition of roofs, the two Spykers are the class’ dark horses.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/gallery/lmtest06/2958.jpg
Neither car was really pushed as the team concentrated on the all important race pace. All six drivers are quick and experienced, which might give the Dutch team an edge over the competition. A Porsche win is still likely, but not as much as in years past.

SOURCE: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=feature_item.php&fid=10

Go Audi's R10!!!!:)
Also, go Aston Martin, Chevrolet and Lamborghini.:):)
R10 has got a good chance, unless the engine has a problem or something, which I hope it doesn't.

I'm really excited to see some tight competition and closes finishes

What channel is it televised on?

Here's a TV program. It's quite useless outside USA, I think.
http://www.americanlemans.com/News/Article.aspx?ID=2118

The Aston Martin fish are faster than the Corvettes this year, but one of the Russian Aston Martins retired from the test session with gearbox problems, so the Corvettes might be able to take the third consecutive victory. Go Corvette!
As for the LMP1 class, it will just be between the two Audis. Pescarolo has admitted that Montagny was driving on qualifying setup when he beat the R10 in the test session.

Yeah they broadcast the entire race over here on French TV... Dunno if i'll be staying up all night to watch it though lol.

I defernetly support Audi though :) ... since, well, always

Anyone know any British channels it's on?

I can't find any schedule for British channels. I think you can pay 9,90€ and watch/listen to the whole race on www.LeMans.org. But I don't wanna do it because I have a weird feeling that if I do that, I'm in some way supporting ACO.

Anyone know any British channels it's on?

Probably motorstv (channel 413 on sky).

So, is anybody here going?

The Audi's will probably win..and the Corvette's in their group..

Tom, what's ACO?

Automobile Club de l'Ouest. It's the organizer of the 24 Hours Le Mans. They abuse their powers. They always make new regulations favouring the French teams, such as Pescarolo.
In 2002 they even gave Tom kristensen a stop-and-go penalty because Denmark knocked France out of the Fifa World Cup. Now that's a great sense of humour. They also put a stop to the Porsche 917's success in the 70's by changing the regulations. Soon or later they will probably ban diesel engines or something crazy to get rid of the R10.

Automobile Club de l'Ouest. It's the organizer of the 24 Hours Le Mans. They abuse their powers. They always make new regulations favouring the French teams, such as Pescarolo.
In 2002 they even gave Tom kristensen a stop-and-go penalty because Denmark knocked France out of the Fifa World Cup. Now that's a great sense of humour. They also put a stop to the Porsche 917's success in the 70's by changing the regulations. Soon or later they will probably ban diesel engines or something crazy to get rid of the R10.

eh, i hate people who abuse their powers. seriously, there are so many places everywhere where people in power don't do their job correctly

i love the r10 moslty due to the styling and balls audi had to do it (cause i dont know much about le mans racing) also im hoping for a victory for the racing s7tt

Oooh, I hate the ACO now!
What a spiteful bunch of sh*ts.

Really good thread nist, lots of detail and since I didn't know much about Le Mans before I feel a lot more informed, I'll try and catch some of it this year although I'll be in France for half of it.

edit- Probably motorstv (channel 413 on sky).

dam, maybe ITV will show highlights.

Oooh, I hate the ACO now!
What a spiteful bunch of sh*ts.Yeah, lol. But they stepped in their own bullshit with the latest 2005 regulations. Pescarolo had just built a new car for Le Mans 2005, so ACO wanted everybody else to built a new car for Le Mans 2005, but Audi couldn't make it on the given time, so their old R8 had to drive with restricted engine power, lower amouts of downforce and 175 lbs extra weight, which favoured the Pescarolo's yet again. Hell, they were nearly 4 seconds faster per lap.
Audi would probably still have been using the R8 today if ACO hadn't tried to make it weak with the 2005 regulations. Then other LMP1 cars like the Pescarolos would have had a chance against Audi this year.

yeah but the ACO also pay for and sponsor a lot of it and look after a massive grand stand to house spectators. spectators = money..not just for them but vendors etc

Yeah, ACO are not that bad. They do, after all, organize the whole thing. And the 2005 regulations did make sense, both excitement-wise and safety-wise. But everything always fit the French top teams perfectly, and their ways of punishing those who don't live up their standards are ridiculous. Audi should have built a brand new car within a few months if they would avoid the restrictions in 2005, while Pescarolo already had finished theirs a year ahead.

yey corvettes!

