Le Mans testday - Le Mans 1 June

[Laviolette GT2R]

With the Le Mans testday only three weeks away, I think it's time to open this thread.

More information to follow...

[Laviolette GT2R]

The GT2 Competitors

CONFIRMED
76 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT - FRA - MICHELIN - PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) 3795A -Raymond Narac / Richard Lietz / Patrick Long
77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON - DEU - MICHELIN - PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) 3795A - Alex Davison / Wolf Hentzler / Horst Felbermayr Sr.
78 AF CORSE SRL - ITA - MICHELIN - FERRARI F 430 GT 3996A - Toni Vilander / Christian Montanari / Thomas Biagi
80 FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORTS - USA - MICHELIN - PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) 3795A - Jörg Bergmeister / Johannes van Overbeek / Seth Neiman
82 RISI COMPETIZIONE - USA - MICHELIN - FERRARI F 430 GT 3996A - Mika Salo / Jaime Melo / Gianmaria Bruni
83 RISI COMPETIZIONE - USA - MICHELIN - FERRARI F 430 GT 3996A - Tracy Krohn / Nic Johnsson / Eric van de Poele
85 SPYKER SQUADRON b.v. - NLD - MICHELIN - SPYKER C8 LAVIOLETTE 4000A - Peter Dumbreck / Ralf Kelleners / Alexei Vasiliev
90 FARNBACHER RACING - DEU - DUNLOP - FERRARI F 430 GT 3996A - Pierre Ehret / Pierre Kaffer / Lars-Erik Nielsen
94 SPEEDY RACING TEAM - SUI - MICHELIN - SPYKER C8 LAVIOLETTE 4000A - Andrea Chiesa / Benjamin Leuenberger / Iradj Alexander
96 VIRGO MOTORSPORT - GBR - DUNLOP - FERRARI F 430 GT 3996A - Rob Bell / Tim Mullen / Tim Sugden
97 BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA SPA - ITA - PIRELLI - FERRARI F 430 GT 3996A - Fabio Babini / Matteo Malucelli / Paolo Ruberti
99 JMB RACING - MCO - MICHELIN - FERRARI F 430 GT 3996A - Alain Ferté / Stephane Daoudi / Ben Aucott


RESERVE
IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT - FRA - MICHELIN - PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) 3795A
TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON - DEU - MICHELIN - PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR (997) 3795A

[Laviolette GT2R]

Le Mans Race strategy

Considering the fact that the Laviolette's will be used in 2009 as well it is probably best to put some reliability in these cars first, and then next year add some speed to that.

In order to be reliable the Squadron will need to replace the chain driven cam system, they say themselves it probably won't last in a 24 hour race.
The problem with the new engine doesn't seem to be the engine itself but the vibrations this new engine produces. Other components will break as a result of this. It seems only logic to get rid of these new engine components that causes these vibrations. I'm not that technical but the new crankshaft seems to be the "fire starter" and has to go in this respect. maybe the changed fire order can stay or does this also cause more vibrations? If so, it has to go also in my humble opinion.
I think with this conservitive approach, it must be possible to get a classified finish. If a lot of the faster teams hit trouble it might be even a top 5 finish as well, that would be their best result!

Another more agressive approach can be: Use the new engine in the #85, complete the scheduled updates before the testday and go for it! If it can complete a 1000 kms. race it will probably survive the testday as well. In this case you know exactly the maximum pace of the Laviolette GT2R and can compare it to the old engine (with some reliability updates) of the #94, the Porsches and Ferrari's. You can decide than if it's worth taking the risk that it will break in the race.
I think with this approach, it will break to be honest...

I think two different strategies for the two cars will work best. One will be to get the car home, to get at least a classified finish.
The other will be to develop the new engine, after Le Mans there will be other shorter races in which you need a better pace than is possible with the old engine...

Just my thoughts though .

[Laviolette GT2R]

Comparing the GT2 cars - Ferrari, Porsche and Spyker

Maybe it's a good idea to compare the GT2 contenders of Ferrari, Porsche and Spyker. Here's a very brief technical overview of the past three years:

Ferrari:
In 2005 the teams using a Ferrari were fielding the 360, the fastest lap in the race set by the 360 was 4:11,193, the highest topspeed achieved by this Ferrari was 282 km/h.
The Ferrari 430 made it's Le Mans debut in 2006, thereby replacing the 360. The engine capacity was 4,0 liter, two restrictors measuring 28,8 mm. were used, giving the Ferrari 440 HP. at 7000 rpm. The total weight of the car was 1130 kg. It was capable of a fastest racelap of 4:06,855, the Ferrari obtained the highest topspeed in class in the race: 299 km/h.
For 2007, not many things were changed, although an airconditioning system was fitted to meet the maximum cockpit temperature requirements set by the organisers. To compensate the loss of power, the Ferrari was allowed to increase the diameter of their restrictors by 0,3 mm., now measuring 28,4 mm. This is smaller than the year before, this can be explained by the wish of the organisers to limit the power of these GT2 cars to 450 HP. If there are signs that some manufacturer exceed this power output, it is likely that these cars will get smaller restrictors the next year. Despite the smaller restrictors, the fastest Ferrari racelap was quicker than last years: 4:05,222, the highest topspeed of the Ferrari setting the fastest racelap was 286 km/h. The highest Ferrari topspeed was set by another car though: 296 km/h.

Porsche:
In 2005 the fastest laptime in the race achieved by a Porsche was 4:07,164, the highest topspeed set by this Porsche was 286 km/h.
For 2006, Porsche decided to enlarge the engine capacity of 3,6 liter, as used in 2005, to 3,8 liter, by increasing the bore of the engine. The restrictors for this years race were smaller than those used the year before: 28,7 mm. This was done in order to slow the Porsches down a bit so the other cars like Ferrari, Panoz and Spyker could keep up. With these smaller restrictors Porsche could not increase the power of the new engine, in comparison to last year, but the torque did rise. Porsche was able to better the fastest racelap of 2005: 4:04,426, on top of that Porsche reached the highest topspeed in class: 298 km/h.
In 2007 all Porsche teams now used the 3,8 liter engine, in the previous year some teams still used the 3,6 liter engine. Porsche learned from 2006 that the engine could use a bit more air and choose to increase the total weight of the car to 1225 kg. Therefore they were able to use restrictors with a diameter of 29,5 mm. An additional advantage was that the extra weight could be placed where ever Porsche wanted to. So, the engine got more power, now 485 HP. at 7000 rpm. and handling was improved by placing the extra ballast where it was most needed. On the other side: the car was now 100 kg. heavier. Prove of the fact that people at Porsche know what they are doing: Again a faster laptime than the previous year: 4:03,821, highest topspeed set by this Porsche: 293 km/h.

Panoz
Although not entered in this years race, it might be interesting to note that the Panoz entered in 2006 had an engine output of 520HP (!) It won the GT2 class...

Spyker
In 2005 the power output of the Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R was 435 HP at 8000 rpm. The capacity from the production engine was decreased to 3,8 liter, by reducing the stroke. They used a single restrictor which was 40,6 mm. in size. The total weight of the car was 1115 kg. Fastest racelap was 4:16,381, highest topspeed 275 km/h.
In 2006 Spyker developed the engine with succes, 20 HP was found giving the engine a total output of 455 HP. The single restrictor was abandoned in favour of two restrictors, 29 mm. in size. Total weight was now 1145 kg. The fitting of a roof was debet on this weight increase, allthough some bodyparts were now made of carbon. A lot of changes made by spyker resulted in a spectacular fastest race laptime of 4:11,199, a full 5 seconds quicker than last year! Topspeed increased as well to 283 km/h.
For 2007 Spyker choose to decrease the engine capacity to 3,6 liter, total weight was said to be over 1200 kg. Apparently Spyker wanted to give the engine a bit more air as well. Some body panels were again made of aluminium instead of last years carbon. As seen in the Ferrari, Spyker fitted an aircondtioning system as well, in order to keep cockpit temperatures under control. Restrictors measured now 28,8 mm. Fastest lap in the race was: 4:10,050, again quicker than last year although not by 5 seconds. Topspeed a bit better as well, now being 284 km/h.

[Laviolette GT2R]

Edit: In order to receive a restrictor size of 28,8 mm, the total weight of the car has to be between 1125 and 1175 kg, giving the fact that the engine capacity is 3,6 liter engine and an airconditioning system is fitted.
The statement that the weight of the Spyker exceeded 1200 kg. in 2007 is therefore not correct!

[AX lover]

The time differences over the years.

2005
4:07,164, 286 km/u, Porsche
4:11,193, 282 km/u, Ferrari (+4,039)
4:16,381, 275 km/u, Spyker (+9,217) compaired to Ferrari +5,188

2006
4:04,426, 298 km/u, Porsche
4:06,855, 299 km/u, Ferrari (+2,429)
4:11,199, 283 km/u, Spyker (+6,773) compaired to Ferrari +4,344

2007
4:03,821, 293 km/u, Porsche
4:05,222, 286 km/u, Ferrari (+1,401)
4:10,050, 284 km/u, Spyker (+6,229) compaired to Ferrari +4.828

Let's hope they found another few second with the new C8 Laviolette GT2R.