Here's a TV program. It's quite useless outside USA, I think.
LOL !
I think R10 and C6 would win this race.

Good post, nist7.

ACO has a very strict limit on exhaust smoke that would usually indicate oil loss on a gas motor. Remember that a diesel throttles with fuel. There is no lean until it dies; there is no rich until it smokes. Loss of perfect mixture control on one or more cylinders could result in a black flag.

Krohn-Barber ran 2 Lambos at Rd ATL in April of '05 in GT1. Even Vipers slaughtered them.

gO!!! Spyker go!!! the coolest car in the race is the Spyker and DBR9!

I'm going for Audi and Saleen. Audi because I like them and Saleen because I think they have an Aussie driver.

4 days to go...according to Tom K.

4 days to go...according to Tom K.Yeah, four days and six minutes. Meaning that it will say "0" on Friday afternoon, 23 hours before the race. lol, I didn't thought of that.

I hope they show highlights of it on ITV:)

They are gonna drive the first qualifying session today from 7-9:00 PM and another one from 10:00 PM to midnight. The second one will be driven tomorrow on the same times as today.

After two sweltering days in the leafy square "Quinconce des Jacobins" in the city for technical inspection, today sees the first timed session on the legendary circuit of the 24 hours of Le Mans.

Weather is on everyone's mind. Will it be hot, as it has been for the last few days, or will it cool down and rain, as has happened already today?

Should the drivers try to put down a fast time this evening or wait until tomorrow? Weather will be a factor. If it's dry, expect some flyers today, just to put something in the bank.

Before the end of the night session tomorrow, all Le Mans first-timers must have put in a minimum of three laps in the dark.

But there is work to do on the cars, as well. Today and tomorrow, many questions must be answered. Now begins the fun...

Bah. If it starts raining during the qualifying, It will be difficult for the R10's to set a good time because of the huge torque.
Well, what the hell. I'll be posting the results if ACO have any plans on publishing them.

I'm gonna watch it...*does a small jig*

I'm gonna watch it...*does a small jig*

Lucky:)
Do you get full coverage?

Nope, but I couldn't watch the whole thing.

The first two qualifying sessions are over. It started to rain on the first laps and didn't really stop again, so most teams were using full wet tires rather than intermediate compounds.

The first session ended with red flag because a Lola spun off in Terte Rouge. In second session the #7 Audi R10 spun off around the same place.

The Pescarolos set the two fastest times followed by the Audis.
Pescarolo #16 - 4:13.832
Pescarolo #17 - 4:14.447
Audi #7 - 4:17.189
Audi #8 - 4:17.676

The Audi's are doing pretty bad in rain because of the huge torque and an, apparently, lack of traction control. And rain is forecast for Sunday - According to Emmanuel Collard. Audis own weather men say it will be sunny but not as hot as the other days.
It's getting exciting. Audi vs Pescarolo - Now also in weather forecasting!

I can't wait, oh crap! I just forgot! I'm going to be out of town this weekend! S**T!

I'll try and watch the highlights at the end.
I'd never be able to watch the whole thing.

The final qualifying session just ended. It wasn't raining today so the cars was about 40 seconds faster. Dindo Capello set pole position in Audi #7 with a time of 3:30.466. Man, this guy can drive! It's probably mostly because of the Pescarolo's had problems with heavy traffic and yellow flags... but still. The Audi's were not using qualifying tyres, as they don't even last a full lap because of the torque on that car.




Pos N° Team Class Time
1 7 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 3:30.466
2 8 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 3:30.584
3 16 Pescarolo Sport LM1 3:32.584
4 17 Pescarolo Sport LMP1 3:32.990 2.524
5 13 Courage Competition LMP1 3:34.120
6 14 Racing for Holland LMP1 3:34.864
7 9 Creation Autosportif LMP1 3:36.459
8 5 Swiss Spirit LMP1 3:40.182
9 19 Courage Competition LMP1 3:40.467
10 12 Courage Competition LMP1 3:40.722
11 2 Zytek Engineering LMP1 3:41.500
12 25 RML LMP2 3:41.555
13 33 Intersport Racing LMP2 3:43.869
14 22 Rollcentre Racing LMP2 3:44.324
15 39 Chamberlain Synergy LMP2 3:45.732
16 32 Barazi Epsilon LMP2 3:47.467
17 37 Paul Belmondo Racing LMP2 4:45.086 3:48.846
18 27 Miracle Motorsports LMP2 3:50.826
19 6 Lister Storm Racing LMP1 3:50.940
20 007 Aston Martin Racing LMGT1 3:52.015
21 009 Aston Martin Racing LMGT1 3:52.561
22 64 Corvette Racing LMGT1 3:53.100
23 20 Pierre Bruneau LMP2 3:53.285
24 69 BMS Scuderia Italia LMGT1 3:53.611
25 67 Convers Menx Team LMGT1 3:53.781
26 63 Corvette Racing LMGT1 3:53.993
27 66 ACEMCO Motorsports LMGT1 3:54.476
28 72 Alphand Aventures LMGT1 3:55.629
29 24 Binnie Motorsports LMP2 3:56.123
30 35 G-Force Racing LMP2 3:56.452
31 36 Paul Belmondo Racing LMP2 3:56.460
32 62 Russian Age Racing LMGT1 3:57.776
33 61 Russian Age Racing LMGT1 3:59.822
34 53 Jloc Isao Noritake LMGT1 4:00.287
35 30 Welter Gerard LMP2 4:00.775
36 50 Larbre Competition LMGT1 4:01.920
37 76 IMSA Perf. Matmut LMGT2 4:03.438
38 087 Scuderia Ecosse LMGT2 4:04.596
39 83 Seikel Motorsports LMGT2 4:04.897
40 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports LMGT2 4:05.266
41 90 White Lightning Racing LMGT2 4:05.700
42 85 Spyker Squadron LMGT2 4:06.299
43 77 Multimatic Panoz M.S. LMGT2 4:06.642
44 86 Spyker Squadron LMGT2 4:07.939
45 89 Sebab Automotive Ltd LMGT2 4:08.688
46 81 Team LNT LMGT2 4:12.043
47 93 Team Taisan Advan LMGT2 4:14.477
48 73 Ice Pol Racing Team LMGT2 4:16.246
49 91 T2M Motorsport LMGT2 4:17.342
50 98 Del Bello Noel LMGT2 4:23.547

i dont like LeMans like i used to.....

i dont like LeMans like i used to.....

If only they can bring back the Group C cars.....:D

I can't watch LeMans from Malaysia...by the way...now is Football Fever !

i want the ferrari f430 to do well! ps go aston martin dbr9!:D

Welcome to SCF...what is PS btw ?
I want the C6R to perfrom well !
R10...that would be fastest diesel car ever...

I want the Audi R10TDI to win aswell, good car that. Make history Audi, come on....

Wouldn't it be great if Audi entered F1?

I want the Audi R10TDI to win aswell, good car that. Make history Audi, come on....

Wouldn't it be great if Audi entered F1?There are rumours that they will enter Formula 1 in 2008, but it's pretty unlikely to happen since they are using so much resources on Le Mans.

Yeah, but after winning with a TDI engine, what else is there to do? Hybrid power?

Naturally I'm behind the Corvette's, national pride, but I learned a neat fact. One of the driver's for one of the C6R teams is from Poughkeepsie, O'connell, he's with Ron Fellows' team.

90 million dollar Le Mans prototype is a lemon.
The pre-race warm-up got under way at 9am precisely, giving teams the last chance to check the cars over before the 5pm start of the 24 Hours. The big news was that the car which will start the race from pole, the No.7 Audi Sport Team Joest R10, hit problems.