[Laviolette GT2R]

From what I heard, the aerodynamics of the Laviolette are much improved over the aerodynamics of the Spyder. The roofline is more round and that makes the airflow to the rearwing more efficient. It is now possible to create the same amount of downforce by a much flatter rearwing setting and thus creating less drag and thus more topspeed. The chassis itself also has better aerodynamic features which is a big help as well. I think this will lead to a higher topspeed! At Le Mans there are quite a few long straights so more topspeed could well mean a faster laptime...

[Laviolette GT2R]

Preview Le Mans testday Porsche teams

Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997) 3,8 liter

For 2008 a few changes have been made to the 3795cc six cylinder boxer engine which now produces 465 bhp. at 8000 rpm. and 430 Nm. of torque at 7250rpm. Compared to last year's 485 bhp at 7000 rpm, it lost some power and the enigine has to work harder to squeeze it out: 8000 rpm in stead of 7000 rpm.

To compensate the power loss, Porsche spent some time at the aerodynamics department. The front is re-worked with dive planes on the nose and new air ducts. This was done to improve front-end downforce and also to decrease drag.

It might be interesting to see if it is actually faster now than the previous year. If we compare the races of Monza and Spa of the Le Mans Series we can see that in 2008 the fastest Porsche was quicker than the fastest Porsche in 2007. At Monza the difference was 1,1 sec. and at Spa it was 0,2 sec. It does seem (marginally) faster indeed! Last year's fastest testday time set by a Porsche was incredibly fast: 4:01,598 giving the fact that in the races so far, the Porsche was quicker than last year this could well mean that it will be quicker at the Le Mans testday as well...

Let's take a look at the teams who are racing the Porsche:


#76 IMSA Performance Matmut

This French team is based in Delville-les-Rouen, in the 76th district of the Seine-Maritime department, hence the number 76. It was set-up by Frank Rava and Raymond Narac, a former Larbre Competition mechanic. He was then employed by the Rouen Porsche dealership after which he joined forces with Rava to create a special tuning company for the Stuttgart manufacturer. In 2004 he started racing in the French GT cup. The name of this team is an acronym that stands for "Ingeneering Mécanique et Sport Automobile.
The team made it's Le Mans debut in 2005 and competed in this race ever since.

Le Mans testday times of the last three years:

2005 - 4:05,367
2006 - 4:04,914
2007 - 4:01,598

In 2006 and 2007 it was the quickest Porsche at the testday.

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:00,130


#77 Team Felbermayr-Proton

This German squad was just founded in februari of 2008. In 2008 it competes in the Le Mans Series championship. In the first race at Barcelona, they qualified 2nd in class and fastest Porsche, at Monza again 2nd in class and fastest Porsche and at Spa again 2nd in class and fastest Porsche. This will be their first Le Mans.

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:03,268


#80 Flying Lizard Motorsports

The Flying Lizard Motorsport team was formed in the beginning of 2003 to compete in the American Le Mans Series. The team is owned by Eric Ingraham and it's three drivers of that time, S. Neiman, L. Pechnik and J. van Overbeek, and is based at the Sears Point circuit in California. It was runner-up in the 2004 ALMS GT2 category and got, because of that, an automatic entry for 2005, what was to become their first Le Mans race. They must have liked it because they are coming back every year.

Le Mans testday times of the last three years:

2005 - 4:08,406
2006 - 4:05,600
2007 - 4:02,668

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:01,598


Disclamer: It is very hard to predict Le Mans testday times because every team has it's own program to run. The more experienced teams who are competing in the same car make for the past years with experienced drivers will probably have some time left at the end of the day and could decide to put some qualifyers on their cars and really go for it. As some other teams who are here with a completely new, or heavily modified car will need all their time to find a good race set-up. Furthermore drivers competing for the first time at Le Mans will have to do 10 mandatory laps, so if you have three Le Mans rookie drivers you need to do 30 laps in which you cannot really develop the car. And at Le Mans 30 laps will cost more than 2 hours...

[Laviolette GT2R]

Preview Le Mans testday Ferrari teams

Ferrari 430 GT 4,0 liter

For 2008 an uprated engine with a new aspiration system is available, resulting in more horsepower: 445 HP. at 6750 rpm. and better torque: 495 Nm at 5250 rpm. Although the power is a bit short compared to the Porsche, it is reached by lower revs. On top of that he torque of the Ferrari engine is higher than that of the Porsche engine.