This is the last chance the teams get to ensure that the cars are ready for the gruelling challenge ahead of them – and for some, the result was extremely worrying. Remarkably, one of the cars which hit trouble was the one which is due to start from pole position. The No.7 Audi Sport Team Joest R10 headed out of the pits soon after the warm-up began – but early in the lap the team spotted unusual readings on the telemetry, and told Allan McNish to slow down and come straight back to the pits.

When he returned the team quickly changed the left drive-shaft, and he went out again – but again he slowed dramatically on the Mulsanne straight and limped back, this time with smoke sometimes visible coming from the car. The team will have a lot of work to prepare the car for the 5pm race start.

Meanwhile the sister No.8 car, due to share the front row of the grid with the No.7 entry, was lapping with no apparent problems. Frank Biela in particular put in a storming lap, going around in 3:33.946 – a second faster than last year’s fastest race lap. However the Audi may face stern competition, as Emmanuel Collard put in a lap of 3:34.265 in the No.16 Pescarolo Judd, an indication that Audi will not be able to relax during the race..

You misspoke, Ghalos. Gainesville GA resident Johnny O'Connell does not drive for a Canuck team. Ron Fellows co-drives on Johnny's team, LOL.

Go R10.
Make diesel the power of motorsport.:)

90 million dollar Le Mans prototype is a lemon.

wow, looks like some very interesting development. Hopefully they can straighten everything out in 8 hours....

Hmmm, it's 11 AM here in central USA, and I think France is about 7 hours ahead, so it's around 6 PM there. So the race has already started!!! Damn, I wish someone in the US would televise this.

We'll just have to rely on Tom K.to keep us up to date! By the way, where do you get all your info from?

Google isn't translating the official le mans site very well.

Which proto ?
I don't understand the Lemon means...

I'm torn between my pride for the Corvette and my love for Porsche... this will be a fun weekend. I'm glad I couldn't go racing...

wow, looks like some very interesting development. Hopefully they can straighten everything out in 8 hours....

Hmmm, it's 11 AM here in central USA, and I think France is about 7 hours ahead, so it's around 6 PM there. So the race has already started!!! Damn, I wish someone in the US would televise this.

We'll just have to rely on Tom K.to keep us up to date! By the way, where do you get all your info from?

Google isn't translating the official le mans site very well.http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/live/pages/accueil_gb.html. That site is also showing a frequently updated list with the postions of all cars.
The problems on the Audi have been fixed. It was something with the transmission, so both cars have got changed the differential, so the same problem shouldn't occour again.

You misspoke, Ghalos. Gainesville GA resident Johnny O'Connell does not drive for a Canuck team. Ron Fellows co-drives on Johnny's team, LOL.

Point being...He did win in 2001. So uh...I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, other than, I'm extremely pleased I can watch the C6R's in the lead.

What happend to the #7 R10? Apparently it's one lap behind the #8 R10, and it all happend within 1½ hour or something. EDIT: It's two laps behind the other Audi now, and both Pescarolo's are in front of it as well. Man, what the hell!?

+3 laps now. I guess there's something wrong with the le mans site, otherwise the car should be crashed...

Audi, what's wrong with you lol!!!!
Any news on this Audi site then?

I just read an interview with an Audi engineer and Dindo Capello. It was some injection-things that had to be changed. It took 22 minutes, and the car had been running like sh*t for over five laps before that. Now they are almost 7 laps behind the leading Audi.
Dindo only drove five laps, and now they have put Tom in the car.
Well, it's great, I suppose... as long as the #8 Audi don't get hit by the same problems!

Troubling news:



At 20:22 (03:22 racing) the No.37 Paul Belmondo Racing Courage Ford spun off near Indianapolis corner. The right rear tire exploded, doing severe damage to the rear bonnet, which flew off along with other parts including the rear wing. The driver, Yann Clairay was able to get out of the car without help, but there was a small trail of fire in the grass behind the C65. The fire was quickly extinguished by the firemen.


At 20:23 (03:23 racing) the No.7 Audi Sport Team Joest R10, running in second place overall stopped in the pits and was wheeled into the garage. The car's windscreen was apparently shattered by debris from the No.37 car, and may require a new radiator. There are unconfirmed reports the car is also suffering an electronic or engine management problem.

Does the Le Mans website have a full list of real-time positions? It kind sucks to only be able to see the top5

Troubling news:



Does the Le Mans website have a full list of real-time positions? It kind sucks to only be able to see the top5Here's a list of all 50 cars.
http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/live/pages/chronos_gb.html

According to the tough calculating-dudes, the #7 Audi will catch up one lap to the Pescarolos each 20th lap if they maintain the pace Kristensen just had... the problem is that Allan McNish can't keep that pace, but the #16 Pescarolo is in pit with problems!

Halftime summary:

At the front of the pack remains the #8 Audi and the #17 Pescarolo. The other two Audi and Pescarolo have stumbled. The #7 Audi, however, is currently holding the 3rd position while the #16 Pescarolo is way back. It had spent about 80 minutes in the garage for what evidently was a major mechanical problem.

Good news is that the #7 Audi seems to be lapping consistently faster than the 2nd place Pescarolo AND the leading #8, which may have some problems, its gear cluster were replaced entirely due to report that it was not shiting into 5th. If everything goes well, the #7 just may take the lead very soon!

In LMGT1, the #64 C6.R is running about a lap behind the #009 DBR9 and both are lapping almost identical times. But very recently, the Corvette is showing some very funky lap times...and had fallen further behind the DBR9.

LMP2 is dominated by RML's Lola with a 6 lap lead over the second place Miracle Motorsports' Courage C65. The leading Lola seems to also be lapping almost 10 seconds faster than all rest of the LMP2s behind it.

LMGT2 is having a three-way battle between Seikel's GTs RSR and the #86 Spyker C8 and the F430 GTC, with the latter two being only a lap behind the car in front. Currently, the F430 is lapping 6-8 seconds faster than the Spyker and the GT3, which are running an almost identical pace.

nist7....dont you have Speed?
I am watching it on Speed.
Not the drug......the channel.

nist7....dont you have Speed?
I am watching it on Speed.
Not the drug......the channel.

LOL.

No, unfortunately. I live in my college dorm and all they have is the basic 73 channels of cable, which is not bad for the average person's needs considering they also give us the main HBO channel.

Do you know if Speed Channel has a webcast or something?

www.speedtv.com
They have radio and a couple other thing I think.

Meh, I think I'll just move to France or something...maybe on a study abroad program...yeah! Why didn't I think of this earlier???

Anyways, when is the finish of the race? Is it something like 6AM here in the USA?

11Am eastern
There's 10 hours 51 minutes left as of.....now

11Am eastern

Oh good, so it'll be 10AM here in the midwest. Nice, I'll be wake up just in time to catch the finish!

wake up at 9:30 so you can see if there's a close finish. Or I'll wake you up...where do you live? I fly to your house.

wake up at 9:30 so you can see if there's a close finish. Or I'll wake you up...where do you live? I fly to your house.

wtf...lol...I live in St. Louis. But no thanks, I think I can wake myself up.

Damn, looks like everyone has settled into their place. The #8 Audi seems to be doing well in holding off the Pescarolo. But whenever they decide to put Tom Kristensen in the #7, Pescarolo is gonna get eaten up. It'll be interesting to see when and how often they'll bring out Tom K, the 'sausage of death.'

And the C6.R looks like to have closed the gap on the DBR9, it's behind just shy of a lap.


edit: Pescarolo just fell a lap behind the #8! Looks like Audi will probably dominate with a very possible 1-2 finish.

I gotta say, when they raced from dark to dawn, the background was stunning.

Aw, no 1-2 victory. There are more problems for the #7 R10.
The No.7 Audi Team Joest R10 came in for a routine pit-stop and headed out again - but Tom Kristensen brought the car straight back, where it was wheeled into the garage.

The team immediately set about replacing the turbocharger on the right side of the V12 diesel engine - a tricky job, as the red-hot unit already fitted had to be removed. The stop took almost 20 minutes; not enough for them to lose third place, but dropping them ten laps back from the second-placed car, the No.17 Pescarolo Judd. The No.8 Audi continued its largely untroubled progress in the lead.