With the improved poweroutput for 2008, it seems only logic that this year's Ferrari is faster than last year's car. If we compare the races of Monza and Spa of the Le Mans Series we can see that in 2008 the fastest Ferrari was quicker than the fastest Ferrari in 2007. At Monza the difference was 1,7 sec. and at Spa it was 0,8 sec. It is faster indeed! Last year's fastest testday time set by a Ferrari was: 4:03,422. In the races so far this year, Ferrari and Porsche were very, very close. That makes me believe that this will also be the case at the Le Mans testday.

Let's take a look at the teams who are racing the Ferrari:


#78 AF Corse

The AF Corse team was founded by Amato Ferrari in 2002 at Piacenza (Italy). In 2006 thay started racing the Ferrari F430 GT in the FIA-GT championship. Two cars were entered and both driver and team championship titles were won. In 2007, AF Corse matched that succes by again winning both driver and team championships by winning 9 out of 10 races! Because the AF Corse team won the FIA-GT2 championship in 2006, they were given an invitation to race at Le Mans. But this race was not part of the AF Corse 2007 program. JMB Racing wanted to race at Le Mans but it's entry was turned down by the organisers. So an agreement was quickly reached, resulting in the entry of a Red Bull sponsored Ferrari 430 GT with in it's line-up Adrian Newey. In 2007 the team again won the FIA-GT2 championship and because of that they were, like last year, officially invited to race at this year's Le Mans. In 2008, the AF Corse team again entered two Ferrari 430 GT's in the FIA-GT championship, the team is leading both the driver and team championships after two races. The drivers are not presented yet, so it's a bit unclear wether they will enter the car themselves with their own drivers or that they will field the car for another team, like last year.

Le Mans testday time of last year:

2007 - 4:13,722

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:02,732 (Based on the following (AF Corse) line-up: Toni Vilander / Christian Montenari / Thomas Biagi)


#82 RISI Competizione

Risi Competizione, a professional race team, was founded in 1997 by Giuseppe Risi, team principal and Managing Director, as Doyle-Risi Racing. In 2001 the name Risi Competizione was adopted to reflect Giuseppe Risi’s sole ownership of the team. For 2006, Risi Competizione entered the ALMS series with the new Ferrari F430GT, which made its North American Debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring with a strong 3rd place finish. The Risi team took the GT2 team championship in 2006 and earned an automatic entry for the 2007 Le Mans race. In 2007, Risi Competizione again entered the American Le Mans Series, this year the results were even better: Next to the team championship, the driver championship was won also!

Le Mans testday time of last year:

2007 - 4:03,422

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:00,246


#83 RISI Competizione

The second Ferrari 430 GT RISI Competizione entered in 2007, was fielded for Krohn Racing of which Tracy krohn is the owner. It reached an unexpected second place in class and therefore will be back this year because every class winner and runner up receive an automatic entry for next year's race.

Le Mans testday time of last year:

2007 - 4:07,528

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:05,984


#90 Farnbacher Racing

Farnbacher Racing was founded in 1992 in Lichtenau near Arnsbach (Germany). The first races for the team were those of the Porsche Carrera Trophy. In 1995 the team entered two series: the German Porsche Carerra Cup and the Porsche Michelin Supercup. The team continued fielding Porsches in several championships. In this year's LMS championship however, they are entering two cars, one Porsche on Michelin tyres and one Ferrari on Dunlop tyres...

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:03,0876


#96 Virgo Motorsport

In 2006, Virgo competed for the first time in international competition and scored their first podium finishes and pole positions that year in the 5 race Le Mans series. In 2007 they became champions in both driver and team championships, thereby earning a Le Mans entry for this year's race. it will be their maiden Le Mans experience.

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:01,309


#97 BMS Scuderia Italia s.p.a.

The BMS Scuderia Italia team, which has racked up an impressive string of results, will be back for this year's Le Mans race. It's fifth in total but it's first in the GT2 class. In this class it will be the only contender to use Pirelli tyres. This season they scored one podium finish out of two races so far in the FIA-GT2 class.