I just dicovered that no tv channel I have access to is showing any form of Le Mans action. Dam I'm pissed off.

1 hour to go and Audi no.10 is in the lead followed by the Pesecarlo 17.
A C5R is winning the GT1 class. I didn't hear who was driving it and who for.

Pirro, Biela and Werner is driving the winn... leading R10. Gavin, Beretta and Magnussen is driving the leading #64 Corvette C6. The Corvette is number 4 overall!

Tom , would you mind to tell us the results ?

There is still half an hour to go.
He was just commenting that Audi will probably win and are winning now.

Edit: Some one called Dominic Parhaser or something has broken down.
I only say this because my name is also Dominic. I belive he drives a Porsche.

One young Malaysia entered LeMans...I wish him good luck !
Go Alex Yoong , go !

One young Malaysia entered LeMans...I wish him good luck !
Go Alex Yoong , go !They are out. They were surprizingly on position 3 at midnight, then they dropped down on fourth because Capello flew by in the R10. I don't know what happend to it though, but it could have been overheating since it's using the old GV5 Judd engine.

I'll post the results when they're done driving. Right now it seems like Biela and Pirro is about to equal Henri Pescarolo... but they are driving a lemon after all.

Why do you called it Lemon ? I don't really understand.

Why do you called it Lemon ? I don't really understand.Me neither... lol. I think it means that there's alot of problems with it, and it's spending more time in the pit than on the track.

Maybe...any1 who knows plz explain...I'm so confussed.

so has Tom K finally dropped out?

Audi got 1 and 3 and Corvette one the Gt1 class but thats all I got.

RML won LMP2
Team LNT (Panoz) won GT2

From lemans.org:

In the final hours of the 74th running of the 24 Heures du Mans, there were no more surprises - unless one counts the unlikely eventuality of the world's premier endurance race being won by a diesel-engined sports car. Unlikely as it may seem - and it would have been deemed impossible until recently - diesel is not just economical, not merely practical, beyond unexpectedly torquey, it is now a type of engine with a Le Mans win to its name.

Even before the victory of the No.8 Audi Sport Team Joest R10, in the capable, mature hands of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner, and the third place of its sister No.7 car driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, the car was changing the face of racing. Peugeot announced it will contest the great race next year with its own V12 diesel, with much the same specifications as Audi's TDI.

But the Audi will always be the first diesel to win Le Mans, and it extends the Ingolstadt manufacturer's record to six outright victories in the last seven years. It also demonstrates the incredible soundness and adaptability of the Audi R8 racing platform, from which were developed both the R10, and the Bentley Speed 8 which is the only other winner in the 21st Century. From all these perspectives, the 2006 24 Heures du Mans was historic.

History may not have been on the minds of the multitude of fans as they rushed onto the Grandstand Straight and towards the famous podium gantry to celebrate with all the race winners. Rather, the spectators, totalling 235,000 at the circuit this year and millions around the world, were honouring a simply superb race. Every year it is joked that Le Mans is not won in the first hours, but this year it seemed a genuine 24 Hour sprint as drivers could allow themselves no respite from the competition, lapping within seconds of their qualifying times throughout the race.

If history was on anyone's mind it was perhaps Henri Pescarolo, his team, and their many fans. While he made it onto the podium, this is the second year in which the team has had overall victory within its grasp, only to be defeated by the might of Audi. Throughout the final hours of this race, the No.16 and No.17 Pescarolo Judds appeared to run 'like clockwork', coming in for scheduled pit stops, getting back on the track without incident, maintaining a speed which in other years might have secured victory.

Pescarolo Sport must once again be considering 'what might have been'. As it was, the No.17 car of Eric Helary, Franck Montagny and Sebastien Loeb came second in the race, and the No.16 of Nicolas Minnasian, Emmanuel Collard and Erik Comas was fourth in the LM P1 class. Pescarolo's quest for Le Mans laurels is legendary, and 2006 may have been his best chance yet. It seems inevitable that Pescarolo will return in 2007, and that he will again be a favourite.

Behind the LM P1 cars were GT1, where a titanic battle raged for the entire race. In the end a Corvette, the 'works' No.64 Corvette C6.R driven by Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen, won its class again at Le Mans, suggesting that experience and preparation will out.

The circumstances might also suggest that racing is a fickle sport. Three hours from the end it seemed impossible that the No.009 Aston Martin Racing DBR9 would not hold off the No.64 C6.R as it had for so much of the race, superb drivers and technicians in both teams matching one another move for move, lap for lap. But with victory seemingly in sight the No.009 car fell victim to a clutch problem and was forced to settle for fourth in class. Ironically, the winning No.64 Corvette's sister car, No.63, also suffered a clutch problem early on Sunday morning; at the time, the Aston Martin seemed invulnerable. Some consolation for Aston Martin came from the No.007 Aston Martin Racing DBR9 of Thomas Enge, Andrea Piccini and Darren Turner finishing second in class, ahead of the No.72 Luc Alphand Adventures C5-R of Luc Alphand, Patrice Gouselard and Jerome Policand.

In LM P2, where the attrition was particularly fierce, the No.25 RML Lola AER of Thomas Erdos, Mike Newton and Andy Wallace managed a solid win, having led the class for almost the entire race Behind it were the No.24 Binnie Motorsports Lola Zytek of William Binnie, Allen Timpany and Yojiro Terada, and the No.27 Miracle Motorsports Courage AER of John Macaluso, Andy Lally and Ian James.

GT2 saw three different marques on the podium. The winner was the No.81 Team LNT Panoz Esperante driven by the all-British team of Tom Kimber-Smith, Richard Dean, and Lawrence Tomlinson. Second place was won by the No.83 Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Lars Erik Nielsen, Pierre Ehret, and Domink Farnbacher, which suffered such misfortune in the last hour of the race; what seemed certain victory was denied them by a technical problem. In third place, in the model's Le Mans debut, was the No.87 Scuderia Ecossse Ferrari F430 GT in the hands of Chris Niarchos, Tim Mullen and British GT champion Andrew Kirkaldy.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7153/unavngivet5jg.png

Well Done Audi, congrats on making motorsport history!

I was able to catch a glimpse of it at about 2:30 AM EDT, did anyone else see that, I think it was LMP2, nearly go up in flames? The thing was covered in flame ******ent from the fire extinguishers and was still burning!

So is Alex Yoong Racing ?

Wow, why does Spker Squardron suck so much? I mean, props to them for at least giving it a go, but holy cow. It seems as though every year they drop out. Don't they do any sort of testing?

No suprises, really. I was rooting for the Pescarolos, and I'm glad they did so well. But I really wanted a win, and of course Audi won't let me have it.

Wow, why does Spker Squardron suck so much? I mean, props to them for at least giving it a go, but holy cow. It seems as though every year they drop out. Don't they do any sort of testing?

No suprises, really. I was rooting for the Pescarolos, and I'm glad they did so well. But I really wanted a win, and of course Audi won't let me have it.Well for testing you need money. They probably dont have as much money as Audi or Chevy. And money helps. On Speed channel they were explaining that it took they Audi team 9 minutes to change a gearbox while it took Pescarolo 1 and a half hours. Audi has more money so they can afford to expirement and see what would be the best setup and other things like that.

audi r10 won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R10...that would be fastest diesel car ever... no it wouldnt the jcb land speed car is the world fastest diesel car

At least it holds the title for ugliest diesel car then. And I think it would be fastest diesel car on a circuit. 3:31.211. That's new record.

Well, it will probably get owned next year. Pug will have around 50 Hp more, but it will probably be a GTP which means the tires will be narrower, hence they get a shorter lifetime. Which sucks when there will be 855 foot pounds of torque to make the life hard for the rear tires.
It will also have to drive with aircon, but the manufacturers have found a hole in the regulations to gain power by airconditioning. I don't really know how though. But it will have 50 Hp more than the R10, with airconditioning. 50 extra hp and better utilizing of aerodynamics... but it will have to last 24 hours.