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:06,107


#99 JMB Racing

JMB Racing was founded by Jean-Michel BOURESCHE in 1995. JMB RACING has gleaned 15 titles among which, three Sports Prototype’s World Cups in 1998, 1999 and 2000, with a Ferrari 333 SP and a World Champion drivers title and team title in the FIA N-GT class in 2001 with a Ferrari 360 Modena N-GT. They stayed in the different FIA-GT championships untill 2007 but were never able to repeat their 2001 succes, although they finished second in the championship four times! JMB entered one Ferrari 430 GT in the 2007 LMS championship and wanted to race at Le Mans in 2007 also, but it's entry was turned down by the organisers. AF Corse had an automatic entry but Le Mans was not part of their schedule. So an agreement was quickly reached, resulting in the entry of a Red Bull sponsored Ferrari 430 GT with in it's line-up Adrian Newey. Against all odds it came home fourth in class!

Le Mans testday time of last year:

2007 - 4:13,722

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008 - 4:08,123

[Laviolette GT2R]

Preview Le Mans testday Spyker teams

Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R 4,0 liter

After three succesfull years of competing in the international arena with the C8 Spyder GT2R, Spyker choose a new weapon for the 2008 season: The C8 Laviolette GT2R. It's not just the same car with a new Laviolette body, no, the car has a lot of new components. The chassis is upgraded and much stiffer now and, on top of that, has better aerodynamics. The roof of the Laviolette is more sloping than that of the Spyder which also improves airflow and reduces drag. But the biggest changes were probably made in the engine department. A lot of up-dates are planned for this season, quite a few were allready implemented for the LMS Spa race. The crankshaft was altered, the firing order changed and the capacity enlarged, to name just a few. The race at Spa proved that the new engine was reliable over 5 hours, the team have doubts though if it will last for 24 hours. The new engine is quicker but has a lot more vibrations, the team is concerned that these vibrations will cause other components to fail. At this point it is hard to tell if the new engine will be used for the Le Mans race.

If we look at the qualifying results in the comparable LMS races so far we can see that in Monza, the time gained from last year was 1,5 seconds, at Spa, where the new engine was introduced, the benefit was 0,1 second compared to last year. It is obvious that the new engine takes some time to get familiar with, hence the fact that it is only 0,1 seconds quicker.

Le Mans testday times of the last three years:

2005 - 4:13,263
2006 - 4:07,328
2007 - 4:09,236

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008:

#85 - 4:09,001 (Based on the old engine, with some up-dates to improve reliability, but without the up-dates to improve speed)
#94 - 4:11,473 (same specs.)

[Laviolette GT2R]

Testday schedule

Le Mans 24 Hours preliminary test day Programme:


Friday May 30:
10am-6pm: administrative and technical scrutineering (at the circuit)

Saturday May 31:
9am-3pm: administrative and technical scrutineering (at the circuit)
4pm: drivers’ and team managers’ briefing

Sunday June 1:
9am-1pm: 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours testing
2pm-6pm: 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours testing

[AX lover]

First picture from the testday

[AX lover]

[Laviolette GT2R]

Here's one more...

Please credit Bernard Brothier

[brielga]

Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R 4,0 liter

After three succesfull years of competing in the international arena with the C8 Spyder GT2R, Spyker choose a new weapon for the 2008 season: The C8 Laviolette GT2R. It's not just the same car with a new Laviolette body, no, the car has a lot of new components. The chassis is upgraded and much stiffer now and, on top of that, has better aerodynamics. The roof of the Laviolette is more sloping than that of the Spyder which also improves airflow and reduces drag. But the biggest changes were probably made in the engine department. A lot of up-dates are planned for this season, quite a few were allready implemented for the LMS Spa race. The crankshaft was altered, the firing order changed and the capacity enlarged, to name just a few. The race at Spa proved that the new engine was reliable over 5 hours, the team have doubts though if it will last for 24 hours. The new engine is quicker but has a lot more vibrations, the team is concerned that these vibrations will cause other components to fail. At this point it is hard to tell if the new engine will be used for the Le Mans race.

If we look at the qualifying results in the comparable LMS races so far we can see that in Monza, the time gained from last year was 1,5 seconds, at Spa, where the new engine was introduced, the benefit was 0,1 second compared to last year. It is obvious that the new engine takes some time to get familiar with, hence the fact that it is only 0,1 seconds quicker.

Le Mans testday times of the last three years:

2005 - 4:13,263
2006 - 4:07,328
2007 - 4:09,236

Prediction Le Mans testday 2008:

#85 - 4:09,001 (Based on the old engine, with some up-dates to improve reliability, but without the up-dates to improve speed)
#94 - 4:11,473 (same specs.)

I would not put the 94 2.5 secs behind imho... they will be very close if not ahead of 85....