Pescarolo won't be racing next year, neither will Zytek becuase of the diesel... revolution. The next three Le Mans' is going to be totally weird, untill the factory teams come to rescue in 2010.

Alex Yoong is the last one ?

EDIT
no it wouldnt the jcb land speed car is the world fastest diesel car
Any pictures or specs about this thing ?

Yoong is driving for Racing for Holland, and their Dome is a hybrid version of the S101, and the hybrid eligibilty ends 12.31/06. So it would require a brand new car, and It's a private team. Although I have no clue about their budget, so I don't know whether they will be at Le Mans 2007 or not.
However, Dome is working on a new car (http://www.dome.co.jp/special/images/mpr_a.jpg), so it should be possible. But they won't be able to mess with the factory teams.

Pretty damn cool for Audi

Yup, here we go.
It has 2 JCB V8 engines.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/04/20/004468.1.jpg

btw soz for cruddy pic.

Despite a somewhat dim view of a one-factory event; I watched regularly over all 19/24 hours of live coverage on SpeedTV. 3.5+ minute laps made onlive live timing/scoring seem maddeningly slow, LOL! Overall, the race had lots of suspense for a 24 hour race.

"lemon" may be the wrong fruit. Capello was the "sausage of death" for the #7 Audi. His early fling over the curb in the esses damadged the undertray. Hours later some of it got to flapping, causing huge vibrations. The long stop during the caution after the SPECTACULAR(!) crash of the #36 Belmondo P2 car cost them a lot of laps early. They did other repairs during that time, such as the windscreen and instrument problems; but the undertray repairs took longest. There were rumors that the curb surfing caused other drivetrain problems; but such details are not found in flowery French prose or Audi press releases...

The #30 P2 car's fiery death was preceeded by it's X-games curb jumping/attempt to play gopher in the sand trap hours earlier. I was surprised it survived so many hours only to burn.

Alas, Johnny O'Connell was "S of D" for the #63 GT1 Vette. His solo spin and "apparently" minor rear quarter bounce off the guardrail would prove to be costly (28 laps). In the last hours they had to rebuild the transaxle. Ace driver/commentator David Hobbs suggested he might get a lecture from his teammates Papis and Fellows, LOL. In a later interview, Papis said the wheel was off-center and the car was pulling under braking; but "Mad Max" didn't care! Fellows never mentioned it. He did ask about hockey (Edmonton 4, Carolina 0), and was thrilled by the news (He's a funny guy!).

The most suspense near the end came in GT2. The #83 Porsche had 3 laps on the #81 Panoz when he broke the shift lever off. It took several start-and-stop attempts to get the car back to the pits for a alledgedly quick repair. Alas, said repair used up laps + 2 minutes. Previously, the Porsche had been lapping 20 seconds faster than the Panoz; so a win would have been possible. Alas, 3rd gear broke when the shifter did; so they had to settle for 2nd.

Kudos to Loeb for his 2nd place finish in P1 in his second 24.

Kudos to the privateer #72 C5R team who finished 3rd in GT1, one place ahead of 1st in P2.

Kudos to former overall winner and current Rolex driver Andy Wallace for a 1st in P2!

-----edit

I have already stated that making rules for AC in race cars is so dumb nobody but ACO could possibly be stupid enough to do so. That said; Tom K brings up an interesting concept: gaining power w/AC. It's been done already. I will elaborate in technical...

I would have posted sooner about LeMans; but as soon as the race was over, I hit the road to visit with my Dad!

I head the #7 R10 had promblems with the injections, which costed 22 minutes in pit. In the morning a turbocharger had to be replaced - which costed another 23 minuets in the pit.
The reason might be that the #7 R10 was chassis 103, which was built in a hurry and never really tested.
The #8 R10 was chassis 102, which has been tested for hundreds of hours since the technical failure on Sebring. (Chassis 101 wasn't repaired after McNish's crash after Sebring.) But if it all was Dindo's fault, then he certainly is the sausage of death. But the R10 did not have traction control so what the hell.